UConn to Big East May Be Gaining Steam

[jayfromfla]

UConn and Villanova were granted the right to upgrade into the Big East football conference as a result of their votes for the inclusion of Penn State. The decision to add Miami was free of any drama and/or horse trading.

first. According to Bleacher report PSU was rejected in 1982. At the time only BC, Syracuse and Pittsburgh were D1 football and there was NO BE football for 8 years so I don't understand how Villa and Uconn votes included a BE entry form.
2nd When Miami joined the BE 1991 their BB program was nonexistent. It was just coming back from extinction. they were not an addition to the best bb conference

3rd football only joiners were RU, VT, WVU and Temple.

Miami begged several conferences but were rejected. It was at this time or when the 3 other school became BE full members the the offer was made to UConn and VU to join BE football option.

 

[Chief00]

False: 80% of Clinton Foundation costs aren't 'overhead'

Read your own article and not the headline - it doesn't disagree with my statement that only 10% of expense was used for grants to charitable organizations.
The way it gets to 80% is to include overhead in that figure by saying the foundation directly delivers charity - therefore it makes the argument that salaries, travel expenses, conferences expenses should be included as what is delivered to charity. People with financial backgrounds wouldn't agree with that journalist fact check analysis. The problem is perhaps like you they don't have the financial background to understand how the numbers work.

 

[David 76]

Read your own article and not the headline - it doesn't disagree with my statement that only 10% of expense was used for grants to charitable organizations.
The way it gets to 80% is to include overhead in that figure by saying the foundation directly delivers charity - therefore it makes the argument that salaries, travel expenses, conferences expenses should be included as what is delivered to charity. People with financial backgrounds wouldn't agree with that journalist fact check analysis. The problem is perhaps like you they don't have the financial background to understand how the numbers work.

Not sure if you are ignorant or just a partisan. People intentionally ripping a charity that saves tons of lives for political gain, deserve a special place in hell. The Clinton foundation has an A rating.
Your veracity, not so much.

 

[Chief00]

Not sure if you are ignorant or just a partisan. People intentionally ripping a charity that saves tons of lives for political gain, deserve a special place in hell. The Clinton foundation has an A rating.
Your veracity, not so much.

Partisan - Not really - never been a party affiliated voter. I vote for candidates for both parties although this time I may go Libertarian. I did read the foundation tax filing after reading controversy in the news - and the numbers are what they are regardless of what anyone posts.

That tells me a lot more than probably some kid a year out of college working for peanuts - pretending they have a clue how to do a so called fact check analyzing a financial document. Just my guess from the sloppy write-up.
Are you partisan?

 

[upstater]

Partisan - Not really - never been a party affiliated voter. I vote for candidates for both parties although this time I may go Libertarian. I did read the foundation tax filing after reading controversy in the news - and the numbers are what they are regardless of what anyone posts.

That tells me a lot more than probably some kid a year out of college working for peanuts - pretending they have a clue how to do a so called fact check analyzing a financial document. Just my guess from the sloppy write-up.
Are you partisan?

If you're going to vote libertarian, which has always been expressly in favor of things like Citizen United, then why would you care about people giving money for influence? This is all legal--nothing illegal about it. It stinks to high heaven, but the fact remains, we don't want to regulate people who own politicians.

 

[CallMeBruce]

If you're going to vote libertarian, which has always been expressly in favor of things like Citizen United, then why would you care about people giving money for influence? This is all legal--nothing illegal about it. It stinks to high heaven, but the fact remains, we don't want to regulate people who own politicians.

And here I didn't think I could enjoy a political post.

 

[80shusky]

Read your own article and not the headline - it doesn't disagree with my statement that only 10% of expense was used for grants to charitable organizations.
The way it gets to 80% is to include overhead in that figure by saying the foundation directly delivers charity - therefore it makes the argument that salaries, travel expenses, conferences expenses should be included as what is delivered to charity. People with financial backgrounds wouldn't agree with that journalist fact check analysis. The problem is perhaps like you they don't have the financial background to understand how the numbers work.

