UConn is ...

[Pudge]

(most of you would fill that blank in with ... screwed )

But in the everlasting punchy words of the near-great Rock Star - Warde Manual, I would say that we remain: "UConn is a Program with a great future."

This I believe:

* I believe, contrary to bleating & whining from freescooter (and my friend Bill) that we are going to see Kevin Ollie's taking the baton from Jim Calhoun to be far more successful than Boeheim-begat-Hopkins or K-begat-Stevie (polishname)/ChrisCollins. Ollie, to my eyes on the landscape, will pull the needed recruits. He has a sense of what the formula needs to be for UConn hoop success.
* I believe we think Small. Rutgers went balls to the wall & expanded their Stadium with crazy financial gimmicks while cutting sports; Louisville built another 15000 seats during Kragthorpe. People? What do you think that was about? I believe we have a long way to go in this Football. Stop this whining, bleating, crying. You who thought we never should have upgraded ... there's a Naugatuck graveyard for you.
* I believe, B1G & ACC, always misses the importance of our Women's BB program. I know its about football; but, you can't trash Title IX forever. These conferences are going to wake up with a headache & BRAND name Women's programs are valuable.
* I believe we have had crappy marketing for a decade. I don't see Warde Manual improving it. IF ... we can pull together our Fanbase in Hoop (we have drifted dramatically from our best days) & build the Football (as ... ooops ... Rutgers did), we can easily be a Fanbase 150% of what we are today. Syracuse nor Rutgers nor Pitt nor BC can say that. We are basically 15 years old as a Major Player in Bigtime. I think we are underachieving. I don't know if Warde can lead the way. Hathaway was awful.
* Really? Paul Pasqualoni? Get him Andy Baylock or Dee Rowe's job. We need an energizer bunny as a Football coach who SCORES in second half. Edsall, as we are learning, was great for a building Program. We gave it to a caretaker ... who proceeded to stick us in an Assisted Living facility. Offense. Don Brown Defense. It is not that tough to build the Program. PP won't. I don't know if Warde can lead the way.
* Olympic Sports? I saw Louisville promoting this. C'mon. We are a Program of Excellence. It's the highly ranked MSoccer, WomensBB, Baseball, etc. Somebody did something right ... before Hathaway.
* NONE NONE ... of the ACC moves make sense. ALL of the B1G call to my sense of markets. I agree with the Post where they asked why the ACC were taking Privates & second-in-state poorer academic schools: ESPN. Names (in fact - 40 year old Names) like Flutie, Scwartzwalder, Jimmy Brown, Denny Crum seemed to matter. Football has been solid longer. But the GOR & markets doesn't sing Syracuse. It's Central New York, for cripes sake; Life Companies & Banks won't do Commercial mortgages there. UConn has a market that can be built & grow from there. We are not near what we could be. Only the growing Sunbelt markets can say that. (YES ... schools like San Diego St., USF, etc). What is Pitt or SU gonna do? Is Louisville gonna penetrate Central or Western KY more or pick up Indiana fans?

Sad day. I believe in Herbst (as contrasted with her predecessors & other peers). Warde? I dunno.

 

[ZooCougar]

Re: Warde.

Yes you do. Just say it.

 

[8893]

...an embarrassment.

And I have never felt that way until today.

 

[businesslawyer]

(most of you would fill that blank in with ... screwed )

But in the everlasting punchy words of the near-great Rock Star - Warde Manual, I would say that we remain: "UConn is a Program with a great future."

This I believe:

