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No one needs to like scheduling UMess, and I don't at this point, but there's no way a game at Gillette draws only 5K UCONN fans or only 20K people total.
UCONN vs UMASS @ Gillette Stadium 2016
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You may want to read my other posts. The purpose of my post was not to "sell" the UMASS game, rather come up with rational for it. Boston College, UCONN's arch enemy has a home and home with UMASS. Even though Boston/MA is a "Pro" town, this game is good for promoting college football in MA, visa vi, NC v NC State, VA v VA Tech, MI v MSU etc. Unfortunately, BC isn't playing us and we have no other in state D-1 rival to play. Someone said, a UCONN v UMASS game has more appeal regionally than playing Buffalo (who kicked UCONN's butt last year) and I agree. Now I will address your counter points.
1. I agree that no one likes to play in empty stadiums, Temple plays in the 68,000 capacity Lincoln Financial Field and averaged 22,500 last year. They pay $1,000,000 per year to play there. As time goes by, and if Temple survives they will probably end up renovating their own stadium. UMASS has completed a 30 Million renovation and expansion of McGuirk stadium (17K capacity) and the training facilities in Amherst which will solve the empty stadium problem. They have a contract that calls for 4 games at Gillette.
2. The American Athletic conference is moving into it's second year and is evolving. UMASS is going through their own process after winning 2 games in two years. Jim Calhoun helped create angst against UMASS during the Calipari era at UMASS. Hate is good for rivalries. Yankees/Redsox, need I say more. Having BC, UMASS and UCONN viable in D-1 football and playing each other is good for the region.
3. Playing at Gillette stadium would be an important consideration for a P-5 school until UCONN has the justification to expand. Other venues that have been mentioned include, Yale Bowl (old), Met Life Stadium, and Yankee Stadium. I don't believe playing in a larger venue nixes the idea of a Rentschler field expansion. There are far more variables that come into play in making that assessment.
4. Disagree. Playing games vs. MA teams is good for recruiting. Marketing games in the media, newspaper articles.
5. obviously under estimate the loyal fan base at UCONN dispite three straight losing seasons.
North east foot ball is pathetic in comparison with the SEC and obviously a UMASS/UCONN game is no Alabama- Auburn game but programs need local rivalries. UCONN also needs to put together winning seasons. I see more good reasons for playing these games in these times than not.
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It's ONE GAME not the whole schedule. It doesn't negatively impact our ability to schedule p5 games in any way. This is not a big deal either way. And it makes sense for a variety of reasons as many have posted.
It is a really cheap travel game. Bus over in 30 minutes. No planes. No big fuel bills. Very low expenses for this road trip. That makes it a more profitable for the athletic department , always a good thing.
It's good for the fans especially the students. An easy trip.
We recruit Massachusetts heavily. Like it our not we also compete with BCU for recruits. The greater our presence the better.
But here's what's important.
The single most important reason is the opportunity to engage the Boston Sports media. The are many, many local ties. We are the preeminent New England college sports program. We need to act like it. Planting a flag in Boston, reaching out to the Boston market is critical.
A larger Boston presence makes us more attractive to the B10. They count cable boxes and Boston has a lot. Combine that with our efforts to be relevant in New York and UConn can become the preeminent northeastern regional brand.
Does one game in Gillette accomplish that goal? No. But it is a step in the right direction and ignoring Boston isn't wise.
It is a really cheap travel game. Bus over in 30 minutes. No planes. No big fuel bills. Very low expenses for this road trip. That makes it a more profitable for the athletic department , always a good thing.
It's good for the fans especially the students. An easy trip.
We recruit Massachusetts heavily. Like it our not we also compete with BCU for recruits. The greater our presence the better.
But here's what's important.
The single most important reason is the opportunity to engage the Boston Sports media. The are many, many local ties. We are the preeminent New England college sports program. We need to act like it. Planting a flag in Boston, reaching out to the Boston market is critical.
A larger Boston presence makes us more attractive to the B10. They count cable boxes and Boston has a lot. Combine that with our efforts to be relevant in New York and UConn can become the preeminent northeastern regional brand.
Does one game in Gillette accomplish that goal? No. But it is a step in the right direction and ignoring Boston isn't wise.
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Good points Pal!
