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Message: [QUOTE="ctchamps, post: 3356444, member: 37"] The AAC would have been respected if UConn and Memphis lived up to their historical norms. The bottom of the AAC did not drag the conference down as much as our subpar play. Rivalries need relevance. In the OBE our rivalries changed because we stayed relevant as most teams went through phases. The one exception was Syracuse which is why we love dumping on them more than any other team we have been conference affiliated with since the Yankee Conference. For example early in JC's UConn career we had a strong rivalry with BCU. They were geographically close, they had good teams and JC was a Boston guy. After going on that large win streak (20 straight wins against them?) they were unimportant to us and the rivalry shifted to Pitt, Nova, and Syracuse. The women's team didn't need rivalries to be nationally respected. The BE developed into a modicum of respect because UConn women carried the conference on their back and brought up some teams. This really didn't happen for them in the AAC. It didn't matter. UConn women had a large bullseye on their back because everyone they played against circled that game against UConn on their calendar. They were the de facto rivals of everyone. UCLA and USC football used to be a huge nationally perceived rivalry. It still is locally but UCLA has been in the dumps a long time and USC has been as well recently. The rivalry between Michigan and OSU has lost a lot of luster with the dominance of OSU. This is similar to what happened between us and BCU although Michigan never became as irrelevant. If those football teams played each other twice or three times every year the interest would have decreased even more precipitously. I was less interested in which conference we played in based on rivalries. Fans should be excited to watch their team no matter which team we play against. For me it's fun to watch development of teams and players. IMO there is much too much emphasis on the goal (winning a NC) at the detriment of being engaged with the team and players over the course of the season. It's a natural extension of rooting for a successful program that has won it all many times, but it's an anchor against enjoying things as they play out. I have mixed emotions about going back to the BE. From a monetary standpoint it makes sense at this point in time. That's not a guarantee in the future. From a travel standpoint it's a significant improvement for most UConn sports sans football which is an unknown. That means fans can get to more venues increasing the noise potential at arenas as long as teams stay relevant. And relevancy is the key. The women's team draws large crowds in away games even when they are playing subpar teams. BCU struggled with attendance even though they are in the sexiest bb conference. Recruiting already has gotten a bump, but unless UConn does well that will rapidly change. Look at Georgetown. My biggest reservation is joining a league with small student enrollments. It will be harder for smaller universities to fund their ADs over time. For now I'm happy. But outside of the couple of recruits who came our way because of the BE bump the major happiness is the development of the team. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach