UConn vs. Yale football not in the cards (Malafronte)

[huskymedic]

Thankfully this has been put to bed!

http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20150905/sunday-gravy-uconn-vs-yale-football-not-in-the-cards

>>Yale and UConn last met on the gridiron in 1998, the 50-year-old series a casualty of UConn’s impending elevation to major college football. But recently, according to sources at both schools, Yale reached out to UConn to gauge interest if renewing one of the state’s great old rivalries was worthwhile.

UConn agreed to discuss the possibility, but took a pass on Yale’s proposal: a two-year contract, one game at Rentschler Field; one at the Yale Bowl.

The American Athletic Conference frowns upon its members playing road games at Football Championship Subdivision schools. UConn isn’t terribly interested playing at the Yale Bowl. But the Huskies felt the real issue would be getting permission from the NCAA to play Yale twice. Football Bowl Subdivision programs must get a waiver in order for games against non-scholarship schools to count toward bowl eligibility, and those are issued only on rare occasions.

It’s why the Yale-Army series, originally intended to be a three-year contract, was pared to one meeting. That game, played last September in New Haven, drew one of the biggest non-Harvard crowds in over a decade. Yale and UConn would be a smashing success, no doubt selling out Rentschler and, perhaps, the 64,000-seat Bowl.

So what was once one of the can’t-miss autumn events of Connecticut will remain a distant memory.<<

 

[coachcap]

This ship has sailed. Unless Yale decides to move up to FBS or to offer schollies at the 65 FCS limit, this won't happen. Too bad. The last Saturday in September used to be special when this matchup was at its height.

 

[weyuo]

Unless it can count towards bowl eligibility, let Yale play their midget league brethren and let UConn strive to play the big guns.

 

[coachcap]

I'm all for nostalgia, but UConn must play by the rules. For this matchup to occur, Yale has to step up in competition. They made a decision long ago to follow Ivy rules & hang with their conference mates. John Toner was UConn's A.D. & NCAA president. When Division 1-AA was formed, Yale could have gone independent & stayed at Major college status. Only a couple of years before, the Elis & Dartmouth finished 17th & 20th in the final college polls of the era. When Yale made the decision to play by Ivy League rules, it was the beginning of their decline. Ironically, it was also shortly after that UConn began getting the upper hand in this doomed series.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Yale is UConn's 5th most played opponent of all time. A game against them at the historic Yale Bowl would have been nostalgic and rekindled old memories.

UConn Football Most Played Opponents

TEAM #OF GAMES
Rhode Island 94
Maine 73
Massachusetts 72
New Hampshire 71
Yale 49

Looking at the above list the last thing we should want (if we do aspire to be one of the big boys on college football) is a rekindling of old memories. Our onetime role as an underfunded Yankee Conference school should remain in the distant past.

 

[FDNY99]

Yale is UConn's 5th most played opponent of all time. A game against them at the historic Yale Bowl would have been nostalgic and rekindled old memories.

UConn Football Most Played Opponents

TEAM #OF GAMES
Rhode Island 94
Maine 73
Massachusetts 72
New Hampshire 71
Yale 49

Looking at the above list the last thing we should want (if we do aspire to be one of the big boys on college football) is a rekindling of old memories. Our onetime role as an underfunded Yankee Conference school should remain in the distant past.

Tom is right...all you need to do is troll the threads of those schools on the USCHO fan forum to realize how much in the distant past we need to keep this stuff. Just to keep things in perspective the New Hampshire group actually was talking about UNH Hockey Coach Dick Umile being the highest paid employee in the State of New Hampshire. I don't remember the exact salary off hand but is was somewhere in the $245,000-$250,000/year range.

 

[Jax Husky]

Yale is UConn's 5th most played opponent of all time. A game against them at the historic Yale Bowl would have been nostalgic and rekindled old memories.

