With ND withdrawing and Louisville stepping in, should UConn move on from ND when contract expires?

[HuskyV]

UConn should schedule any team that can give them a game. Too many 20-40 point blow-outs.

All the top teams should play each other round robin until the other teams can compete.

 

[DefenseBB]

UNC is a better program than ND? Since when?

Even in a horrific down year for ND, they still had a better ACC record than UNC. I know UNC has a good coach in place and has been recruiting well but ND's 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes are strong too.

The rush in this thread to dump ND for UNC is odd to me. UNC and ND are in roughly the same spot in my estimation.

I guess the logic is that UConn shouldn't give ND a game because it helps ND more than it does UConn. However, playing in the ACC will usually ensure a decent strength of schedule and ND can find other good non-conference games without much trouble. I don't think refusing to play ND as a sort of punishment is very effective. ND's schedule will be just fine without taking the customary yearly guaranteed loss to UConn.

As I created the post, let me give you my back-channel thought: As it was ND who cancelled THIS YEAR, and UConn found a ready replacement with Louisville, who most of us on this board enjoy his friendly banter with Geno and healthy respect of each other and their programs, and now that MM is no longer at the helm, ONCE THE EXISTING contract expires, I asked if they should consider moving on like they moved on from Tennessee all those many years ago. Simple enough question. Geno himself has said he likes to change and do we now have regular games in Caroline, no so maybe a Duke/UNC/NC State set of games could be created. Add in the fact there is less room for OOC games due to the 20 game BigEast schedule, I doubt that UConn can consider them all. Remember, ND opened this door by "somehow cancelling this game AT HOME even when the FOOTBALL TEAM OF 85+ was begging for opponents". Where's the logic there?
So something to me seems off. That said, I think VERY HIGHLY of both you and @Dillon77 so I apologize if I offended either you as my tone (vs. others) was not derogatory. That said as of this writing, more BYers want to keep the game...

 

[EdSaid]

I don't think anyone was offended. I think it was a good debate. I think Geno uses his road games as part of his recruiting. Has UConn ever had a player from Indiana? I think with IU, Indiana State, and ND it would be hard to recruit in that state. I wouldn't go there. I think the rivalry continued because of the Big East connection. The same thing in Texas, Baylor, and now UT are going to make it hard to recruit in Texas. A lot of talent in the Carolinas and Georgia (ONO). Go play GT and Georgia as well.

UConn and Louiseville were scheduled to play in Madison Square Garden this season. Louisville cancelled early. I'm sure playing in NYC without fans would shut that game down financially. I think that game was designed for recruiting in the NYC area.

Geno will still play anyone, anytime, anyplace. UConn was the only team to play SC, Oregon and Baylor last season. This season is going to be very unusual in the sense games might get cancelled and not rescheduled.

 

[robnelli]

Kelly Faris was from Indiana I believe.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Remember some future road games will include Minnesota, Arkansas, Georgia and whoever Geno can schedule for a homecoming game for his players. That will eliminate someone from the OOC schedule.

 

[EdSaid]

Poland, too.

 

[UConnCat]

UConn and Louiseville were scheduled to play in Madison Square Garden this season. Louisville cancelled early. I'm sure playing in NYC without fans would shut that game down financially. I think that game was designed for recruiting in the NYC area.

What you posted here is not correct. First, the game was going to be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, not MSG. Second, Louisville did not cancel the game. Jeff Walz simply was the first to state publicly that the game -- a 9-11 Tribute -- would not be played in the upcoming season. Carl Adamec explained what happened:

And it was Walz on Wednesday who said that the game, which was expected to be part of an event scheduled for the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, will not happen in part due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In between, UConn and Louisville never signed a contract to play though there were talks between the schools over the past few months.

“Because of what’s going on right now it was probably going to be difficult to be able to get much of a crowd in there right now,” Walz said on a conference call that was replayed on the Louisville athletic website. “So instead of just doing a wait-and-see, I think we’ve agreed to push it back a year. So we’ll hopefully get it worked out for next year and be able to get that up and going again.”

Fortunately for UConn, Louisville agreed replace ND on UConn's schedule. Louisville should be a much tougher matchup. Also, the Dec 4 game against Louisville will replace the ND game as this season's Jimmy V Classic. This matchup will benefit both teams as well as WCBB fans generally.

