UConn’s plan for cutting $10 million from its athletic budget will be presented Friday and could shape the department for years to come (Amore)

[huskymedic]

From the Mike Anthony Football article posted in its own thread:

>>All options, best as I understand, include cutting at least four sports, asking the university to assign a reduced price tag to scholarships, taking measures to reduce operating expenses and perhaps riding recent fundraising success to the preservation of some sports that otherwise would have been axed.<<

 

[gtcam]

Men’s hockey has ECAC affiliation?

My Bad
Hockey East

 

[CL82]

All options, best as I understand, include cutting at least four sports, asking the university to assign a reduced price tag to scholarships, taking measures to reduce operating expenses and perhaps riding recent fundraising success to the preservation of some sports that otherwise would have been axed.

Hmm seems like Dave has been reading the Boneyard.

Reducing the way the scholarship cost is listed makes a lot of sense. That is essentially an intra-company accounting figure. Likewise "reducing operation expenses" may include restructuring the cost of the use of the XL and the Rent, which I have long argued for on the board. Our above market lease rates masks the CDRA's inability to run those venues efficiently and makes the athletic department losses look worse then they are. Personally, I like Auriemma's suggestion that UConn and the CDRA split the profits of having UConn play in Hartford rather than having UConn lease the venue.

 

[Dooooooomed]

 

[ThabeetDown]

It really is a shame that sports may be cut. But the reality is UConn can't financially field 24 teams -- the fact that almost every P5 team is in the 18-20 range on average is a sign that we have been punching above our weight even when we had ~P5 cash.

Again, it's an unfair reality especially to current and former student-athletes that will be impacted, but it's adapt or die. It just dumbfounds me that critics (like the hack Forde) don't understand how most P5 teams field fewer varsity teams than UConn, yet when a team above the average cuts they get criticized. HUGE double standard if you ask me.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

I don't know the math on the scholarships saved, but my ideal would be to get rid of the following sports but add men's lacrosse. I do have an unbalanced number of men's sports being dropped with golf being the extra one for the men.

Men (5):X Country, Golf, Swimming & Diving, Tennis and Track & Field
Women (4): X Country, Swimming & Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Besides CT being a good area for lacrosse. I think it helps extend UConn's reach into Fairfield county where I believe some good lacrosse is being played and we could use some positive press. I feel like we just don't quite connect with that corner of the state. Might help our resume as well, if we make the right hire.

 

[freescooter]

Nationwide the average salary of a women’s college basketball coach is under $100,000. Geno must be getting close to retirement age. And we will likely pay at the high end it will be well below the $3 million or so he is getting. I would guess that program alone is paying top dollar for everyone from head coach to video operator.

Average salary in the AAC is on the high side but only Geno is over $500,000. I get he is the best but maybe we overpay a bit. There are 8 paid over $1 million and all are in P5 leagues but he alone exceeds $2 million. Typical assistant coaches earn $50,000 range. Our average is almost $80’000.

 

[hardcorehusky]

One of the areas the university needs to revisit is the revenue side - sponsorships. For example, Gampel Pavilion needs to be revisited because the amount of money the university received for it should have been for 1 year maybe- not 30 years. These are quick boosts to the bottom line that can help from year to year.

 

[huskymedic]

Alternate access link here

 

[Robo03]

I don't know the math on the scholarships saved, but my ideal would be to get rid of the following sports but add men's lacrosse. I do have an unbalanced number of men's sports being dropped with golf being the extra one for the men.

Men (5):X Country, Golf, Swimming & Diving, Tennis and Track & Field
Women (4): X Country, Swimming & Diving, Tennis and Track & Field

Besides CT being a good area for lacrosse. I think it helps extend UConn's reach into Fairfield county where I believe some good lacrosse is being played and we could use some positive press. I feel like we just don't quite connect with that corner of the state. Might help our resume as well, if we make the right hire.

Being from a prominent Hartford County lacrosse town it pains me Admit this, but Fairfield County is easily a top 5 lacrosse area in the country. With Darien consistently in the running for the best team in the country and easily the best public school in the country.
UConn would very easily and quickly become a good lacrosse program with the right hire as the head coach (Pressler would be my suggestion from Bryant or Shea from Yale). Big East has good lacrosse too, plus all the Ivy teams. Travel cost would be low. You also have a new facility to play in with the on campus soccer venue. And men’s lacrosse is only awarded 16.5(?) scholarships per team.

 

[Briuconn]

Being from a prominent Hartford County lacrosse town it pains me Admit this, but Fairfield County is easily a top 5 lacrosse area in the country. With Darien consistently in the running for the best team in the country and easily the best public school in the country.
UConn would very easily and quickly become a good lacrosse program with the right hire as the head coach (Pressler would be my suggestion from Bryant or Shea from Yale). Big East has good lacrosse too, plus all the Ivy teams. Travel cost would be low. You also have a new facility to play in with the on campus soccer venue. And men’s lacrosse is only awarded 16.5(?) scholarships per team.

Yes, Lacrosse at UConn would be successful quickly. I am in the western side of New Haven County, and I have sent my son to play for Fairfield County/Westchester Club teams & soon HS. Overall, its just another level of play and commitment. For Mens Lax Schollies it is 12.5 for Division 1.

