Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

“I never took this job thinking we would be in any other conference besides the American, so that’s where my total focus is. We do hope to have those old Big East rivalries in our non-conference schedule. I know we’re calling and asking those schools to play us. Syracuse in the Garden (Nov. 15) was a fun night.”

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

(12-06-2018 01:09 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

Thats really exactly whats so strange about the AAC. In 2013, an unbiased observer discussing how the AAC basketball could reach its full potential, would have pointed to programs like Houston, SMU, UCF, etc and said--"Some of these programs will have to step up big in order to provide quality depth and competition for the conference king pins of UConn, Cinci, Temple, and Memphis."

That development actually occurred. Those mid-tier porgrams have become programs that can challenge for a NCAA bid every year. Quality depth exists in the AAC. The problem is, of the conference "kingpins". only Cnci has been a reliable performer. If Temple, Memphis, and UConn can get back to being Temple, Memphis, and UConn---the AAC will be a hell of a league.

(12-06-2018 01:14 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:09 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

Thats really exactly whats so strange about the AAC. In 2013, an unbiased observer discussing how the AAC basketball could reach its full potential, would have pointed to programs like Houston, SMU, UCF, etc and said--"Some of these programs will have to step up big in order to provide quality depth and competition for the conference king pins of UConn, Cinci, Temple, and Memphis."

That development actually occurred. Those mid-tier porgrams have become programs that can challenge for a NCAA bid every year. Quality depth exists in the AAC. The problem is, of the conference "kingpins". only Cnci has been a reliable performer. If Temple, Memphis, and UConn can get back to being Temple, Memphis, and UConn---the AAC will be a hell of a league.

Exactly. And conversely in the Big East- if we had said in 2013, if you talked to an unbiased observer that between Georgetown, Marquette, and St John's- they would have only 3 NCAA tourney bids in 5 years and 1 win- folks would have said that the Big East would be in deep **** right now. But Nova has been phenominal- while Butler and Xavier have really come in and done great(not to mention Creighton- but Butler and Xavier have done more in the tourney)- and Providence and Seton Hall have stepped up....

It's pretty clear UConn's going to ride out the possible next wave of B12-related instability and see if the football team can secure a preferable home that way, so there's nothing else that Hurley's going to say at this juncture. He also goes on to talk about the importance of UConn maximizing their presence in the NYC/New Jersey area, which I think is telling.

(12-06-2018 05:33 PM)Bogg Wrote:  It's pretty clear UConn's going to ride out the possible next wave of B12-related instability and see if the football team can secure a preferable home that way, so there's nothing else that Hurley's going to say at this juncture. He also goes on to talk about the importance of UConn maximizing their presence in the NYC/New Jersey area, which I think is telling.

They can be in the NYC/New Jersey area without being in the Big East. Hell, they've got 3 games there THIS season.

(12-06-2018 05:33 PM)Bogg Wrote:  It's pretty clear UConn's going to ride out the possible next wave of B12-related instability and see if the football team can secure a preferable home that way, so there's nothing else that Hurley's going to say at this juncture. He also goes on to talk about the importance of UConn maximizing their presence in the NYC/New Jersey area, which I think is telling.

Kind of goes back to what was in the Rutgers thread. People are going to read that and hear (or in this case see) what they want. Anybody wanting to believe UConn is staying put in the AAC is going to read exactly that. Anybody wanting to believe UConn is going to work their way back to the Big East is going to do the same.

USFFan

UConn will carefully monitor the state of things. It will be interesting to see what the value of the AAC tv contract will be.

(12-06-2018 05:35 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 05:33 PM)Bogg Wrote:  It's pretty clear UConn's going to ride out the possible next wave of B12-related instability and see if the football team can secure a preferable home that way, so there's nothing else that Hurley's going to say at this juncture. He also goes on to talk about the importance of UConn maximizing their presence in the NYC/New Jersey area, which I think is telling.

They can be in the NYC/New Jersey area without being in the Big East. Hell, they've got 3 games there THIS season.

You can drive a car with your knees, too - avoiding a ticket doesn't mean it isn't harder. Strictly speaking it's four games because they played their early-season tournament in MSG, but trying to stake your home territory by way of some early-season neutral-site games is, at best, increasing the degree of difficulty (and, to a degree, screws over your season ticket holders by taking a marquee matchup out of their sheet and moving it elsewhere).

they...

(12-06-2018 01:09 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

To me, that’s actually the definition of whether the league itself has value (which is different from whether individual schools have value). The Big East is a league with an institutional identity that goes beyond performance on the floor, which is why it has been valued as greater than the sum of its parts. The AAC (and pretty much every other league besides the Power Five, Big East and Ivy League) doesn’t really have any identity - they’re a league that has tried to collect the best non-Power Five schools available at the time stretching from Texas to New England, but that’s about the only thing that bonds them. It’s a league created from conference realignment circumstances as opposed to being intentional with a particular vision. The AAC is going to always be judged on a pure performance basis because there’s no other guiding principle for why these particular schools are in a league together, whereas the Big East knows its identity regardless of how their teams might perform in a particular year. (Ironically, it took the breakup of the mish-mashed hybrid of the old Big East to allow for the identity of the new Big East come to fruition.)

(12-06-2018 06:06 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  UConn will carefully monitor the state of things. It will be interesting to see what the value of the AAC tv contract will be.

Thats obviously going to be a big factor....and we will probably know something by spring 2019.

