UConn President Says No Plans To Lobby Big 12

[ASweet3781]

Part of "selling yourself" is on us too. Remember all of those passionate pleas to buy tickets, donate and 5K Donor Drive? They are all coming home to roost now.

There is not a school in CR more unfairly maligned, misrepresented, diminished, undervalued, and even smeared by national sports writers than UConn. These aren't guys living in their basement in West Virginia talking to their imaginary friend I am talking about. Guys who write for ESPN, CBS Sportline, Sports Illustrated, and many of the publications in the hometowns of Big 12 schools and schools we are competing for the invitations. The amount of lies and untruths about us are simply overwhelming. They misrepresent our tv market, our value, our athletic budget, our football program, it is endless. And it's not like any of it is justified based on the facts. It's not like its all not easily correctable. And on top of all that, they write articles overselling our competition. Just last week McMurphy spins that 0-12 UCF is turning around just at the right time for the Big 12 while Pete Thamel spins that the Big 12 would be dumb not to take Houston.

That's what we are up against. And it's not like we should be shocked because it happened to us in the battle for the ACC against Louisville. The same stuff happened than.

Literally the only people I see trying to combat this online are you Dooley, a couple of other brave souls on twitter, and the occasional article from Jacobs/Dimauro before they go back covering golf or minor league baseball. Just yesterday you were trying to correct to a Colorado radio host who was misstating (or outright lying about) several facts about us. Why doesn't UConn do this? It's out there daily. They have twitter accounts. A nice tweak fact check here and there would at least give us fans some solace that we are at least not going to take it sitting down. It helps morale more than anything. It can't all be on "us" like you said. You can't answer every smear but UConn answers none of it. And than we get these Herbst quotes and it just is really tough to swallow.

I mean for starters can we at least push back on the notion being GREAT at basketball and Olympic sports is a BAD thing? Our basketball success is constantly used now to diminish us. Well how do these guys think we got to the point where our football team made 5 straight bowls, won 2 conference titles, and made a BCS despite being D1 for 5 seconds? Because being surrounded by success breeds more. Our strong athletic program is a strength and is a big reason why with a good coach out football program will be rock solid. Just look at what UNC and Duke are doing in football now that they are really taking it seriously.

I think that's why a lot of us are so demoralized by some of those Herbst quotes. And than we have to listen to the excuse makers using location already as the reason (You see where Utah is on the map?) Time is running out. Spots in the P5 are filling up. Perhaps there is nothing that can be done and we are fighting an uphill battle. But you can't say UConn is going down guns blazing because we are not. We have the most unfair negative national perception of any highly successful athletic program I have ever seen. Quite frankly I think a lot of it stems from regional bigotry, a lot of good ole southern boys don't like acknowledging any success from a Yankee school. But UConn doesn't put up any fight against it. Perhaps it wouldn't make a difference here. But I sure would prefer missing out on the Big 12 feeling the school did everything possible than missing out knowing we didn't.

I hope those placing their faith in Herbst are rewarded in the end because it will be good for us all if she is handling this well behind the scenes. But there is a strong case to be made for UConn and I don't see it being made well from the school's end. Hence the negative reaction to the Courant article. Some of us feel we are out here fighting alone. And of course it will be the fans blamed for why we didn't make it when there's 20k on a Friday night game for ECU or SMU.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I don't know much about being attractive in conference alignment, but I know a bit about manipulating people into being interested in you and since it's human psychology, I would assume it carries over. If you walk up to a hot girl and tell her how much you like her and that you want to date her, maybe you are sexy as hell and they say yes, but 99 percent of the time you don't stand much of a chance. However, if you can manage to get her attention while slightly insulting her and acting disinterested, her instincts kick in and she becomes interested all of a sudden.

Peak Boneyard.

