Why No Alarm???

[Duncan Idaho]

Has it though? After a decade of suck, football fans have gotten a little thin. I absolutely believe it could come back if we went on a run, but I'm not sure that happens if we get relegated to the minors.

And they weren't killing it at the gates before the announced move to D1A. You really think people from FFld Cty and and other in the west half of the state are going to travel to Storrs to see them play CAA/NEC/Patriot football?

 

[CL82]

And they weren't killing it at the gates before the announced move to D1A. You really think people from FFld Cty and and other in the west half of the state are going to travel to Storrs to see them play CAA/NEC/Patriot football?

No. Isn't that what I said?

 

[HartbeatHusky]

I look at the bright side. UConn has figured out a way to maintain a nearly P5 budget for years and will likely continue to do so. It should have the resources to offer more than the rest of the G5 and being allowed to directly pay players may give it an advantage at least over the G5. We’ll see. I have no doubt it will do whatever it takes to stay elite in cbb.

 

[TMB4405]

Been saying it for a long time. We are in the beginning of the end of our athletic success. I am a 92 grad, huge sports fan and what I have witnessed is incredible. Amazing in fact. I guess I will just enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

No. Isn't that what I said?

Yes. Lol I was going through you post responding to Forte.

 

[Hamms30]

the alarm bells went off in 2011. How many more times can we ring it?

 

[Alum86]

Has it though? After a decade of suck, football fans have gotten a little thin. I absolutely believe it could come back if we went on a run, but I'm not sure that happens if we get relegated to the minors.

You got that right. Just when things were looking a tad more optimistic with the portal and NIL, along comes another kick in the n*ts.

 

[UCFBfan]

I've just become numb to the whole thing. Gone are my days of sitting on my couch at noon and flipping through the multitude of channels to watch various games and not getting off until 6. That started to wane after the BE raid. It finally ended when I started to have kids in the mid 2010s and now I try to make it a priority to watch UConn games. However, even that is losing out to yard work due to how painful some of our games have been to watch. I used to go to every game, was in the UCMB, lived and breathed football. I still live and breath football for this school but all of this is just numb to me. We are where we are. I get my hopes slightly up when news of some conference imploding or movement comes up. In the end, I know we'll still be stuck in the h%$l we're in now.

So sorry if I've become deaf to the bells.

 

[superjohn]

Been saying it for a long time. We are in the beginning of the end of our athletic success. I am a 92 grad, huge sports fan and what I have witnessed is incredible. Amazing in fact. I guess I will just enjoy it while it lasts.

 

[Kolumbo]

After the Big East split, the goal was a Power 5 conference. I don't worry about it now because I don't see an end goal although I do still waste a boatload of time reading about it. UConn will not be in the Big 10 or SEC so it's lumped in with the rest of the programs with all the moving pieces, moving goalposts, uncertainty, semi-pro sports, the entire fubar mess. The ACC invited Louisville and Berkeley so one simply cannot make sense of it, never mind be alarmed by it. I envision UConn competing outside the P2 against hopefully some regional competition.

Basketball is king so UConn has that above most other programs.

 

[noeynox]

Revenue sharing is going to have a sizable impact on many schools, including schools in the P2 and it will certainly impact the ACC and Big 12 schools as well as the G5. I've included a tweet on spending by school and you can make your own conclusions about who can afford to pay athletes. For example, if Syracuse is spending ~$27 million per year on football, and they are making $30 million from the ACC media contract, how much are they going to pay players? The ACC media contract is ~$30 million per year and 20% of $30 million is $6 million. Can UConn afford to pay $6 million per year to players to keep up with the ACC? I would think so and I think UConn will match the pay from the P2 to basketball players as well.

CBS Sports had an article about this issue and it said that all colleges have administrative bloat in the athletic department that could be cut to help pay players. They cited Ohio St's AD which has 139 AD employees with salaries >$100k per year. Think executive, associate, assistant, deputy, senior... administrators. UConn's AD is very bloated and it looks like you shouldn't need as many compliance people going forward.

https://twitter.com/TJAltimore/status/1791470949746848202?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1791470949746848202|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=

This is exactly why the "there's not enough money to pay players argument was a stupid one to make."

You had a lot of people making a lot of money from that not not enough money pot. I'd like to know how many people working for the NCAA made 6 and 7 figures.

 

[AllHusky]

Corrupt greedy people doing corrupt greedy things. Sadly, sports fans used to be somewhat insulated from that behavior, either ignored it, or didn't know. That behavior is in your face everywhere, can't ignore it if you tried.

 

[gandydancer]

I think our problems really started when the BE wouldn't let ND join ( thank you non-football schools ). We could have developed into a major FB and BB powerhouse and controlled our own destiny instead of being the continual odd man out.

 

[CL82]

This is exactly why the "there's not enough money to pay players argument was a stupid one to make."

You had a lot of people making a lot of money from that not not enough money pot. I'd like to know how many people working for the NCAA made 6 and 7 figures.

That's big part of the reason why I wouldn't mind seeing that organization go up in flames far too much money is being spent at the administrative end enforcement levels. On the enforcement side it seems arbitrary with the NCAA unwilling to take on a lot of the marquee programs so you ended up with uneven enforcement. I'm not a huge fan of the "revenue sharing" concept ( I view 99% of the hole in right now being due to Emmert's feckless and incompetent leadership), but I would sure as heck rather see that money go to players rather than the bloated and incompetent NCAA.

 

[Jimdish255]

Revenue sharing is going to have a sizable impact on many schools, including schools in the P2 and it will certainly impact the ACC and Big 12 schools as well as the G5. I've included a tweet on spending by school and you can make your own conclusions about who can afford to pay athletes. For example, if Syracuse is spending ~$27 million per year on football, and they are making $30 million from the ACC media contract, how much are they going to pay players? The ACC media contract is ~$30 million per year and 20% of $30 million is $6 million. Can UConn afford to pay $6 million per year to players to keep up with the ACC? I would think so and I think UConn will match the pay from the P2 to basketball players as well.

CBS Sports had an article about this issue and it said that all colleges have administrative bloat in the athletic department that could be cut to help pay players. They cited Ohio St's AD which has 139 AD employees with salaries >$100k per year. Think executive, associate, assistant, deputy, senior... administrators. UConn's AD is very bloated and it looks like you shouldn't need as many compliance people going forward.

https://twitter.com/TJAltimore/status/1791470949746848202?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1791470949746848202|twgr^|twcon^s1_&ref_url=

You can't be serious comparing us with Ohio State.

 

[Jimdish255]

After the Big East split, the goal was a Power 5 conference. I don't worry about it now because I don't see an end goal although I do still waste a boatload of time reading about it. UConn will not be in the Big 10 or SEC so it's lumped in with the rest of the programs with all the moving pieces, moving goalposts, uncertainty, semi-pro sports, the entire fubar mess. The ACC invited Louisville and Berkeley so one simply cannot make sense of it, never mind be alarmed by it. I envision UConn competing outside the P2 against hopefully some regional competition.

Basketball is king so UConn has that above most other programs.

Cal and Louisville. This 100% means it isn't about all those metrics everyone claimed were important. Throw in BC. What have they done ever?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I think our problems really started when the BE wouldn't let ND join ( thank you non-football schools ). We could have developed into a major FB and BB powerhouse and controlled our own destiny instead of being the continual odd man out.

Wouldn't let ND join what?

 

[Kembafan]

Sometimes these things are opportunities. I’m sure the UConn administration understands the importance of the athletic program — and that getting into a p4 would pay dividends. The university and the state spend billions on projects to grow the university with the ultimate goal to spur economic growth and investment in Connecticut. And nothing has been as successful as athletic success in achieving UConn’s growth. It can’t even be argued at this point.

UConn Applications Skyrocket to Record High, Far Surpassing 50,000 for First Time - UConn Today

More than 56,700 aspiring Huskies have already applied for spots in this fall’s entering class

today.uconn.edu

Nearly 20% rise in applications because of a basketball championship! Nuff said. UConn athletic success = massive growth for the university.

So… I think the admin and state can be convinced to pony up the funds to pay football players p4-like money for a few years until we get into a p4 conference.

All it would take is a few years of investment to get UConn’s football program to the P4 level. The highest NIL budgets in the sport are ~$20M. That’s a drop in the bucket for the state. And we don’t have to be Ohio State. We just have to be competitive with the likes of NC State or Duke, maybe even crack the ap poll. It’s very doable. Just takes competence and initiative. It’s actually easier now to turn around a football program IMO than it was before NIL, and it’ll be easier IMO when the school (and state) can pay players directly. Money is all you need to attract players. In the past, you needed prestige and history and a big fan base and a recruiting footprint and money for facilities, etc.

Of course, it starts with the people making the decisions. The data is right in front of them and the choice should be obvious.

 

[uconnyankee]

What can we do about it except complain repeatedly here on Boneyard? We are exhausted.

It is what it is, and honestly, at this point, I would be willing to bet that there are a fair number of people here who would rather the split happen and "be left behind" because at least it will look and feel like college football again and the annoying dragged-out drama would be over. Count me as one of them. We already have the NFL.

Yes. I will never be a Michigan fan or an Ohio State fan.
They think these schools will pick up fans like they are NFL teams. Nope.

Die a slow death. Greed power and corruption killed college sports

 

[Padutch5]

Speaking for myself, I simply don't care anymore. I can watch the best players in the world play on Sundays. Why do I want to see a lesser version of professional football on Saturday? To say nothing of the fact that as currently constituted, the college programs with access to the most funding will attract and retain the best talent - probably about 20 programs. No appeal to me.

Well said.

 

[Woof 101]

Will be known to future generations of fans as the 2025 NCAA Culling of the Herd.

That and the culling of our fan base which is in dire straits as it is.

I'm ignoring all this. Nothing we can do about it. I figure if it all blows up I'll worry about it then. Actually, I won't. I know I'll find something else to do.

See reply to @huskymedic above.... I miss what we once had ; (

 

[rich1122]

Eventually it’ll be like Professional Sports. I’ll just stop watching. Perry Mason reruns.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I dunno, but in light of Rule 1, this new agreement seems awfully likely to kill UConn FB as we know it. Yet no one is alarmed?? Paying athletes with the institutions own funds in addition to NIL? Given that the UConn AD is one of the most heavily subsidized in the country that perennially runs a deficit, are we not talking about a HUGE increase in subsidy to stay in the game? Intuitively it just seems like a death knell, and perhaps designed to be so. Comments?

I think as long as Mora can get quality talent in the portal, UConn can still field competitive teams. I don’t see that changing anytime soon, especially if the W-L record starts improving. Other FBS teams have begun exploring football independence as well, which bodes well for UConn. On the other hand, Rule 1 could even hasten an invite to the ACC or Big 12 for All UConn athletic programs. Basketball still talks and UConn has the two best coaches in the game, and UConn the school has no peer in the sport of basketball right now, any conference that wants them will have to take Football as well. What would worry me about what you’re saying is if DB leaves. If that happens, then UConn could be in trouble, but if he doesn’t then, knowing what he knows, UConn could end up in a good spot.

 

[Palatine]

I dunno, but in light of Rule 1, this new agreement seems awfully likely to kill UConn FB as we know it. Yet no one is alarmed??

Would it help?

 

[RSTuthill]

Would it help?

Ah, the argument for passivity.