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UCONN how is the BE?
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #61
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 10:19 AM)panite Wrote:  Just think - UConn FB could still be in the AAC as a FB only if UConn had originally stayed with the C7 when they split. The AAC would have taken them as a FB only along with Navy for 12 FB teams to start their Conference Championship Game under the old NCAA rules. 04-jawdrop 04-jawdrop 04-jawdrop 02-13-banana 02-13-banana 02-13-banana 05-stirthepot 05-stirthepot 05-stirthepot COGS COGS COGS


That probably would have, indeed, been the case.
02-19-2021 03:02 PM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #62
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 11:39 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  The one thing about the "New" Big East (the current conference, whatever you want to call it), is that--until they added UConn, and apart from UConn--is that it was a highly homogeneous conference. All the member schools were of similar size, mission, and governance: private, parochial schools. Athletically, all the "New" Big East members had Basketball as their highest priority sport...Villanova has FB at the FCS level, Butler and Georgetown have non-scholarship FB squads...so the Conference is able to focus promoting that mission.

How UConn fares in the Conference will be largely how well UConn, as a dis-similar institution (a large, State/Public) can find their footing. I think that clearly the Big East is a superior conference to the AAC, so UConn fans have to be happy that they moved back up in Conferences. But the fact is still there that UConn is an odd fit for the rest of the Big East Conference.

As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.
02-19-2021 03:07 PM
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Captain Bearcat Offline
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Post: #63
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.
02-19-2021 03:41 PM
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CliftonAve Offline
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Post: #64
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

We have a lot of fans that became UC fans through hoops and we have a segment of fans that are basketball-first, but am going to disagree that the athletic departments operates under the guise of basketball-first. It probably hasn’t for a decade to be honest.
02-19-2021 03:45 PM
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Captain Bearcat Offline
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Post: #65
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 11:39 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  The one thing about the "New" Big East (the current conference, whatever you want to call it), is that--until they added UConn, and apart from UConn--is that it was a highly homogeneous conference. All the member schools were of similar size, mission, and governance: private, parochial schools. Athletically, all the "New" Big East members had Basketball as their highest priority sport...Villanova has FB at the FCS level, Butler and Georgetown have non-scholarship FB squads...so the Conference is able to focus promoting that mission.

How UConn fares in the Conference will be largely how well UConn, as a dis-similar institution (a large, State/Public) can find their footing. I think that clearly the Big East is a superior conference to the AAC, so UConn fans have to be happy that they moved back up in Conferences. But the fact is still there that UConn is an odd fit for the rest of the Big East Conference.

As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).
02-19-2021 03:46 PM
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schmolik Offline
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Post: #66
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

Oh really? How do you miss the NCAA Tournament every year since 1991? I was in high school the last time they made it. They were pathetic in football most of the time but they did have a few good years under Greg Schiano.
02-19-2021 03:53 PM
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mikeinsec127 Offline
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Post: #67
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

Um, in 2005 Rutgers football went 7-5 with a 44-9 win over Cincy and our first bowl game in years. It was the breakthrough season for Schiano. We went a rather pedestrian 19-14 (7-9) in basketball, but that NIT appearance was probably the last time we went to a tournament.
02-19-2021 04:56 PM
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CliftonAve Offline
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Post: #68
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 04:56 PM)mikeinsec127 Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

Um, in 2005 Rutgers football went 7-5 with a 44-9 win over Cincy and our first bowl game in years. It was the breakthrough season for Schiano. We went a rather pedestrian 19-14 (7-9) in basketball, but that NIT appearance was probably the last time we went to a tournament.

Yeah he was off about Rutgers hoops and you guys were decent in FB in the Big East. I’d peg you 4th-5th behind WVU, UC and Louisville overall based on the results from
2005-2012. RU, Pitt and USF could each make a claim for that spot but that speaks to the fact the Big East was actually deeper than people gave them credit for.
(This post was last modified: 02-19-2021 05:18 PM by CliftonAve.)
02-19-2021 05:17 PM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #69
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 11:39 AM)BearcatJerry Wrote:  The one thing about the "New" Big East (the current conference, whatever you want to call it), is that--until they added UConn, and apart from UConn--is that it was a highly homogeneous conference. All the member schools were of similar size, mission, and governance: private, parochial schools. Athletically, all the "New" Big East members had Basketball as their highest priority sport...Villanova has FB at the FCS level, Butler and Georgetown have non-scholarship FB squads...so the Conference is able to focus promoting that mission.

How UConn fares in the Conference will be largely how well UConn, as a dis-similar institution (a large, State/Public) can find their footing. I think that clearly the Big East is a superior conference to the AAC, so UConn fans have to be happy that they moved back up in Conferences. But the fact is still there that UConn is an odd fit for the rest of the Big East Conference.

As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connection to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2021 11:49 AM by bill dazzle.)
02-19-2021 06:06 PM
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TerryD Online
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Post: #70
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 06:06 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connect to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.

Imagine being a Notre Dame fan in Baton Rouge for 36 years.... :)
02-19-2021 06:44 PM
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RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 03:45 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

We have a lot of fans that became UC fans through hoops and we have a segment of fans that are basketball-first, but am going to disagree that the athletic departments operates under the guise of basketball-first. It probably hasn’t for a decade to be honest.
Agree, and Memphis followed suit...though a step or three behind.
02-19-2021 07:01 PM
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esayem Offline
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Post: #72
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 10:03 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:51 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:35 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:11 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:22 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  In Nashville (and I may have previously posted this) and related to fans of Big East schools, I probably see more folks wearing Georgetown and Xavier clothing than the clothing of the other nine programs. I will see people wearing UConn and Villanova T-shirts and caps on occasion.

I need to get a new DePaul shirt or cap, as I would likely be the only Nashvillian wearing Blue Demons gear (though I know a DePaul grad who lives here and have a local friend whose daughter attends DU).

For fans of DI athletic programs not in the Big East or Power 5 — and not including TSU, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State and Western Kentucky (as I understandably see a decent number of fans of those four programs) — the clothing that might show up the most being worn by fans in Nashville is by fans of Ivy League schools.

I also see people on occasion wearing UAB hats and shirts.

Surely you know you can’t trust numbers in NashVegas with all the bachelor and bachelorette trips every single day.


Old Dazzy once dreamt a slew of vivacious ladies on a bachelorette bash in Nastyville visited his swanky condo high above the unwashed masses. We drank craft whiskey, smoked cigars and listed to the crooning of Sammy Davis Jr.

Then, and after the chinless wizard was hammered on booze, the ladies took me on a pedal tavern ride through the city before we stopped at 9 p.m. at the Florida-Georgia Line bar and got crazy. At about 11 p.m., Dazz asked/insulted one of the employees why the joint wasn't playing Dropkick Murphys music (instead of that "garbage" FGL drivel) and was promptly escorted from the premises. Stunningly, the ladies, in solidarity, walked out with me and we then visited House of Cards (across the street) for some close-up magic. Then back to Club Dazzlebury we strolled at midnight.

At this point the dream is about to get insane when ... boom. I awaken to the reality that I've fallen asleep in my bed solo, wearing my shoes, urine-soaked trousers and a pigeon-feces-stained Greek fisherman's cap.

Welcome to NashVegas.

This makes me want to visit Club Dazzlebury!!!


And you would be welcomed. Over a tasty craft beer, we could discuss the topic "Brad Daugherty vs. Eric Montross: Who was better for the Heels?"

Oooh. BD was a little before my memory can recall. I know him more as a Cleveland Cav.

Montross I remember vividly, bloody in all his glory. I also remember the frustration he gave my father as we watched together. I seem to remember it was the free throw line particularly.
02-19-2021 08:54 PM
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esayem Offline
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Post: #73
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 06:06 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connect to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.

There are a ton of Bama and Georgia fans in southeastern Tennessee. It’s like you start to see Tennessee fans in western NC. It’s those border towns.
02-19-2021 09:00 PM
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quo vadis Offline
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Post: #74
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 06:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Imagine being a Notre Dame fan in Baton Rouge for 36 years.... :)

I recall attending the ND vs LSU game in Tiger Stadium back in 1997. I'd only been in BR for two years and had never attended an LSU game. I wore a "loud" Notre Dame sweatshirt to the game (it was a cold November day) and it was basically me in a sea of purple and gold Tiger fans. Quite the lonely feeling, LOL.
02-20-2021 08:54 AM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #75
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 06:44 PM)TerryD Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 06:06 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connect to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.

Imagine being a Notre Dame fan in Baton Rouge for 36 years.... :)


I can imagine. Not ideal. I'm a "closet Notre Dame fan." Nashville is definitely home to some Irish fans — but not lots. Some of my best friends are a Catholic family whose members are monster Tennessee fans. They despise Notre Dame football and I never have fully understood why.
02-20-2021 11:53 AM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #76
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 07:01 PM)gulfcoastgal Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:45 PM)CliftonAve Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:41 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 11:26 AM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  I posted this in the Big East forum, but the 2005-2012 Big East was an incredibly strong conference in not just men's basketball, but offered elite teams in football and women's basketball too. It was an imperfect marriage, but one that provided beauty and excellence from convenience. It was a mixture of both private and public schools, of urban/metropolitan and rural/state campuses, of football-first and basketball-first institutions, of old/established brands and up-and-coming/developing ones. There was, oddly, both individuality and cohesion. In basketball, you had elite hall-of-fame older head coaches in Calhoun, Boeheim, Pitino and Huggins, with young-up-and-coming coaches like JTIII, Dixon, Crean/Buzz, Wright and Cronin. In football, you top-10-level programs in West Virginia (Rich Rodriguez), Louisville (Bobby Petrino), USF (Jim Leavitt) and Cincinnati (Kelly), with top-25-level programs in Rutgers (Schiano), UConn (Edsall) and Pittsburgh (Wannstedt).

It was nothing short of miraculous that the league was high-level/power despite every single program continuing to have one foot out the door. It provided an edge annually where there was always rivalry and conflict, but there was also respect. It provided great competition and entertainment for not just fans and alumni of these schools, but to the casual viewer as well.

