UCF gets home and home with Maryland

[Drew]

http://www.fbschedules.com/2014/03/maryland-swaps-ucf-west-virginia-home-and-home-series-dates/

this is exactly the type of program we can still get a home and home with despite being in the AAC. As the Illinois series shows, our conference is respected enough to get home and homes with the middle of the pack schools in BCS conferences. I'd like to see us look at schools like Maryland, Cal, Wash St, Arizona, Mizzou, Indiana, Ole Miss, etc

 

[sportsart]

http://www.fbschedules.com/2014/03/maryland-swaps-ucf-west-virginia-home-and-home-series-dates/

this is exactly the type of program we can still get a home and home with despite being in the AAC. As the Illinois series shows, our conference is respected enough to get home and homes with the middle of the pack schools in BCS conferences. I'd like to see us look at schools like Maryland, Cal, Wash St, Arizona, Mizzou, Indiana, Ole Miss, etc

UCF got the home and home because they sit in very fertile recruiting grounds. UConn...not so much.

 

[Palatine]

UCF got the home and home because they sit in very fertile recruiting grounds. UConn...not so much.

UConn just had a home and home wth Maryland. How did we do it with such bad recruiting grounds?

 

[Afroabe224]

Again, just like coaching hires (Ollie, Cavanaugh, Diaco) I have faith in WM when it comes to scheduling. When it was released there was usual banter about how the 2014 schedule sucks but I think Warde did a great job with this year considering the OOC was bare a year and a half ago. Essentially we have 8 home games with GREAT brands from non p5 conferences. Would you really rather play Kansas over Boise or BYU??

Going forward I still have faith/expectation that WM will get us decent games at the Rent. The Illinois game is good step but I am interested to see what happens in near future:
2015: is Tennessee on? will we add a mediocre 7th home date or a high profile road one-off?
2016: Only UVA so far...

 

[sportsart]

UConn just had a home and home wth Maryland. How did we do it with such bad recruiting grounds?

Blind squirrel syndrome.

 

[sportsart]

Again, just like coaching hires (Ollie, Cavanaugh, Diaco) I have faith in WM when it comes to scheduling. When it was released there was usual banter about how the 2014 schedule sucks but I think Warde did a great job with this year considering the OOC was bare a year and a half ago. Essentially we have 8 home games with GREAT brands from non p5 conferences. Would you really rather play Kansas over Boise or BYU??

Going forward I still have faith/expectation that WM will get us decent games at the Rent. The Illinois game is good step but I am interested to see what happens in near future:
2015: is Tennessee on? will we add a mediocre 7th home date or a high profile road one-off?
2016: Only UVA so far...

I agree that WM will get us some decent home and homes. With teams trying to beef up their OOC schedule due to the playoffs I think we get scheduled more because we look like a "stronger win" in their eyes.

 

[Afroabe224]

I agree that WM will get us some decent home and homes. With teams trying to beef up their OOC schedule due to the playoffs I think we get scheduled more because we look like a "stronger win" in their eyes.

Yeah, I have always through the move away from FCS games will help the G5 schools even if everyone increases their conference schedule. My only concern is whether we can leverage good teams to E Hartford. I'm sure we could get top line opponents if we wanted to just do one offs but I would like to see WM package basketball and football to entice a bigger name school into a home and home (i.e. Michigan State)

 

[sportsart]

Yeah, I have always through the move away from FCS games will help the G5 schools even if everyone increases their conference schedule. My only concern is whether we can leverage good teams to E Hartford. I'm sure we could get top line opponents if we wanted to just do one offs but I would like to see WM package basketball and football to entice a bigger name school into a home and home (i.e. Michigan State)

We got bleachers baby!

 

[tduconn]

UCF has another thing going for it besides recruiting grounds. It has a program fans of P-5 conferences teams will want to watch. Even before the AAC, wins over Penn State, Baylor, and close game with U S Carolina, UCF as a C-USA team had signature wins over decent P-5 teams.

Right now I would guess that fans of good P-5 teams consider playing UConn in FB with the same enthusiasm UConn fans get over playing Buffalo and FCS teams. Basketball won't make the deal. There are plenty of good P-5 football teams also with brand name BB.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I think a series with Minnesota would be good. Middle of the pack B1G and I know a lot of people in CT who go to Minneapolis for work because of the strong presence of Travelers, ING, and United Healthcare in both Minneapolis and Hartford.

Also, cities with direct connections to Hartford may entice more fans to travel. Denver (U Colorado), Northwestern (Chicago), Vanderbilt (Nashville), and Georgia Tech (Atlanta) are all solid places to visit.

Of course, bigger names maybe interested, even if UConn has to offer a 2 for 1 deal, to have a game in the NYC/Boston corridor if they have a large alumni base in the region, like Michigan does. If’s a really big name, like ND, Texas, Ohio St, UConn has to at least consider a home game at Gillette and/or MetLife. Until UConn gets into a P5, the old play anyone, anywhere mentality is a must to keep UConn football on the front page.

Lastly, build on UConn’s basketball rivalries. If I remember right, UConn celebrated one of its men’s title at the Rent the following fall when Duke came to visit. UNC, Tennessee (I know), Florida, Michigan St, Stanford, etc. It would gain fan interest.

 

[Afroabe224]

Of course, bigger names maybe interested, even if UConn has to offer a 2 for 1 deal, to have a game in the NYC/Boston corridor if they have a large alumni base in the region, like Michigan does. .

WM refuses to do this as he should. As cool as it would be to play Texas we need to grow UConn football in CT and not reduce ourselves to 2 for 1s. I know beggars can't be choosers but we need to try to schedule like UCF and Cincy not Central Michigan (They actually have some big names coming to Mt. Pleasant Cuse/OkSt/Kansas/UNLV but all 2 for 1s). So ultimately scheduling is in a tight spot: we don't have the power to demand home & homes with big time teams but it is a dangerous road to get into a habit of 2-1s or road one offs. I don't envy the task but I am really happy with what has WM has done so far (keeping UM at the Rent, BYU, Boise, a sweet NYC/Army deal, Illinois). I am interested to see what else he can pull off and if he can get the Vols to actually come to CT.

Minnesota would be great but in addition to my top-end B1G fantasies (MSU,OSU,PSU,UM) I would love to see a 2-1 with UMass to replace our FCS game and go on the "road" to Gillette.

 

[metsfan2323]

UCF has another thing going for it besides recruiting grounds. It has a program fans of P-5 conferences teams will want to watch. Even before the AAC, wins over Penn State, Baylor, and close game with U S Carolina, UCF as a C-USA team had signature wins over decent P-5 teams.

Right now I would guess that fans of good P-5 teams consider playing UConn in FB with the same enthusiasm UConn fans get over playing Buffalo and FCS teams. Basketball won't make the deal. There are plenty of good P-5 football teams also with brand name BB.

This. Getting back to winning football will make scheduling much easier. UCF is way ahead of us at the moment.

 

[sportsart]

You guys really think that P5 teams take into consideration what their fans or fans of their conference want to watch when they schedule OOC games?

Um...ok.

Edit: If you are talking about their home games...maybe...TV not a chance. Even their home games...they would get a better draw for UConn than they would for Stoney Brook or Buffalo.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This. Getting back to winning football will make scheduling much easier. UCF is way ahead of us at the moment.

UCF has another advantage (at least as it pertains to the Maryland series), for two and a half decades Maryland was able to tell a Florida recruit that during his time at school (if he chose UMD) he would play in the state of Florida at least twice. As a member of the B1G (which they will be in a few months) there will no longer be any automatic games in the state of Florida.