UConn Women's Basketball owns the AAC

[maddoggy]

Let's drop football. I don't even care if it would help our women's team, even if that would be a nice bonus.

The time is long, long past when any university should be endorsing a sport that destroys the minds and bodies of so many kids that the school should be protecting and nurturing. I don't care if it costs us booster donations. I don't care if we seem less "manly" because we don't play football.

Let's be leaders.

I hear this argument made quite often. I agree that the AAC is not the most challenging , but it is where they are now. What is the solution to this problem?
It appears that UConn has tried numerous times to move up into a more competitive group. If it were only the women's basketball team , but the entire sports program must travel with the Husky ladies. What conference wants UConn football? Until there can be a "super conference" of the very best teams, our women are held back by the men's teams. It is frustrating, but is there an alternative?

 

[Bama fan]

She said she wanted to play in a more challenging conference. I'm assuming she didn't mean the AAC.

I never saw that quote. Could be that she said it. Where can I find that article or quote? I looked at a lot of her comments, certainly not all, but I cannot find that one. Thanks for the insight.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

If both of you agree that he is a "genious", neither of you is a genius. Keep trying, Rocky boy.

No, I won't. How many happy geniuses do you know @Bama fan. Such a fine line between genius and madness. Spelling has never been a strength of mine and the tendency to slip the extra o in is my biggest spelling fail.

 

[Bama fan]

Let's drop football. I don't even care if it would help our women's team, even if that would be a nice bonus.

The time is long, long past when any university should be endorsing a sport that destroys the minds and bodies of so many kids that the school should be protecting and nurturing. I don't care if it costs us booster donations. I don't care if we seem less "manly" because we don't play football.

Let's be leaders.

I would not be bothered at all if UConn , or any school, decided to drop football because it is too dangerous for students to play. But schools who discontinue football most often find it too costly rather than the more wholesome regard for student wellness. Here in Birmingham, Al. the UAB leadership group dropped football three years ago. They were losing money and had little alumni support. But a large group of well heeled grads formed a committee to bring it back and guaranteed money and fans in the stands. The team was reconstituted and won their bowl game in 2018 season. The way UConn football played defense last year, it seems as though they just experimented with dropping one half of the program. Each school has to find funds to meet their priorities. Not an easy task in today's environment. Good luck to UConn in that pursuit.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

We all knew it would take a toll eventually, it was just a question of whether it was going to be five years or ten. First recruiting, then tourney seeding as our weak conference schedule is used against us. This year #1 seed in Albany, next year the 3 seed in Siberia.

Yeah, but have you seen the Siberian women.

 

[Bama fan]

No, I won't. How many happy geniuses do you know @Bama fan. Such a fine line between genius and madness. Spelling has never been a strength of mine and the tendency to slip the extra o in is my biggest spelling fail.

All of the geniuses I know are happy. Now that set is sparsely populated to be sure. Approaching { }. But I have been told that it takes great perspicacity to recognize true genius, so my tools may be limiting me. I had a very brilliant older sister who could not spell for love nor money. She is gone now, but probably minding the heavenly dictionary as we speak! One must do what one must.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Thus far, we've had a "monopoly" on the AAC. Which is sort of like having a monopoly on the two properties on the left of this image:

Problem is, we used to have something close to a monopoly on the properties on the right of the image.

The Community Chest was always good to me and the hotels are cheap on those two streets.

 

[Oldbones]

The best kids want to be challenged more regularly than we can provide in the AAC at present

I'm just not seeing this supposed competition night after night, anywhere. where is it?
BIG 12:
Baylor is 135-7 in the Big 12 over the past 8 years, finishing first all 8 years, adding another 23-1 record in winning the tournament 7 of 8 years. That's 158 and 8, and 15 of 16 championships.
PAC12:
Stanford went 155-7 between 2006 and 2014, winning all 8 regular seasons and 7 of 8 tournaments. Granted, they are now challenged by the Oregon teams, and Washington for a short while, but they remain dominant against almost everyone else.
ACC:
Notre Dame's first five ACC years yielded a 100-4 record, all 5 regular season championships, and 4 of 5 tournaments. And that's with Louisville in the same conference.
BIG Ten:
Maryland's first five years in the B1G yielded a 72-8 record, which included an off-year in 2017-2018. And that's with supposed WBB powers Ohio State and Rutgers in the same conference.
SEC:
Mississippi State and South Carolina dominate a top-heavy (or bottom-light) SEC. South Carolina was 81-7 over the past five regular seasons, finishing first four times and second once, with Mississippi State filling in most of the missing trophy pieces.

Now, that's more competitive than 120-0(+/-) by UCONN, but not much more.

 

[bbballfan23]

Please go get checked if you think UConn is in jeopardy of losing this weekend. Especially if Lou returns.

 

[willtalk]

When Boston said she picked South Carolina because of god, what did she really mean?

