What UMass can teach UConn about life as a football independent (Courant)

[ConnHuskBask]

I guess we prioritize a FBS opponent over a damn good game against a top FCS University

Why

Is this ego. Stature? It’s likely not going to count against our bowl eligibility. Why play a home & home against a Tulsa or someone ... when we can bank a Home game against a handful of CAA solid programs.

I like Bamberg of UMASS attitude. You’re independent. You make the rules. O ... and the Blazer Bowl Guys? ESPN? It’s just programming. Except for the 100 year old tradition bowls, these are Rotary guys with a Stadium. Easily replaced.

You’re independent. Make the rules.

Pudge, I've been agreeing with you on a lot of the Big East/Indy talk, but you gotta understand that nobody cares about Stony Brook, Holy Cross, or JMU no matter how you think we will.

 

[Pudge]

Pudge, I've been agreeing with you on a lot of the Big East/Indy talk, but you gotta understand that nobody cares about Stony Brook, Holy Cross, or JMU no matter how you think we will.

I’m not gonna stop

I think we are talking about building a Fanbase & Winning.

A Yale University game? I don’t care if we kill them. It’s better than Middle Tennessee for a Connecticut crowd. So is Holy Cross. The point - same as I feel about Liberty or others - each of these games are transactional towards a greater goal. And 80 of the 130 FBS don’t matter to me. Today - unless they pay us $1m. Playing in your neighborhood & being able to Roadtrip comfortably are important. I am not saying playing FCS many years out ... I am saying the FCS model ain’t working & some components are gonna raise out of that. Some stay Yankee Conference.

 

[noeynox]

I’m not gonna stop

I think we are talking about building a Fanbase & Winning.

A Yale University game? I don’t care if we kill them. It’s better than Middle Tennessee for a Connecticut crowd. So is Holy Cross. The point - same as I feel about Liberty or others - each of these games are transactional towards a greater goal. And 80 of the 130 FBS don’t matter to me. Today - unless they pay us $1m. Playing in your neighborhood & being able to Roadtrip comfortably are important. I am not saying playing FCS many years out ... I am saying the FCS model ain’t working & some components are gonna raise out of that. Some stay Yankee Conference.

When was the last time an IVY played an FBS school? Are there rules that prohibit it?

 

[Pudge]

Well ...

Didn’t expect this to be the first thing to pop up

“The 2019 Penn Football season got off to a global start as the Quakers competed in the Penn-China Global Ambassadors Bowl in Shanghai. Matched up against a team representing the American Football League of China, the Red and Blue capped their week in China with a comfortable win.”

 

[Pudge]

I answer the same way

There are no frigging rules. We need to build the Fanbase & play games interesting for fannies in CT + eyeballs.

Penn is playing Shanghai because ... there’s a economic & relationship benefit. NYU has a campus in Dubai ... same. Juilliard just opened a campus in China.

If you could recruit - for instance - better in Eastern Canada (Toronto to Maritimes) & draw 500,000 Canadian viewers ... as an example ... would you?

 

[billybud]

Don't think that I saw UMass at all last season down this way.

..they play a game on any cable/sat mainstream channel (ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox/ESPN, ESPN2, etc) last season?

I know you could stream the BC game and other games. The wave of the future, I guess.

 

[billybud]

I am probably a lazy sports fan...I flip through the channel guide and watch games that interest me, often flipping between a couple of them.

 

[BugsyCT]

When was the last time an IVY played an FBS school? Are there rules that prohibit it?

Yale beat Army in New Haven in 2014. Not sure about anyone else.

 

[Pudge]

Yale beat Army in New Haven in 2014. Not sure about anyone else.

Scheduled to play Dartmouth in 2024

Playing Bucknell & Colgate too

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Shanghai Penn games/China tour: knowing a few guys who played with or coached the mixed bag of ex-pats of varied age and athletic skill level, Chinese and other Asian college kids, etc beer league teams, Penn reasonably played all of its’ roster to limit the Shanghai exhibition to 85-zip. With a few pompous exceptions, ideally most of the ex-pats came out of the exhibition relatively intact!

