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WE are a basketball School

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Yankees32123 said:
Screw football. Our program will not be good again for a long time. You can't just become better at football over a few seasons. It takes years and years to build a football program and we don't have years. Basketball will suffer too much while we wait for football and that's not worth it. Basketball recruiting will be better if we were in the Big East.
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I'm a huge fan of UConn's sports teams but my focus has been primarily men's bb. The majority of posts I've made have been in this forum. The sheer number reflects my passion for this sport. However, by far and away the most important thing for me is the direction this university is taking in it's approach academically. So if sports ends up being intramural so be it. I'll find other things to preoccupy my time.

However, unlike you, I have a positive feeling about UConn's position in the sports world. That makes me all in for positioning the university to be a fish in the big pond as opposed to a fish in a puddle. And don't kid yourself, the BE and the AAC are puddles.

People who argue for mediocrity usually end up being mediocre. I prefer this administrations approach with the Big! picture in mind. It's a gamble certainly but it's a gamble that I'm backing. I'm willing to be patient and not prone to playing the game frightened. Backing away from football when it is the most important card in the current universe of college athletics is like keeping the two of clubs and throwing out the ace of spades when none of the cards match.
 
Yankees32123 said:
Screw football. Our program will not be good again for a long time. You can't just become better at football over a few seasons. It takes years and years to build a football program and we don't have years. Basketball will suffer too much while we wait for football and that's not worth it. Basketball recruiting will be better if we were in the Big East.
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Football runs the NCAA and takes in the money. So saying screw that means saying screw the $150,000,000 spent on football.
 
Oh good this again. If we go back to the big east we further jeopardize the future well being of ALL UConn sports with no hope for a P5 spot. At least in the American there is a chance to get one of the last P5 spots. Why don't all the big east slurpers realize this? Both options are horrible but only one is a death sentence.

If the aac loses two or more teams and the p5 break away and UConn isn't included then sure go back to playing some old friends. But the athletic department isn't going to pronounce itself dead before it has to.
 
The Big East is still missing those top tier teams like Syracuse, Pitt and UCONN. That does mean something as those teams carried the Big East the last twenty years. Last year Nova was the flag bearing school of the Big East and they were dismantled by UCONN.

To say the new Big East is similar in strength to the older Big East hasn't been paying attention the past twenty years.
 
lange10 said:
Check your eyesight. Big east is likely going to have 6 tourny teams this year, maybe 7 if St Johns gets it together. Marquette will be a very good team for years to come now. Big east is clearly worse than it was when us, Cuse, Pitt, Louisville were still in it but to say the current big east isn't far and away better than the AAC is just delusional. Most importantly, the big east gets RESPECT. Selection committee doesn't think anything of the AAC.
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Check your eyesight for distance. The P5 are coming for the hoop tournament next.
 
lange10 said:
Check your eyesight. Big east is likely going to have 6 tourny teams this year, maybe 7 if St Johns gets it together. Marquette will be a very good team for years to come now. Big east is clearly worse than it was when us, Cuse, Pitt, Louisville were still in it but to say the current big east isn't far and away better than the AAC is just delusional. Most importantly, the big east gets RESPECT. Selection committee doesn't think anything of the AAC.
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I think people are delusional if they think a P5 will ever pick us because of our football program. Our hopes reside in basketball and if that locks us out so be it. Our football program is now in permanent purgatory. We want to stay in a football conference to move up but unfortunately this football conference will never be good enough for us to do so as our recruiting is getting worst and worst. Let's just stop pretending we will ever be a good football program(our chances passed with the old big east) and join the new big east and save our Bball teams.
 
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fleudslipcon said:
I'm a huge fan of UConn's sports teams but my focus has been primarily men's bb. The majority of posts I've made have been in this forum. The sheer number reflects my passion for this sport. However, by far and away the most important thing for me is the direction this university is taking in it's approach academically. So if sports ends up being intramural so be it. I'll find other things to preoccupy my time.

However, unlike you, I have a positive feeling about UConn's position in the sports world. That makes me all in for positioning the university to be a fish in the big pond as opposed to a fish in a puddle. And don't kid yourself, the BE and the AAC are puddles.

