UConn to Big East - Another Post

[redmen9194]

There is a lot of back and forth both on our boards and elsewhere regarding this move. A few things are clear:

1.) UConn needed this move more than the Big East. The dream of a P5 invite ended for UConn a few years ago, if not earlier. Their football is simply not attractive to the big time players and regardless of their basketball history, basketball does not drive decisions in those leagues. Also, you simply cannot survive losing $40,000,000.00 per year on your athletic department and playing in half empty basketball and football arenas. The Big East is a better conference than the AAC. There are some who think it is on the decline - I mean our last national championship was over 14 months ago - but by every measure Big East basketball is better than the AAC and it's not even close. There are many posters on the UConn site who think they are going to march in and slay all the Big East teams and are downplaying games against Xavier, Creighton and Butler. Let's see what happens when they visit those schools who have some of the craziest home atmospheres in the country and have a recent history of success against everyone. The Big East did not need to expand at all. No need at all. Our tournament had the highest average attendance in the nation and is played in the most sought after arena in the nation and our schools are all doing well. So UConn is an absolute winner in this.

2.) Although the Big East did not need to add UConn, UConn makes the Big East better. First, the UConn pedigree cannot be discounted. They have four of the last 21 national championships. While the atmosphere at the Garden has been great, the presence of UConn will kick it up a notch or two. They are a regional power in the northeast and and have been a national power for the last 25 years. We have always discussed an 11th school on here and UConn blows the rest away for a lot of reasons. A great conference just got a bit greater. The Big East is a winner here as well.

3.) We have the best conference commissioner in the game. She understands what the league is and what it wants to be. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, she speaks softly and carries a big stick. When the ACC came to Brooklyn and the Big Ten came to the Garden, she didn't go crazy calling it the worst thing to happen to college basketball. She welcomed the competition and said the Big East would hold its own. Not only did the Big East hold its own, it was the best attended tournament in the nation, a feat it followed up a year later as well. When the Big Ten made a proposal to MSG for some type of tournament arraignment that would "enhance the Garden" involving the ACC, Big Ten and Big East, she quietly negotiated an extension for the Big East that will keep everyone out for years to come. Now she has quietly brought UConn home. It's a home run. Val is the best.

[MullinMayhem]

Agreed on all points...no doubt they have a brand but reading the Boneyard football fans you would think they were the Texas of the Northeast lol. It's pretty funny how delusional their football crowd is. UConn football carries as much clout as maybe Stony Brook? That's their peer in football even if they won't admit it.

[Xudash]

Great post.

On the one hand, you can understand where their football crowd, in particular, is coming from, in that their emotional reaction is largely based on the notion of losing the P5 club all together, while they otherwise operate under the too typical and obvious perception that the Big East will never be like the old Big East.

As far as the latter is concerned, we all know that our Big East will never be considered at the same level as the old Big East, I guess unless some more of us along with Nova rack-up some more NC's. But the larger point has to do with the UConn crowd's lack of open-mindedness with respect to the Big East as it now exists. As an example, they don't yet realize that Providence and SHU have woken up from a time when UConn's experience with them was different, if that's a fair way to put it. They'll see Marquette and DePaul in new buildings. Nova is most visible to them right now and for obvious reasons, but Patrick seems to be moving in the right direction along the Potomac. Maybe St. John's now has the right coach. Otherwise, they see large, football playing schools exchanged for "small" schools and immediately think that a decision to join this Big East is a road to hell. They'll come to learn that playing at the Cintas Center is a lot more difficult than playing at 5/3 Arena in front of douchey UC fans, that Hinkle Fieldhouse is no picnic for opposing teams, and that a visit to the CHI means playing in front of 17,000 Bluejay fans.

You're totally spot on by the way: UConn needs the BE more than the BE needs the Huskies, but both parties are going to benefit from this relationship and I believe immensely. Our conference records thus far speak for themselves. Without UConn and now with UConn coming on board, our 20-game conference schedules will be a load to handle, but they'll get the best of us positioned and prepared well for the NCAAT.

So, let the Boneyard hissyfits continue. Most UConn fans seem to be onboard with the move anyway. Some of the non-believers will come around as they see that the Big East is the real deal. For the football zealots that don't come around, well, they'll deserve their disposition. The perception of UConn football at the national level never amounted to much anyway.