 

[amory]

There is not a school in CR more unfairly maligned, misrepresented, diminished, undervalued, and even smeared by national sports writers than UConn. These aren't guys living in their basement in West Virginia talking to their imaginary friend I am talking about. Guys who write for ESPN, CBS Sportline, Sports Illustrated, and many of the publications in the hometowns of Big 12 schools and schools we are competing for the invitations. The amount of lies and untruths about us are simply overwhelming. They misrepresent our tv market, our value, our athletic budget, our football program, it is endless. And it's not like any of it is justified based on the facts. It's not like its all not easily correctable. And on top of all that, they write articles overselling our competition. Just last week McMurphy spins that 0-12 UCF is turning around just at the right time for the Big 12 while Pete Thamel spins that the Big 12 would be dumb not to take Houston.

That's what we are up against. And it's not like we should be shocked because it happened to us in the battle for the ACC against Louisville. The same stuff happened than.

Literally the only people I see trying to combat this online are you Dooley, a couple of other brave souls on twitter, and the occasional article from Jacobs/Dimauro before they go back covering golf or minor league baseball. Just yesterday you were trying to correct to a Colorado radio host who was misstating (or outright lying about) several facts about us. Why doesn't UConn do this? It's out there daily. They have twitter accounts. A nice tweak fact check here and there would at least give us fans some solace that we are at least not going to take it sitting down. It helps morale more than anything. It can't all be on "us" like you said. You can't answer every smear but UConn answers none of it. And than we get these Herbst quotes and it just is really tough to swallow.

I think that's why a lot of us are so demoralized by some of those Herbst quotes. And than we have to listen to the excuse makers using location already as the reason (You see where Utah is on the map?) Time is running out. Spots in the P5 are filling up. Perhaps there is nothing that can be done and we are fighting an uphill battle. But you can't say UConn is going down guns blazing because we are not. We have the most unfair negative national perception of any highly successful athletic program I have ever seen. Quite frankly I think a lot of it stems from regional bigotry, a lot of good ole southern boys don't like acknowledging any success from a Yankee school. But UConn doesn't put up any fight against it. Perhaps it wouldn't make a difference here. But I sure would prefer missing out on the Big 12 feeling the school did everything possible than missing out knowing we didn't.

I hope those placing their faith in Herbst are rewarded in the end because it will be good for us all if she is handling this well behind the scenes. But there is a strong case to be made for UConn and I don't see it being made well from the school's end. Hence the negative reaction to the Courant article. Some of us feel we are out here fighting alone. And of course it will be the fans blamed for why we didn't make it when there's 20k on a Friday night game for ECU or SMU.

Hey cmon, this is supposed to be fun!

Guys lets just try to have a little fun while we contemplate not being able to take our kids to see a meaningful UConn game

 

[whaler11]

She is a university president speaking about sports. You have to excuse her if she doesn't sound like Vince Lombardi.

And if Memphis leaves ahead of us it will have nothing to do with any winners win speech and 1000% to do with FedEx's wallet.

I'm pretty sure it's not too much to ask of someone at her level to memorize 4 paragraphs of talking points that aren't begging but are better than the nonsense we get.

 

[MattMang23]

Peak Boneyard.

Only thing that would have made that more Boneyardish would have been a cameo by Senhor somewhere.

 

[whaler11]

There is not a school in CR more unfairly maligned, misrepresented, diminished, undervalued, and even smeared by national sports writers than UConn. These aren't guys living in their basement in West Virginia talking to their imaginary friend I am talking about. Guys who write for ESPN, CBS Sportline, Sports Illustrated, and many of the publications in the hometowns of Big 12 schools and schools we are competing for the invitations. The amount of lies and untruths about us are simply overwhelming. They misrepresent our tv market, our value, our athletic budget, our football program, it is endless. And it's not like any of it is justified based on the facts. It's not like its all not easily correctable. And on top of all that, they write articles overselling our competition. Just last week McMurphy spins that 0-12 UCF is turning around just at the right time for the Big 12 while Pete Thamel spins that the Big 12 would be dumb not to take Houston.