CL82
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Add to the pros that we are pissing in BCUs front yard. This game sends a message to them.
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The Boston sports media couldn't care less about us. Ever hear anything about us on those supposed "New England" sports shows? This game won't change that (they don't care about UMass either). I don't think this game will draw flies. The purpose is to get a win, that's about it.
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Short Memories - Check out article from 2002 regarding UCONN's emergence. Don't be surprised if UMASS and Mark Whipple do a similar thing. They either want to join UCONN in the American or fill our slot when we leave for ACC or B1G
UConn football on track for Big East
JENNIFER LEE
Published December 2, 2002
The University of Connecticut's unexpected success on the football field this season has given the program a significant boost in its efforts to become a nationally prominent team.
In only their third year playing at the NCAA's highest football division, the Huskies pulled off a 6-6 season this year, winning their last four games including a season-ending victory over Iowa State. Not bad for a team that was 2-9 in 2001 and 3-8 in 2000, its first year as a Division I-A program.
"We were hoping to win at least four games this year," said UConn deputy athletic director Tom McElroy. "We would have been ecstatic with five, but now with six wins, including one over a good Iowa State team, they became their own ad campaign."UConn had an advantage over other teams jumping from Division I-AA to I-A because the football team was guaranteed a spot in the Big East Conference, one of the six major revenue-generating conferences and where it is a member in other sports, in 2005.
"They're clearly ahead of schedule," said Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese. "I know when they announced they were going to make the move [to I-A] some people in our league questioned whether they belonged, but I think they've shown they belong, that they're committed to the program and they have huge potential. We're really excited to having them join in '05."
UConn, which averaged crowds of 15,807 in 16,200-seat Memorial Stadium this year, is moving to the new 40,000-seat Rentschler Field next season. The department's goal is to sell out the stadium in its first year. Anticipating the extra work needed to sell a stadium that will be more than twice the size of its existing one, UConn hired Baltimore-based The Leffler Agency to handle ticket campaigning efforts for 2003.
And so far the goal seems to be in reach, McElroy said. An early-bird 2003 season-ticket campaign offered to UConn Club members and existing season-ticket holders sold close to 12,000 for next year, about 9,000 more than projected, McElroy said. Additionally, 85 percent of those commitments are for at least three years, he said.
UConn football on television has fared better than other college football telecasts in the Hartford-New Haven market and, in some cases, better than prime-time offerings on other stations, said Klarn DePalma, general sales manager for WFSB Channel 3, the local CBS affiliate.
Connecticut coach Randy Edsall (center) celebrates his team’s win over Iowa State Nov. 23.
In the first year of a three-year deal with WFSB that began this past season, UConn games averaged a 4.5 rating over five games, with the Iowa State game getting a 6.1, DePalma said. By comparison, Southeastern Conference games, which also air on WFSB, have averaged between a 2.5 and 3.0 rating in the market, DePalma said.
UConn's 6.1 rating for the Iowa State game was better than all of ABC and Fox prime-time ratings in that market for that day, he said. DePalma said double-digit ratings, such as those garnered by UConn's basketball teams, are not out of reach.
Sponsorship also is growing. Before the season, UConn signed two major deals for the department: a 10-year, $10 million agreement with People's Bank, which increased revenue in the financial services category by almost tenfold, and a new deal with Cingular that more than doubled its existing agreement with the department, said E.J. Narcise, co-founder and partner in Team Services LLC, hired to retool sponsorship sales to reflect the program's move to the big time.
Sponsorship negotiations, however, are moving along even better with the team's success this season, Narcise said, adding that the department is close to completing a deal in the telecom category and is in discussions for deals in the automotive and soft-drink categories.
"The momentum of the program was already moving in the right direction before the season," Narcise said. "But when they can play tooth and nail against [Boston College] and then string four wins in a row, that's huge and it reverberates throughout the program whether it's in ticket sales or marketing."
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UMass hasn't invested nearly enough for this comparison, we jumped over MAC level. Their investment has put them at the very lowest level of MAC standards.
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This thread is about UCONN playing UMASS and about having rivalries in the Northeast. Why draw the conclusion that I am saying UMASS is at UCONN's level?