Not that Penn needs help recruiting in China, the exhibitions are mostly about relationship-maintenance and fundraising with local alumni and others, global exposure for the Quakers’ student-athletes, and a bit less on expanding minimalist knowledge of gridiron on the mainland.

 

[Guapo]

Scheduled to play Dartmouth in 2024

Playing Bucknell & Colgate too

The first UConn football game I went to was on Campus against Colgate

 

[Pudge]

Shanghai Penn games/China tour: knowing a few guys who played with or coached the mixed bag of ex-pats of varied age and athletic skill level, Chinese and other Asian college kids, etc beer league teams, Penn reasonably played all of its’ roster to limit the Shanghai exhibition to 85-zip. With a few pompous exceptions, ideally most of the ex-pats came out of the exhibition relatively intact!

Not that Penn needs help recruiting in China, the exhibitions are mostly about relationship-maintenance and fundraising with local alumni and others, global exposure for the Quakers’ student-athletes, and a bit less on expanding minimalist knowledge of gridiron on the mainland.

If you expected a reasonable competition ... you’d arrange it far different.

The point is - as an Independent - we should do whatever makes sense to advance our goals. Money-making being a primary thing.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

If you expected a reasonable competition ... you’d arrange it far different.

The point is - as an Independent - we should do whatever makes sense to advance our goals. Money-making being a primary thing.

Sure, just reasonably level-setting Penn’s actual goals and having a laugh at some of the phat 5’9” expats that likely played in Shanghai. While it’s highly probable Penn’s relationship and fundraising was more academic than gridiron focused, UConn clearly needs to raise any and all favorable publicity and dinero or Yuan any above-board way it can.

 

[huskymedic]

Don't think that I saw UMass at all last season down this way.

..they play a game on any cable/sat mainstream channel (ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox/ESPN, ESPN2, etc) last season?

I know you could stream the BC game and other games. The wave of the future, I guess.

UConn Game was on ESPNU and the Georgia game was on SEC Network

 

[uconndogs]

We've obviously been beyond bad for a number of years now. So, with that said, when the program does get turned around and competitive, I can clearly see a scenario where programs like BC and Syracuse avoid us like the plague. We used to beat the Orange like a drum and we had a stretch when we were playing much better football than BC and they wanted no part of us. Those programs would rather eat their young than lend any legitimacy to a competitive UCONN football program.

Certainly doesn't matter right now, because they know we're an easy W.

 

[Husky25]

We've obviously been beyond bad for a number of years now. So, with that said, when the program does get turned around and competitive, I can clearly see a scenario where programs like BC and Syracuse avoid us like the plague. We used to beat the Orange like a drum and we had a stretch when we were playing much better football than BC and they wanted no part of us. Those programs would rather eat their young than lend any legitimacy to a competitive UCONN football program.

Certainly doesn't matter right now, because they know we're an easy W.

UConn plays BC in 2022 and 2023. DeFilippo retired in 2012/13. In that timeframe. After that is when the icy relationship began to thaw. It had nothing to do with how good UConn was playing. BC wanted to be the only New England team at the adult table and after UConn began Big East play in 2004, Defilippo didn't want to legitimize a 2nd New England program. It was on him in football and Calhoun in basketball.

 

[Pudge]

We've obviously been beyond bad for a number of years now. So, with that said, when the program does get turned around and competitive, I can clearly see a scenario where programs like BC and Syracuse avoid us like the plague. We used to beat the Orange like a drum and we had a stretch when we were playing much better football than BC and they wanted no part of us. Those programs would rather eat their young than lend any legitimacy to a competitive UCONN football program.

Certainly doesn't matter right now, because they know we're an easy W.

I think Babers - the SU Coach - has cockiness to him. And the SU AD is light years beyond Gross. I bet they see us as easy pickings and a short drive. And we can be easy and fill the Dome more than Ohio or Toledo.