That's what we are up against. And it's not like we should be shocked because it happened to us in the battle for the ACC against Louisville. The same stuff happened than.

Literally the only people I see trying to combat this online are you Dooley, a couple of other brave souls on twitter, and the occasional article from Jacobs/Dimauro before they go back covering golf or minor league baseball. Just yesterday you were trying to correct to a Colorado radio host who was misstating (or outright lying about) several facts about us. Why doesn't UConn do this? It's out there daily. They have twitter accounts. A nice tweak fact check here and there would at least give us fans some solace that we are at least not going to take it sitting down. It helps morale more than anything. It can't all be on "us" like you said. You can't answer every smear but UConn answers none of it. And than we get these Herbst quotes and it just is really tough to swallow.

I mean for starters can we at least push back on the notion being GREAT at basketball and Olympic sports is a BAD thing? Our basketball success is constantly used now to diminish us. Well how do these guys think we got to the point where our football team made 5 straight bowls, won 2 conference titles, and made a BCS despite being D1 for 5 seconds? Because being surrounded by success breeds more. Our strong athletic program is a strength and is a big reason why with a good coach out football program will be rock solid.

I think that's why a lot of us are so demoralized by some of those Herbst quotes. And than we have to listen to the excuse makers using location already as the reason (You see where Utah is on the map?) Time is running out. Spots in the P5 are filling up. Perhaps there is nothing that can be done and we are fighting an uphill battle. But you can't say UConn is going down guns blazing because we are not. We have the most unfair negative national perception of any highly successful athletic program I have ever seen. Quite frankly I think a lot of it stems from regional bigotry, a lot of good ole southern boys don't like acknowledging any success from a Yankee school. But UConn doesn't put up any fight against it. Perhaps it wouldn't make a difference here. But I sure would prefer missing out on the Big 12 feeling the school did everything possible than missing out knowing we didn't.

I hope those placing their faith in Herbst are rewarded in the end because it will be good for us all if she is handling this well behind the scenes. But there is a strong case to be made for UConn and I don't see it being made well from the school's end. Hence the negative reaction to the Courant article. Some of us feel we are out here fighting alone. And of course it will be the fans blamed for why we didn't make it when there's 20k on a Friday night game for ECU or SMU.

This is a school that has sports information directors that have such ridiculous assignments it actually makes me laugh. It's an absolute embarrassment that they haven't spent every day since Louisville went to the ACC carpet bombing every traditional and non-traditional media outlet with data and facts.

Their approach is what it is for a reason. They don't want to put themselves on the line - because then more people would hold them responsible if they are unsuccessful.

It's much easier to do nothing - make vague references to success and then shrug when things go south.

 

[FartMan69]

This is the liveliest funeral I've ever been to

 

[sportsart]

This is the liveliest funeral I've ever been to

At least the dead guy isn't suffering anymore.

 

[FartMan69]

At least the dead guy isn't suffering anymore.

If being relegated to the minor leagues doesn't make some of you suffer than boy am I envious.

 

[Rumrunner]

This is a school that has sports information directors that have such ridiculous assignments it actually makes me laugh. It's an absolute embarrassment that they haven't spent every day since Louisville went to the ACC carpet bombing every traditional and non-traditional media outlet with data and facts.

Their approach is what it is for a reason. They don't want to put themselves on the line - because then more people would hold them responsible if they are unsuccessful.

It's much easier to do nothing - make vague references to success and then shrug when things go south.

At this point Enright is just cruising to that nice state pension, and has been for a looooong time. The lack of innovation in this respect out if UConn is Charles Barkley turrible.

 

[JeepCSC]

My point was that BYU is a "favorite" and you don't see their president saying anything, is their president an idiot too?

If they are a favorite, then of course their president isn't an idiot since whatever he is doing is working.