People who argue for mediocrity usually end up being mediocre. I prefer this administrations approach with the Big! picture in mind. It's a gamble certainly but it's a gamble that I'm backing. I'm willing to be patient and not prone to playing the game frightened. Backing away from football when it is the most important card in the current universe of college athletics is like keeping the two of clubs and throwing out the ace of spades when none of the cards match.
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We are a basketball powerhouse. A basketball school first and foremost. Our football team sucks and it will take years and years before Diaco can make it the least bit respectable. Or if he ever can. I want immediate solutions so we don't screw our basketball team too. If we wait 5-10 years for a P5 spot, our program may be irrelevant. And it may take that long.
 
3rdbass said:
I think people are delusional if they think a P5 will ever pick us because of our football program. Our hopes reside in basketball and if that locks us out so be it. Our football program is now in permanent purgatory. We want to stay in a football conference to move up but unfortunately this football conference will never be good enough for us to do so as our recruiting is getting worst and worst. Let's just stop pretending we will ever be a good football program(our chances passed with the old big east) and join the new big east and save our Bball teams.
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How does the New Big East save UConn's basketball teams exactly?
 
There is no way UCONN football gets into a P5 league. It almost happened, but now that is a dream. So landing in the Big East for basketball is the best option. I hope I'm wrong, because any P5 bid is better than any non-P5 position.
 
Husky25 said:
How does the New Big East save UConn's basketball teams exactly?
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It gets us in a conference were are basketball stays relevant and playing in Northeast big TV markets as opposed to playing against the worthless AAC opponents. I mean playing Villanova and Georgetown and St. John's is a lot better than playing SMU, Tulsa and Temple. Recruits would rather play against Big East competition than AAC.
 
zls44 said:
Nobody watches the Big East games on Fox. Nobody. Noooooobody.

UConn against (insert crap AAC team here) is getting 4x as many eyeballs.
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Well I might give you that as the Fox sports channel is worthless. At least some of our games are on ESPN. Are all the big east games stuck on Fox Sports?
 
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3rdbass said:
I think people are delusional if they think a P5 will ever pick us because of our football program. Our hopes reside in basketball and if that locks us out so be it. Our football program is now in permanent purgatory. We want to stay in a football conference to move up but unfortunately this football conference will never be good enough for us to do so as our recruiting is getting worst and worst. Let's just stop pretending we will ever be a good football program(our chances passed with the old big east) and join the new big east and save our Bball teams.
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Thats my feeling. We are screwed either way, so lets get screwed together in the NBE. It is a better basketball conference than the AAC which is just putrid.

Everyone holding a candle for a P5 invite, I pity you. For whatever reason we are not getting in any time soon, and our Athletics are going to pretty much be down the toilet in the next decade. Depressing, yeah, but I stopped paying attention when it became so apparent we weren't getting the life raft any time soon (and possibly never) . If there is a chance we ever do get it, it will be so late as to have us rebuilding from the ground up again. Enjoy and savor the past 15 years, because I have a feeling we are just starting to scratch the surface this year on the types of hell we are going to face going forward. It is not going to be pretty.

To quote Steve Buscemi in the cinematic mastepiece "Armageddon" : "Guess what guys, it's time to embrace the horror!"

Take the above advice and then when you watch the S%^tshow that is this season, everything doesn't seem so bad in comparison.
 
Subject is moot. The state has invested millions in UConn football.
 
zls44 said:
Nobody watches the Big East games on Fox. Nobody. Noooooobody.

UConn against (insert crap AAC team here) is getting 4x as many eyeballs.
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Was looking up the ratings of some of the games, and stopped when I saw that UConn at Cincinnati pulled in just as many viewers on ESPN2 as FS1's highest rated game, Georgetown vs. Marquette (230,000 vs. 233,000).

Whoops, left out a small detail. It was the UConn Women playing Cincinnati.
 
3rdbass said:
Well I might give you that as the Fox sports channel is worthless. At least some of our games are on ESPN. Are all the big east games stuck on Fox Sports?
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They, like the AAC, have a handful on CBS and CBSSN. Otherwise, theyre locked in with Fox's .07's for a decade.
 