Clearly they are not! The comparison is that many didn't believe (and still don't) that UCONN could build a viable D-1 football program and the same holds true for UMASS. All I am saying is we should cut some slack for UMASS. Whipple has a huge uphill fight but I believe he is up for the challenge. UCONN's football culture's foundation was built under Randy Edsall and is currently being reinvented right before our eyes under Bob Diaco. CT was a totally pro sports state prior to the emergence of UCONN basketball 25 yrs ago!
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Um, did you look at UMass's attendance last year? Their largest home crowd was 21,000, and they averaged around 14,500. They had 2 games at 10,000 and 10,500 and were on the verge of D1A probation for failing to meet attendance requirements. How many UConn fans do you think are travelling to a lousy game? And even if its 10,000, a number I think is pretty generous, remember that this is football and this game will be played at a 70,000 seat venue. So if we bring 10,000 and they bring their average (and 14500 is their RECORD AVERAGE), there will be less than 25000 in a 70,000 seat venue. Bee bees in a box car comes to mind. 10,000 fans can "take over" Madison Square Garden for an NCAA Regional Championship. that is more than 50% of capacity. 10,000 fans at 70,000 seat Gillette for a a lousy early season game is still bee bees in a box car.
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Buffalo, UMass, I don't much care. That's what kind of game this is. This is an opener at home and I'm fine with it. But playing them on the road in that venue is going to be dreadful. Dead, empty. It isn't going to garner lots of Boston coverage as pal and some others think. Nobody cares about UMass football. It gets reported on the College Results page of the Sunday Globe, right next to the Harvard results. Probably beats out Tufts, though. Maybe if we have just come off an upset of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in January, there's a decent crowd. Otherwise, not so much. If they fixed up McGirk and expanded it to some reasonable size, I'd much rather play there.
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No doubt it is more appealing to play in recently revamped McGirk but from a travel perspective the game at Gillette is better for UCONN fan base. The attendance at Gillette has been horrible and the political climate in MA is not friendly towards the program. In spite of that, it sounds like the AD and University are still going forward on a 5-7 year plan. Right now, the program is on life support. This game is on and lets see what happens. In 2011 24,000 attendance for the UMASS - UNH game and lets hope for better than that.
UCONN has many more fish to fry than worrying about whether UMASS survives. We are at a critical point in UCONN football history.
The good news is hopefully it will be a D-1 win and will help us become bowl eligible. If it's a loss....fagetaboutit!
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Think about what you just said. If UConn stopped ignoring Boston, we could have a presence. This is a chicken and egg problem. The only way to solve it is to become relevant in the Boston market by playing there.
We should play in the Boston Garden every year. We should play at Gillette. We NEED TO MAKE AN EFFORT.
But I love your "let's just give up" attitude.
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Fair. But a Buffalo game on the road on TV v. a game I can go to - I'll take a game at UMASS any day.
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BTN had a replay of the UCF Baylor beat down. Thank God the Big East leaders did not give up after everything imploded.
Not saying the Baylor win solved all the American's problems but it gave the conference a kick start. It's going to be interesting seeing what happens in the next several years.
UCF andUSF are going to get better. Same with UCONN, Houston, East Carolina and SMU and others. Staying hopeful and optimistic makes good things happen. UCONN is a prime example. If BC and UCONN start playing and UMASS catches on, who knows maybe, just maybe we will have some local rivalries. That is until soccer takes over as the #1 sport in America - NOT!
http://www.nola.com/tulane/index.ssf/2014/06/close-up_on_athletic_strengths.html
http://theamerican.org/news/2014/6/26/FB_0626140833.aspx
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There are 2 positives about this game and only 2. it is close and it is winnable. The rest of it is just stuff and nonsense. It isn't going to help recruiting, it isn't going to get us any more Boston coverage, it isn't going to cause BC any issues...and unless we sell 50,000 tickets, which we won't (my guess is 5000-7500which will be pretty good for an early season road game against a bad opponent) it won't impress anyone. Assuming UMass gets their typical 15,000 or so, the crowd will be around 23-25,00o. One of their better home crowds for sure, but it will look like nothing in that cavernous stadium. really if Umass wants to be even slightly successful they ought to move back to campus full time, maybe play a game a year in Foxborough, expand McGuirk to hold 21,000 or so and market to the student body and try and develop a fan base in western/central Mass. Temple ought to do the same thing For what its worth. figure out how to build a 30,000 seat facility on/near campus. Yulman at Tulane is the model. College teams playing in pro stadiums rarely works well. For programs with "modest" success it is a ticket to nowhere.