Now I will say I am an ACC guy. And while all this expansion of the Big East turf wasn't my initial desire, I've come to accept and even appreciate it. But UConn has been my first choice for the last few expansion picks (even if only to say thank you for stopping K when you could). You seem like the ideal ACC choice, the one I would love to have, and I've followed this board here since way back when.

That said, I think the frustration comes from how this looks exactly like how the Louisville-ACC situation played out. UConn stays quiet and calm, Louisville goes berserk. UConn, in a much better spot than now, appeared to get outhustled for the last spot on the lifeboat. Now it's of course questionable if there was anything they could have said to convince FSU/Clemson, but the fact is that the perception was UConn simply sat on its hands. Despite pretty much every major move of the last few years being a proactive move by someone (Mizzou, VPI, Maryland, etc), UConn seems to have mastered the art of Zen Buddhism while the Big East collapsed around them. It's probably not fair to say the public engagement was the sum total of all UConn's actions (Maryland was proactive AND stealthy), but perception is reality. And the reality is UConn is in stealth mode with nothing to show for it. And as a fan, that must be terribly discouraging. So go all out now with a full-court media press. Even if the Big XII doesn't choose you, you make the other conferences notice that UConn is alive and well and ready. Sports isn't so high-brow that a little heat can't go a long way.

 

[whaler11]

At this point Enright is just cruising to that nice state pension, and has been for a looooong time. The lack of innovation in this respect out if UConn is Charles Barkley turrible.

My favorite assignment is Bill Peterson's.

Assistant director with responsibility for men's hockey and m/w tennis.

But they have a $30 million dollar gap to fill.....

 

[IceBus]

If they are a favorite, then of course their president isn't an idiot since whatever he is doing is working.

Now I will say I am an ACC guy. And while all this expansion of the Big East turf wasn't my initial desire, I've come to accept and even appreciate it. But UConn has been my first choice for the last few expansion picks (even if only to say thank you for stopping K when you could). You seem like the ideal ACC choice, the one I would love to have, and I've followed this board here since way back when.

That said, I think the frustration comes from how this looks exactly like how the Louisville-ACC situation played out. UConn stays quiet and calm, Louisville goes berserk. UConn, in a much better spot than now, appeared to get outhustled for the last spot on the lifeboat. Now it's of course questionable if there was anything they could have said to convince FSU/Clemson, but the fact is that the perception was UConn simply sat on its hands. Despite pretty much every major move of the last few years being a proactive move by someone (Mizzou, VPI, Maryland, etc), UConn seems to have mastered the art of Zen Buddhism while the Big East collapsed around them. It's probably not fair to say the public engagement was the sum total of all UConn's actions (Maryland was proactive AND stealthy), but perception is reality. And the reality is UConn is in stealth mode with nothing to show for it. And as a fan, that must be terribly discouraging. So go all out now with a full-court media press. Even if the Big XII doesn't choose you, you make the other conferences notice that UConn is alive and well and ready. Sports isn't so high-brow that a little heat can't go a long way.

UConn didn't get out-hustled by Louisville. UConn was too loyal to the Big East when Pittsburgh and Syracuse left. But the ACC chose Louisville. Not a damn thing UConn could have done. A couple more powerpoint presentations and press conferences would not have changed anything.

 

[gopher2]

That is not what she said, and don't try to twist it that way. She said that she doesn't believe that public lobbying is going to have any effect, and she's likely correct.

People are (rightly) upset that she basically insulted all of us with the last statement: "I know people roll their eyes at this, but this is supposed to be fun,'' she said. "You know the athletes are in it because they enjoy it. The fans go because they want to support our athletes and they enjoy it. So everyone, including presidents and deans and faculty, need to step back and remember why we are in it"

That last statement is bewildering and perplexing and comes at such a bad time in this process given the high level of anxiety around CR. It makes me think she has no understanding whatsoever of how important UConn athletics are to so many of us. She just can't relate to what we feel.