* I believe, contrary to bleating & whining from freescooter (and my friend Bill) that we are going to see Kevin Ollie's taking the baton from Jim Calhoun to be far more successful than Boeheim-begat-Hopkins or K-begat-Stevie (polishname)/ChrisCollins. Ollie, to my eyes on the landscape, will pull the needed recruits. He has a sense of what the formula needs to be for UConn hoop success.
* I believe we think Small. Rutgers went balls to the wall & expanded their Stadium with crazy financial gimmicks while cutting sports; Louisville built another 15000 seats during Kragthorpe. People? What do you think that was about? I believe we have a long way to go in this Football. Stop this whining, bleating, crying. You who thought we never should have upgraded ... there's a Naugatuck graveyard for you.
* I believe, B1G & ACC, always misses the importance of our Women's BB program. I know its about football; but, you can't trash Title IX forever. These conferences are going to wake up with a headache & BRAND name Women's programs are valuable.
* I believe we have had crappy marketing for a decade. I don't see Warde Manual improving it. IF ... we can pull together our Fanbase in Hoop (we have drifted dramatically from our best days) & build the Football (as ... ooops ... Rutgers did), we can easily be a Fanbase 150% of what we are today. Syracuse nor Rutgers nor Pitt nor BC can say that. We are basically 15 years old as a Major Player in Bigtime. I think we are underachieving. I don't know if Warde can lead the way. Hathaway was awful.
* Really? Paul Pasqualoni? Get him Andy Baylock or Dee Rowe's job. We need an energizer bunny as a Football coach who SCORES in second half. Edsall, as we are learning, was great for a building Program. We gave it to a caretaker ... who proceeded to stick us in an Assisted Living facility. Offense. Don Brown Defense. It is not that tough to build the Program. PP won't. I don't know if Warde can lead the way.
* Olympic Sports? I saw Louisville promoting this. C'mon. We are a Program of Excellence. It's the highly ranked MSoccer, WomensBB, Baseball, etc. Somebody did something right ... before Hathaway.
* NONE NONE ... of the ACC moves make sense. ALL of the B1G call to my sense of markets. I agree with the Post where they asked why the ACC were taking Privates & second-in-state poorer academic schools: ESPN. Names (in fact - 40 year old Names) like Flutie, Scwartzwalder, Jimmy Brown, Denny Crum seemed to matter. Football has been solid longer. But the GOR & markets doesn't sing Syracuse. It's Central New York, for cripes sake; Life Companies & Banks won't do Commercial mortgages there. UConn has a market that can be built & grow from there. We are not near what we could be. Only the growing Sunbelt markets can say that. (YES ... schools like San Diego St., USF, etc). What is Pitt or SU gonna do? Is Louisville gonna penetrate Central or Western KY more or pick up Indiana fans?

Sad day. I believe in Herbst (as contrasted with her predecessors & other peers). Warde? I dunno.

Of everything you have said, someone is going to have to explain to me why no one in Congress has started screaming Title IX at schools acting in concert with the effect (if not the purpose) of harming the nation's most important female athletic program. And don't tell me because there states have universities with football teams. There are a lot of congressmen who care much more about Title IX than they do about college football. Votes or no votes.

Again, I just fear we have failed to deal the right cards to the right players.

 

[noeynox]

Love the optimism. But Herbst, she hired Warde. That, so far, looks as bad as Hathaway hiring Pasqualoni. We got caught with our pants around our ankles here. Like I said in another thread, we love UConn. We're going to keep going to the games. You don't have to convince us. You have to convince and sell the average/casual fan. That is where our lack of marketing and lack of fan freindliness kills us.

Let me give you a small example of what I'm talking about. The ticket office up my season tickets this year. The sold my seats to someone else, and I ended up two rows back as the best they could do. I've had the same seats since year two of the rent. Instead of my usual preferred seats, they sent me reserved seats. The two casual fans that buy seats with me were irate. So much so that they may not renew. These guys are casual fans that ARE NOT BONEYARDERS. They are there for the game. One of them knows NOTHING about conference realignment. The other, thought "were headed right with SU/Pitt", out of the big east last year, and this year was excited about SMU/Houston etc., and "didn't know" if he still wanted the ACC this year.

I sent Warde Manual an email about the ticket office and he put me in contact with Kyle Kravchuck. Very nice guy, but I got no where. No comped seats, just a call back next year and if the people in your section don't renew you'll get your seats back.

I'm getting my season tickets, but they may have just lost two casual fans though I'm going to try like hell to sell them. I know this is petty, and small scale and maybe out of context, and maybe this happens everywhere, I dont know. I just know that I don't have the same faith as you do in our administration doing the right thing, when it comes to its sports and its fans..

 

[CAHUSKY]

A mid-major

 

[RoderickSpode]

UMass

 

[pepband99]

UConn is the University of Houston, at the time of the SWC breakup. National success in basketball, reasonable success in football, and about to die on the vine, unless something changes.

