(07-01-2019 11:36 PM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-28-2019 01:53 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  I think they will be fine as well.

Anyone who thinks UConn has given up on joining a P5 isn't thinking clearly. That's their end-goal.

I think claims of "Independence giving UConn a chance to rebuild their football" need to be attached with an explanation of how that actually works. It seems a bit of an Underpants Gnome plan.

If joining the P5 was UConn's end goal, then UConn would best serve that by showing an ability to compete at a high level in Basketball and an ability to keep their head above water in the toughest football competition outside of the P5.

That's WHY so many people are concluding that this signals UConn giving up on make a serious commitment to working toward a P5 bid ... because being in the AAC appears to be the best place to realize that goal. A school that needs to flee AAC level football competition in order for their football program to succeed does not make for the most promising P5 candidate.

The problem with this line of thought is that UConn has six years of experience in the AAC to disprove it.

For example, when the AAC was formed, UConn was universally regarded as the top candidate to get elevated to P5 status, and they were listed as one of 4 group A schools in the 2012 contract that could trigger ESPN reopening the contract should they leave.

But what did six years of the AAC yield for them? Terrible results on the field, enormous financial deficits, and brand erosion, as reports say that in the TV deal just negotiated, UConn was not among the 5 schools ESPN was concerned might leave.

So .... the AAC has not helped UConn, quite the opposite.