 

[JeepCSC]

The ACC chose 3 teams to expand by once upon a time. And somehow when it came time to announce bids, only one of those 3 was offered one spot and a previously unthought of 4th team claimed the second spot. Everything is negotiable, nothing is set in stone.

 

[Dizzy21]

If they are a favorite, then of course their president isn't an idiot since whatever he is doing is working.

Now I will say I am an ACC guy. And while all this expansion of the Big East turf wasn't my initial desire, I've come to accept and even appreciate it. But UConn has been my first choice for the last few expansion picks (even if only to say thank you for stopping K when you could). You seem like the ideal ACC choice, the one I would love to have, and I've followed this board here since way back when.

That said, I think the frustration comes from how this looks exactly like how the Louisville-ACC situation played out. UConn stays quiet and calm, Louisville goes berserk. UConn, in a much better spot than now, appeared to get outhustled for the last spot on the lifeboat. Now it's of course questionable if there was anything they could have said to convince FSU/Clemson, but the fact is that the perception was UConn simply sat on its hands. Despite pretty much every major move of the last few years being a proactive move by someone (Mizzou, VPI, Maryland, etc), UConn seems to have mastered the art of Zen Buddhism while the Big East collapsed around them. It's probably not fair to say the public engagement was the sum total of all UConn's actions (Maryland was proactive AND stealthy), but perception is reality. And the reality is UConn is in stealth mode with nothing to show for it. And as a fan, that must be terribly discouraging. So go all out now with a full-court media press. Even if the Big XII doesn't choose you, you make the other conferences notice that UConn is alive and well and ready. Sports isn't so high-brow that a little heat can't go a long way.

My point is I don't know what works, but I suspect BYU's president is smart and I suspect ours is too, so them taking the same route is OK with me. If our President starts acting like Memphis' like everyone one the board wants them to, then I think it's time to worry.

 

[The Viking]

I didn't love some of her quotes but I won't criticize her unless a) we aren't picked by the Big 12 and b) we find out after the fact from Big 12 leaks that we weren't one of those pushing hardest privately to win one of the slots.

I do love the fact that we have a chance (if we haven't already) to state our case to the 10 presidents. That is something that was sorely lacking when the ACC sold its soul down the river to take a whorish university because of their football program.

I still think Herbst dreams of a B1G or ACC invite someday and probably works as hard as she can to put this university into a position to be acceptable to the B1G's lofty demands when the next round of expansion comes once the TV deal is expiring. Who knows how realistic that is but I'm sure we've talked to the B1G in private asking them what we need to do to be a fit down the road.

Lastly, maybe tomorrow we can re-focus our anger on the real potential villain here - ESPN. If they end up playing a role in limiting the number of expansion teams and we missed out because of that, the fury within out state borders has to be massive. Social media, the courant editorial page, members of the CT legislature - many of whom went to UConn, etc. ESPN will need to be called on the carpet for funding the Cuse and BC 25-30 mil a year while they squat on our land throwing us nickels as we potentially wither on the vine. It is well known they flex their muscles from time to time and help make important decisions in these conferences. They are the furthest thing from an innocent bystander.

 

[Chief00]

Susan is well compensated and when that's the case the expectation should be its your responsibility to make a difference and be accountable for results. We have been left at the alter a couple of times both before and during her Presidential tenure. She should be judge by results; nothing is inevitable either way.
One suggestion, these PR talking points are really tiresome - they ring with misplaced arrogance and if you can't make a difference at that pay scale - why pay her all that money? She needs to figure it out and not utter more tone deaf platitudes.

 

[UConnNick]

UConn didn't get out-hustled by Louisville. UConn was too loyal to the Big East when Pittsburgh and Syracuse left. But the ACC chose Louisville. Not a damn thing UConn could have done. A couple more powerpoint presentations and press conferences would not have changed anything.