 

[Dove]

UConn thought small when the Golden Age of hoops was upon them...and they built a 9,000 seat hoops gym. It wasn't long after that people regretted that smallness. Now they need a separate practice facility.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

UConn is the University of Houston, at the time of the SWC breakup. National success in basketball, reasonable success in football, and about to die on the vine, unless something changes.

Great comparison. So correct.

 

[Pudge]

Great comparison. So correct.

I don't believe that for a second.

UConn is a strong flagship State U. With a great improvement in academic stature over the last 20 years. This stuff is not going to lock us out like Houston. (a small secondary Texas public)

I agree with BL. We have not fought the right fight & hit the right sale points. We, I believe, got burnt by being the University that cried too loudly in 2003. But, Blumenthal & all that stuff needs to be part of this. You just let Florida State's fears rule the day at ACC ... and you are screwing Women's sports in all this. As we saw with the B1G, there are a whole lot of different markers from a stable conference. Our MARKET; Our DEMOGRAPHICS ... trump Pitt & Louisville & SU & BA. ACC, with ESPN singing, went for Branding. F--- em. They have ND now & that's a curse.

 

[Pudge]

Love the optimism. But Herbst, she hired Warde. That, so far, looks as bad as Hathaway hiring Pasqualoni. We got caught with our pants around our ankles here. Like I said in another thread, we love UConn. We're going to keep going to the games. You don't have to convince us. You have to convince and sell the average/casual fan. That is where our lack of marketing and lack of fan freindliness kills us.

Let me give you a small example of what I'm talking about. The ticket office ****ed up my season tickets this year. The sold my seats to someone else, and I ended up two rows back as the best they could do. I've had the same seats since year two of the rent. Instead of my usual preferred seats, they sent me reserved seats. The two casual fans that buy seats with me were irate. So much so that they may not renew. These guys are casual fans that ARE NOT BONEYARDERS. They are there for the game. One of them knows NOTHING about conference realignment. The other, thought "were headed right with SU/Pitt", out of the big east last year, and this year was excited about SMU/Houston etc., and "didn't know" if he still wanted the ACC this year.

I sent Warde Manual an email about the ticket office and he put me in contact with Kyle Kravchuck. Very nice guy, but I got no where. No comped seats, just a call back next year and if the people in your section don't renew you'll get your seats back.

I'm getting my season tickets, but they may have just lost two casual fans though I'm going to try like hell to sell them. I know this is petty, and small scale and maybe out of context, and maybe this happens everywhere, I dont know. I just know that I don't have the same faith as you do in our administration doing the right thing, when it comes to its sports and its fans..

WTF?

Why should we care about your ticket snafu? We don't know timing/gifting/variables. 2 rows back & your gonna punt?

 

[zls44]

WTF?

Why should we care about your ticket snafu? We don't know timing/gifting/variables. 2 rows back & your gonna punt?

This is the type of mentality within the AD that is part of why they are bleeding tickets.

"Who cares, it's just two tickets!"

 

[noeynox]

Clearly not gonna punt. Your right, they didn't give a duck and it showed. It showed again when they said on their hands while they got out maneuvered. They have a pattern of not giving duck, and hoping everything turns out all right in the long run. No worries. Sue's got this. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[freescooter]

Pudge,

today is not the time to be pumping sunshine up anyone's . All that stuff about Pitt an dsyracuse and Womens athletics may be true, but guess what? Louisville, Syracuse & Pitt are going to the ACC while UConn is left playing SMU, Houston and Tulane. Running out of fights to fight, by the way...

 

[noeynox]

This is the type of mentality within the AD that is part of why they are bleeding tickets.

"Who cares, it's just two tickets!"

Except its not two tickets. I get four, one other guy gets three and the other two. Very small scale I know, but hey, who gives a duck.

 

[pj]

Of everything you have said, someone is going to have to explain to me why no one in Congress has started screaming Title IX at schools acting in concert with the effect (if not the purpose) of harming the nation's most important female athletic program. And don't tell me because there states have universities with football teams. There are a lot of congressmen who care much more about Title IX than they do about college football. Votes or no votes.

I don't get this at all. Even if they care deeply about women's athletics, which I question, why would Congresspeople from states other than Connecticut care specifically about UConn women's athletics? Their home state universities will tell them, "The gazillions of dollars we are getting from these football contracts will be funding all our sports programs, male and female. If you mess with our TV and conference deals, our women's programs will be defunded."

