(07-03-2019 08:59 AM)SuperFlyBCat Wrote:  

(07-03-2019 07:49 AM)Bogg Wrote:  

(07-02-2019 09:59 PM)sierrajip Wrote:  Go UConn fans that state the real problem was the AAC for their departure. Pay up (exit fee).

Well, yea. If fans enjoyed the AAC there wouldn't be a departure.

UConn left because they couldn't win in the AAC. The fans don't enjoy losing regardless of conference affiliation. Other teams are successful and make the NCAA tournament from the AAC, UConn is not one of them. Cincinnati can make the NCAA playing out of the MVC, Metro, Great Midwest, CUSA, BE, and AAC. Are you saying that you can't recruit good enough players in the AAC? Guess that means the UConn brand isn't much.

UConn's membership in the AAC was never going to be a long-term fit, regardless of on-field, or on-court, success. Their membership with the American was simply unsustainable as a G5 league; unless the AAC became recognized (and paid) as a true power conference (which became quickly apparent in 2013 that it wasn't going to happen), it was always going to be a stop-gap until UConn felt like it had to change course. The only surprise that anyone should have had was that this occurred in 2019 and not 2022 (when the next TV deals were up for renegotiation).

Again, the UConn brand is not football - and this is where a disconnection occurs with many on here. UConn's brand is elite-level basketball (men's and women's) centered around the Northeast. Under Hurley, he was quickly turning around recruiting in the AAC (top-20 nationally), so clearly the brand was and is there. There even have already been numerous articles in the past week about how recruiting for UConn basketball has significantly picked up in the NE, especially with the opportunity to play more games closer to home - so clearly the geographic outlier-status was a hindrance to many recruits.

Finally, to your point about their success in the AAC, UConn won four national championships while as a member of the American Athletic Conference, not including the three they have recently won as Field Hockey members of the Big East. They also have 22 total NCAA Championships, which was most in the AAC. I think it is humorous to have seen so many AAC fans celebrate what UConn accomplished as a member (both past and present), especially boasting about its past success in basketball (even in the AAC) and its strong future potential under Hurley, only to downplay those aspects, proclaiming they - in reality - carried negative value and saying good riddance once they left. I don't think both thoughts can be true at the same time.