Why keep football ?

[ConnHuskBask]

To borrow a phrase from Fishy himself.

If you don’t think that eliminating the football team is going to be considered a legitimate option at some point in the future you are whistling past the graveyard because you don’t understand the depths of the state’s budget issues.

Nobody in the country is losing this much money playing sports. As the state’s contribution to UConn heads towards zero everything is going to be on the table.

The school is going to have to completely retrench - the gravy train is dead.

What boggles my mind in the investment in sports that don't matter. I.E. everything except football and men's hoops.

The subsidy is only going to get bigger and bigger while we continue to invest in softball fields.

 

[minidarren]

Where did I say that?

Look harder and you'll see it. It is in there.

 

[Brochacho]

What boggles my mind in the investment in sports that don't matter. I.E. everything except football and men's hoops.

The subsidy is only going to get bigger and bigger while we continue to invest in softball fields.

Middle schools have better baseball and softball fields than we do.

 

[BugsyCT]

Look harder and you'll see it. It is in there.

OK, whatever you say.

 

[Carnac]

the UCF model? Would you like us to move the school to Florida or another fertile recruiting ground?

No, their model can be followed from your present location. Being located in Storrs is the least of your problems.

In your educated and informed opinion, right now, could UConn defeat the #1 and #2 ranked teams in division 2?

 

[UCFBfan]

I’m part of that group too. But the conference certainly has an affect though, no denying that.

Look, I follow both sports but enjoy football better. I'm tired of the conference complaint from the basketball side. If it's such a bad conference, how come we've never won it in the regular season and needed a Jalen Adams miracle to go on and win the conference tournament once. Until UConn is dominating the AAC in bball, I don't want to hear about how it's hurting us. If we can't win in our current conference, what makes any of you think we'd be anywhere close to competitive in the Big East?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Middle schools have better baseball and softball fields than we do.

I know some people on here truly enjoy those non-revenue programs, but we are bleeding money left and right, so to me it doesn't make sense to continually pour money into programs that will never generate a profit or break even.

 

[Stainmaster]

I know some people on here truly enjoy those non-revenue programs, but we are bleeding money left and right, so to me it doesn't make sense to continually pour money into programs that will never generate a profit or break even.

If the end goal is still P5, then ECSU can't be outclassing us when it comes to facilities in any sport.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

What boggles my mind in the investment in sports that don't matter. I.E. everything except football and men's hoops.

The subsidy is only going to get bigger and bigger while we continue to invest in softball fields.

What further monetary investment would you like to see in the football facilities that will yield a meaningful difference in on the field results? We could build the Taj Mahal on campus and it wouldn't make a difference from where we are now.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

I know some people on here truly enjoy those non-revenue programs, but we are bleeding money left and right, so to me it doesn't make sense to continually pour money into programs that will never generate a profit or break even.

You can just as easily make the case that it doesn't make sense to continually pour money into programs that continually piss it away by being an embarrassment on the field.

 

[JcHusky95]

You keep football because it's a big time sport. I think it's actually THE college sport that drives the bus. We love football despite our team being so bad. You work to fix football, not dismantle it, if want to be relevant in big time sports imo.

 

[huskyrob1]

What further monetary investment would you like to see in the football facilities that will yield a meaningful difference in on the field results? We could build the Taj Mahal on campus and it wouldn't make a difference from where we are now.

There's only one item I can think of, but it's a big one.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

This tread is famous. USAToday misery index

 

[UCFBfan]

View attachment 34801
This tread is famous. USAToday misery index

I think one of our threads last season made the same article. Two years and running of being miserable! It's gotta get better, right?

 

[uchusky32]

Cheif is running recruiting strategy meetings at your local pizza house.

I’m just a guy who knows how to run a clock.

Without spilling his beer.

 

[dwalks93]

Many of the UConn men's basketball fans erroneously believe our several years of sub-par basketball is due to our current conference affiliation. In turn, these men's basketball fans then blame UConn being in the American conference on the UConn football program.

Football did kill the old Big East....not UConn football but ACC football, Big10 Football, and Big 12 football. At the time of the last realignment UConn football was actually respectable but we got passed over....the football disaster we have today occurred after the ACC destroyed the Big East. Ending our football program now won't bring back the "old world order" of the Big East.