It actually does disagree with your statement. In fact, it was only 6% in 2014. Because that isn't what they do. You do realize that their mission is not just to take money from some people and give it to other people right?

 

[donyell34]

Still at it boys.

 

[intlzncster]

Done-- Good. Back to BB.

Still at it boys.

If only this was as easy as herding cats.

So....are we getting into the Big12 or not??

 

[Towney007]

I guess at the end of the day - I don't understand how anyone can think staying in the American conference is feasible if UConn gets left out. It's bad enough for football - but as a hoops conference it's 1,000% a smoldering corpse - and that's being friendly.

-No Cincy or Memphis.
-A Larry Brown-less SMU
-Houston is still a few years away
-Tulane more so.
-Temple is always OK. Tulsa less so than Temple, but they're mildly competitive.

Everything else is a first-rate dumpster fire. Why light your bread and butter program on fire by staying? I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone would see that as a benefit. Sure maybe some ridiculous miracle happens and the American goes into pitched survival mode and starts casting a national net to rope in as many cast-offs to create the largest island of misfit toys ever seen - but that's just not likely to happen.

At a point - while it's not ideal - if UConn isn't in the Big XII you almost have to look at how you best protect your floor rather than wish casting your ceiling and I honestly think moving hoops to the Big East is a far better option. I'd take 'Nova, Georgetown, Xavier, Providence, Marquette and Butler over almost anyone else left in the remains of the American from a basketball standpoint. St John's seems to be actually trying again - and I figure Chris Mullen is able to pull them out of the abyss in five years or so... and Seton Hall will likely remain what it is. Creighton is a perfectly decent program.

I mean maybe the B1G gets off the pot and decides to swoop in since they'd have the leverage. Maybe the ACC comes around but I doubt it. You're kind of left with a wish and a prayer on the B1G but that's it. The Big East is available and a possibility - you take that.

So i honesty think it depends on which AAC teams get plucked, but if it's more than two and UConn isn't one of them, I'm jumping ship if I'm UConn. Life raft with low likelihood of survival is a better option than sharing a piece of drift wood in a storm. That being said - if it's just say - Houston and BYU, well then of course you stay. But yeah - duck this conference post-realignment.

 

[upstater]

I guess at the end of the day - I don't understand how anyone can think staying in the American conference is feasible if UConn gets left out. It's bad enough for football - but as a hoops conference it's 1,000% a smoldering corpse - and that's being friendly.

-No Cincy or Memphis.
-A Larry Brown-less SMU
-Houston is still a few years away
-Tulane more so.
-Temple is always OK. Tulsa less so than Temple, but they're mildly competitive.

Everything else is a first-rate dumpster fire. Why light your bread and butter program on fire by staying? I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone would see that as a benefit. Sure maybe some ridiculous miracle happens and the American goes into pitched survival mode and starts casting a national net to rope in as many cast-offs to create the largest island of misfit toys ever seen - but that's just not likely to happen.

At a point - while it's not ideal - if UConn isn't in the Big XII you almost have to look at how you best protect your floor rather than wish casting your ceiling and I honestly think moving hoops to the Big East is a far better option. I'd take 'Nova, Georgetown, Xavier, Providence, Marquette and Butler over almost anyone else left in the remains of the American from a basketball standpoint. St John's seems to be actually trying again - and I figure Chris Mullen is able to pull them out of the abyss in five years or so... and Seton Hall will likely remain what it is. Creighton is a perfectly decent program.

I mean maybe the B1G gets off the pot and decides to swoop in since they'd have the leverage. Maybe the ACC comes around but I doubt it. You're kind of left with a wish and a prayer on the B1G but that's it. The Big East is available and a possibility - you take that.

So i honesty think it depends on which AAC teams get plucked, but if it's more than two and UConn isn't one of them, I'm jumping ship if I'm UConn. Life raft with low likelihood of survival is a better option than sharing a piece of drift wood in a storm. That being said - if it's just say - Houston and BYU, well then of course you stay. But yeah - duck this conference post-realignment.

Not sure what you mean by bad enough for football. This is the best football conference UConn has ever played in, better than the Big East.

Everyone acknowledges it is nowhere near the BE for bball.

 

[JMick]

Not sure what you mean by bad enough for football. This is the best football conference UConn has ever played in, better than the Big East.

Everyone acknowledges it is nowhere near the BE for bball.

First of all, that's simply not true. Even if that were true right now, if teams get poached it won't be. Why does no one understand that. "The AAC isn't all that bad blah blah blah"

Well, if 2 or 3 of the top teams are gone, it will be *that* bad

 

[upstater]

First of all, that's simply not true. Even if that were true right now, if teams get poached it won't be. Why does no one understand that. "The AAC isn't all that bad blah blah blah"

Well, if 2 or 3 of the top teams are gone, it will be *that* bad

Why is it simply not true? Stack the teams from last year against any year's BE teams, and it is easy to see it.

 

[JMick]

Why is it simply not true? Stack the teams from last year against any year's BE teams, and it is easy to see it.

Did you forget about WVU? They almost played in the national championship...

 

[Drew]

Did you forget about WVU? They almost played in the national championship...

The American is a better football conference top to bottom than the Big East was. There were legitimate top 25 teams last year and UCF/USF/ECU/UH/SMU/CIN/Tulsa/Tulane/Navy are football schools first and foremost. Laugh if you want but hell even Tulane has a decent football history (nothing really since leaving the SEC besides the 1 undefeated season in the 90's) and Tulsa has won multiple conference titles in their prior leagues.

Basketball this conference sucks but football wise this conference is extremely challenging. If nothing else its the Big East with more conference games/mates to compete in/against

 

[JMick]

The American is a better football conference top to bottom than the Big East was. There were legitimate top 25 teams last year and UCF/USF/ECU/UH/SMU/CIN/Tulsa/Tulane/Navy are football schools first and foremost. Laugh if you want but hell even Tulane has a decent football history (nothing really since leaving the SEC besides the 1 undefeated season in the 90's) and Tulsa has won multiple conference titles in their prior leagues.

Basketball this conference sucks but football wise this conference is extremely challenging. If nothing else its the Big East with more conference games/mates to compete in/against

USF/UCF/Cinci were all in the Big East, though. As was Louisville. Louisville was Houston before Houston won double digit games.

 

[Drew]

Also you realize if we have to go independent in football (no conference is taking UConn football as a football only) that we will be begging the teams we are currently in a conference with for home and homes right? Not to mention zero bowl tie ins and zero national viewership.

The goal for UConn athletics isn't to park football on SNY or NESN while nobody watches us play basketball against DePaul on FS2. You guys can't possibly think the NBE is going to get the same amount of $ once this TV deal runs out can you? NOBODY watches these games. Nobody. And the NBE isn't exactly the regional "Big East" you think of. Omaha, Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati. You don't just toss the $300m+ the state has spent on UConn football in the past 15 years down the drain so you can short term make $2m more and play Creighton twice a year in basketball.

I'd love to still be in a league with WVU, Louisville, Rutgers, Pitt, et all, but the league was too short sighted and slow to change with the modern collegiate landscape. Looking back on it, had the football Big East separated itself from the basketball Big East when Miami, BC, VT left and added schools to get to 12 it might've had a shot given the fact that there were high population areas prime for a potential TV network. But those days are gone and the American unfortunately is where UConn will be playing sports for the foreseeable future unless we can maneuver into the XII and never have to worry about any of this again (until 2024).

 

[7774]

I guess at the end of the day - I don't understand how anyone can think staying in the American conference is feasible if UConn gets left out. It's bad enough for football - but as a hoops conference it's 1,000% a smoldering corpse - and that's being friendly.