 

[SJF]

Texas and Gonzaga

 

[JoePgh]

Kelly Faris was from Indiana I believe.

Not only was she from Indiana, but (as I recall) the only scholarship offers she got were from Notre Dame, UConn, and (I believe) Purdue. And she chose the only out-of-state school among her offers. Why? She attended a UConn practice, and there was "something different" about it that she couldn't put into words.

I think Paige recently used almost those same words to describe the UConn practice that she witnessed as a recruit. I predict she won't be the last UConn recruit to make that observation.

 

[Alydar]

I would like to see Stanford added to the schedule on a permanent basis. I would also like to see UConn schedule a Southern California school as well. California produces a large number of highly skilled BB players and it would help in recruiting California players. I would like to see Notre Dame stay on the schedule as its a Great TV Game. If a school has to be dropped, I would drop Baylor as they only agree to play UConn when it suits their purpose.

Tara ended the last series. But at least for the next few years coaches are going to be in line to sign a home and home deal. The Bueckers/Fudd/et al Showcase will be getting invites galore. And UConn should schedule as many of those elite teams as they can.

I think there are a few AP No 1 trophies in UConn's future.

 

[MSGRET]

Poland, too.

I see Geno playing in Europe in two years with games in Poland and Croatia instead of playing in Italy.

 

[#12in21]

Vic is building Texas back to a top program, so it would be nice to have Texas back on the schedule

I'd love to see Texas added for selfish reasons. My son and daughter-in-law live in Austin and we saw the Uconn/Texas wcbb game there several years ago. It was a great atmosphere in their arena and with Vic there the games should become more competitive.

 

[mbr33ct]

Based on some of the replies, the only way UConn can play all of the mentioned OOC teams/schools would be for UConn to scrap BE and go Independent.

 

[eebmg]

Based on some of the replies, the only way UConn can play all of the mentioned OOC teams/schools would be for UConn to scrap BE and go Independent.

or play 2 teams at a time.

 

[bluedevil]

Vic is building Texas back to a top program, so it would be nice to have Texas back on the schedule

The more Texas teams Uconn plays the better and the same goes for California teams. In terms of recruiting if you are looking for gold ...go where the gold is.

 

[DefenseBB]

I'd love to see Texas added for selfish reasons. My son and daughter-in-law live in Austin and we saw the Uconn/Texas wcbb game there several years ago. It was a great atmosphere in their arena and with Vic there the games should become more competitive.

You made me realize that there is hope of significantly improved attendance considering what Vic was able to do in Starkville. I never could quite understand why Texas didn't see improved attendance right after Karen arrived and starting getting better recruits and better results than Gail. That was odd, so with Vic, we can see if his marketing translates to Austin or if Austin is just immune to attending WCBB.

@Alydar I too recall Tara not renewing the series but do you remember why? Did it have anything to do with signing Samuelson the youngest?

 

[Dillon77]

Gosh. I missed this whole hub-bub because:
- On Friday, Olivia Miles signed her LOI and ND put out a press package which I was celebrating over on the Bench. I was and am quite excited about both Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron not only because I think they're excellent players, but - in part -- because they're local NJ & NY products I've gotten to see personally.
- And on Saturday, after raking round #47 of leaves, I watched the Irish footballers venture up to Chestnut Hill.
So, I was whistlin' in the dark when I saw this.

- For what it's worth, I think the two schools should keep playing if the respective coaches want to.
I've got absolutely no insight into why the game was nixed this year (maybe Niele felt the only way this year's model had a chance was with a full house, but that wasn't happening...I don't know).

- Geno seems to respect Niele (he's mentioned hanging with her during AAU tourneys) so no harm, no foul. But as my esteemed colleague, Orangutan, brings up: the regular season has recently been a UConn special while ND has gotten the last two NCAA's. I'll take that anytime.

- So, NC has a bright young coach who had a good recruiting year. Duke has a name coach. BC is getting better. Nell Fortner is Nell Fortner and Louisville manages to always find a good mix from all the frosh and transfers coming in. Will they be better on a consistent basis than the Irish? Let's play those games, ok?

- BTW, back to that recruiting class, I think Niele is a forward or two away from moving upwards in a very linear fashion. Miles is a force and Sonia Citron is smooth and cerebral (reminds me a bit of Natalie Novosel, another tall Irish guard).

