UCONN to new Big East

[browndog319]

BrownDog's recollection is fuzzy/not accurate...Long story short, the Stadium they were going to build to lure the Patriots was going to be in downtown Hartford ( Adriaen's Landing) and was to seat 68k and would also house UConn Football as the moved from D1AA to D1.

... when the Patriots pulled out of the deal, Rentschler Field across the river in East Hartford was born and was built to seat 40k

It was originally conceived there. However, Kraft had concerns about tearing down the plant that was there and getting the Patriots there in the early 2000s. Even though people really wanted it downtown, it was agreed that as long as it was close to the river and interstates, it was fine.
Ground was broken at the Rent. We gave him a totally pathetic contract that allowed him to walk away. The whole time he was working with Boston.

The reason we can only hold 41K is that ground was broken but we didn’t need a 75k+ stadium, did we? They scaled it back.

How the Patriots Almost Became Connecticut’s Team

Robert Kraft was on the verge of moving his team out of Massachusetts in the late 1990s. At the last minute, an NFL executive on the rise—Roger Goodell—stepped in and helped get a new stadium built in Foxborough

www.si.com

 

[GoDawgs4]

But UMASS is a bit of a distance to Gillette Stadium..... over a 90 minute drive according to Google.

Very true but I think when they signed the contract, (it was a two for one deal, UMASS is making two trips to Starkvegas) the idea was that a college game at Gillette would be attractive especially with it being an SEC team, the ticket prices being low, Free Parking and that it would draw some general interest fans from around the Boston area.
One example, we met a fellow State alumnus who lived in BOS and he had never been in Gillette Stadium. He said the tickets were so expensive for the Patriots games it was just out of reach price wise. Obviously they failed as far drawing in some neutral fans go which like I said was a shame, because it is a great venue, we saw a good football game (State won 47-35 but UMASS played very well).

MBR 33, yes UMASS has a football team and they are competitive. Maybe not record wise but on the field they play hard.


Back UCONN, basketball is your bread and butter sport though to me it seems like your football program could do very well given the right circumstances and being in the right conference.

Thank you all for your insight and information. I hope things work out for you all.

 

[triaddukefan]

Wonder if the Big East will move their Women's tournament back to Connecticut.......... wonder where the AAC will move their women's tournament after 2020.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

UMass has a football team?

Yes. One that beat UConn last year.

 

[oldude]

Well congrats on living up to your meme.. and logically noting the Eli past but that was 50+ years ago. Yale’s last top 25 ranked team I believe was 1981 with star running back Rich Diana (also a baseball player). All things move on so we muct bid adieu to any football acclaim (See NAVY or ARMY). But as our MSU fans noted, no fan support but great at parties and tailgates!
UConn football had a great regional following with the Yankee Conference but then success of the Big East and winning a couple of titles led to illusions of grandeur to go from 1AA to 1A and it has not been remotely successful. Heck even their 1AA success was paltry. Why the football base is apoplectic and mad at MCBB fans being happy going back to its roots about this is odd. They tried going big, it failed badly, they need to cut their losses now and make MCBB relevant again. Heck even regional football would bring in more fans than the current rendition of the football team. This is a win for the school AND ALL THE OTHER SPORTS that UConn fields. As I do recall, UConn has won NC’s in other sports so this will help them.

My only point was that back in prehistoric times, long before there even was a UConn WBB team, Yale football was the biggest thing in NE college sports.

 

[huskymedic]

BrownDog's recollection is fuzzy/not accurate...Long story short, the Stadium they were going to build to lure the Patriots was going to be in downtown Hartford ( Adriaen's Landing) and was to seat 68k and would also house UConn Football as the moved from D1AA to D1.

... when the Patriots pulled out of the deal, Rentschler Field across the river in East Hartford was born and was built to seat 40k

It was originally conceived there. However, Kraft had concerns about tearing down the plant that was there and getting the Patriots there in the early 2000s. Even though people really wanted it downtown, it was agreed that as long as it was close to the river and interstates, it was fine.

Ground was broken at the Rent. We gave him a totally pathetic contract that allowed him to walk away. The whole time he was working with Boston.

The reason we can only hold 41K is that ground was broken but we didn’t need a 75k+ stadium, did we? They scaled it back.

How the Patriots Almost Became Connecticut’s Team

Robert Kraft was on the verge of moving his team out of Massachusetts in the late 1990s. At the last minute, an NFL executive on the rise—Roger Goodell—stepped in and helped get a new stadium built in Foxborough

www.si.com

I'm sorry for taking the thread off topic and belaboring the point but Kraft cancelled his contract w/ the State/Rowland on May 1, 1999. Ground wasn't broken for Rentschler Field until late October 2000.

Also... Rentchler Field is pre-engineered w/ footings in place for expansion to 60K (not that with recent events that will ever likely be needed/come to fruition).

 

[triaddukefan]

Yes. One that beat UConn last year.