 

[uconndogs]

UConn plays BC in 2022 and 2023. DeFilippo retired in 2012/13. In that timeframe. After that is when the icy relationship began to thaw. It had nothing to do with how good UConn was playing. BC wanted to be the only New England team at the adult table and after UConn began Big East play in 2004, Defilippo didn't want to legitimize a 2nd New England program. It was on him in football and Calhoun in basketball.

I think Babers - the SU Coach - has cockiness to him. And the SU AD is light years beyond Gross. I bet they see us as easy pickings and a short drive. And we can be easy and fill the Dome more than Ohio or Toledo.

I hope you are both right, because getting and keeping BC and Cuse on the schedule on a regular basis would be huge. Of course, at some point we have to get competitive with those guys..........and we will.

 

[Husky25]

I think Babers - the SU Coach - has cockiness to him. And the SU AD is light years beyond Gross. I bet they see us as easy pickings and a short drive. And we can be easy and fill the Dome more than Ohio or Toledo.

Not only that, but ESPN would carry the game. It would get eyeballs in the northeast corridor.

 

[huskyrob1]

This was actually a pretty well written article and a good interview.

As expected, UConn will undoubtedly play UMass, NMSU, Liberty, and probably Army on an annual basis. BYU I’d say will be 4-6 out of every 10 years or something along those lines.

The 2 for 1’s are a great avenue for us and really should be pursued. UMass got Mississippi State to come play them (albeit in Gillette). If we could get them at the Rent that would be incredible.

Being able to play every game on a Saturday will rock. I’d love to have 2pm kick times on SNY.

There will be buy games for us in the future- I’d say we’ll play at most 3 on an annual basis- but those will be fun. Especially if we get to visit some cathedrals of college football.

Here’s an idea for what I think a 2022 and beyond schedule could look like:

CCSU
@ NC State
Boston College
@ Iowa State
@ NMSU
Army
@ BYU
Tulsa
@ Liberty
Akron
@ Mississippi State
UMass

Nice line up, I like it, but suppose things start clicking for Edsall and his team. We could be the next UCF in the sense that we were 1-11 in 2018 and a couple years later go undefeated with that schedule, and if that ever happened I don't think we make the playoff just like UCF, unless the playoff is expanded by then.

 

[billybud]

Although they are close enough to be rivals of a sort....in all of these decades, Buffalo has only played Syracuse in a one for three series (between 2000-07)

I think that regional games make a lot of sense..

 

[Husky25]

Nice line up, I like it, but suppose things start clicking for Edsall and his team. We could be the next UCF in the sense that we were 1-11 in 2018 and a couple years later go undefeated with that schedule, and if that ever happened I don't think we make the playoff just like UCF, unless the playoff is expanded by then.

IMO, there is only one way an Independent team other than ND will ever make a NYD6 game, let alone a playoff. Blow the whole system up.

Even if the playoff is expanded and is mandated to include the best G5 team, it would basically preclude in writing all other independents other than Notre Dame, just like every other precursor to the CFP.

 

[huskyrob1]

We've obviously been beyond bad for a number of years now. So, with that said, when the program does get turned around and competitive, I can clearly see a scenario where programs like BC and Syracuse avoid us like the plague. We used to beat the Orange like a drum and we had a stretch when we were playing much better football than BC and they wanted no part of us. Those programs would rather eat their young than lend any legitimacy to a competitive UCONN football program.

Certainly doesn't matter right now, because they know we're an easy W.

Do you really think once we start beating them, they would not want to play us anymore? I think also it depends a lot on our college presidents and AD's developing a good relationship to keep a good local rivalry going.

 

[huskyrob1]

IMO, there is only one way an Independent team other than ND will ever make a NYD6 game, let alone a playoff. Blow the whole system up.

Even if the playoff is expanded and is mandated to include the best G5 team, it would basically preclude in writing all other independents other than Notre Dame, just like every other precursor to the CFP.

Well you might be right, but you also might be wrong. In any event I would love to see UConn test that theory.

 

[Husky25]

Well you might be right, but you also might be wrong. In any event I would love to see UConn test that theory.

Well yeah. It's a no-lose proposition for UConn.