What now?

[Big Loubowski]

During the Illinois game, there were what seemed to be some signs of improvement, and the crowd was really pulling for these kids to put up a signature win. They were right in that game, and it was the first real tangible hope for turning this program around. Since then, they have suffered Diacoesque poundings every week with no signs of improvement. After listening to the latest Hartford Courant insider podcast(essentially a basketball preview), the discussion changed to football and topic of “What does Uconn do?” Dom Amore seemed to suggest that perhaps yet again is the time to start over again with a different coach given that UC is going independent. Fresh start and all that. It seems as though all the options are pretty poor. I would like to hear what others think of the best way to get out of this crappy spiral.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

What I would see is UConn asking the AAC if they can be FB only. Independence will kill the program, we aren't BYU or ND, so the Athletic Department is killing FB to save Basketball, but they are going to kill baseball, too. AAC is the 5th ranked conference in baseball, Big East is 20th. I think they should stop building the new baseball stadium...

 

[huskymedic]

I think they should stop building the new baseball stadium...

LOL... lights are up, dugouts and outfield walls are up, scoreboard installed, turf going down in the next few weeks.

You do know the Big East has an auto-bid to CWS.

 

[uconnfan68]

What I would see is UConn asking the AAC if they can be FB only. Independence will kill the program, we aren't BYU or ND, so the Athletic Department is killing FB to save Basketball, but they are going to kill baseball, too. AAC is the 5th ranked conference in baseball, Big East is 20th. I think they should stop building the new baseball stadium...

The AAC has already said 'no' to that. We couldn't do much in the AAC in basketball, so expecting to recreate our Big East records are a little premature.
This is what the future holds for many non-P5 schools.

 

[Redding Husky]

What I would see is UConn asking the AAC if they can be FB only. Independence will kill the program, we aren't BYU or ND, so the Athletic Department is killing FB to save Basketball, but they are going to kill baseball, too. AAC is the 5th ranked conference in baseball, Big East is 20th. I think they should stop building the new baseball stadium...

All of our other sports have been left to die on the vine to "save" basketball.

 

[Guapo]

All of our other sports have been left to die on the vine to "save" basketball.

Actually, staying in the AAC was killing all our other sports. And, in case you weren’t paying attention, it hasn’t exactly been great for the health of the football program either.

 

[Dooooooomed]

UConn Baseball has always scheduled well OOC (similar to WBB). If they continue to do so, they will be fine. Baseball will survive and continue to thrive under Penders, no matter the conference.

 

[Redding Husky]

Actually, staying in the AAC was killing all our other sports. And, in case you weren’t paying attention, it hasn’t exactly been great for the health of the football program either.

The AAC killed our baseball program? Really?

The AAC gets more respect than football independence.

 

[BugsyCT]

Actually, staying in the AAC was killing all our other sports. And, in case you weren’t paying attention, it hasn’t exactly been great for the health of the football program either.

No it wasn't great, but it was a lifeline. The FB program going indy is like pulling the plug barring some real creative scheduling.

 

[metsfan2323]

Moving baseball to the Big East is not a negative for baseball recruiting nor the baseball program. At worst it is a neutral move and the fewer travel miles might be a benefit.

The only program hurt by the conference change is football and we have been so bad in the AAC i'm starting to question that conclusion. Just maybe the easier schedule will be the remedy that gets us out of the terrible rut we are in.

 

[Redding Husky]

The AAC, independence, or FCS issue can be boiled down to this:

Do you want to be like Memphis and Temple (AAC)?

Do you want to be like UMass and New Mexico State (independence)?

Do you want to be like Rhode Island and New Hampshire (FCS)?

 

[BlueDogs]

Watching Temple v Memphis. I’m struck by the level of play with real athletes. We simply botched it across the board. Memphis, UCF, Houston, SMU, Cincy, Temple, Navy and Tulane can play some ball. League is improving year over year in play. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.

 

[CardiffGiant]

If there is no real improvement by the end of this season, meaning that they finish with 1 win and lose by large margins down the stretch, I think you move on from Edsall. The argument for keeping him is essentially who else will take over this mess but if UConn is really going to put a priority upon salvaging football there has to be SOME signs of improvement. If there are none, IMO you have to be proactive and go in another direction. Not a Edsall hater here but he has to show improvement. No improvement, no reason to stay onthe same path.

 

[CL82]

The AAC, independence, or FCS issue can be boiled down to this:

Do you want to be like Memphis and Temple (AAC)?

Do you want to be like UMass and New Mexico State (independence)?

Do you want to be like Rhode Island and New Hampshire (FCS)?

Because each one of those schools is exactly analogous to UConn?

It's about a logical as saying:

Do you want to be like Notre Dame and BYU (independence)?