[ecasadoSBU]

Agreed on all points...no doubt they have a brand but reading the Boneyard football fans you would think they were the Texas of the Northeast lol. It's pretty funny how delusional their football crowd is. UConn football carries as much clout as maybe Stony Brook? That's their peer in football even if they won't admit it.

I'm a fan of both programs. Stony Brook is my alma mater and I attend pretty much every home CFB game. But I think its an exaggeration to say UConn football carries the same clout as SBU Football. I completely disagree.

UConn football still continues to draw 20,000 on average per game, despite terrible losing record for more than half a decade. Those guys were selling out "The Rent" (40,000) less than a decade ago. And they were selling out all through the 2000s. I attended sellouts at The Rent when my wife was a freshman there in 2010 and I was thinking they should expand the stadium! (Crazy to think that now). UConn FB just got caught in realignment and came out as a big-time loser. They also lost the coach that got em there right after their Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma. UConn arrived, and then it vanished!

It's amazing how quickly things can turn sour - Uconn went from a "Virtous cycle" in the 2000-2010 period to a "vicious cycle" of loses in the field, coaching exits, forced conference realignment, the resulting fan apathy, followed by more loses... which has pretty much destroyed what was a very promising football program

But it was a valuable program back in 2010, it was doing big things. It's a shame things turned out the way they have for a thriving program like UConn FB was.

Also, give credit to the UConn for doing everything it could to save the Big East. They knew the risk they were taking when they decided to jump to Division I Big East Football in the early 2000s. They knew the Big East hybrid foundation was sinking. They knew the Big East needed additional "full-members" to save the league from its imminent failure. They did what Villanova didn't have the balls to do (whatever the reasons were) - Jump to Big time football to enhance the league. They invested the money to grow and the fans backed the university with dozens of sold-out games through the 2000s. Unfortunately, it was a little too late, and at the end it didn't work out. It is what it is.

With that said, I'm happy with the decision the University has taken. They have decided that at this point they should save their basketball programs before its too late to reverse course. They should position their football program in a northeastern conference and consistently play UMass/Buffalo/Temple and from time to time try to get Syracuse/Army/BC/MD/PennState on the schedule. Those are going to be blow outs. But they need to do something. They cannot close a program that has had so much monetary and fan support throughout the years. UConn FB has great infrastructure (practice facilities, stadium, lockers, etc) to let it all go to waste. I hope that someday they can get back to where they were in 2010. I hope they can get a second chance!

The University accepted defeat... for now. But I know a school like UConn won't give up forever. They are coming back to the Big East in the hopes to re-invigorate the athletic department. They come with the intentions of dominating the league, nothing else. They know they have a built-in competitive advantage (public funding, a wealthy state, a large fan base, and a large student population) over the rest of the league. They will attempt to exploit those advantages to get them back up. and if they do get back up, they will try to rub off that energy to their football program to get it back up. A lot of ifs, I know! But if things go the UConn way, it won't be long before they attempt to leave the league for greener pastures!

[kayako]

Agreed on all points...no doubt they have a brand but reading the Boneyard football fans you would think they were the Texas of the Northeast lol. It's pretty funny how delusional their football crowd is. UConn football carries as much clout as maybe Stony Brook? That's their peer in football even if they won't admit it.

Honestly, I am not even sure if uconn's football problem is as bad as Nova's. You should let them be.

[scoscox]

Why does Nova still have a team? Seems like it wouldn't be a big deal to close up shop and it's a serious money drain.

[BEXU]

…….." A lot of ifs, I know! But if things go the UConn way, it won't be long before they attempt to leave the league for greener pastures!"


Stick it to them with a billion dollar exit fee! They leave, we merrily take their money and go back to 10.

[Savannah Jay]

Agreed on all points...no doubt they have a brand but reading the Boneyard football fans you would think they were the Texas of the Northeast lol. It's pretty funny how delusional their football crowd is. UConn football carries as much clout as maybe Stony Brook? That's their peer in football even if they won't admit it.

I'm a fan of both programs. Stony Brook is my alma mater and I attend pretty much every home CFB game. But I think its an exaggeration to say UConn football carries the same clout as SBU Football. I completely disagree.

UConn football still continues to draw 20,000 on average per game, despite terrible losing record for more than half a decade. Those guys were selling out "The Rent" (40,000) less than a decade ago. And they were selling out all through the 2000s. I attended sellouts at The Rent when my wife was a freshman there in 2010 and I was thinking they should expand the stadium! (Crazy to think that now). UConn FB just got caught in realignment and came out as a big-time loser. They also lost the coach that got em there right after their Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma. UConn arrived, and then it vanished!

It's amazing how quickly things can turn sour - Uconn went from a "Virtous cycle" in the 2000-2010 period to a "vicious cycle" of loses in the field, coaching exits, forced conference realignment, the resulting fan apathy, followed by more loses... which has pretty much destroyed what was a very promising football program

But it was a valuable program back in 2010, it was doing big things. It's a shame things turned out the way they have for a thriving program like UConn FB was.

Also, give credit to the UConn for doing everything it could to save the Big East. They knew the risk they were taking when they decided to jump to Division I Big East Football in the early 2000s. They knew the Big East hybrid foundation was sinking. They knew the Big East needed additional "full-members" to save the league from its imminent failure. They did what Villanova didn't have the balls to do (whatever the reasons were) - Jump to Big time football to enhance the league. They invested the money to grow and the fans backed the university with dozens of sold-out games through the 2000s. Unfortunately, it was a little too late, and at the end it didn't work out. It is what it is.

With that said, I'm happy with the decision the University has taken. They have decided that at this point they should save their basketball programs before its too late to reverse course. They should position their football program in a northeastern conference and consistently play UMass/Buffalo/Temple and from time to time try to get Syracuse/Army/BC/MD/PennState on the schedule. Those are going to be blow outs. But they need to do something. They cannot close a program that has had so much monetary and fan support throughout the years. UConn FB has great infrastructure (practice facilities, stadium, lockers, etc) to let it all go to waste. I hope that someday they can get back to where they were in 2010. I hope they can get a second chance!

The University accepted defeat... for now. But I know a school like UConn won't give up forever. They are coming back to the Big East in the hopes to re-invigorate the athletic department. They come with the intentions of dominating the league, nothing else. They know they have a built-in competitive advantage (public funding, a wealthy state, a large fan base, and a large student population) over the rest of the league. They will attempt to exploit those advantages to get them back up. and if they do get back up, they will try to rub off that energy to their football program to get it back up. A lot of ifs, I know! But if things go the UConn way, it won't be long before they attempt to leave the league for greener pastures!

Thoughtful points, although I am not sure UCONN can or will ever compete in football again like they did 10 years ago. The financial landscape of college athletics has changed since then...obviously, they hoped to take advantage of that changing landscape by joining one of the big 5 football conferences. For illustration purposes, here are two articles, one about the finances of the University of Texas athletic department (from USA Today) and one about UCONN. Texas is one of the wealthiest athletic departments in the country. Revenues over $200M, none of which come from student fees. The article on UCONN boasts of the fact that they were 49th in the country with $79M in revenues, except 44.52 percent came from student fees, institutional and state support. So the actual athletic department revenue for UCONN was roughly $44M. Texas had ticket sales of 72.5M (42M of which was for football) and contributions to the athletic department of $42.6M.

Texas article
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2018/01/19/texas-athletics-department-operating-revenue-and-expenses-ov/1050205001/
UCONN article
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/7/6/15930832/uconn-remains-highest-revenue-athletic-department-outside-of-power-five

Those athletic departments are not operating on a level playing field and I don't see how that changes. There are parts of the country, and specific universities, that care about football a lot more than UCONN ever will and that's reflected in ticket sales and contributions to the athletic department. This is what UCONN has to compete against in football. It may have a nice little run again (maybe) but they won't compete long term.

[kayako]

Why does Nova still have a team? Seems like it wouldn't be a big deal to close up shop and it's a serious money drain.

I can understand the reluctance to scrap it completely because they've done it before. But yeah, they should downgrade it to Georgetown/Butler level.

[ecasadoSBU]

Agreed on all points...no doubt they have a brand but reading the Boneyard football fans you would think they were the Texas of the Northeast lol. It's pretty funny how delusional their football crowd is. UConn football carries as much clout as maybe Stony Brook? That's their peer in football even if they won't admit it.

I'm a fan of both programs. Stony Brook is my alma mater and I attend pretty much every home CFB game. But I think its an exaggeration to say UConn football carries the same clout as SBU Football. I completely disagree.

