UConn's Football Failures Are Catching Up to It, and the School Has Itself to Blame (P. Forde @ SI Column) | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn's Football Failures Are Catching Up to It, and the School Has Itself to Blame (P. Forde @ SI Column)

mikeinmanila said:
A blatantly one sided article masquerading as journalism. Blaming Benedict is beyond ridiculous when he has actually done an amazing job turning things around.

The better question to ask is, "Why does SI continue to slide into irrelevance?"
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I haven't sought out SI content on purpose in 15 years. ESPN is next.
 
We've tried more than anyone to financially keep up with the Jones's when you factor in all the subsidizing our AD we've done. Now because of covid we have to make cuts and hes trashing us?
I cant believe his editor approved this idea. Although with no sports I'm sure they are bored out of their skulls and desperate for anything over 100 words.
 
Why the vitriol? I want to thank Pat for his interest in UConn athletics. UConn clearly piques the interest of sports fans/writers everywhere. Thanks Pat.
 
I’m kind of torn on this. Most of the football-related moves have been disastrous since Edsall left us high and dry the 1st time.

However, with the move to the Big East for most sports and with football going independent while landing a TV contract (CBS sports network) and some big name games on the schedule, it seems like the potential to right the ship is the best it’s been in 15 years. Edsall is 80th out of 123 D1 coaches in compensation, so while Forde harps on his weird bonus structure, he’s still a relative bargain. I don’t think the school will pony up the required money for a needed replacement especially with the current state of the school’s finances and the pandemic’s impact on it. Hopefully in a year or two they’ll be in a better position to get someone new.

I think the choice is either to stay D1 or to dissolve completely. The UConn fanbase just won’t support a lower tier football program. We would also need to keep the team around to keep any hope of making into a power conference if they ever realign again into 4 mega conferences. A lot of the revenue issues should improve with less travel being out of the AAC and more sacrificial lamb buy games on the schedule where we go get pummeled by a good team for a paycheck.

It does suck for the sports that will get cut and the athletes, but we’re basically committed to basketball, baseball, football, soccer, ice hockey and field hockey and compete nationally in all but football currently.
 
He seems unaware that all scholarships will be honored.
 
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UconnPT2007 said:
I’m kind of torn on this. Most of the football-related moves have been disastrous since Edsall left us high and dry the 1st time.

However, with the move to the Big East for most sports and with football going independent while landing a TV contract (CBS sports network) and some big name games on the schedule, it seems like the potential to right the ship is the best it’s been in 15 years. Edsall is 80th out of 123 D1 coaches in compensation, so while Forde harps on his weird bonus structure, he’s still a relative bargain. I don’t think the school will pony up the required money for a needed replacement especially with the current state of the school’s finances and the pandemic’s impact on it. Hopefully in a year or two they’ll be in a better position to get someone new.

I think the choice is either to stay D1 or to dissolve completely. The UConn fanbase just won’t support a lower tier football program. We would also need to keep the team around to keep any hope of making into a power conference if they ever realign again into 4 mega conferences. A lot of the revenue issues should improve with less travel being out of the AAC and more sacrificial lamb buy games on the schedule where we go get pummeled by a good team for a paycheck.

It does suck for the sports that will get cut and the athletes, but we’re basically committed to basketball, baseball, football, soccer, ice hockey and field hockey and compete nationally in all but football currently.
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Is the issue the money football loses or the fact the them has lost a lot?

People act like they can't win and they can't cut that deficit with good marketing and good football and better management.

Cincinnati cut soccer. That is a sport that is huge in Ohio. That is a bugger deal IMO than tennis.
 
We're going to be fine. The new schedules are very good, we have the best recruiting class in years, and the chaos from cornonavirus will destabilize the landscape and create opportunities. AD Dave is an absolute terminator focused on protecting UConn athletics. We are in the catbird seat.
 
Has there been any official or UConn-related (former player or coach, for example) response to the article or its content? Not that I would expect it, but just curious if anyone has heard. It was shallow, but could be damning to recruits or outsiders. Thanks.
 
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seeya27 said:
Has there been any official or UConn-related (former player or coach, for example) response to the article or its content? Not that I would expect it, but just curious if anyone has heard. It was shallow, but could be damning to recruits or outsiders. Thanks.
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Since the modern media cycle is 12.5 minutes, maybe you just move forward and ignore. AD David Benedict has to get his plan together for 25% savings over three years.

That said, it would seem very difficult for AD DB not to want to give a call and correct some of this slander.
 
I wish Charlotte Caroll was covering UConn football in addition to hoops for The Athletic. Or at least was able to write a few articles about it. Would be helpful to be able to use her as a national mouthpiece in situations like this to combat dumb narratives.
 
Exit 4 said:
Since the modern media cycle is 12.5 minutes, maybe you just move forward and ignore. AD David Benedict has to get his plan together for 25% savings over three years.

That said, it would seem very difficult for AD DB not to want to give a call and correct some of this slander.
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AD David Benedict has been on fire, particularly the last 12 months, but this might be lesson learned to not use the media to give warning to the fanbase for these types of things. It just created 4 snarky, doom & gloom pieces (2 locally, 2 nationally) that act as if the sky is falling like we are all shareholders and the sports that bring in revenue (MBB, WBB, FB) or sports that the university is highly competitive in (FH, BSB, MSOC, WSOC) are going to be lost.

I feel terrible that scholarships and programs will be lost in all of this, but the media coverage has far exceeded what's likely to transpire as a result of COVID and not because Bob Diaco cared about energy vampires more than punt returns or Hathaway scared Edsall off prior to the Fiesta Bowl.
 