-No Cincy or Memphis.
-A Larry Brown-less SMU
-Houston is still a few years away
-Tulane more so.
-Temple is always OK. Tulsa less so than Temple, but they're mildly competitive.

Everything else is a first-rate dumpster fire. Why light your bread and butter program on fire by staying? I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone would see that as a benefit. Sure maybe some ridiculous miracle happens and the American goes into pitched survival mode and starts casting a national net to rope in as many cast-offs to create the largest island of misfit toys ever seen - but that's just not likely to happen.

At a point - while it's not ideal - if UConn isn't in the Big XII you almost have to look at how you best protect your floor rather than wish casting your ceiling and I honestly think moving hoops to the Big East is a far better option. I'd take 'Nova, Georgetown, Xavier, Providence, Marquette and Butler over almost anyone else left in the remains of the American from a basketball standpoint. St John's seems to be actually trying again - and I figure Chris Mullen is able to pull them out of the abyss in five years or so... and Seton Hall will likely remain what it is. Creighton is a perfectly decent program.

I mean maybe the B1G gets off the pot and decides to swoop in since they'd have the leverage. Maybe the ACC comes around but I doubt it. You're kind of left with a wish and a prayer on the B1G but that's it. The Big East is available and a possibility - you take that.

So i honesty think it depends on which AAC teams get plucked, but if it's more than two and UConn isn't one of them, I'm jumping ship if I'm UConn. Life raft with low likelihood of survival is a better option than sharing a piece of drift wood in a storm. That being said - if it's just say - Houston and BYU, well then of course you stay. But yeah - duck this conference post-realignment.

The reality is that there is no difference between the Big East and AAC. They are both total death sentences when it comes to competing at the highest level of college athletics 50 years from now. We have to escape the AAC. If we went to the Big East, we would have to escape the Big East.

If you have a way to keep our football at its current level, and get us into the Big East for basketball without any sort of large buyout required when we need to ditch it, and without having to pay any money to the AAC, I'm all for it.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I guess at the end of the day - I don't understand how anyone can think staying in the American conference is feasible if UConn gets left out. It's bad enough for football - but as a hoops conference it's 1,000% a smoldering corpse - and that's being friendly.

-No Cincy or Memphis.
-A Larry Brown-less SMU
-Houston is still a few years away
-Tulane more so.
-Temple is always OK. Tulsa less so than Temple, but they're mildly competitive.

Everything else is a first-rate dumpster fire. Why light your bread and butter program on fire by staying? I can't for the life of me figure out how anyone would see that as a benefit. Sure maybe some ridiculous miracle happens and the American goes into pitched survival mode and starts casting a national net to rope in as many cast-offs to create the largest island of misfit toys ever seen - but that's just not likely to happen.

At a point - while it's not ideal - if UConn isn't in the Big XII you almost have to look at how you best protect your floor rather than wish casting your ceiling and I honestly think moving hoops to the Big East is a far better option. I'd take 'Nova, Georgetown, Xavier, Providence, Marquette and Butler over almost anyone else left in the remains of the American from a basketball standpoint. St John's seems to be actually trying again - and I figure Chris Mullen is able to pull them out of the abyss in five years or so... and Seton Hall will likely remain what it is. Creighton is a perfectly decent program.

I mean maybe the B1G gets off the pot and decides to swoop in since they'd have the leverage. Maybe the ACC comes around but I doubt it. You're kind of left with a wish and a prayer on the B1G but that's it. The Big East is available and a possibility - you take that.

So i honesty think it depends on which AAC teams get plucked, but if it's more than two and UConn isn't one of them, I'm jumping ship if I'm UConn. Life raft with low likelihood of survival is a better option than sharing a piece of drift wood in a storm. That being said - if it's just say - Houston and BYU, well then of course you stay. But yeah - duck this conference post-realignment.

