I see some problems along this line.
1. Connecticut doesn't have a Michigan State, Kansas State, Iowa State, U Cincinnati, etc. level public behind UConn. The drop off from UConn to Central or Southern is massive. The smart move would be to rebrand one of those and put money into it. Differentiate it, make it really good at a couple of things, perhaps better than UConn.
2. The other problem is the USNews ranking gaming that is so critical to these schools now. Kansas gets clobbered in USNews, because it is required by the state to accept any KS HS grad with certain GPA and AP score. Then, lots of those kids flunk out as freshmen. Both of those things hurt your ranking. If you increase the % of in state kids, you likely drop your ranking.
3. Local perception and employer recognition. While UConn itself has improved in this area, it is still well behind many private schools. That's not really true in Michigan. Michigan State grads don't struggle to find jobs because the employers in state prefer private school kids. UMass has this problem, probably to an even greater extent.