Storrs South said:
AD David Benedict has been on fire, particularly the last 12 months, but this might be lesson learned to not use the media to give warning to the fanbase for these types of things.
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Its a little surprising he decided the media trial balloon because the results were highly predictable... but maybe there was a hidden strategy there to deal with the BOT and other university stakeholders.
 
Exit 4 said:
Its a little surprising he decided the media trial balloon because the results were highly predictable... but maybe there was a hidden strategy there to deal with the BOT and other university stakeholders.
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I hope so. Otherwise you're giving sports writers something that is normally vegetables, but in a time where there are no sports being played, it's red meat served on a platter.
 
Okay I’ll bite. Most parts of this article have been vilified on this board.
AD David Benedict screwed up on (fill in the blank for most items excluding Hurley hiring up until a few months ago)-check
Hiring Diaco was a mistake-check
Stadium 30 minutes away is bad-check
Bonuses are ridiculous-check
Paul P was a bad hire-check
Etc., etc., etc.
It hurts a lot, but predominantly spot on
 
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Huskygrad88 said:
Okay I’ll bite. Most parts of this article have been vilified on this board.
AD David Benedict screwed up on (fill in the blank for most items excluding Hurley hiring up until a few months ago)-check
Hiring Diaco was a mistake-check
Stadium 30 minutes away is bad-check
Bonuses are ridiculous-check
Paul P was a bad hire-check
Etc., etc., etc.
It hurts a lot, but predominantly spot on
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Its the smugness and the ridicule.... and the failure to acknowledge we run far more sports than most outside of the P5 and to acknowledge that we are far from alone - most universities outside the P5 have sports programs in similar difficult financial straights.... And fan attendance everywhere is falling - even in the SEC!
 
For better or worse, the national opinion on Uconn football is that it is done and only a matter of time before it's buried with with the conference change and independence. That was before this Covid crisis. The only thing that will change that at this point is winning. When you're getting your tail handed to you in a conference, the likelihood of recruiting guys from other areas of the country as an indy is not a good bet. The question is if there is enough time to pull it back out of the swamp before the money runs out. They're on the clock so to speak and it got shorter with this Covid deal.
 
don356 said:
When you're getting your tail handed to you in a conference, the likelihood of recruiting guys from other areas of the country as an indy is not a good bet.
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FWIW the odds appear to be getting beter...
  1. Justin Cayenne (TE/DE) - The Bolles School, Jacksonville Florida (UConn Commit 5/7/20)
  2. Pryce Yates (DL) - Reagan High School, San Antonio Texas (UConn Commit 5/15/21)
  3. Maxwell Modeste (RB) - Byron Nelson High School, Trophy Club Texas (UConn Commit 5/19/20)
  4. Femi Sakiri (OL/DL) - Byron Nelson High School, Trophy Club Texas (UConn Commit 5/21/20)
  5. Joshua Tracey (WR/DB) - Bridgeport CT attending Avon Old Farms (UConn Commit 5/22/20)
  6. Yakiri Walker (OL) - DeSoto High School, DeSoto Texas (UConn Commit 5/25/20)
#7 incoming today...
 
@don356

College football seems to be the only sport where many equate a rough decade as being terminal. What other sport does this get said as frequently? We are going to navigate this COVid financial crisis and then go from there. Independent football could be the spring board to some winning and a little winning is all we need.
 
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Exit 4 said:
@don356

College football seems to be the only sport where many equate a rough decade as being terminal. What other sport does this get said as frequently? We are going to navigate this COVid financial crisis and then go from there. Independent football could be the spring board to some winning and a little winning is all we need.
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College football is the sport most vulnerable to bad hires. If a coach drives a program into the ground like P and (especially) Diaco did it takes a long time to fix. It's like trying to turn a supertanker. It takes time.
 
mikeinmanila said:
A blatantly one sided article masquerading as journalism. Blaming Benedict is beyond ridiculous when he has actually done an amazing job turning things around.

The better question to ask is, "Why does SI continue to slide into irrelevance?"
Expand ...

At this point, it’s a “zombie brand”. One of many formerly prestigious news outlets like Newsweek or Forbes that exist mostly as content farms but trading on the prestige of the publication’s past for credibility.
 
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kingdobbs said:
At this point, it’s a “zombie brand”. One of many formerly prestigious news outlets like Newsweek or Forbes that exist mostly as content farms but trading on the prestige of the publication’s past for credibility.
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The only writers worth a damn at SI are long gone. It was once head and shoulders the best sports mag, with great writers. You just don't get the in-depth articles that you used to see in SI anymore.
 
uconnric said:
The only writers worth a damn at SI are long gone. It was once head and shoulders the best sports mag, with great writers. You just don't get the in-depth articles that you used to see in SI anymore.
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That’s exactly it. It was one of the brands of newsmagazine that didn’t weather the transition away from print very well, and the only thing that really ended up having any value in the end was a prestige brand name to be able to put your low quality farmed content under so you could get those precious clicks.
 
Exit 4 said:
Its the smugness and the ridicule.... and the failure to acknowledge we run far more sports than most outside of the P5 and to acknowledge that we are far from alone - most universities outside the P5 have sports programs in similar difficult financial straights.... And fan attendance everywhere is falling - even in the SEC!
Expand ...
Based on the tone from some other members on the site, I assumed smugness and ridicule were acceptable attributes here!
 
Huskygrad88 said:
Based on the tone from some other members on the site, I assumed smugness and ridicule were acceptable attributes here!
Expand ...
Probably a different standard for a magazine, no?
 
Given the economic mess the ACC may soon find itself in, I would not be shocked that some day, a few years from now, the conference may invite UConn as a member. It may be slightly different in terms of members, then. Some may jump ship, somehow avoiding exit fees. But if such an opportunity arises, UConn has to do better than last time.
 
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