UConn to new Big East? What happens to Husky football?

[Adios]

Well - I am drowning here. Depending how this breaks, I might suddenly have time for a new sport and new school.

I'd recommend the Ivy League and the NESCAC. Great stuff. Better than the freaking Big East.

 

[Drew]

NJ.com:Could UConn’s Big East return help create a new football conference?

believe you need 8 to be a FBS conference and negotiate bowl tie-ins. I thought about this though- it would make a lot of sense to just take the independents and do it. Don't think BYU would buy in but..

UConn
BYU
NMSU
Army
Liberty
UMass

is 6. You find 2 to upgrade (JMU? NDSU?) and you've got 8. Don't need to play a title game but theres your scheduling alliance and you have bowl tie-ins you can negotiate

 

[Pudge]

believe you need 8 to be a FBS conference and negotiate bowl tie-ins. I thought about this though- it would make a lot of sense to just take the independents and do it. Don't think BYU would buy in but..

UConn
BYU
NMSU
Army
Liberty
UMass

is 6. You find 2 to upgrade (JMU? NDSU?) and you've got 8. Don't need to play a title game but theres your scheduling alliance and you have bowl tie-ins you can negotiate

Grab Temple Hoop & Football to BE. Buffalo Hoop & Football. Army. Navy. Old Dominion. Liberty. James Madison. and then Dave Gavitt # 8 - I think I like Stony Brook. I think I am getting a buzz thinking we don't have to go to Tulsa.

 

[jdb50]

So who made the call on this? Herbst? The new Prez? Is this Herbsts last screwup on the way out the door? Why haven't we looked at reducing Olympic sports to save on the sports budget? The powers that be don't think we can compete in men's basketball in the AAC?

 

[UConnDan97]

Well, now it makes a little more sense that the AD and president knew nothing about the SNY issue from the AAC contract. It's because they were too busy working on a different contract altogether....

 

[Adios]

So who made the call on this? Herbst? The new Prez? Is this Herbsts last screwup on the way out the door? Why haven't we looked at reducing Olympic sports to save on the sports budget? The powers that be don't think we can compete in men's basketball in the AAC?

Supposedly Herbst. We really can't cut sports to get where we want. But the Big East? God have mercy on us. I have zero interest in being surrounded by Catholic schools.

 

[whaler11]

Well, now it makes a little more sense that the AD and president knew nothing about the SNY issue from the AAC contract. It's because they were too busy working on a different contract altogether....

They knew. The response and talking pts were written - it was a weekend and they appeared in 3 hours.

Let’s see what they do with football before killing them.

The AAC didn’t work for UConn. The cultures never worked and UConn wasn’t willing to get on board (Tulane cough cough).

They finally did something. The status quo was a slow bleed out. If you want to know your catalyst it was Hurley - so choose your enemies wisely I guess?

 

[UConnDan97]

They knew. The response and talking pts were written - it was a weekend and they appeared in 3 hours.

Let’s see what they do with football before killing them.

The AAC didn’t work for UConn. The cultures never worked and UConn wasn’t willing to get on board (Tulane cough cough).

They finally did something. The status quo was a slow bleed out. If you want to know your catalyst it was Hurley - so choose your enemies wisely I guess?

Yeah, i'm still hanging on to a thread of hope that something decent will happen with the football side of things. If so, then it's worth it.

If not, then Herbst will become the first and only person to stop my run of undefeated predictions for UConn FBS football...

 

[CL82]

The way things go around here in regards to Conference Realignment is they probably vote to not extend invitation. LOL

Thinking this as well. No comment until you have an invite in hand.

 

[Exit 4]

I was thinking this moment came down to two things.

1) When ESPN got ahold of our WBB product without any special compensation under the new AAC tv contract. Watching ESPN literally have their entire way with our program yet again forced us to draw the only card we had, the nuclear option to leave. I mean it’s disgusting to think about how a few dudes in Bristol would be getting bonuses for the next decade for engineering a steal while we would be eating dirt to survive. This is revenge for this tv injustice.

2) We know enough about the future of CRA to know that indeed more realignment is coming in just a few short years. Either the B12 or P12 will make some moves to set in motion an erosion of the AAC. The AAC by 2026 won’t have two of Cincy, Memphis, UCF or USF. Or if TX and OK leave the B12, I don’t see them taking us. They won’t make the same geographic/ culture mistakes of other conferences. The B12 will back fill with teams in contiguous states or FL.

This move might make more sense if you are reasonably assured the mid 2020s would be trouble for us.