 

[freescooter]

Lacrosse would be Hockey without the attendance. I hear this all the time but when I ask when the last time all these lax fans went to a game not involving their kid they look at me like I have 3 heads.

 

[Robo03]

Even though it is the fastest growing sport in the country and very popular in CT it is still kind of a niche sport. I started playing in 3rd grade and have coached for close to 15 years. The problem with attendance is everyone that would go is also playing, watching their kids, coaching or officiating games. It’s an awesome game and great on TV.
just look at the attendance to the NCAA tournament games, outside of the big 3 no other sport draws more people.
I have zero faith that UConn will ever start a men’s lacrosse team, but they should.

 

[freescooter]

When the drop hockey and start lacrosse discussion started a few years ago I looked at lax attendance. Atlantic Hockey UConn outdrew almost every New England Lax program except UMass which had just gone to the NCAA title game. Attendance is basically.friends and family. I mean who else is going to sit outside in February to watch an unwatchable sport. And as to being succrssful quickly the UConn hockey East analogy fits I think. It is likely to take 5-10 years to build a significant program. If you are being recruited by Hopkins or Syracuse or Duke and UConn and you are a serious player you aren’t going to UConn. It has taken the Huskies 5 years to get to where kids don’t laugh when they are being recruited by BC or BU or Providence and Cav calls. Lax would have a comparable problem.

 

[husky8273]

Even though it is the fastest growing sport in the country and very popular in CT it is still kind of a niche sport. I started playing in 3rd grade and have coached for close to 15 years. The problem with attendance is everyone that would go is also playing, watching their kids, coaching or officiating games. It’s an awesome game and great on TV.
just look at the attendance to the NCAA tournament games, outside of the big 3 no other sport draws more people.
I have zero faith that UConn will ever start a men’s lacrosse team, but they should.

The irony in this is the 2021 and 2022 NCAA men's lax championships are at Rentschler Field hosted by Fairfield U.

 

[Adios]

Lacrosse would be Hockey without the attendance. I hear this all the time but when I ask when the last time all these lax fans went to a game not involving their kid they look at me like I have 3 heads.

Yale has solid attendance numbers for lacrosse.

 

[Adios]

When the drop hockey and start lacrosse discussion started a few years ago I looked at lax attendance. Atlantic Hockey UConn outdrew almost every New England Lax program except UMass which had just gone to the NCAA title game. Attendance is basically.friends and family. I mean who else is going to sit outside in February to watch an unwatchable sport. And as to being succrssful quickly the UConn hockey East analogy fits I think. It is likely to take 5-10 years to build a significant program. If you are being recruited by Hopkins or Syracuse or Duke and UConn and you are a serious player you aren’t going to UConn. It has taken the Huskies 5 years to get to where kids don’t laugh when they are being recruited by BC or BU or Providence and Cav calls. Lax would have a comparable problem.

If we hire the right head coach, the lacrosse program would be fine. Just don't hire freaking assistants. Can't we believe we wasted so much hiring freaking washed up coaches or assistants.

 

[ZooCougar]

Let’s go all in on sailing.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Let’s go all in on sailing.

Sailing like lacrosse is very popular in CT and New England. Yale, Coast Guard and Conn College are elite programs. I am convinced with just a small amount of money UConn could go from upper mid-level to elite status very quickly. I could even see us winning a national championship soon. I would not cut out any sports, and add men's varsity lacrosse.

 

[buddy]

I hope they don't cut Polo. It won a national championship.

 

[husky8273]

I hope they don't cut Polo. It won a national championship.

not funded by the AD

 

[Ldandy]

Sailing like lacrosse is very popular in CT and New England. Yale, Coast Guard and Conn College are elite programs. I am convinced with just a small amount of money UConn could go from upper mid-level to elite status very quickly. I could even see us winning a national championship soon. I would not cut out any sports, and add men's varsity lacrosse.

I never advocate cutting sports because I believe that there is value for a university in being represented by a wide array of programs. That said Sailing could win the next 100 national championships and still be a drain on the athletic department.

When you see schools with near unlimited resources like Texas hosting 18 Teams, you need to make hard choices if you are a school hosting 20+ Teams and running a multi million dollar deficit.

At some point you have to slow the bleeding. UConn should be in the range of the P5 Schools that are hosting 16-18 sports. It sucks for the kids whose scholarships would be cut, but you can’t run in the red forever with no chance to chip away.

 

[WrenchFan69]

Sailing like lacrosse is very popular in CT and New England. Yale, Coast Guard and Conn College are elite programs. I am convinced with just a small amount of money UConn could go from upper mid-level to elite status very quickly. I could even see us winning a national championship soon. I would not cut out any sports, and add men's varsity lacrosse.

Conn College is not an elite program even at the D3 level. Are you thinking Wesleyan perhaps? They won the D3 title 2 years ago

 

[LoyalFanCT]

Connecticut College was ranked 14th in the US for coed sailing last fall.

ICSA | Inter-collegiate Sailing Association

collegesailing.org

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I hope they don't cut Polo. It won a national championship.

UConn's polo team won several national titles. The team captured the men’s National Intercollegiate Polo Championships in 1972, 1973, and 1974 as well as the women’s National Intercollegiate Polo Championships in 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2005. The men’s teams of 1982 and 84 were Reserve National Intercollegiate Polo Champions.