(12-06-2018 06:20 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:09 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

To me, that’s actually the definition of whether the league itself has value (which is different from whether individual schools have value). The Big East is a league with an institutional identity that goes beyond performance on the floor, which is why it has been valued as greater than the sum of its parts. The AAC (and pretty much every other league besides the Power Five, Big East and Ivy League) doesn’t really have any identity - they’re a league that has tried to collect the best non-Power Five schools available at the time stretching from Texas to New England, but that’s about the only thing that bonds them. It’s a league created from conference realignment circumstances as opposed to being intentional with a particular vision. The AAC is going to always be judged on a pure performance basis because there’s no other guiding principle for why these particular schools are in a league together, whereas the Big East knows its identity regardless of how their teams might perform in a particular year. (Ironically, it took the breakup of the mish-mashed hybrid of the old Big East to allow for the identity of the new Big East come to fruition.)

Thats why I have always thought that there are only 2 ways for such a spread out group like the AAC to create an identity. One way was to gather all 3 academies under one flag (the conference name is perfect for that). The other was to go "best of the rest" identity by adding the 4 top MW schools to become the only coast to coast nationwide FBS league. That said, if the current AAC can get a decent TV deal, they are probably better off just keeping the powder dry and making "P6" their "identity" for now.

AAC were thinking of adding VCU and Dayton alongside Wichita State as well.

(12-06-2018 06:57 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  AAC were thinking of adding VCU and Dayton alongside Wichita State as well.

We were?

(12-06-2018 06:57 PM)DavidSt Wrote:  AAC were thinking of adding VCU and Dayton alongside Wichita State as well.

Link?

Adding 4 top rate western schools would firmly put the G5 NY6 spot in the hands of the American.

(12-06-2018 06:07 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 05:35 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 05:33 PM)Bogg Wrote:  It's pretty clear UConn's going to ride out the possible next wave of B12-related instability and see if the football team can secure a preferable home that way, so there's nothing else that Hurley's going to say at this juncture. He also goes on to talk about the importance of UConn maximizing their presence in the NYC/New Jersey area, which I think is telling.

They can be in the NYC/New Jersey area without being in the Big East. Hell, they've got 3 games there THIS season.

You can drive a car with your knees, too - avoiding a ticket doesn't mean it isn't harder. Strictly speaking it's four games because they played their early-season tournament in MSG, but trying to stake your home territory by way of some early-season neutral-site games is, at best, increasing the degree of difficulty (and, to a degree, screws over your season ticket holders by taking a marquee matchup out of their sheet and moving it elsewhere).

UConn has played at least 2-3 games in NYC/New Jersey every year since the split.

Also, the home games getting taken out are nothing new for college basketball. Kentucky's home schedule this year is Utah and Kansas(in challenge). But they get Duke, Seton Hall, and UNC Neutral. Pretty much all the good teams have neutral site games. For one they know the committee looks at those FAR more importantly than home games.

(12-06-2018 06:20 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:09 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 01:05 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(12-06-2018 12:44 PM)stever20 Wrote:  Saw this-
https://www.app.com/story/sports/college...219041002/

Q. Can you foresee a day when UConn rejoins the Big East?
A. “I think the American is an underrated league. When UConn and Memphis are recruiting and performing at the level expected of programs with our pedigrees, it’s a chance to elevate the league. Cincinnati and Wichita State have been as good as anyone in terms of the amount of winning they’ve done. With Houston and UCF and SMU and Temple, the league doesn’t get enough respect.

The AAC hasn't gotten as much respect as Hurley thinks it should have because the AAC just hasn't earned it. The AAC clearly has been the most under-performing hoops league of the past 5 years. On paper, with programs like Memphis and Houston and Cincy and UConn, it *should* have performed on the court at the same level as the Big East has on the court the past 5 years, and that was the expectation when the split occurred.

But it just hasn't, not even close. And that's why they hired Wichita State, to shore up that poor performance.

Perhaps it will be this year and going forward. We shall see.

I totally agree with you. You left out Temple as well.... I mean if I had told you 6 years ago that Houston would be where they are today, UCF would have improved as much as they have, and SMU was relevant- I think you would have said that the AAC would be a resounding success.....

It just feels like the Big East has been greater than the sum of their parts, while the AAC has been the opposite.

To me, that’s actually the definition of whether the league itself has value (which is different from whether individual schools have value). The Big East is a league with an institutional identity that goes beyond performance on the floor, which is why it has been valued as greater than the sum of its parts. The AAC (and pretty much every other league besides the Power Five, Big East and Ivy League) doesn’t really have any identity - they’re a league that has tried to collect the best non-Power Five schools available at the time stretching from Texas to New England, but that’s about the only thing that bonds them. It’s a league created from conference realignment circumstances as opposed to being intentional with a particular vision. The AAC is going to always be judged on a pure performance basis because there’s no other guiding principle for why these particular schools are in a league together, whereas the Big East knows its identity regardless of how their teams might perform in a particular year. (Ironically, it took the breakup of the mish-mashed hybrid of the old Big East to allow for the identity of the new Big East come to fruition.)

I'm just talking strictly on the court. The Big East has pretty much squeezed out every last possible bid thru the first 5 years. 1st year PC wins the BET where if they don't- only wind up with 3 bids. Then a few years ago have a couple of bad season ending ACL injuries- and that allows Providence and Marquette to make the tourney.

And sorry but the Big East does get judged on a pure performance basis just like the AAC does. See a few weeks ago with what folks were saying.