What-If

[AZHuskiePop]

We stayed in the Big East for BB(and all other sports) and became Independent for Football.
This seems to be a the worse case. If it is, our situation doesn't seem that bad.
There's no shortage of Eastern Independents +a few Western Schools
to play every year. If we really want to make a serious commitment to football, it at least gives us time to truly become a BCS caliber program. If you add Xavier or Temple you would still have one of the top BB conferences in the country.
Having said that first prize is the B1G. We have so much more in common with the Mid-west than we do with the South. Language, culture, history.

 

[BarkingDog]

Why would the Big East basketball schools let UConn do that? Only one school has had that kind of deal and no other school is going to get it.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

This is a doomsday scenario. No more BE football , why wouln't they want to keep us for BB

 

[businesslawyer]

This is a doomsday scenario. No more BE football , why wouln't they want to keep us for BB

They would. The Catholics aren't trying to walk away from us

 

[FfldCntyFan]

In reality this is exactly what the bulk of the catholic schools are hoping for. With a lukewarm appreciation of Louisville (primarily due to their head coach but also because of the revenue they generate in men's hoops) aside, we are the only football member that the catholics really give a about having as a basketball member. If they could have us drop football or become an independent, they would ship the remaining football schools out to CUSA quicker than you could blink.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

There's no money in it. UConn would need an independent tv contract, and that's a fairy tale.

 

[noeynox]

We stayed in the Big East for BB(and all other sports) and became Independent for Football.
This seems to be a the worse case. If it is, our situation doesn't seem that bad.
There's no shortage of Eastern Independents +a few Western Schools
to play every year. If we really want to make a serious commitment to football, it at least gives us time to truly become a BCS caliber program. If you add Xavier or Temple you would still have one of the top BB conferences in the country.
Having said that first prize is the B1G. We have so much more in common with the Mid-west than we do with the South. Language, culture, history.

Without the TV money that comes from being in a BCS conference, where is the money going to come from to build us into a "truly" BCS caliber program? TV money is king right now, and why these moves are happening.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If you develop a srong local brand. You will develop a revenue stream
that you don't share with anyone else.Isn't this what BYU is doing?

 

[arnie3]

They would. The Catholics aren't trying to walk away from us

True, and we are one of the few originals left.

 

[coachcap]

If you develop a srong local brand. You will develop a revenue stream
that you don't share with anyone else.Isn't this what BYU is doing?

BYU & Notre Dame have something that UConn lacks the backing of fans due to religious ties. It's what drives subscriptions to the BYU Network.In Notre Dame's case, they were THE Catholic university with a rich history of football success. Being a Notre Dame fan was passed down from one generation to the next. Back in the 60's & 70's one was just as likely to listen to Tony Roberts call ND games on their vast radio network for both football & basketball as one would listen to any other team, either college or professional. They were the original America's Team & one either loved or hated them. This is why NBC was willing to shell out the big bucks for ND football. UConn would not have even a miniscuke amount of such cachet except inside the boundaries of the state.

 

[UConnNick]

We stayed in the Big East for BB(and all other sports) and became Independent for Football.
This seems to be a the worse case. If it is, our situation doesn't seem that bad.
There's no shortage of Eastern Independents +a few Western Schools
to play every year. If we really want to make a serious commitment to football, it at least gives us time to truly become a BCS caliber program. If you add Xavier or Temple you would still have one of the top BB conferences in the country.
Having said that first prize is the B1G. We have so much more in common with the Mid-west than we do with the South. Language, culture, history.

UCONN football will not make it as an independent. Apart from extreme scheduling difficulties, no TV money and no automatic bowl tie-ins, the state just invested a small fortune in the football program. Playing as an independent is about the same thing as saying UCONN goes back to playing in the old Yankee Conference/A-10/CAA or whatever its being called these days. Now that the program is established in DI-A, you can't expect fans to get excited about going back to watching the Huskies play Maine, UNH and URI again. This mess is about football and football only. Forget basketball and who we are more culturally aligned with. It's all about the $$$ and how to get as much of it as you can...regional alliances be damned.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

I'm sure this is something the school is seriously looking at if there are any more departures and Boise St. and company don't come riding to the rescue. We really wouldn't be "giving up" BCS-caliber TV money by going our own way for FB because a Mountain West / Conference USA / Big East FB conference simply is not going to generate BCS-caliber money.

If the Catholics split and ND heads to the Big XII or the Big 10, I think UConn should follow. We could probably poach Xavier from the A10 to get to 9 teams for a 16-game conference BB schedule. This safeguards the BB brand at a critical juncture and keeps travel costs down for non-FB sports which allows us to sustain success in soccer and baseball. Finally, it avoids any ties on the FB side that would complicate a jump to a BCS conference down the road -- which would be a point in our favor when some unknowable realignment development six months from now causes the ACC (or Big 10) to suddenly need another member on a short timeframe.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If you develop a srong local brand. You will develop a revenue stream
that you don't share with anyone else.Isn't this what BYU is doing?

1 - BYU averages at least 25k more fans per home game than we do.

2 - BYU has nbough of a name and tradition (a national title and a heisman trophy) to build a reasonable schedule, something we cannot do yet.

3 - Most important of all is that ESPN gave them a television contract (which many believce was a move to weaken the MWC, a comcast property) that allows them to operate as an independent. I doubt that ESPN or anyone) nwould offer us a fraction of what BYU gets.

This isn't 1980. There no longer is a slew of eastern independents and television revenue now covers the lion's share of not only the specific sport's operating budget but also most other sports (that do not generate much revenue).

 

[huskyrob1]

This is a doomsday scenario. No more BE football , why wouln't they want to keep us for BB

They definitely do want to keep UCONN for basketball. If the league loses UCONN for mens and womens bball the league would cease to exist, the catholic schools know it and Marinatto knows it. The BE Tourney at MSG would be a joke and Marinatto a bigger joke as he trys to get the service academies to join in football only. If UCONN leaves, it would not surprise me to see Marinatto resign. What's leading the league down to path of destruction has always been greed on the part of the founding bball only schools and of course the bball pompousity that Providence showed in running the conf. Their ignorance of Football because they didn't play the sport, before it was way too late, going all the way back to the Penn State fiasco, is coming back to haunt them.