(09-29-2020 09:23 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(09-29-2020 09:12 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I have no idea what will happen with UConn/Hurley moving forward, however Hurley's track record speaks for itself:

At Wagner, he goes from 13-17 in year 1 to 25-6 in year 2. At Rhode Island, he goes from 22-39 in his first two years, to 51-18 over his last two years. He finished 16-17 in his first year at UConn, to 19-12 last year. At every program he has led, the trend always goes up. Personally, I think UConn is a top-4 program in the BE this year (behind Villanova, Creighton and Seton Hall). Long-term, between their history, their resources, the current coaching staff and their presence in the NE, I think UConn will be an annual threat for the crown of the Big East.

For many reasons, UConn Basketball was a declining stock in the AAC - for many self-inflicted reasons as well as a few external reasons. Regardless, a course correction has been made and they are back home where they belong. Moving forward, even in a down year in the BE, they are still in a like-minded conference like-minded members (which was just never going to be the same case, no matter how many on here would want to argue it otherwise).

There is one element in your assessment (and I agree with you 95 percent of the time you post) with which I disagree:

UConn truly "belongs" in the ACC with Syracuse, BC and Pitt and for the Husky football program and strong baseball program. The Atlantic Coast makes vastly more sense than the Big East. There is absolutely no doubt about this. It's not a jab at the BE. It's simply the reality.

Similarly, UConn makes considerably more sense in the BE than the American. The latter was a semi-disaster for the Husky program.

Bill, those programs you reference are not truly institutional peers of UConn. Syracuse, Boston College and Pittsburgh have decades of high-level involvement in college football, including associations (via football) with many "power" programs that are considered within the P5 today. UConn is considered an infant to those programs, as they are barely 20 years old as a D1/FBS program. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they invested way too late, and, as a result, do not have the same associations or peer involvement with other NE schools like the ones you reference. Thus, they really do not belong in the ACC (due to the lack of football history/commitment that those other schools you reference have). Conversely, UConn is also not associated with other NE programs among the likes of Maine, Rhode Island, Delaware, UMass, etc., because their football program has been elevated to the FBS/D1 level longer than any of those programs too.

With all things considered, UConn - for many reasons - is really an isolated and individualistic case within the FBS/P5. There aren't really any comparable examples that fit its present situation historically. Even in the Big East, UConn is the lone public/land-grant institution among a league full of Private/Catholic institutions. Still, the Big East brand is very much elite level basketball, rooted in the NE (NYC); in this regard, UConn is very much an institutional fit as well as anyone in the Big East (if not more), and the best possible fit given the current parameters for UConn and its athletic program. Perhaps an ACC/non-football association would be better, but even in that regard, there are examples of that being a poor fit as well.