God did not want her to go to Uconn because God felt intimidated by their coach.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Let's drop football. I don't even care if it would help our women's team, even if that would be a nice bonus.

The time is long, long past when any university should be endorsing a sport that destroys the minds and bodies of so many kids that the school should be protecting and nurturing. I don't care if it costs us booster donations. I don't care if we seem less "manly" because we don't play football.

Let's be leaders.[/QUOTE

let's not. UConn began playing football in 1896 and against local high schools (!) and ymca teams. that makes aboot 122 years so far as I figger it, and much further in longevity, than, oh idk, the vast majority of national governments on planet earth. I endorse football, and pretty much any legal thing else an American wants to do. don't like smoking, drinking, firearms, or riding without a helmet? fine. don't do it, but stop telling the rest of us what not to do. practically speaking, football is the cash of college sports, too. fall days and football, we like it, for a looooong time. wuss away all u want, we ain't listening. AAC!

 

[maddoggy]

I would not be bothered at all if UConn , or any school, decided to drop football because it is too dangerous for students to play. But schools who discontinue football most often find it too costly rather than the more wholesome regard for student wellness. Here in Birmingham, Al. the UAB leadership group dropped football three years ago. They were losing money and had little alumni support. But a large group of well heeled grads formed a committee to bring it back and guaranteed money and fans in the stands. The team was reconstituted and won their bowl game in 2018 season. The way UConn football played defense last year, it seems as though they just experimented with dropping one half of the program. Each school has to find funds to meet their priorities. Not an easy task in today's environment. Good luck to UConn in that pursuit.

You are right (and I should have said I didn't care if it cost UConn money from alumni OR OUTSIDE SUPPORTERS). A university, especially a public one, should lead by example, not sell its soul. And, for those who believe that money is paramount, I would suggest using your favorite search engine to look for <college football dementia lawsuits>or words to that effect. Winter is coming.

 

[maddoggy]

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here, but I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not suggesting that UConn should ban students from playing football on their own. I'm saying a public school whose mission statements say it wants to "promote the health and well-being of citizens" should not be endorsing something that it KNOWS is damaging to the students for whose health it is responsible.

It may not have started in 1896, but here is how UConn identifies what the UConn Health program should mean:

"A commitment to human health and well-being has been of utmost importance to UConn Health since the founding of the University of Connecticut schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine in 1961."

Our amcestors didn't know about CTE in 1896. But we do.

 

[bbballfan23]

Things that won’t change anytime soon. Being in the AAC, having a short bench. Stop crying over spilled milk!

 

[mbr33ct]

In reply to those that that disagree with my comment concerning UConn play and the AAC, you certainly are entitled to your opinion. In my opinion, the mystique of UConn's greatness is waning. With the graduation of Lou and Pheesa, prospects are mightly low for next years team unless a couple of rabbits are pulled out of the hat. All of you had a glimpse of what that team looked like on floor during the USF game and it was not the high quality basketball that occurred in the past. It was frantic. The best part of the game was the quickness of the 4 guards and ONO who pressed the USF team to fluster their play. I'm not sure that this type of play is going to beat a Baylor with 3 6'5 players. And the way they played during that game, they would be crushed by a Louisville, Mississippi State, and other top 10 teams bringing their A game. Disagree, if you must, but I saw what I saw and the single recruit for next year does not give many options or the balance they have had in the past.

As other have mentioned we all have our opinions (I'm not going there ). Let me just give my 2 cents worth here. How were the "glimpses" against @Oklahoma and @Cinci. To my recollection both of them games offended my eyes but UConn slugged it out and won both games. I have attached the three box scores from UConn in the Oklahoma, Cinci and USF games. I guess my point is in both of them games Lou played 40 minutes in each game, would you say that UConn played at "high quality basketball"?

In the USF game, I hope one is not forgetting UConn barely had a day of practice, since the Saturday game that Lou went down, to get acclimated of playing without Lou. Also, these 3 box scores also says (to me), both ONO and Coombs have progressed in play and in minutes.

Last thing, it's gets tiresome when people say, if UConn played Baylor, Louisville, Miss St and other top 10 teams bring their A game...and we don't...they would get crushed or other adjectives. It's the understatement of the world. Geno has been saying this all along, the flip side is that if UConn is able to play their A game.....(are other teams allowed not to have their A game...or is it just UConn?)

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here, but I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not suggesting that UConn should ban students from playing football on their own. I'm saying a public school whose mission statements say it wants to "promote the health and well-being of citizens" should not be endorsing something that it KNOWS is damaging to the students for whose health it is responsible.

It may not have started in 1896, but here is how UConn identifies what the UConn Health program should mean:

"A commitment to human health and well-being has been of utmost importance to UConn Health since the founding of the University of Connecticut schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine in 1961."

Our amcestors didn't know about CTE in 1896. But we do.

gramps likes to say 'all opeepo talk aboot is money and health. it's sooo boring, and then they start telling everybody else what to do about them. sheesh.' self-righteous peak babyboomer claptrap happened aboot a decade ago with legislation mandating health care. the folks weren't down with that, so, poof! no more mandate. we rock. our founding philosophy speaks of 'life (protect us from the bad guys), liberty (don't tread on me), and the pursuit of happiness (widely understood at the time as having a chance).' since most historians summarize human existence as nothing more than 'chance and circumstance,' it seems the founders' had it right. nothing in our rulebook aboot me having to care aboot your personal health. if I choose to, fine. if I don't, also fine. ya know, back in 1896, the #1 cause of acute death was alimentary dis-ease, which then rapidly diminished as the widespread adoption of the true medical advance in antibiotics took hold. sadly today, national longevity is declining, mostly due to overdose triggered by depression (editorial point: proally cuz folks are literally sick of everyone else telling them what to do! lol). here, i'll help. alcohol, smoking, twinkies, concussions, etc aren't the problem. stress is. stress kills, and here is one 'prescription:'

"F!M!R!I!" or "P!E!T!" cheered no one when watching them play.
https://uconn-today-universityofcon...ntent/uploads/2016/11/FootballPlayers1927.jpg

 

[Biff]

Let's drop football. I don't even care if it would help our women's team, even if that would be a nice bonus.

The time is long, long past when any university should be endorsing a sport that destroys the minds and bodies of so many kids that the school should be protecting and nurturing. I don't care if it costs us booster donations. I don't care if we seem less "manly" because we don't play football.

Let's be leaders.

I would not be bothered at all if UConn , or any school, decided to drop football because it is too dangerous for students to play. But schools who discontinue football most often find it too costly rather than the more wholesome regard for student wellness. Here in Birmingham, Al. the UAB leadership group dropped football three years ago. They were losing money and had little alumni support. But a large group of well heeled grads formed a committee to bring it back and guaranteed money and fans in the stands. The team was reconstituted and won their bowl game in 2018 season. The way UConn football played defense last year, it seems as though they just experimented with dropping one half of the program. Each school has to find funds to meet their priorities. Not an easy task in today's environment. Good luck to UConn in that pursuit.

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make here, but I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying. I'm not suggesting that UConn should ban students from playing football on their own. I'm saying a public school whose mission statements say it wants to "promote the health and well-being of citizens" should not be endorsing something that it KNOWS is damaging to the students for whose health it is responsible.

It may not have started in 1896, but here is how UConn identifies what the UConn Health program should mean:

"A commitment to human health and well-being has been of utmost importance to UConn Health since the founding of the University of Connecticut schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine in 1961."

Our amcestors didn't know about CTE in 1896. But we do.

I see how the Football conversation started, but it's going too far for this forum. If you want to talk the benefits and hazards of football and how it affects conference affiliations, please take it to the Conf. Realignment board or the football board but don't continue it here. Thanks.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I see how the Football conversation started, but it's going too far for this forum. If you want to talk the benefits and hazards of football and how it affects conference affiliations, please take it to the Conf. Realignment board or the football board but don't continue it here. Thanks.

fair enuf. ur right. as snoop would say, 'back to the lecture at hand.' not only does UConn own the AAC, but it also owns the NCAAs as well. as we await another episode of 'the Husky Invitational Tournament' to unfold, i'm really liking our chances. as usual.

 

[uconnfan68]

How about Haley Jones?

Meh, Stanford is a special environment. Can’t blame her for choosing local Stanford over 3000 miles away UConn.

 

[BroadwayVa]

T

I hear this argument made quite often. I agree that the AAC is not the most challenging , but it is where they are now. What is the solution to this problem?
It appears that UConn has tried numerous times to move up into a more competitive group. If it were only the women's basketball team , but the entire sports program must travel with the Husky ladies. What conference wants UConn football? Until there can be a "super conference" of the very best teams, our women are held back by the men's teams. It is frustrating, but is there an alternative?

There is no choice. You've name the problems. Independent?? Full of other problems. At least in the AAC Uconn can win a Conference and it's title and get an NCAA birth. It matters little while Uconn is running rampant around the WBB schools. When the squeeze came, comes it hurts the program more. Geno would love the old BE or ACC, but who will invite him? Acceptance is a virtue so take your most pious pose and say: Lord help me to change those things I can change, accept the things I cannot change---and know the difference between the two. A lesson in humility.

 

[CL82]

Well, my butcher, who is an absolute basketball fanatic for both men's and women's college ball and watches every UConn women's game that doesn't conflict with his beloved MSU Bobcats, that butcher says we have to jettison football and be welcomed back into the smaller Big East and there is money there like never before. He's a basketball fan nonpareil. Since he agrees with me on this, I think he's a genious.

Have you heard that the projected earnings for the AAC with the new ESPN deal are about twice what Big East is making? Not SEC money by a long shot, but the best of the G5 by a wide margin.