Where does UConn go from here? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Where does UConn go from here?

CCSU97 said:
Even when UConn was in the Big East/BCS they weren't really competing for a football National Championship. Today, there are about 12 teams (out of 135) that are really competing for a football national championship.

Almost all schools join and play D-I not because they are trying to win a National Championship in any sport, but to offering student athletes the highest level of competition
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There's a difference between not being good enough and not being afforded the opportunity.
 
CCSU97 said:
Yeah, but I think the Hawaii comparison is much more appropriate. Hawaii is literally an island to itself in it own time zone and own small media market that it shares with no one. Connecticut has is its own small market stuck in isolation between NY and Boston. Both have to recruit heavily out-of-state.

The Rainbow Warriors are relatively new to I-A football (1970s) and UConn is even newer (2001). They have had a window of National prominence (2007 Sugar Bowl; Tommy Chang) similar to UConn (Fiesta Bowl; Orlowsky). This is not derogatory - I think its fair look at how the both states and the universities fits in the larger National football landscape.

I think the reach for UConn may be Utah, not Iowa State. It is a state of similar size with a big private (BYU) in its backyard. Too many people here compare CT to the rest of the country in the college athletic landscape and it just doesn't fit. We are in a region dominated by pro sports, littered with better known and funded privates, and bigger state flagships that have a much longer history at the highest level of football. We also don't have a State economy or social culture built on UConn despite what some on this message board try to suggest.

From November to March, UConn basketball has become a much watch events and have brough a general sense of State pride. But too many people here overstate the impact of the UConn athletics as a whole. We don't have the college sports culture of an Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi - all states we Nutmeggers all look down on for a host of other reasons.
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Going to have to disagree with you on the impact UConn athletics has. The impact the basketball program has had on the school and state is enormous. University of Connecticut honestly wasn't seen as much before Calhoun and Auriemma came along. You would be hard pressed to find another school who has had a rise like UConn because of their sports team/teams.

The Hawaii Connecticut thing seems like a stretch.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
I will add a bigger threat to UConn than the P2. I think the NBA and NFL could step in with minor leagues that would make college sports obsolete.
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I don't see the revenue model for minor league basketball and football and the NBA and NFL are getting developed players for free. Starting up minor leagues is expensive.
 
noeynox said:
Count me as in favor of this. If we die, we all die!
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No chance. College football and college basketball are a part of the American fabric and big business as we've seen. Nobody would watch minor league football and basketball. The college game is great for the NFL and NBA. They get development for free and ready made name recognition players and stars constantly joining their leagues.
 
superjohn said:
No chance. College football and college basketball are a part of the American fabric and big business as we've seen. Nobody would watch minor league football and basketball. The college game is great for the NFL and NBA. They get development for free and ready made name recognition players and stars constantly joining their leagues.
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Oh i agree. I just would root for all to die instead of just us.
 
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Eventually, some FBS football programs will break away from the NCAA. For that to happen, the key media deals need to get to the point where they are ending at about the same time. The important key that it enables is that some existing P4 schools will not make the cut. Some of the schools in the ACC and BXII will make the cut. There will be a lot of gnashing of teeth about all this. Ultimately they will take a few schools that won't have any real chance to win championships. Iowa would be in, Northwestern out. Minnesota could be out. Mississippi State, Mizzou could be out.

Conferences can then either go back to rational regional leagues of 10-12 or split into complete divisions of 10 among 20 team leagues, where they only play in the conference tournament. Travel costs will drop, and the experience for most college athletes will improve. NCAA credits will drive some of that realignment and basketball will be king in that scenario, baseball, #2. UConn basketball would be in good shape. Football would be in with the also-rans, but that may still be better than what we have today.
 
There already is a minor league basketball system. It is no threat to the NCAA & March Madness
 
superjohn said:
Going to have to disagree with you on the impact UConn athletics has. The impact the basketball program has had on the school and state is enormous. University of Connecticut honestly wasn't seen as much before Calhoun and Auriemma came along. You would be hard pressed to find another school who has had a rise like UConn because of their sports team/teams.