Without knowing who is leaving the AAC the PlanB will obviously vary somewhat
I give this a great deal of thought
In order to survive to take advantage of any future changes in the P5 landscape the following objectives must be meet:
The most important by far is to create a winning football tradition.
This can be done even in a somewhat depleted AAC .
This very simple act is so huge in our survival with the benifits varying from
Making UConn football at least revenue neutral.
A winning UConn team along with Temple and Navy increase the odds on a decent contract. In any event we have a very powerfull position in the negotions
I viewed the possible candidates and barring a miracle in breaking loose a MW school any other addition is subtraction.
Unless we go I think only 2 AAC teams will be picked.
If one of them is Cinn we take a huge BB hit.
I have previously suggested Wichita State as a BB only with a future option to go FSB, if you can get VCU to do the same offer, I believe the AAC is better than before
A BB league with
UConn
VCU
Temple
Wichita State( they fit nicely into a western Div)
Memphis
Tulsa
SMU
Is a pretty darn good conference

 

[JMick]

A BB league with
UConn
VCU
Temple
Wichita State( they fit nicely into a western Div)
Memphis
Tulsa
SMU
Is a pretty darn good conference

That's basically an A10 level conference + UConn

 

[AZHuskiePop]

That's basically an A10 level conference + UConn

I know you mean A10 as a pejorative,but let's face it is the Big East with Cuse, Pitt ,Cinncy and us really a step up from my suggestion?
The added benifit is your still playing football in a pretty reputable conference.which is a must.
I suppose if you stay in the AAC for football only but take the rest of your sports to the Big East you could achieve the same effect. If the AAC allowed you to be a football only.
The object is providing a way to surviva for both programs

 

[JSB60]

Football is everything right now, but 50 years from now, maybe 20, it will be dead. Concussions are going to kill it.

 

[upstater]

Did you forget about WVU? They almost played in the national championship...

They did? When?

WVU accomplished no more than Houston last year or UCF 3 years ago by winning their big bowl game. But unlike the BE at the time, the AAC actually has multiple good teams, whereas the BE relied on WV. Cincy was the second best team in the conference, but it never won a big bowl game.

 

[upstater]

USF/UCF/Cinci were all in the Big East, though. As was Louisville. Louisville was Houston before Houston won double digit games.

UCF was not in the BE.

And Louisville had a huge slump in the BE for several years, while they came back in the last year. While they beat Florida in a bowl game, they had multiple losses and were not ranked as high as Houston.

 

[Drew]

They did? When?

WVU accomplished no more than Houston last year or UCF 3 years ago by winning their big bowl game. But unlike the BE at the time, the AAC actually has multiple good teams, whereas the BE relied on WV. Cincy was the second best team in the conference, but it never won a big bowl game.

2007, until they lost to Pitt they were #2 and would've played #1 Mizzou (who lost to OU in the XII Championship game)

But the AAC is way deeper than the BE and if you aren't a real football fan you won't understand that. Having Cinci/UCF/USF/ECU/Navy/UH/Memphis (now)/Tulsa/etc makes this a much deeper league than the BE ever was. The AAC football wise has earned football respect that I don't know that the BE really ever achieved as a league post VT/BC/Miami leaving, and this is evidenced by teams losing games last year and still remaining in the CFP Rankings the following week. WVU individually had earned respect by playing and winning big games, but the league as a whole was a laughing stock in CFB among the big boys

 

[upstater]

2007, until they lost to Pitt they were #2 and would've played #1 Mizzou (who lost to OU in the XII Championship game)

But the AAC is way deeper than the BE and if you aren't a real football fan you won't understand that. Having Cinci/UCF/USF/ECU/Navy/UH/Memphis (now)/Tulsa/etc makes this a much deeper league than the BE ever was. The AAC football wise has earned football respect that I don't know that the BE really ever achieved as a league post VT/BC/Miami leaving, and this is evidenced by teams losing games last year and still remaining in the CFP Rankings the following week. WVU individually had earned respect by playing and winning big games, but the league as a whole was a laughing stock in CFB among the big boys

No doubt, WV was the big dog in the conference and did well.