When the Minutemen and the Huskies meet up in front of 1,300 in a rainstorm played on a abandoned airfield

 

[j66kicker]

1) I had never cared a lick about UConn's football team until it became the cover charge for mere eligibility for future P5 membership.

2) This move must mean that UConn is satisfied that the P5 ship has sailed for good or that they simply can't afford the yawning deficits for which the football program is primarily culpable. Let's just hope that the gross incompetence that left UConn in its odd state of exile is not continuing in this present decision.

1) Although I’m a big college football fan, I’m in exactly the same boat as you regarding UConn football.

2) From all that has been published in advance of an official announcement, there is nothing indicating any conscious plan for football. I’ve even wondered if the real plan is just to drop football. But let’s wait on the announcement. Then, if there has still been no plan for football articulated, I would say there is no reason to be optimistic that the gross incompetence you referred to has gone anywhere.

 

[DefenseBB]

Wonder if the Big East will move their Women's tournament back to Connecticut..... wonder where the AAC will move their women's tournament after 2020.

Answers:
1. Yes, it should if it wants strong attendance and ESPN there for all the rounds.
2. Who cares?

Actually, here’s some numbers for you in 2019
total tournament attendance and location
AAC 28,227 Mohegan Sun
Big East 6424 (didn’t list the 1st session of 2 games) Chicago
ACC 55,242 Greensboro
So, you tell me where the Big East should go to hold it?

 

[Plebe]

1) Although I’m a big college football fan, I’m in exactly the same boat as you regarding UConn football.

2) From all that has been published in advance of an official announcement, there is nothing indicating any conscious plan for football. I’ve even wondered if the real plan is just to drop football. But let’s wait on the announcement. Then, if there has still been no plan for football articulated, I would say there is no reason to be optimistic that the gross incompetence you referred to has gone anywhere.

Unless there's something we don't know, I can only imagine they went into this decision fully expecting to go independent in FB, while not unilaterally closing the door to another conference. Surely they had to know that a football-only invite from any FBS conference was about as likely as a Christmas card from Boston College.

 

[Vowelguy]

Wonder if the Big East will move their Women's tournament back to Connecticut..... wonder where the AAC will move their women's tournament after 2020.

Would be surprised if BE is not in Hartford or Bridgeport soon.
AAC should go to Tampa or Orlando, as UCF/USF are good chance one or both are in the final.

 

[Vowelguy]

1. Yes, it should if it wants strong attendance and ESPN there for all the rounds.

Uhh. ESPN will be there for 0 rounds since the BE contract is with Fox.

 

[DefenseBB]

My only point was that back in prehistoric times, long before there even was a UConn WBB team, Yale football was the biggest thing in NE college sports.

I hope I didn’t offend you as I completely agree with what Yale Football meant to New England but was merely poking fun that it was 50 years ago now. They didn’t have other activities nor success in Basketball. Yale also won national titles in Swimming in the 60’s with Don Schollander and the awesome Kipeth swimming pool. For those not in the know, Kipeth is like a Football venue with tiered seating all around and the pool like the football field with great sight lines from everywhere. And it’s still a very fast pool due to its depth (though only 6 lanes)...cue “Those were the days” by Mary Hopkin!

 

[DefenseBB]

Unless there's something we don't know, I can only imagine they went into this decision fully expecting to go independent in FB, while not unilaterally closing the door to another conference. Surely they had to know that a football-only invite from any FBS conference was about as likely as a Christmas card from Boston College.

I know how UConn and the ACC feel as PC blackballed Rhode Island from the Big East so we had to go to the Eastern 8/Atlantic 10. I wonder if Rhode could join the Big East???

 

[Carnac]

A moment ago........Big East presidents vote to invite UConn to conference, Board of Trustees expected to vote Wednesday per the Courant.

 

[triaddukefan]

Answers:
1. Yes, it should if it wants strong attendance and ESPN there for all the rounds.
2. Who cares?

Actually, here’s some numbers for you in 2019
total tournament attendance and location
AAC 28,227 Mohegan Sun
Big East 6424 (didn’t list the 1st session of 2 games) Chicago
ACC 55,242 Greensboro
So, you tell me where the Big East should go to hold it?

1)Those Big East numbers are abysmal
2) I try to watch as many of the mid-major finals that are available.... so watching the post 2020 AAC would be like watching a MWC or CAA Final

Would be surprised if BE is not in Hartford or Bridgeport soon.
AAC should go to Tampa or Orlando, as UCF/USF are good chance one or both are in the final.

1) Makes sense....... perhaps the Mohegan can pick up the MAAC or the American East to take the AAC's place

2) They can move it to Lakeland... right on Interstate 4 between the two schools...... they have an arena which is the home to the Orlando Magic's G-league affiliate

 

[oldude]

I hope I didn’t offend you as I completely agree with what Yale Football meant to New England but was merely poking fun that it was 50 years ago now. They didn’t have other activities nor success in Basketball. Yale also won national titles in Swimming in the 60’s with Don Schollander and the awesome Kipeth swimming pool. For those not in the know, Kipeth is like a Football venue with tiered seating all around and the pool like the football field with great sight lines from everywhere. And it’s still a very fast pool due to its depth (though only 6 lanes)...cue “Those were the days” by Mary Hopkin!