So, see you in the regular season in 2022. Or later in the post-season. (I'm just excited about any season starting so I'm not looking at nada half-empty right now. )

 

[Watchdog]

The world has "givers" and "takers", perhaps too few of the former and too many of the latter.

Geno exemplifies giving to the game of basketball. He has freely shared his coaching philosophy with opposing coaches, scheduled teams that want to raise their profiles and lift their programs to another level and taken myriad other actions over the years that benefited the game of women's basketball and helped grow its popularity. He has done so with the full support of UConn's leadership and the people of the state of Connecticut.

ND has a reputation for doing whatever is good for them.

UConn was a member of the Yankee Conference from 1974 to 1982 when they joined the Big East. Their history is/was stability and partnership with its league members until the conference realignments forced them to move to another league.

Meanwhile, ND has been an opportunist. It was a member of the Northstar Conference from 1977 to 1988, became a member of the Midwest Collegiate Conference from 1988 until 1995, then joined the Big East from 1995 to 2013 at which time they left to join the ACC. None of their moves was forced and their history, especially their separate TV deal for football, has always been school first. Conference? Not so much.

The net result? Big East membership, likely extended in the false hope football would join the conference along with all other sports, greatly benefited their women's basketball program. Then, when ND saw the Big East falling apart during the football lead conference realignments in 2005 and 2013, they jumped to the ACC.

ND has used their conference affiliations time and again for their benefit with little, if any, benefit to whichever conference they happened to be in at the time. As to the series with UConn, it may have filled the void from Tennessee's hissy fit over recruiting Maya Moore, but ND has benefited from the series way more than UConn. UConn leads 37-13, with the 7 straight losses over a two year period from 2011 to 2013 accounting for more than half of ND's wins in the 23 year series. 6 wins in the other 21 years........?

The series became a rivalry for several reasons. The two coaches had a long relationship which eventually lead to some banter back and forth, ND improved dramatically after joining the Big East, regularly playing three times a year made the opposing players familiar to the other fan base which, in turn, bred both admiration and contempt for the opponent.

So I say enough. Let's continue to share the wealth of the UConn brand and move on to build the game in other ways with other schools in other regions. For those concerned about recruiting exposure, UConn's profile is national and Marquette, Butler, DePaul and Creighton offer all the exposure we need in the Midwest.
In the last ten years, South Carolina, Baylor, UCLA, Texas, Mississippi State, Oregon and Oregon State have become worthy opponents. Schedule them and others that are on the rise. Even Duke and Fake Class U.

Finally, we should all remember the Big East was no powerhouse in women's basketball when the league was founded. The SEC ruled. UConn's rise lifted the entire league as others took the challenge and upgraded their programs. As a result, the Big East became equal to or superior to any league in the country. It can, and likely will, be done again with UConn back in the fold and Geno providing the leadership the league needs to grow.

ND wanted out of this year's game. Was it because they could foresee the outcome and didn't want to take the bloom off the rose of Ivey's first year? It's not important why, but let's make it a longer term hiatus. Ivey can recruit all she wants but there's no proof she'll be able to win against loaded Geno teams over the next five years so why schedule five annual blowouts when we can spend our energy building up the Big East and building bigger rivalries with the increased number of high profile programs around the country.

If ND is any good, we'll see how they do against us in the NCAA tournament (just don't play them in the National Semi-Final). And, let ND find out if ESPN and other networks will line up with large TV contracts for annual one off games with them as they have with UConn and its national opponents in the past. Who knows, maybe ESPN sees the rivalry aspect of the game as so big and important for ratings it'll sweeten the pot for UConn to get us to play the "new evil empire".

 

[Geew1992]

You guys know they canceled because of Covid, not because they're afraid to play a loaded Uconn team.

 

[Gate81]

Numbers may not allow it but I'd think UConn would want a home and away with Stanford and UCLA so every other year one road trip to CA. I have to suspect that a prime factor in Stanford cancellation was not just that they were weak at the time but avoiding sisters playing each other, and that no longer is the case.

 

[MooseJaw]

You guys know they canceled because of Covid, not because they're afraid to play a loaded Uconn team.

Not so fast, I believe ND has used covid as an excuse, they could have easily fit the game in if they wanted to. Do I know the reason why, nope but I look at the game last year and feel strongly that there is no way ND wanted to put their team and new coach through what could be a beat down.
I always looked forward to the ND game I would record it and watch it a number of times. My final thought, I think ND has made a big mistake, the game has national implications being a showcase for WCBB. Life goes on and for this season ND will be no more than an after thought.