 

[HuskyHawk]

2007, until they lost to Pitt they were #2 and would've played #1 Mizzou (who lost to OU in the XII Championship game)

But the AAC is way deeper than the BE and if you aren't a real football fan you won't understand that. Having Cinci/UCF/USF/ECU/Navy/UH/Memphis (now)/Tulsa/etc makes this a much deeper league than the BE ever was. The AAC football wise has earned football respect that I don't know that the BE really ever achieved as a league post VT/BC/Miami leaving, and this is evidenced by teams losing games last year and still remaining in the CFP Rankings the following week. WVU individually had earned respect by playing and winning big games, but the league as a whole was a laughing stock in CFB among the big boys

I disagree with your general assertion. Prestige and name recognition are the most important aspects to college football. All of these schools: Miami, BC, Syracuse, VT, Pitt, WVU have more history and name recognition and football success than any school in the AAC. The AAC has been competitive, and is fairly balanced, but hasn't come close to the peak years of Big East football. SMU and Houston have the most history, but SMU's death penalty pretty much wiped that out.

Miami won a NC in the Big East. They were routinely a top 10 team for several years. The VT teams with Vick were terrific, losing a NC game to FSU. WVU had great teams. BC had good teams. None of the AAC teams including Houston last year or UCF with Bortles, really compare. But yes, it was top heavy.

 

[Drew]

I disagree with your general assertion. Prestige and name recognition are the most important aspects to college football. All of these schools: Miami, BC, Syracuse, VT, Pitt, WVU have more history and name recognition and football success than any school in the AAC. The AAC has been competitive, and is fairly balanced, but hasn't come close to the peak years of Big East football. SMU and Houston have the most history, but SMU's death penalty pretty much wiped that out.

Miami won a NC in the Big East. They were routinely a top 10 team for several years. The VT teams with Vick were terrific, losing a NC game to FSU. WVU had great teams. BC had good teams. None of the AAC teams including Houston last year or UCF with Bortles, really compare. But yes, it was top heavy.

I am referencing when UConn was playing in the Big East for football. Yeah, UConn played Miami once in the Big East. That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm referencing the Big East post VT/Miami/BC leaving which is when UConn spent a majority of the time in the league as an established FBS program. The point of this conversation was this is the best football conference that UConn has ever been a part of- and that still holds true today. The AAC is clearly better than the 8 team Big East that UConn played in from top to bottom.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I am referencing when UConn was playing in the Big East for football. Yeah, UConn played Miami once in the Big East. That isn't what I'm talking about. I'm referencing the Big East post VT/Miami/BC leaving which is when UConn spent a majority of the time in the league as an established FBS program. The point of this conversation was this is the best football conference that UConn has ever been a part of- and that still holds true today. The AAC is clearly better than the 8 team Big East that UConn played in from top to bottom.

Ok. I'd call that a toss-up more or less. Several teams are the same. But if we lose Cinci and Houston...it's not even a toss up.

 

[upstater]

I disagree with your general assertion. Prestige and name recognition are the most important aspects to college football. All of these schools: Miami, BC, Syracuse, VT, Pitt, WVU have more history and name recognition and football success than any school in the AAC. The AAC has been competitive, and is fairly balanced, but hasn't come close to the peak years of Big East football. SMU and Houston have the most history, but SMU's death penalty pretty much wiped that out.

Miami won a NC in the Big East. They were routinely a top 10 team for several years. The VT teams with Vick were terrific, losing a NC game to FSU. WVU had great teams. BC had good teams. None of the AAC teams including Houston last year or UCF with Bortles, really compare. But yes, it was top heavy.

If you're talking about the BE pre-UConn, then yeah, Miami and VT were great.

But this whole conversation is about the BE with UConn post-2004.