The Hawaii Connecticut thing seems like a stretch.
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You make my point. UConn is a National name name solely due to the Calhoun/Geno era of M/W Basketball. It's relatively new and limited to one sport.

UConn is not engrained in the hears and minds if ever resident from birth, like it is in Iowa.

Extrapolating what UConn basketball has done to the entire UConn brand, including football is a very unrealistic objective.

The Giants, Jets, and Pats will are in the blood of CT residents and I don't see anything near that type of support translating to the Huskies.

Of course we're not Hawaii, but we are not a college football state, period. Trying to build that what SEC, Big Ten and Big XII schools have here in Connecticut is nearly impossible.
 
CCSU97 said:
You make my point. UConn is a National name name solely due to the Calhoun/Geno era of M/W Basketball. It's relatively new and limited to one sport.

UConn is not engrained in the hears and minds if ever resident from birth, like it is in Iowa.

Extrapolating what UConn basketball has done to the entire UConn brand, including football is a very unrealistic objective.

The Giants, Jets, and Pats will are in the blood of CT residents and I don't see anything near that type of support translating to the Huskies.

Of course we're not Hawaii, but we are not a college football state, period. Trying to build that what SEC, Big Ten and Big XII schools have here in Connecticut is nearly impossible.
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It's not impossible. But it does require some changes outside of UConn's control. Stop playing Saturday HS football games for one. HS football players and their families are absolutely critical college football supporters and they can't get to most games. One campus stadium, with tailgating is step 2. Every UConn student from that point on will have the college football experience as part of their expectation. Today, most students can just skip it. Step 3 is regional games/rivals. Need to play BC and Rutgers regularly. Winning is also required, but isn't enough.
 
CCSU97 said:
You make my point. UConn is a National name name solely due to the Calhoun/Geno era of M/W Basketball. It's relatively new and limited to one sport.

UConn is not engrained in the hears and minds if ever resident from birth, like it is in Iowa.

Extrapolating what UConn basketball has done to the entire UConn brand, including football is a very unrealistic objective.

The Giants, Jets, and Pats will are in the blood of CT residents and I don't see anything near that type of support translating to the Huskies.

Of course we're not Hawaii, but we are not a college football state, period. Trying to build that what SEC, Big Ten and Big XII schools have here in Connecticut is nearly impossible.
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We've built something better in basketball here than everything in the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12 other than Kentucky and Kansas.

Why did you compare UConn to Hawaii if you didn't mean it?

I know we're not considered a football state, fans whine about having to drive an extra half hour for a football game.

I didn't know any Patriots fans growing up in CT, now they're everywhere. Winning has everything to do with it. Connecticut wasn't considered a basketball state before 1990 despite having very good high school basketball talent back in the day. Now Connecticut is considered a basketball state. Again, winning changes everything.
 
UConnJim said:
I don't see the revenue model for minor league basketball and football and the NBA and NFL are getting developed players for free. Starting up minor leagues is expensive.
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I don’t think a single NBA or NFL owner views it as free. College basketball and football are direct competitors of the NBA and NFL that generate billions of dollars of revenue that the NBA and NFL think should go to them.
 
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superjohn said:
We've built something better in basketball here than everything in the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12 other than Kentucky and Kansas.

Why did you compare UConn to Hawaii if you didn't mean it?

I know we're not considered a football state, fans whine about having to drive an extra half hour for a football game.

I didn't know any Patriots fans growing up in CT, now they're everywhere. Winning has everything to do with it. Connecticut wasn't considered a basketball state before 1990 despite having very good high school basketball talent back in the day. Now Connecticut is considered a basketball state. Again, winning changes everything.
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Disagree somewhat with the last paragraph. I was in HS in the 80s and we were all well aware of the strong hoops teams coming out of Wilbur Cross and the Hartford and Bridgeport high schools. UConn hoops was quite popular even before the Big East. It’s why we were asked to join. Also, most every kid I grew up with in Manchester rooted for the Patriots or if not Dallas or Pittsburgh (showing that yes, winning matters). Pats did have good teams off and on, 76, 78 and of course 85 and 86.
 