UConn's football woes and men's basketball woes are largely self inflicted. Its not because of the conference but more because of bad hires and lack of investment in coaching. Sometimes it is easier to blame other factors than to look in the mirror. Basketball fans can hate football all they want but it is not going to change the college athletic landscape and there is no opting out.

There is no going back now because there is nothing to go back to....money and football insured that. To quote Winston Churchill "if you are going through hell, keep going." It can't get worse for our football program and Edsall deserves 4 years to turn it around. There is no other option.

As for the Op, sometimes it is better to suffer in silence...I understand the frustration (believe me, I had to walk out of the room multiple times in the game yesterday) but this is like a knife fight in an elevator....we are going to keep getting cut and there is no getting out. Fixing football is a multiple year slash fest.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

What boggles my mind in the investment in sports that don't matter. I.E. everything except football and men's hoops.

The subsidy is only going to get bigger and bigger while we continue to invest in softball fields.

I guess I missed the info on what the state donates to the athletic program. Thought that student fees, which includes intramurals, student exercise facilities, etc, is the only thing propping up the AD. If I'm wrong, please show some documentation. thanks.

 

[Dooley]

Many of the UConn men's basketball fans erroneously believe our several years of sub-par basketball is due to our current conference affiliation. In turn, these men's basketball fans then blame UConn being in the American conference on the UConn football program.

Football did kill the old Big East....not UConn football but ACC football, Big10 Football, and Big 12 football. At the time of the last realignment UConn football was actually respectable but we got passed over....the football disaster we have today occurred after the ACC destroyed the Big East. Ending our football program now won't bring back the "old world order" of the Big East.

UConn's football woes and men's basketball woes are largely self inflicted. Its not because of the conference but more because of bad hires and lack of investment in coaching. Sometimes it is easier to blame other factors than to look in the mirror. Basketball fans can hate football all they want but it is not going to change the college athletic landscape and there is no opting out.

There is no going back now because there is nothing to go back to....money and football insured that. To quote Winston Churchill "if you are going through hell, keep going." It can't get worse for our football program and Edsall deserves 4 years to turn it around. There is no other option.

As for the Op, sometimes it is better to suffer in silence...I understand the frustration (believe me, I had to walk out of the room multiple times in the game yesterday) but this is like a knife fight in an elevator....we are going to keep getting cut and there is no getting out. Fixing football is a multiple year slash fest.

Well said; every word.

 

[gtcam]

Look, I follow both sports but enjoy football better. I'm tired of the conference complaint from the basketball side. If it's such a bad conference, how come we've never won it in the regular season and needed a Jalen Adams miracle to go on and win the conference tournament once. Until UConn is dominating the AAC in bball, I don't want to hear about how it's hurting us. If we can't win in our current conference, what makes any of you think we'd be anywhere close to competitive in the Big East?

Because it hurts recruiting - it effects basketball much deeper that football because of the numbers

 

[hthusky74]

Is there any reason to?
A last ditch hope at conference realignment in 2020something?
Please.
We are the worst program in FBS. Have been and will continue to be.
Men’s basketball will be okay under Hurley but y’all don’t care because your football fans and for some dumb reason you can’t cheer for UConn football and UConn basketball.
No conference wants to pick a university whose greateast recent accomplishment is a final four loss in women’s hoops.
I never even considered cutting football or going FCS/Big East until today. Play the games at GD Dunkin Donuts Park for all it matters as this week the AD made it clear the sole purpose of UConn sports is staving off bankruptcy for Hartford.

We can’t even compete vs so~so teams from our own conference and never will be able to as we can’t draw in any half decent recruits. Maybe in three years this team will be ready. Hopefully in three years I can focus on keeping my yard in shape during Autumn Saturdays.

Seven years ago we were in the Fiesta Bowl. Since then we have had a couple of piss poor coaches. One hopes that in four years when all the players are Edsall's recruits we will start seeing improvement. How soon some people forget.

 

[Brochacho]

Seven years ago we were in the Fiesta Bowl. Since then we have had a couple of piss poor coaches. One hopes that in four years when all the players are Edsall's recruits we will start seeing improvement. How soon some people forget.

The worst BCS team of all time, some seem to forget. We would've been in the Bad Boy Mowers' Gasparillo Bowl if we didn't play in a league with an auto-bid.