For many of us old farts, we are a lot clearer on what was going on 50 years ago, while not necessarily remembering what it is we had for breakfast..,,

 

[f1f1ferrari]

I hope I didn’t offend you as I completely agree with what Yale Football meant to New England but was merely poking fun that it was 50 years ago now. They didn’t have other activities nor success in Basketball. Yale also won national titles in Swimming in the 60’s with Don Schollander and the awesome Kipeth swimming pool. For those not in the know, Kipeth is like a Football venue with tiered seating all around and the pool like the football field with great sight lines from everywhere. And it’s still a very fast pool due to its depth (though only 6 lanes)...cue “Those were the days” by Mary Hopkin!

...or "Those Were the Days" by Archie and Edith Bunker

 

[Vowelguy]

maintain being good in multiple sports simply by being in a P5, many P5 schools aren't.

WOW. Breaking news there!


See: Necessary vs sufficient conditions

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Another story on BE Presidents signing off. Big East votes to extend invitation to UConn

 

[TheFarmFan]

Here's the ESPN story. I love this quote from Megan Walker:

UConn is expected to spend at least another season in the AAC before it moves, and junior Megan Walker said keeping that spotless record intact will be a priority. She said the Huskies understand that the league's other teams now have even more motivation to beat them.

"Ever since I got to the University of Connecticut, we've always been the black hats, the bad guys," she said. "I enjoy it. If we didn't want that challenge, we wouldn't be here at this university."

She may not be very emotional on court, but she sure has that DT attitude off it! Love it.

 

[tomcat]

Answers:
1. Yes, it should if it wants strong attendance and ESPN there for all the rounds.
2. Who cares?

Actually, here’s some numbers for you in 2019
total tournament attendance and location
AAC 28,227 Mohegan Sun
Big East 6424 (didn’t list the 1st session of 2 games) Chicago
ACC 55,242 Greensboro
So, you tell me where the Big East should go to hold it?

Umm.......Greensboro?

 

[Carnac]

Auriemma said his team's success has never depended on what conference it is in, and he doesn't see that changing.

He also mentioned he isn't sure what the move means for the future of UConn's football program. But the coach said he can foresee a day when all schools, not just UConn, have multiple conference affiliations based on what is best for each sport.

Auriemma also challenged UConn fans, many of whom, as he noted, have been calling for the Huskies to rejoin the Big East for six years, to back up their preference by attending more games.

"So if this does happen, there better be 16,000 at the XL Center every night," Auriemma said. I believe the overwhelming consensus here in the yard is that UConn has no business in the AAC. It’s not a good fit for the school.

Outsiders (haters) have chastised us for years about being in a weak conference that can’t send more than 2 teams to the tournament. Well, we got our wish. The BE is not where we want to be, but it’s better than where we were. I’m excited about what lies ahead for us as we return home.

 

[diggerfoot]

WOW. Breaking news there!


See: Necessary vs sufficient conditions

Ouch!!!

Assuming we are talking about MBB as one of the multiple sports, an implication behind your rebuttals is that Villanova had not the necessary conditions, nor Gonzaga, nor Butler a few years ago when they had a great coach. Neither P5, nor the revenue of a P5 proved to be a necessary condition for those schools to have great MBB teams. Is your argument that in the future it will be a necessary condition, even though in the past it was not?

I agree that past is not a necessary predictor for the future. Maybe there's merit in claiming a P5 will be necessary moving forward for MBB to be one of the competitive sports. Yet the evidence is on my side, not yours. You have challenged me to offer explanations, but the burden of proof lies with you, not me, that not being in a P5 will prevent us from having a great MBB team. Until you provide such proof of why the future will be different from the past in this matter, and I said proof, not a rationale, why should anyone conclude definitively that P5 is a necessary condition for a good MBB program?

In any case, the passage you cited was part of the section I stated was for the Board's eyes, so your comeback is a dig at them more than me, though I am sure that was not your intent.

On the other hand, I think you are trying a little too hard to undermine my position. Let me help things out. You could be right that we might end up in a P5 under the right conditions. You could be right that we are more likely to end in a P5 from the AAC rather than the NBE. You could even be right that a P5 is a necessary condition for sports like MBB .... in the future. You just would have to be delusional to think any of that is self-evident and does not require a burden of proof.

Your position may be the self-evident one to you, the one deserving benefit from the doubt for anyone "listening in." But that is not true.

Actually, I think I am done with this topic at this point. It appears your goal is something other than discussion.

 

[Waquoit]

any thoughts on how this might effect UConn WBB recruiting? Good/Bad/No Change

Do you think Geno started going overseas by choice? That crappy league was even taking it's toll on this program.