That may very well be true, and I think it is. The problem is we took the exact same low profile, low key approach that time as we have this time. It didn't work then, and maybe more proactive lobbying wouldn't have made any difference, but indicating that you're passively "monitoring" the situation doesn't inspire confidence. For one thing, it makes it look publicly like you don't really care one way or the other what they decide to do regarding us. Maybe it's just a mechanism to attempt to deflect any blame, sort of anticipatory damage control. The message is sure starting to sound eerily similar. Let's not let anybody think this is all that important to us so when we don't get it we can regroup and maybe make it the next time an opportunity presents itself. The problem is how many next times will there be, if any?

The real question is how many times are you going to employ what appears to outsiders as essentially the same approach, expecting a different result? There has been so much disinformation floating around about UCONN that goes unanswered or unexplained, at least publicly. It shouldn't be up to pundits and folks like Dooley to put our best foot forward on various media platforms. At some point, the administration needs to be heard from. Just about everybody else's has been.

You are either being quietly confident because you know something nobody else does, or you're preparing your entire fanbase for another kick to the groin. I hate to say it, but this statement sounds an awful lot like the latter. Again, I hope I am wrong.

 

[Stinger92860]

"We're here to have fun"

This is the quote which gives me the most pain. This is not what the B12 wants to hear. FSU and Clemson must be laughing. The Rent wasn't built for fun. You think they play high school football in Texas for fun? It's fun when you win on a big stage. Does Disney show live sports for fun? It's about money, prestige and recognition.

 

[Dooley]

Dooley, you are honestly the one poster I go to with this. Did you not find what she said discouraging?

No I honestly am not discouraged. I am in the minority.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

No I honestly am not discouraged. I am in the minority.

I'm in the same camp as you Dooley. Too many here are jumping to conclusions that don't exist and attempting to devine some greater meaning from SH's comments.

Twitterati, second rate internet journalists and message board aficionados will not be the ones deciding our fate. If what she states publicly doesn't appease them it won't make any difference.

 

[JeepCSC]

My point is I don't know what works, but I suspect BYU's president is smart and I suspect ours is too, so them taking the same route is OK with me. If our President starts acting like Memphis' like everyone one the board wants them to, then I think it's time to worry.

I just think you are comparing apples to oranges. BYU is 'reasonably' in the Big XII's geographic neighborhood and is probably the best football program outside the P5 structure (Boise being the other). They don't need to be loud and aggressive since the media is doing their campaigning for them.

Though the lgbt thing has become a distraction, and if they aren't picked, the president failing to address it head-on could be seen as problematic.

 

[JeepCSC]

I'm in the same camp as you Dooley. Too many here are jumping to conclusions that don't exist and attempting to devine some greater meaning from SH's comments.

Twitterati, second rate internet journalists and message board aficionados will not be the ones deciding our fate. If what she states publicly doesn't appease them it won't make any difference.

Again, I think the problem is you could have written that same post circa 2012 and it wouldn't have appeared out-of-place. Burn me once, yada yada yada.

 

[specialisthusky]

I just think you are comparing apples to oranges. BYU is 'reasonably' in the Big XII's geographic neighborhood and is probably the best football program outside the P5 structure (Boise being the other). They don't need to be loud and aggressive since the media is doing their campaigning for them.

Nothing says geographic neighbor like a short 19 hour and 45 minutes to drive to BYU from Austin.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Nothing says geographic neighbor like a short 19 hour and 45 minutes to drive to BYU from Austin.

Yes, it's lunacy, they are nearly as far as we are (and further from WVU and Cinci obviously). But perception...ahh, that's different. Not once have I heard any one of these idiot talking heads in the media mention BYU as a geographic outlier. But UConn...we might as well be in the Ukraine.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Jim couldn't have said it better.

 

[JeepCSC]

Well, out west, you can drive 3 hours and not see much of anything, so their concept of distance is skewed from our concept. But it would be better if the Big XII re-entered the Colorado market to serve as a bridge. But in general, I think Kansans would feel closer to Utahans than New Englanders. Though on the flip side, Baptists might feel closer to Presbyterians than Mormons, so the culture gap can cut both ways.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Again, I think the problem is you could have written that same post circa 2012 and it wouldn't have appeared out-of-place. Burn me once, yada yada yada.