UConn football still continues to draw 20,000 on average per game, despite terrible losing record for more than half a decade. Those guys were selling out "The Rent" (40,000) less than a decade ago. And they were selling out all through the 2000s. I attended sellouts at The Rent when my wife was a freshman there in 2010 and I was thinking they should expand the stadium! (Crazy to think that now). UConn FB just got caught in realignment and came out as a big-time loser. They also lost the coach that got em there right after their Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma. UConn arrived, and then it vanished!

It's amazing how quickly things can turn sour - Uconn went from a "Virtous cycle" in the 2000-2010 period to a "vicious cycle" of loses in the field, coaching exits, forced conference realignment, the resulting fan apathy, followed by more loses... which has pretty much destroyed what was a very promising football program

But it was a valuable program back in 2010, it was doing big things. It's a shame things turned out the way they have for a thriving program like UConn FB was.

Also, give credit to the UConn for doing everything it could to save the Big East. They knew the risk they were taking when they decided to jump to Division I Big East Football in the early 2000s. They knew the Big East hybrid foundation was sinking. They knew the Big East needed additional "full-members" to save the league from its imminent failure. They did what Villanova didn't have the balls to do (whatever the reasons were) - Jump to Big time football to enhance the league. They invested the money to grow and the fans backed the university with dozens of sold-out games through the 2000s. Unfortunately, it was a little too late, and at the end it didn't work out. It is what it is.

With that said, I'm happy with the decision the University has taken. They have decided that at this point they should save their basketball programs before its too late to reverse course. They should position their football program in a northeastern conference and consistently play UMass/Buffalo/Temple and from time to time try to get Syracuse/Army/BC/MD/PennState on the schedule. Those are going to be blow outs. But they need to do something. They cannot close a program that has had so much monetary and fan support throughout the years. UConn FB has great infrastructure (practice facilities, stadium, lockers, etc) to let it all go to waste. I hope that someday they can get back to where they were in 2010. I hope they can get a second chance!

The University accepted defeat... for now. But I know a school like UConn won't give up forever. They are coming back to the Big East in the hopes to re-invigorate the athletic department. They come with the intentions of dominating the league, nothing else. They know they have a built-in competitive advantage (public funding, a wealthy state, a large fan base, and a large student population) over the rest of the league. They will attempt to exploit those advantages to get them back up. and if they do get back up, they will try to rub off that energy to their football program to get it back up. A lot of ifs, I know! But if things go the UConn way, it won't be long before they attempt to leave the league for greener pastures!

Thoughtful points, although I am not sure UCONN can or will ever compete in football again like they did 10 years ago. The financial landscape of college athletics has changed since then...obviously, they hoped to take advantage of that changing landscape by joining one of the big 5 football conferences. For illustration purposes, here are two articles, one about the finances of the University of Texas athletic department (from USA Today) and one about UCONN. Texas is one of the wealthiest athletic departments in the country. Revenues over $200M, none of which come from student fees. The article on UCONN boasts of the fact that they were 49th in the country with $79M in revenues, except 44.52 percent came from student fees, institutional and state support. So the actual athletic department revenue for UCONN was roughly $44M. Texas had ticket sales of 72.5M (42M of which was for football) and contributions to the athletic department of $42.6M.

Texas article
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2018/01/19/texas-athletics-department-operating-revenue-and-expenses-ov/1050205001/
UCONN article
https://www.theuconnblog.com/2017/7/6/15930832/uconn-remains-highest-revenue-athletic-department-outside-of-power-five

Those athletic departments are not operating on a level playing field and I don't see how that changes. There are parts of the country, and specific universities, that care about football a lot more than UCONN ever will and that's reflected in ticket sales and contributions to the athletic department. This is what UCONN has to compete against in football. It may have a nice little run again (maybe) but they won't compete long term.

Yeah, you are absolutely right that the stacks are against them. The gap will continue to grow larger and larger throughout the years between the P5 football and non-P5. Nonetheless, I feel that UConn will continue to attempt to get up there. The UConn community is very ambitious and wants more, they won't give up on that goal anytime soon.

Also, we gotta wait and see how the landscape changes in the future. A lot of changes will occur in the future when it comes to guaranteed TV revenue and online streaming, cord cutters, etc. These changes may trigger conference realignment all over again.