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It's not the game. It's the effort. It has to start somewhere.
We have avoided Boston as much as it has avoided us.
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Playing opponents we will actually be favored to beat like Army and UMass in Boston/NYC professional stadiums like Yankee Stadium and Gillette Stadium is 1000% better than playing a standard home and home with a Buffalo and Western Michigan who are capable of beating us and who don't help the UConn brand reach the 2 major northeast metropolises it's sandwiched between.
We haven't reached bowl eligibility since 2011. It's sort of important to get to 6 wins a season and soon before the perception of our program is set in stone negative. And contrary to all the AAC belly aching, it won't be easy to get to 4-5 wins against UCF, Houston, Cincy, ECU, etc at the moment.
We haven't reached bowl eligibility since 2011. It's sort of important to get to 6 wins a season and soon before the perception of our program is set in stone negative. And contrary to all the AAC belly aching, it won't be easy to get to 4-5 wins against UCF, Houston, Cincy, ECU, etc at the moment.
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You could have stopped at "it is close and winnable".
We won 3 games last year. If people want to ever leave the AAC someday we better start making bowl games and soon.
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I don't disagree with the concept. I'm not opposed to playing MAC teams, I'd just like to play teams with a pulse in stadiums that draw more than flies. the Ohio game at their place a couple of years ago was not too bad. Pretty close to a full house. Small stadium seats about 25,000 but I'd much much much rather play in front of 22000 in a 25000-30,000 seat stadium than the same crowd in one of those mammoth NFL buildings. It just sucks the life out of the game, the crowd, everything. Almost impossible to generate any excitement no matter how the game is going. Hell, I would even make UMass an offer to let them be the home team for a game at the Rent. That's how bad I think this experience will be. Frankly it is why I'd much rather play at Yankee Stadium than MetLife if we ever have to play one of those horrible neutral site affairs. 54,000 is much better than 82,000 for a college game unless you're in Ann Arbor or Tuskaloosa or someplace like that. When Syracuse drew 32,000 for USC to that venue is was embarrassing but made even more so by the vastness of the empty seats.
Husky25
Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
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Gillette doesn't seat 75,000, it seats just under 69,000. My guess is they will tarp off at least the upper deck in the corners and fill in the lower bowl as much as possible just like they do with soccer. Unlike Soccer though, I think attendance will be in the 30-40K. Soccer attendance is capped at 20K.
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Husky25
Dink & Dunk beat the Greatest Show on Turf.
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That's not 100% true. Mike Mutnansky (UConn class of 2002) was pumping UConn's tires from the Sweet 16 onward, and he was demoted from the WEEI midday show. They don't talk about college sports in Boston.
Foxboro is on the 495 loop, not 128/95 and it is actually closer to Providence than it is Boston. Depending on when the game is played, how the Red Sox are doing, and if there is a Patriots game the next day, the game won't even register in Boston.
Everything you say is true. Only one problem:
Yankee Stadium : Gillette = BMW : Yugo
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There won't be 40,000 there even if they gave tickets away and kidnapped 20,000 people and dragged them kicking and screaming into the stadium and counted the people passed out in the Extra Point Lounge on Route 1. Umass draws 10-15000. UConn isn't sending 25,000. 10 will be a stretch. You're right on capacity , though. But at least form what I saw they don't tarp off any seating. Tehy don't open the upper level for seating. You're right about capacity, but I'm not sure the 6 000 makes that much difference. Still has the feel of an empty house.
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How many people were at the UConn-Buffalo game? UConn-Temple? It is what it is. A winnable game within driving distance at the home stadium of Tom Brady. The stadium might be half full but if it's a win that's all that matters.
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This is the point that you're missing. Badly.
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UConn has played in some pretty terrible environments since being in D1. So what?
They had like 15,000 people out there when Western Michigan and Buffalo stomped all over us. Am I supposed to lose sleep that UMass-UConn won't be able to sell out Gillette Stadium?
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