 

[8893]

I don't believe that for a second.

UConn is a strong flagship State U. With a great improvement in academic stature over the last 20 years. This stuff is not going to lock us out like Houston. (a small secondary Texas public)

I agree with BL. We have not fought the right fight & hit the right sale points. We, I believe, got burnt by being the University that cried too loudly in 2003. But, Blumenthal & all that stuff needs to be part of this. You just let Florida State's fears rule the day at ACC ... and you are screwing Women's sports in all this. As we saw with the B1G, there are a whole lot of different markers from a stable conference. Our MARKET; Our DEMOGRAPHICS ... trump Pitt & Louisville & SU & BA. ACC, with ESPN singing, went for Branding. F--- em. They have ND now & that's a curse.

Pudge, I love the fight, but it's over. It's too late for a sale because there are no more buyers. We had one shot, the ACC, and they just passed us over because they know we have no other options. They will take one more school at some point. Based on the criteria they cited for admitting Louisville, there is no reason to believe that we will be that last school invited. It now appears that Cincy and USF would have a better shot than we do.

 

[uconndogs]

Pudge,

today is not the time to be pumping sunshine up anyone's .

Ever been accused of that before Pudge? I'm guessing no........

 

[noeynox]

Pudge, I love the fight, but it's over. It's too late for a sale because there are no more buyers. We had one shot, the ACC, and they just passed us over because they know we have no other options. They will take one more school at some point. Based on the criteria they cited for admitting Louisville, there is no reason to believe that we will be that last school invited. It now appears that Cincy and USF would have a better shot than we do.

This I refuse to believe, but I guess time will tell.

 

[Pudge]

freescooter ... get back in your hole. Shaka ain't coming.

I am more concerned with a Fanbase that got to 32,000 Season Ticket seats easily ... and now is at 23,something. What was that? It was Hathaway. And sure ... your two ticket problem is across the board in every damn section. I get that & have 3 anecdotal stories. MY POINT: it was easy to get that stadium filled - with not a big effort (frankly). Game day experience? Improving all the time. The tailgating is getting better. But ... there is NO marketing that I see & no solid strategy to improve. Thus, you get these woeful stories. So ... is that endemic? Sure.

How do we shake this up? Obviously (with Zoo Cougar), I don't think Warde Manual has given any evidence that he understands the problem. And Louisville? Tom Jurich will eat our lunch in most everything NOT involving Jim Calhoun or Geno. He is way quicker.

I am as disappointed as any. But it ain't over. And, we aren't at the Southwest Conference collapse day. We are a Valuable Asset. Just wish we had some semblance that someone can direct us to a new day.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't get this at all. Even if they care deeply about women's athletics, which I question, why would Congresspeople from states other than Connecticut care specifically about UConn women's athletics? Their home state universities will tell them, "The gazillions of dollars we are getting from these football contracts will be funding all our sports programs, male and female. If you mess with our TV and conference deals, our women's programs will be defunded."

Because when the AAU young girl from California is sitting by the water cooler at nationals in Orlando next to the young woman from Arkansas, their common ground to discuss hoops, and ultimately push themselves and each other to be better, is only going to be the players and teams that have national appeal. Without UConn, all women's hoops is is a mandated expenditure so states can play football.

 

[noeynox]

If that problem is across the board as you say, pudge, then you have part of your problem in why your losing fans/season tickets. Us diehards, we deal with it, happens. The casual fan feels disrespected, let down, and says duck UConn they're small time anyway. I know I know, that is not the type of fan we need blah blah. Sorry for interjecting my personal experience into your thread of why every thing is going to be just fine going forward.

 

[CL82]

Sad day. I believe in Herbst (as contrasted with her predecessors & other peers). Warde? I dunno.

+1

 

[uconndogs]

Of everything you have said, someone is going to have to explain to me why no one in Congress has started screaming Title IX at schools acting in concert with the effect (if not the purpose) of harming the nation's most important female athletic program. And don't tell me because there states have universities with football teams. There are a lot of congressmen who care much more about Title IX than they do about college football. Votes or no votes.

Again, I just fear we have failed to deal the right cards to the right players.

Title IX, I don't know. But, the anti-competitive and collusive (is that a word?) nature of all this is astounding. And you can call these non-profits, but we all know that is total bull .