UConn Football Most Played Opponents

TEAM #OF GAMES
Rhode Island 94
Maine 73
Massachusetts 72
New Hampshire 71
Yale 49

Nostalgia would be the only reason. To play that game. Uconn (in its current state) would destroy them. They offer no scholarships. I can't believe people even consider this.

 

[noeynox]

A one time game at the Yale bowl would be somewhat of an event for the state. I do get why people are opposed to playing this game, at this time in particular while we are still trying to establish ourselves in the FBS, and work our way toward a P5 invite.

I used to wish the ivy league would go FBS and offer schollies. I bet a lot of kids would have interest for those degrees alone. Now, I just want what is best for uconn.

 

[FartMan69]

Nostalgia would be the only reason. To play that game. Uconn (in its current state) would destroy them. They offer no scholarships. I can't believe people even consider this.

Last year's Yale squad would have beaten us no doubt. But you're right about everything else.

 

[FartMan69]

I always wondered what Yale football would be if they went the 1-A route. I'd have to think they would have had the potential to be Stanford east, no? Anybody who's more knowledgeable feel free to chime in

 

[HartfordHank]

The Ivies have found themselves in a very unique situation. Although they do not offer scholarships they do offer grants in aid that in essence are the same thing. In reality they are offering many more scholarships than the NCAA allows. A friend had two sons who played for Harvard and they never spent a dime for their education. There was also no financial hardship involved, Dad could easily have paid the tuition.

 

[Colt house75]

In the context of education, the Ivy League schools are considerably thought to be the pinnacle of educational achievement and attainment. They do not need athletics to market their schools as many non -IVY universities utilize athletic as a cornerstone for marketing their respective schools. The Ivy League schools have endowment funds which measure in the billions (Harvard-$40 Billion) and are not in need of TV Revenue either.

Having several friends whose sons plays football in the Ivy League, gave me an insight into the programs. The STUDENTS play for the love of the game. Their requirements outside the classroom for athletic is absolutely minimal AT BEST. High school programs have better conditioning, offseason and weightlifting programs. On their respective teams, it is an effort to get Half the team to verbally commit more than several hours in the afternoon each day during the season. An off season program is even more remote.

From this writer's perspective, to absolutely consider a YALE- UCONN football matchup, IMHO, for the sake of nostalgia is ludicrous and needs to go the way of the dinosaur.

 

[storrsroars]

I always wondered what Yale football would be if they went the 1-A route. I'd have to think they would have had the potential to be Stanford east, no?

They can't be "the Stanford of the East". Penn State alum already claimed that.

It was mentioned frequently on PSU boards when Franklin left Vandy to go to an "even better academic institution".

You can't make this stuff up.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I always wondered what Yale football would be if they went the 1-A route. I'd have to think they would have had the potential to be Stanford east, no? Anybody who's more knowledgeable feel free to chime in

No. Just no.

Yale did have a handful of seasons during the 1960's and 1970's where they were ranked in the AP polls but their record, which got them votes, was earned against other Ivy's, UConn and Colgate (along with a game or two against an opponent similar to UConn and Colgate from those years).

One little item that is always left out when Yale football proponents speak about how they were as good as any football program pre WWII and they had performed, post WWII through the late 1970's at least equal to any eastern school is that shortly after WWII they played a game against Vandy, then even more of an SEC doormat than they are today (when Yale felt they had as good of a team as they could have) and were steamrolled. Not long after that discussions began to form the Ivy League, so those schools who did things the right way would no longer need to compete with the unwashed masses.

 

[uconnphil2016]

They can't be "the Stanford of the East". Penn State alum already claimed that.

It was mentioned frequently on PSU boards when Franklin left Vandy to go to an "even better academic institution".

You can't make this stuff up.