 

[Redding Husky]

Because each one of those schools is exactly analogous to UConn?

It's about a logical as saying:

Do you want to be like Notre Dame and BYU (independence)?

Being like BYU or ND would probably be an unrealistic stretch for UConn. But we could have been (should have been) equal to Memphis and Temple.

 

[Redding Husky]

Watching Temple v Memphis. I’m struck by the level of play with real athletes. We simply botched it across the board. Memphis, UCF, Houston, SMU, Cincy, Temple, Navy and Tulane can play some ball. League is improving year over year in play. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.

UConn has had two great opportunities over the last 50 years:

1) We were invited into the Big East in 1979 and we made the most of it. We went from being a regional school to a national school.

2) We joined the AAC in 2012 and we whiffed. We lost our chance to be a credible FBS football program with great academics ... joining schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A real optimist would say we're batting .500.

 

[CL82]

UConn has had two great opportunities over the last 50 years:

1) We were invited into the Big East in 1979 and we made the most of it. We went from being a regional school to a national school.

2) We joined the AAC in 2012 and we whiffed. We lost our chance to be a credible FBS football program with great academics ... joining schools like Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Virginia.

A real optimist would say we're batting .500.

You realize we never joined the AAC, right? It was just a compilation of leftovers and bad decisions after the rest of the OBE schools (except Cinci and the directional FL schools) left the conference. Hard to analogize those two things.

You are really reaching today.

 

[Redding Husky]

You realize we never joined the AAC, right? It was just a compilation of leftovers and bad decisions after the rest of the OBE schools (except Cinci and the directional FL schools) left the conference. Hard to analogize those two things.

You are really reaching today.

I look at everything long term and from 30,000 feet. My basic points are correct, but I occasionally get some small details wrong.

 

[CL82]

I look at everything long term and from 30,000 feet. My basic points are correct, but I occasionally get some small details wrong.

I'm sure.

 

[BugsyCT]

We made the right move in the late '90s when Big Lou decided to upgrade the football program to 1-A in order to stay competitive with the rest of the power schools (because football drives the bus), and were fortunate enough to have success right off the bat when & after the Rent opened. Then it retroactively became the wrong move when the power conferences pushed for expan$ion and the poaching began, the biggest target becoming the Big East football conference which ultimately was destroyed thanks to the P5 and their TV networks, and we drew the low card in every round of expansion until we were left in a makeshift conference of misfits, many of which found their way except us, so we bailed to save basketball, yet ultimately our downfall was somehow solely our own fault going back 30 years when the Big East snubbed their noses at inviting Penn State.

 

[Sportsfan71]

All of our other sports have been left to die on the vine to "save" basketball.

You forget Basketball is what the built the brand and allowed Football that recognition. The other sports will be fine once the dust settles.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I guess there is nothing else to discuss...but...how many threads can we discuss the same thing over and over.

 

[BlueDogs]

We made the right move in the late '90s when Big Lou decided to upgrade the football program to 1-A in order to stay competitive with the rest of the power schools (because football drives the bus), and were fortunate enough to have success right off the bat when & after the Rent opened. Then it retroactively became the wrong move when the power conferences pushed for expan$ion and the poaching began, the biggest target becoming the Big East football conference which ultimately was destroyed thanks to the P5 and their TV networks, and we drew the low card in every round of expansion until we were left in a makeshift conference of misfits, many of which found their way except us, so we bailed to save basketball, yet ultimately our downfall was somehow solely our own fault going back 30 years when the Big East snubbed their noses at inviting Penn State.

Our fault starts with Hathaway, PP, Warde, Diaco, Ollie, Susie LAX, and a feckless Board of Trustees that panicked. Missed opportunity after missed opportunity.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Actually, staying in the AAC was killing all our other sports. And, in case you weren’t paying attention, it hasn’t exactly been great for the health of the football program either.

We went from of the the best baseball conference to one of the worst. Creighton was the champs last year. Sorry, but the baseball will fail in the Big East. We are going to sacrifice all of our teams, to try to return to greatness in men's basketball. Men's basketball was ruined not by the AAC, but by hiring THE PAUL PASQUALONI OF MEN'S BASKETBALL - Kevin Ollie!

Football was hurt by idiots running the Athletic Department who hired the wrong coaches!!

 

[HuskyDogArt]

LOL... lights are up, dugouts and outfield walls are up, scoreboard installed, turf going down in the next few weeks.

You do know the Big East has an auto-bid to CWS.

But it will be hurting baseball! When a conference is 5th best, to join a 20th best conference, you aren't going to be respected. That would be like Florida - if they started an ice hockey program - to jump from the SEC to the Southern Conference so the hockey team can play in the Hockey East! Maybe that is not a good comparison, but UConn is damaging baseball!