UConn Smoke

[GoldenWarrior11]

but here's the thing. Even if UConn returns to the Big East- it's not the same thing for UConn. They have no history at all with Xavier, Butler, Creighton- and very little with DePaul and Marquette. I mean for a UConn fan- what's the difference between UConn/Wichita and UConn/Creighton?

I think one thing now is that recruiting overall is a lot more national than it used to be.

Also with Ollie and #8 class- sure great class, but he couldn't coach worth a lick. Hurley a whole hell of a lot better coach than he was.

The Big East is not the optimal conference affiliation for UConn; but (long-term) it is still a more preferential and geographic match than the American. You listed the five programs of the Big East that UConn has little-to-no-history with; fair enough. However, UConn still has Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Seton Hall and Providence as historical and geographic rivals. Since you want to stipulate that UConn has "very little" history with Marquette and DePaul (which is very fair, IMO), then you must also stipulate that UConn has that same little-to-no history with Cincinnati and USF, since both joined the Big East all together in 2005. Those five BE programs offer geographic rivals to not only benefit UConn, but also the Olympic sports as well (which the AD is currently spending over $7 million annually in travel budgets).

The interesting thing about institutional-fit for UConn is there are very few institutions like it. It has a $450 million endowment with 30,000 students and a top-60 national ranking. In the B1G, they would be the second smallest university, only to Northwestern (a private school). They would have, by a substantial margin, the lowest endowment in the entire league (where all the B1G schools have endowments in the billions). If you look at the ACC, they would also have the smallest endowment by a significant margin. Since there are a number of private institutions in the ACC, their enrollment numbers would actually be very similar. But, again, their football program carries notorious negative value, and the football-block (Clemson, FSU, Miami, VT, etc.) would most definitely block them long-term. The fact that they have little-to-no football history is another huge barrier. If you look within the American, many of the schools are metropolitan universities, with a mixture of private/public schools with one lone additional Northeast institution (Temple). Regionally and endowment-wise, the University of Delaware has double the endowment that UConn has, and even the University of Vermont has a greater endowment (but, both schools have fewer students). Both schools are also top-100 national universities.

If UConn didn't have football, they would look much closer to the likes of Delaware, Vermont, Maine, UMass and Rhode Island. Football is really what separates UConn from those institutions. However, with exception to UMass, I think there is a very apparent reason why those schools have not pursued FBS Football, and that is due to cost. UMass, like UConn, is currently in an unsustainable model for athletics, especially since it is an independent. At present, UConn views itself as "too good" for the other New England state land-grant institutions, and the power conferences (B1G and ACC) do not view UConn as "good enough" to join their elite exclusive club, hence their present AAC-affiliation.

[ProprietyofLeyluken]

Even without UConn, the conference has some UConn flavor. Dave Leitao was an assistant under Calhoun..

I think most people are wondering why the conference hasn’t tried to land Gonzaga.
If not CONNzaga, Dayton, St Louis and VCU would fit very nicely. St Louis already has ties with Marquette and DePaul as Conference USA members.

[gtmoBlue]

Call the taxidermist...they're beating the horse again.

[ArmyVet]

C. Austin Cox‏ @C_Austin_Cox

Looks like the American Athletic Conference is close to a new TV deal with ESPN once again acting as the primary Tier 1 partner. No specifics available yet.
4:55 PM - 19 Feb 2019

So will there be a GOR?

[ProprietyofLeyluken]

C. Austin Cox‏ @C_Austin_Cox

Looks like the American Athletic Conference is close to a new TV deal with ESPN once again acting as the primary Tier 1 partner. No specifics available yet.
4:55 PM - 19 Feb 2019

So will there be a GOR?

The American looks to be wrapping up their TV deal soon.

This begs the question. Was signing with Fox for so many years a mistake?[/img]

[MUPanther]

Didn't know where to put it, so why not here.
So, UCF beat Houston & UC, they are now a lock for the NCAA Tourney. First time since 2005. When they were in the A-Sun. Lost by 6 points to UConn that year in the dance. If you would have said then that both would play in the same league in 2019 and UCF would have a better program, you would be rich!!

[milwaukeejedi1]

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/uconn-to-the-nbe.144423/

From the post, "I know I'll get crucified for this thread, but just passing along something I heard today, because it came from a very credible source. Largest private donor at Providence, directly involved in their athletic department and knows Tranghese well (who he says UConn hired as a consultant at some point) says he's 95%+ sure that UConn will be joining the NBE in 2021..."

It might not be legit but it is an entertaining thread.

[Xudash]

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/uconn-to-the-nbe.144423/

From the post, "I know I'll get crucified for this thread, but just passing along something I heard today, because it came from a very credible source. Largest private donor at Providence, directly involved in their athletic department and knows Tranghese well (who he says UConn hired as a consultant at some point) says he's 95%+ sure that UConn will be joining the NBE in 2021..."

It might not be legit but it is an entertaining thread.

They literally fascinate me.

So, I'm a Midwest born and raised guy. I grew up on the Big Ten. I'm an Ohio State fan. I put that out there to make clear the nature of the lenses I gaze through when it comes to college football. Basketball is all about Xavier and the Big East. Football is about over a hundred years of tradition, home games in an historic stadium that draws in over 100,000 fans per game, beating Michigan, winning B1G Championships, and positioning for a run for a NC year in and year out. In Ohio State's case, it bounces around with the likes of Texas and a couple other schools in having the top-dog Income Statement annually for collegiate athletic departments.

So, that's the backdrop. That's the backdrop as I read through the UCONN message board. All I see is ineptitude that is in the process of being boat raced by delusion. I love the east. I love NY and New England. I lived in Fairfield, CT for a while and love the state. But, as I believe you guys out east know all to well, that region of the country simply isn't known for being a power player in college football.

And it's just not the overall sustained lack of performance. It's that UCONN is managing to soil their sheets while running truly substantial financial deficits. A guy over here says, "but we have to stick with it, because of how much we've already invested in it". Another guy says, "the Big East is dying, and, BTW, private schools are folding left and right; it's a matter of time". Another one says that the AAC is becoming a better conference than the BE in basketball anyway.

You can see where this is headed.

UCONN football is truly nothing. Seriously, it is absolutely inconsequential. Didn't Nova beat them fairly recently? Everyone else seems to chalk them up as a "W".

The diehard football fans among them badmouth the Big East and they seem to believe that private universities are going the way of the dinosaur. I wonder if they believe that or if they are compelled to say that to themselves in order to feel better about their predicament.

We're back to where we always end up when it comes to the notion of UCONN eventually making its way back into the Big East - or this version of the Big East (for all the OBE snobs out there): the obvious advantages of having UCONN as a member (assuming UCONN basketball holds serve), coupled with the poison and ooze that would flow from a disgruntled fanbase that thinks life has ended, because the P5 train never made it through its station, would make for an interesting dynamic inside the BE clubhouse.

Ah yes, summertime banter about BE expansion and the almighty UCONN Huskies.

[scoscox]

What I find fascinating are the fans who’ve convinced themselves they have a better media deal than the big east. I’ve seen it from a bunch of aac fans and not just UConn. The delusion needed to convince yourself of that is incredible. Not only do they think that getting 5 million for basketball is somehow worse than getting 7 million for basketball and football combined, but some of them are convinced that 3 games a year on espn and games on espn+ is better exposure than having every single game on fs1. It’d be funny if it weren’t so sad

[kayako]

Timing's kinda convenient, as I think 2021 is the last of their 2014 NCAAT credits.

I'd love to see this happen just to see stever try to spin it.