CCSU97 said:
Yeah, but I think the Hawaii comparison is much more appropriate. Hawaii is literally an island to itself in it own time zone and own small media market that it shares with no one. Connecticut has is its own small market stuck in isolation between NY and Boston. Both have to recruit heavily out-of-state.
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You must be joking. Hawaii has a population of 1,440,000, and it's 2500 miles to person 1,440,001. Connecticut has a population of 3,626,000 and there are 7 million people an hour to the north and east and 18 million people an hour to the south and west. The difference in market sizes and recruiting footprints is huge.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Disagree somewhat with the last paragraph. I was in HS in the 80s and we were all well aware of the strong hoops teams coming out of Wilbur Cross and the Hartford and Bridgeport high schools. UConn hoops was quite popular even before the Big East. It’s why we were asked to join. Also, most every kid I grew up with in Manchester rooted for the Patriots or if not Dallas or Pittsburgh (showing that yes, winning matters). Pats did have good teams off and on, 76, 78 and of course 85 and 86.
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I pointed out there was very good high school basketball talent in CT back in the day but we weren't known as a basketball state. It wasn't known on the national level and UConn wasn't known as a basketball school. Calhoun put the University on the map nationally and made UConn known as a basketball state.
 
LoyalFanCT said:
If the ACC or B12 say no for now, maybe keep some sports in Big East and put football (at least this) in remains of Pac12 and some AAC teams -- whatever this get called.
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Pacfic American Conference.
 
With a basketball instead

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LoyalFanCT said:
If the ACC or B12 say no for now, maybe keep some sports in Big East and put football (at least this) in remains of Pac12 and some AAC teams -- whatever this get called.
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Joining the AAC as football only at this point would be hilarious if nothing else
 
CCSU97 said:
You make my point. UConn is a National name name solely due to the Calhoun/Geno era of M/W Basketball. It's relatively new and limited to one sport.

UConn is not engrained in the hears and minds if ever resident from birth, like it is in Iowa.

Extrapolating what UConn basketball has done to the entire UConn brand, including football is a very unrealistic objective.

The Giants, Jets, and Pats will are in the blood of CT residents and I don't see anything near that type of support translating to the Huskies.

Of course we're not Hawaii, but we are not a college football state, period. Trying to build that what SEC, Big Ten and Big XII schools have here in Connecticut is nearly impossible.
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What a patently absurd statement. The freaking Jets are more "in the blood of CT residents" than UConn basketball? Sure thing.

Up until the last few years, you could probably make the argument for Yankees/Sox being above UConn hoop... but no way for the NFL.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
Since I think the Boneyard is still a UConn board, maybe we could have a thread about UConn's options going forward, rather than more discussions about the glory of the Big 10, or wishcasting about the ACC's demise unless it somehow affects UConn.

The Big East seems like a reasonable home for men's and women's basketball for the foreseeable future. Football's schedule and near-term revenue is obviously an issue.

As I have said for the last few months, college sports is getting hit with a whirlwind of change between the end of the cable bundle/streaming, NIL, Transfer Portal, the 12 team college football playoff, and the demographic cliff. Any one of them by itself would have been the biggest event to hit college sports in the last 40-50 years. All 5 are happening at once.

There are several ways this could break right for UConn, in my order of likelihood:

1) Football splits off from the NCAA and sets up its own conferences. This is the most realistic best option for UConn. UConn could stay in the Big East for basketball, and find a schedule in a football only league.

2) ESPN renegotiates out of its long-term linear deals. The end of the cable bundle would seem to make these long-term linear deals with the conferences really expensive and likely money losers for ESPN.. ESPN may try to pivot to becoming a streaming co-operative type business in a post-cable bundle world. In a streaming coop, driving subscribers is critical, and the nature of scheduling could change quite a bit. This option is the only realistic path for UConn to be added to any existing conference if football does not break off from the other sports.