 

[DefenseBB]

As I was reading Dillon's comments, and what my feedback to Orangutan was for creating this thread, no where did I suggest that ND was a "has been power" or going to be lacking in talent along without a Top 5, Top 10 ranking. We will see it play out if Niele can't keep them relevant (my beat is she's Top 10) but let's face it, part of the allure was the MM vs. Geno dynamic. Does the allure stay with Niele? No, Niele is not that type of polarizing personality. We have Chicago area recruiting covered with DePaul. We no longer have Texas or Carolina on the schedule, plus as noted, we are missing the west coast.

Both schools have the ability to schedule anyone they want but there is no allegiance to have to schedule each other. But with the way the poll looks now with 23 more people wanting to keep ND, the fuss is moot.

My last comment to @Geew1992 is Covid was the excuse to cancel the ND game AT ND this year, not the reason. Like I said earlier in this thread, ND football scrambled to get the ACC to throw it a lifeline to aid their schedule when the Big10 and PAC12 DID cancel due to Covid. That is a heck of lot more people being exposed than the 14 member team plus coaching and limited support staff that WCBB has, especially for a home game without travel. I hate to throw shade at @Dillon77 but come on, to wash your hands of why Niele cancelled a home game this year and forego 9,000+ fans and revenue as you weren't sure? I guess you're a republican...

 

[Dillon77]

As I was reading Dillon's comments, and what my feedback to Orangutan was for creating this thread, no where did I suggest that ND was a "has been power" or going to be lacking in talent along without a Top 5, Top 10 ranking. We will see it play out if Niele can't keep them relevant (my beat is she's Top 10) but let's face it, part of the allure was the MM vs. Geno dynamic. Does the allure stay with Niele? No, Niele is not that type of polarizing personality. We have Chicago area recruiting covered with DePaul. We no longer have Texas or Carolina on the schedule, plus as noted, we are missing the west coast.

Both schools have the ability to schedule anyone they want but there is no allegiance to have to schedule each other. But with the way the poll looks now with 23 more people wanting to keep ND, the fuss is moot.

My last comment to @Geew1992 is Covid was the excuse to cancel the ND game AT ND this year, not the reason. Like I said earlier in this thread, ND football scrambled to get the ACC to throw it a lifeline to aid their schedule when the Big10 and PAC12 DID cancel due to Covid. That is a heck of lot more people being exposed than the 14 member team plus coaching and limited support staff that WCBB has, especially for a home game without travel. I hate to throw shade at @Dillon77 but come on, to wash your hands of why Niele cancelled a home game this year and forego 9,000+ fans and revenue as you weren't sure? I guess you're a republican...

Ha! I must not have communicated that well....the 9,000 fans were needed for, hmmm, moral support. Never even thought of the gate totals. (the NBC contract, which many people love to attack, does cover many other considerations.)

I'm not saying you wrote that ND is a "has been" power, but this was after a review of the entire thread.
Celebrate at one's own risk. Niele, after all, was largely responsible for recruiting most of the players that have caused some degree of havoc. Yes, MM's special relationship with her Philly buddy made it interesting, but the rivalry has long been fueled by wing-women (hello, Chris!).

BTW, last point, the Irish have always played DePaul and Marquette. If they continue to play them -- and UConn -- it will be a mid-season four in its own right.

 

[Alydar]

I see Geno playing in Europe in two years with games in Poland and Croatia instead of playing in Italy.

How about in the summer of 2023 UConn travels to Europe and plays a couple of national teams.

 

[hoopsfan22]

The premise of this thread is silly. We're not going to stop playing ND until they are consistently unranked, and I have a feeling we'll be the ones unranked more often than they are in the long term.

 

[Watchdog]

You guys know they canceled because of Covid, not because they're afraid to play a loaded Uconn team.

Was that the reason given? It may be true, but I'd bet it's more to preserve the aura of a winning program so the new coach doesn't get embarrassed at home in an early season game in her first year and have people start to question whether she's up to the job.
Football didn't cancel the Clemson game and those players, especially linemen, are right up in each others' faces the whole game huffing and puffing. Aren't they concerned about the football players?
What about the men's team? Have they cancelled any tough games yet?
I admit I'm a major cynic, but it's hard not to be unless they've decided to cancel the entire season.