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The only con I can see to joining the Big East given our current athletic situation is the fact that their TV contract is with Fox Sports 1. I'd rather be on ESPN but at least you can stream on Fox Sports Go (duck* you CBS Sports Network)
 
Moral of the story: If we don't get good at football quickly, our entire athletic department dies
 
Yankees32123 said:
This is not true!! Jesus you all are paranoid.
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I suppose you'll enjoy cheering on our "elite" basketball program against the Holy Crosses and Trinity Colleges of the world. That's the scenario we will be looking at long-term if we do not get into a P5 conference.
 
I see no reason why we cant be the "Gonzaga" or "Memphis" of this conference until or if we ever get a P5 invite. The post season ban plus Ollie having only a short term contract didnt help with recruiting and cant be discounted here. I feel our BB programs will be fine regardless of conference. ACC hasn't been all that great for BC or Pitt of late.
 
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Yankees32123 said:
If it means maintaining our basketball program's eliteness…yes.
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Are you the author of that mess of an article? Your views seem to be very myopic. 10 years from now the NBE will not be in the top 5 basketball leagues. Uconn needs to get into a P5 league and the best way to do that is to support football.
 
CTGoonie said:
Are you the author of that mess of an article? Your views seem to be very myopic. 10 years from now the NBE will not be in the top 5 basketball leagues. Uconn needs to get into a P5 league and the best way to do that is to support football.
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But while we wait for football, we risk having to watch our basketball program crumble. Football is going to take years. And UConn's presence would take the NBE to a new level. There's risks and benefits to each scenario. Joining the NBE would support our Bball program in the immediate future and give new respect to the NBE as a conference, but sink our already sunk football program. Waiting for a P5 invite and staying in the AAC will sink our basketball team over time while we try and grow the football program. The latter is not worth it.
 
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3rdbass said:
It gets us in a conference were are basketball stays relevant and playing in Northeast big TV markets as opposed to playing against the worthless AAC opponents. I mean playing Villanova and Georgetown and St. John's is a lot better than playing SMU, Tulsa and Temple.
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Now. What about 4 years from now (Incidentally, I love how people put down Tulsa...What did they do to powerhouse UConn earlier this year?)

Okay you guys are so interest in the past and how great the Big East was and How great UConn was. Well ponder this for moment (Given the attention span of the anti-football crowd in general, I don't want to take up much more than that):

14 tournaments have been played since a team who's institution did not sponsor a football program at the highest level (D1-A) has won a NCAA National Basketball Championship.
29 tournaments have been played since a team who's conference did not sponsor a football program at the highest level (D1-A) has won a NCAA National Basketball Championship.

Now, correlation does not equal causation but that is only when you believe the correlation in this case applies to football. It does not. The correlation applies to money. If UConn goes to the Big East (which they cannot do. The Big East does not sponsor football and no other conference will accept football without the other programs, especially basketball.), they lose exposure in the short term, then money in the short and long terms. While you believe that being invited to a p5 conference is currently a longshot in the AAC, there is NO SHOT without football in the Big East at any point in the future.

That is as simple as I can put it. You may not like it, but it is the reality of the situation, so either accept it or let it go. Just stop complaining.
 
Yankees32123 said:
But while we wait for football, we risk having to watch our basketball program crumble. Football is going to take years. And UConn's presence would take the NBE to a new level.
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you need to sit down, strap on a seatbelt, and patiently wait for UConn to get off its exit in this hell ride. It will most likely either be a P5 conference when the next shake ups occur or the Big East when we give up. The P5 is worth waiting for. Buy some football tickets, stop by some of our tailgates and enjoy the rebuild. If UConn can take the NBE to a new level - it sure as hell can maintain in the AAC until we know if we have a spot or not.
 
August_West said:
Thats my feeling. We are screwed either way, so lets get screwed together in the NBE. It is a better basketball conference than the AAC which is just putrid.
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That's great...We're screwed either way so let's take one of the options off the table and self impose an increase of the incline to the already seemingly mountainous uphill obstacle of a journey. Yeah, let's do that...
 
Anyone who doesn'understand the importance of P5 status in today's College landscape will be in for a pleasant surprise as long as they enjoy the ride down to NIT status and the money saved from cheaper tickets and half empty buildings. We shouldn't be aspiring to that as a future for UConn athletics. And if you think it doesn't apply to all sports (most of which are doing quite well nationally thank you) it's going to be painful to remember how great we currently perform in Field Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, Track etc. Maybe Hockey could be sustained but the rest will suffer.
 
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