I think NIL and the Transfer Portal will flatten talent dramatically among programs, even spreading high caliber players out to non-P4 programs in football and mid-majors in basketball. Players need to get on the field to get paid, and a lot of G5 programs are in cities where boosters and local corporations can move the needle. If the talent gap between the P4 and G5 shrinks, more pressure will be put on ESPN's expensive linear contracts.

3) I do not see a path for UConn to be added to any all-sports P4 conference as long as the linear deals survive. As they roll off, anything is possible, but that is a long way off.

One way where things could break very badly for UConn:

1) The P2 or P4 really collude to lock out the non-P4,and split off. I think this is unlikely and would destroy college sports and their own gravy train, but it is possible that something like this happens. UConn's athletic program would be finished if this happened.
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Nowhere but where we already are.
 
ConnHuskBask said:
What a patently absurd statement. The freaking Jets are more "in the blood of CT residents" than UConn basketball? Sure thing.

Up until the last few years, you could probably make the argument for Yankees/Sox being above UConn hoop... but no way for the NFL.
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UConn basketball is bigger than anything else in CT. I don’t think one could really make that argument. The biggest issue in CT is, too many fans are fair-weather.
 
Can we just ask MWC nicely if we can join football only. We already play Frenso and Utah State, plus it would give them a 12 oclock game.
 
If we rank sports by popularity in CT:
1. NFL
2. MLB
3. College basketball
4. NBA
5. Soccer
 
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Once USC and UCLA went to the B1G, we officially jumped the shark. It will take a while, but eventually football will break away. The current conference realignment trend (e.g., acc's most recent additions) is simply unsustainable. UConn is focusing on what it can control, which is exactly what it should be doing.
 
UConn is doing what it needs to do to position itself for now and the future:

1) invest in facilities and branding

2) win in the Big East and Hockey East

3) develop football schedules with games that will interest fans

4) improve football play
 
Hoophound said:
UConn basketball is bigger than anything else in CT. I don’t think one could really make that argument. The biggest issue in CT is, too many fans are fair-weather.
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Come on - that first part is simply a ridiculous statement. You are correct on the second. Casual UConn fans are only fully invested when the team is good, especially March.

UConn basketball is not bigger than the Yankees, Mets, BoSox, Giants, and Pats in any way shape or form. Sure, UConn hoops may have a greater overall interest than say the Jets, Nets, and Islanders but even the Celtics, Knicks, and Rangers have far more impact and loyloyalty a larger number of people in CT.

Yes, UConn basketball is the heart and soul of "Connecticut pride" (its the only National brand the State has with the Whalers gone), but it doesn't bump MLB and NFL as a investment in time, $$$, and loyalty for the most sports fans in the CT.
 
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I don't believe the football program will be sustainable as an independent within ten years. Since the Rent doesnt seem to be able to attract much of anything else event wise, such as soccer, concerts, etc., the state might balk at further upkeep/improvements and the school will consider dropping football entirely. Should the P2 arise, we won't be the only school facing some hard choices when left out of the big leagues.
 
TRest said:
I don't believe the football program will be sustainable as an independent within ten years. Since the Rent doesnt seem to be able to attract much of anything else event wise, such as soccer, concerts, etc., the state might balk at further upkeep/improvements and the school will consider dropping football entirely. Should the P2 arise, we won't be the only school facing some hard choices when left out of the big leagues.
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Well, the P2 has arisen and there are plenty of programs already left out.

Since the AAC announced it is not looking west, OSU and WSU must be joining the Mountain West programs somehow. The AAC may consider another football only addition to keep up with the joneses and take advantage of what the Big 12 missed out on.
 
Tfoyle said:
Can we just ask MWC nicely if we can join football only. We already play Frenso and Utah State, plus it would give them a 12 oclock game.
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Interesting. Oregon State, Wash State, Air Force would be interesting rivals.
 
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