What happened in 2012 regardless of what public (boneyard) opinion may be was that FSU & Clemson had the opportunity to jump to the B-12 and used it as leverage to force the tobacco road schools from being in our court to voting for Louisville. Shy of a time machine eliminating the hire of P, there was nothing the administration could have done.

Where the major SNAFU occurred was in the time leading up to the ACC adding Cuse & Pitt.

If we get derailed here it will be due almost entirely to politics local t east Texas and the (somewhat myopic) view that a known football commodity outweighs potential. The former being a priority of the leading member of the B-12, the latter belonging to all lesser members who are attempting to build what they believe would be their best home once the two true assets leave the conference unless than a decade.

 

[ninety-nine]

I'm not discouraged by Herbst's "fun" remark, either. I share some of that sentiment, in fact. Whether or not we get into the Big 12-maybe-14, there is part of me that is aware this whole process is driven by forces completely unrelated to the reasons why people participate in sports, even if their goal is to play them professionally. Maybe she gets frustrated seeing how deeply administrators and other faculty are buying into this dog-eat-dog competition, which is destined to create a lot of losers as well as a few survivors. Even if we are a "winner," I won't feel great about the process that left other schools and their fans behind. Just playing along with a diseased system and adopting its controlling ideology as your own is hardly leadership, in the big picture. (Though, I really do feel that state flagship universities need to have P5 access if they want it, because it does affect the other university programs and educational elements that are available to their state residents for a relatively low cost compared to private colleges.)

Having said that (as someone who has been reading the Boneyard since we were arguing with "Z" about UMass vs UConn, by the way), I also doubt that Herbst can understand on a gut level how unfairly left-behind Connecticut sports fans feel. It seems like we're never good enough to keep what we have, and with UConn, even a ridiculous degree of championship-winning at basketball doesn't seem to be enough to overcome geography or the ingrained mindset of folks not from 'round here that Connecticut is small-time. It's like being told your destiny is to not have one because "just look at you."

Recently, I pointed out how many UConn players were in the NFL to a writer at an NFL team message board who had described UConn as a "small football school," and his response was that he stood by his description because none of our players had made a big enough impact in the NFL to make our program relevant (and we got blown out by Oklahoma at the Fiesta). Maybe you could argue that his conclusion "UConn is small potatoes" came first based on general public perception (he's a Pac-12 guy), and he re-defined the facts to fit the narrative, or maybe you could argue that the fact that we don't have NFL stars shows that we're starting out with middling recruits, which is the mark of a small football school. I don't know. But in this particular contest, perception does bring about reality - if people thought UConn should be in a P-5, they'd snap us up, and we'd become competitive quickly now that we'd be more appealing to recruits. If they think we don't belong in a P-5, it'll be much harder to be competitive, because recruits want to go to P-5 schools and play for (or at least against) high-profile name programs. Sigh.

Maybe Herbst is sick of dealing with a perception of UConn (and other schools, for that matter) that is based on college football reputation. I know I am. When I went to UConn, the games were still on campus, and felt like high-school matchups. I didn't give sports a single thought when I made my college choice - I was grateful to have a path to an affordable education at a good school that provided me with a chance to get a professional degree at its also-affordable grad school. That likely never would have happened for me without UConn. To see its future seriously impacted by whether or not some Texans and Oklahomans and FOX execs and ESPN shills decide to smile or pee in our general direction is mind-bogglingly crappy, and it makes a person question the system that gets you there. For Herbst, who doesn't have any of her emotional core tied up in Connecticut's athletics future, this situation and the battle itself must seem absurd at times. So, I don't think it's a message of defeat so much as a statement she's making to keep her sense of self-respect in this process.