 

[zmart]

The AAC is going to get poached in the next round of expansion. We will certainly lose UCF and USF
and probably Houston, Memphis or Cincinnati. There is no future for us in the AAC. Let's move on before
the AAC ship sinks.

 

[zmart]

Should have read the prior post first.

 

[Chief00]

LOL - who said it’s official?

 

[CL82]

NJ.com:Could UConn’s Big East return help create a new football conference?

Interesting take, well except for WVU to the Big East.

 

[CL82]

If you want to know your catalyst it was Hurley - so choose your enemies wisely I guess?

Strongly doubt it.

 

[whaler11]

We are halfway to Whaler posting in the third person.

Where do I send the invoice for consulting.

 

[zmart]

Here is a list of schools that could be available to form a new conference at some point over the next few years.

UCONN Navy Coastal Carolina
UMASS Marshall
Temple East Carolina
Army UNC Charlotte
Buffalo Old Dominion
Cincinnati Liberty

 

[Redding Husky]

Killing football will eventually kill our academic rankings. We were about #56 according to US News at one point. Within a few years we'll settle in at about #110, especially with state funding drying up.

We are the University of New Hampshire without big time football.

 

[Pudge]

They knew. The response and talking pts were written - it was a weekend and they appeared in 3 hours.

Let’s see what they do with football before killing them.

The AAC didn’t work for UConn. The cultures never worked and UConn wasn’t willing to get on board (Tulane cough cough).

They finally did something. The status quo was a slow bleed out. If you want to know your catalyst it was Hurley - so choose your enemies wisely I guess?

Totally agree

 

[whaler11]

I was thinking this moment came down to two things.

1) When ESPN got ahold of our WBB product without any special compensation under the new AAC tv contract. Watching ESPN literally have their entire way with our program yet again forced us to draw the only card we had, the nuclear option to leave. I mean it’s disgusting to think about how a few dudes in Bristol would be getting bonuses for the next decade for engineering a steal while we would be eating dirt to survive. This is revenge for this tv injustice.

2) We know enough about the future of CRA to know that indeed more realignment is coming in just a few short years. Either the B12 or P12 will make some moves to set in motion an erosion of the AAC. The AAC by 2026 won’t have two of Cincy, Memphis, UCF or USF. Or of TX and OK leave the B12, I don’t see them taking us. They won’t make the same geographic/ culture mistakes of other conferences. The B12 will back fill with teams in contiguous states or FL.

This move might make more sense if you are reasonably assured the mid 2020s would be trouble for us.

I don’t get much inside info - but I do have access to a couple of huge donors.

In the real world football may drive the bus - it does not here.

The fanbase has rejected the AAC - they gave us the opportunity to own the tournament and we turned away.

When you bring in the offspring of catholic HS basketball royalty to run your program... and he hits the ground running...

I went to the Big East tourney this year in UConn gear - I talked to two dozen people who all had the same opinion - come home.

When the AAC screwed the women’s program it was clear it was time. The AAC can go drown in a toilet and Mike Aresco can go himself.

 

[DefCONNOne]

It’s not. That’s still a darker day.

I disagree. We still had a chance at the P5 then. Today nuked that option/chance.

 

[whaler11]

I kinda wonder if BYU would be a longshot at #12 in the NBE.

Wichita ST, BYU, Liberty, etc could all fit.

The AAC is the SUNDAY league - you can cross BYU off list.

 

[Drew]

 

[weyuo]

No good can come from UConn leaving the AAC for the slowly die-ing Big East in basketball or any other sport. The two conferences are moving in opposite directions. The AAC is not even a decade old yet so obviously it can't ask for the same TV money the well established P-5 conferences can. But this new deal is better than the last and gives football(and basketball) time to improve so that by the time the next contract negotiations come around we should be competing like and negotiating like a Power 6 conference. The Big East is as high as they will ever get. Besides, moving UConn football out of the AAC (where it has a chance to grow and show) and into a MAC or independent situation will for once and for all kill any hope of a ACC or B1G invite. At least there is room for growth in this upstart league. Where is the growth in the New Big East? Seton Hall? Marquette? Depaul? Providence? What do they bring as far as any cache? Even St. Johns and maybe especially St. Johns. What, besides being in NYC can they hang their hat on either men's or women's basketball teams? How many national championships or even final fours have either program participated in?

Trust me UConn football is in a good place right where they are. They are in a position where, with improvement, they can start surprising some schools and turning heads. Just like Houston or UCF.

 

[metsfan2323]

Just curious, why are people speculating on a 12th team for Big East basketball? Is there a report of them going to 12? Why can't there be 11 teams?