 

[champs99and04]

Over the past 4 years there have been two groups of basketball fans, those that said the conference was killing basketball and those that said Ollie was killing basketball. It's still too early to make a final call here, but those of us that said it was Ollie and not the conference are looking pretty good right now, real good, it actually looks like a landslide so far. I've got my sunglasses on.

The conference definitely played a role. How much? Who knows. Would playing in the Big East have been enough to swing a player like Waters or Diallo? What about Abu? There are a bunch of players who chose to go elsewhere - even before the wheels began to fall off the Ollie train - for a bunch of different reasons. I don't think the conference was the biggest reason, but it was one of them.

Point being, it's still an obstacle. Good coaches like Hurley can overcome obstacles, but when you pile enough of them on top of each other, it's worth asking yourself what level of performance is going to be acceptable. We won the AAC Tournament and reached the round of 32 in 2016, and it was considered a disappointment by most people. The level of recruit Hurley's brought in thus far aligns with that as a baseline expectation. After a while, people will start to wonder what he could accomplish - especially since he's focused his recruiting efforts in the Northeast - in a Northeast based league.

It'd be hard to coach worse than Ollie did these last two years. However, swapping drivers might not make all the difference when the car is still fit to the first guy. To some end, it seems like the Hurley hire was made with an eye towards an entirely different future than the one they envisioned four years ago at this time. That doesn't mean they want to pull the plug on football, just that, if they have to, they're prepared to do so in a way that's congruent to their personnel.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

If the end goal is still P5, then ECSU can't be outclassing us when it comes to facilities in any sport.

We have literally the most dominant program of all time in NCAA sports in women's basketball, and nationally regarded soccer, baseball, and field hockey programs. It's all about football and market for football and men's basketball. It just is what it is.

You can just as easily make the case that it doesn't make sense to continually pour money into programs that continually piss it away by being an embarrassment on the field.

If football doesn't improve to to the point that it keeps our athletics department relevant at a national level, the non revenue sports may not have a future at all.

I guess I missed the info on what the state donates to the athletic program. Thought that student fees, which includes intramurals, student exercise facilities, etc, is the only thing propping up the AD. If I'm wrong, please show some documentation. thanks.

I'm fairly certain we are running about a $40M subsidy which is primarily covered by student fees. It's just hard for me to see how the school is going to continually invest in the non-revenue programs, knowing that even at their best, the school takes a loss and is asking the student body to cover it.

What further monetary investment would you like to see in the football facilities that will yield a meaningful difference in on the field results? We could build the Taj Mahal on campus and it wouldn't make a difference from where we are now.

At this point, Randy is our main guy for better or for worse, but what about breaking the bank for a new DC come the off season, or increasing the recruiting budget, or literally anything else that could be updated with our facilities.

 

[Woof 101]

In response to the OP with no malice or personal attack.

I get the frustration and anguish over our situation but the call to abolish football is simply silly. This much like the calls back when some of the so called fan base wanted UConn BB to go back to The Yankee Conference while languishing in the cellar of The Big East. Along came JC.........

Not willing to support the team in a very challenging situation is simply the mindset of losers and quitters. Nobody forces anybody to attend or watch games, those that choose should stay home and mow their lawn on Saturday.

Let the rest of us enjoy the tailgating, family camaraderie, meeting new friends and former players. That and the UCMB and their show. We are in tough times but nothing that can not be changed down the road. A game loss is not a very gratifying experience but in the big picture still better than no game at all.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

In response to the OP with no malice or personal attack.

I get the frustration and anguish over our situation but the call to abolish football is simply silly. This much like the calls back when some of the so called fan base wanted UConn BB to go back to The Yankee Conference while languishing in the cellar of The Big East. Along came JC....

Not willing to support the team in a very challenging situation is simply the mindset of losers and quitters. Nobody forces anybody to attend or watch games, those that choose should stay home and mow their lawn on Saturday.

Let the rest of us enjoy the tailgating, family camaraderie, meeting new friends and former players. That and the UCMB and their show. We are in tough times but nothing that can not be changed down the road. A game loss is not a very gratifying experience but in the big picture still better than no game at all.

Sad thing is I feel like if I cared less I could still go enjoy it but I’m too emotionally invested to just sit there and watch them rot.