The Penn State circus is a different level of a delusional. Penn State and UConn are about the same in terms of rankings, yet everyone who went to Penn State thinks of themselves as having graduated summa cum laude from Harvard

 

[Bulldog Fan]

The first 35 years of the Yale- Uconn football series was completely dominated by Yale. Did Yale ever say to to Uconn we're too good to play you? If they had it would have deprived generations of Uconn atheles and fans of their only chance to play football before 40k plus every year. Now the shoe is on the other foot and Yale comes to Uconn to ask for a small two game series so they can have the experience of playing a major FBS program, and they are shown the door. If Uconn can't exhibit a generous spirit to Yale after a 50 year shared history of competition between the two schools, then I don't think they have the moral high ground to complain when they get unfairly shafted for membership by by the ACC and Big 10. What goes around comes around.

 

[huskymedic]

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The first 35 years of the Yale- Uconn football series was completely dominated by Yale. Did Yale ever say to to Uconn we're too good to play you? If they had it would have deprived generations of Uconn atheles and fans of their only chance to play football before 40k plus every year. Now the shoe is on the other foot and Yale comes to Uconn to ask for a small two game series so they can have the experience of playing a major FBS program, and they are shown the door. If Uconn can't exhibit a generous spirit to Yale after a 50 year shared history of competition between the two schools, then I don't think they have the moral high ground to complain when they get unfairly shafted for membership by by the ACC and Big 10. What goes around comes around.

Yale has requested a two game series?

 

[Carl Spackler]

Before there was Duck Fuke, there came Yuck Fale on t-shirts, hats and bumper stickers.

 

[Carl Spackler]

I wonder if Yale would agree to make the bowl designated as a neutral site for revenue sharing. Seems like that would get through the loophole. I wouldn't mind seeing Yale on the schedule as the sacrificial 1-AA team.

 

[Waquoit]

Yale-UConn not in cards? Good.

 

[gopher2]

The first 35 years of the Yale- Uconn football series was completely dominated by Yale. Did Yale ever say to to Uconn we're too good to play you? If they had it would have deprived generations of Uconn atheles and fans of their only chance to play football before 40k plus every year. Now the shoe is on the other foot and Yale comes to Uconn to ask for a small two game series so they can have the experience of playing a major FBS program, and they are shown the door. If Uconn can't exhibit a generous spirit to Yale after a 50 year shared history of competition between the two schools, then I don't think they have the moral high ground to complain when they get unfairly shafted for membership by by the ACC and Big 10. What goes around comes around.

Personally I would like to see this series happen on the condition that both games were at Rentschler Field. I took my son to a Harvard-Yale game at the YB a couple of years ago. I had forgotten how hard it is to move around in that place with everyone jammed onto that narrow concourse between the upper and lower bowls. Besides, didn't we always have to go to Yale when the shoe was on the other foot?

 

[Waquoit]

The first 35 years of the Yale- Uconn football series was completely dominated by Yale. Did Yale ever say to to Uconn we're too good to play you? If they had it would have deprived generations of Uconn atheles and fans of their only chance to play football before 40k plus every year. Now the shoe is on the other foot and Yale comes to Uconn to ask for a small two game series so they can have the experience of playing a major FBS program, and they are shown the door. If Uconn can't exhibit a generous spirit to Yale after a 50 year shared history of competition between the two schools, then I don't think they have the moral high ground to complain when they get unfairly shafted for membership by by the ACC and Big 10. What goes around comes around.

Oh, please. Rewrite history much? Yale always insisted on dictating terms. They would never come to Storrs. Being on the receiving end of the high hat is the true manifestation of "what goes around comes around."

 

[huskymedic]

http://articles.courant.com/1998-09-27/sports/9809270228_1_yale-bowl-football-alumni-uconn

 

[Bulldog Fan]

Oh, please. Rewrite history much? Yale always insisted on dictating terms. They would never come to Storrs. Being on the receiving end of the high hat is the true manifestation of "what goes around comes around."

Starting in the 90's games were played at Storrs. I think both schools were happy to play most of the series at the Yale Bowl, as the facilities at Storrs at the time were simply too small to accommodate the large crowds the game drew.