It is a shame that the powers-that-be determined that there was more value in these programs separated than together. When they were united, and I use this term lightly - since there was never really unity - it was historic and special. I will always have fond memories of the 2005-2012 Big East, and wish all programs (both in Big East and elsewhere) success in basketball and football.

I would argue that the only "football-first" programs in the Big East '05 were West Virginia and USF.

Cincinnati, Louisville, and UConn were definitely still basketball-first schools. Still are, in many ways.

Syracuse has always valued both sports, but basketball always seemed more important to them. Boeheim single-handedly kept Syracuse out of the ACC in 2003.

Pitt & Rutgers were probably in the middle. Pitt had football history, but its football games were off-campus. The Oakland Zoo was crazy. Rutgers was pitiful in both sports, but was less pitiful in basketball.

We have a lot of fans that became UC fans through hoops and we have a segment of fans that are basketball-first, but am going to disagree that the athletic departments operates under the guise of basketball-first. It probably hasn’t for a decade to be honest.
Agree, and Memphis followed suit...though a step or three behind.


I recall observing from afar many years ago how Louisville elevated its football program as Memphis football seemed to stand still. It pained my father and me. Glad to see the interest level in Tiger football now.
02-20-2021 11:55 AM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #77
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 08:54 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 10:03 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:51 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:35 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:11 PM)esayem Wrote:  Surely you know you can’t trust numbers in NashVegas with all the bachelor and bachelorette trips every single day.


Old Dazzy once dreamt a slew of vivacious ladies on a bachelorette bash in Nastyville visited his swanky condo high above the unwashed masses. We drank craft whiskey, smoked cigars and listed to the crooning of Sammy Davis Jr.

Then, and after the chinless wizard was hammered on booze, the ladies took me on a pedal tavern ride through the city before we stopped at 9 p.m. at the Florida-Georgia Line bar and got crazy. At about 11 p.m., Dazz asked/insulted one of the employees why the joint wasn't playing Dropkick Murphys music (instead of that "garbage" FGL drivel) and was promptly escorted from the premises. Stunningly, the ladies, in solidarity, walked out with me and we then visited House of Cards (across the street) for some close-up magic. Then back to Club Dazzlebury we strolled at midnight.

At this point the dream is about to get insane when ... boom. I awaken to the reality that I've fallen asleep in my bed solo, wearing my shoes, urine-soaked trousers and a pigeon-feces-stained Greek fisherman's cap.

Welcome to NashVegas.

This makes me want to visit Club Dazzlebury!!!


And you would be welcomed. Over a tasty craft beer, we could discuss the topic "Brad Daugherty vs. Eric Montross: Who was better for the Heels?"

Oooh. BD was a little before my memory can recall. I know him more as a Cleveland Cav.

Montross I remember vividly, bloody in all his glory. I also remember the frustration he gave my father as we watched together. I seem to remember it was the free throw line particularly.

BD might be my all-time favorite Tar Heel. I also strongly enjoyed watching Sean May. I played youth basketball in the 1970s and was a back-to-the-basket "big man." I loved Kareem and Bill Walton back then (they remain my two all-time faves). So I like Daughtery's style. Montross was a very underrated college player but for some odd reason I found his crewcut hairstyle offputting. That's rather sad but I have to be honest about it.

You might not recall too well when Dean Smith was leading UNC. I enjoyed watching his teams (the four corners offense notwithstanding).
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2021 12:01 PM by bill dazzle.)
02-20-2021 12:00 PM
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bill dazzle Offline
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Post: #78
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 09:00 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 06:06 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connect to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.

There are a ton of Bama and Georgia fans in southeastern Tennessee. It’s like you start to see Tennessee fans in western NC. It’s those border towns.

That's true. It's upsetting to some Vol fans, I'm sure.
02-20-2021 12:02 PM
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UTEPDallas Offline
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Post: #79
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-19-2021 06:06 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:46 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 03:07 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 04:01 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 03:13 PM)quo vadis Wrote:  As a fan of "old" Big East hoops, I don't think the Big East views UConn as an odd fit. To the contrary they are an original Big East hoops team and have long histories with the core Big East members. They really fit like a glove because of that 30+ year shared history before the split.

UConn returning was like welcoming back a Prodigal Son. Still a full-fledged member of the family despite the sojourn. Syracuse would be too, but we know they aren't coming back.

That said, it is true that UConn has longer-term goals that do not involve the Big East. Unlike all other Big East schools, the Big East is not their "destination" conference. Surely, they have a long-run goal of building up football to get invited to a Power league like Syracuse and Pitt did. If that day comes we know they will leave, but we will enjoy them while they last with us.

The "Old" Big East worked so well because it did what no other conference could do: it dominated watercooler conversation in the largest & wealthiest city in the country.

With 3 schools in the metro area, plus Syracuse & UConn, the old Big East was the only conference that could accomplish that.

The only conference even close to that dominance with any megalopolis is the Big Ten's dominance of Chicago. The Big 10 has 3 giant schools within 2 hours, plus a school in the city itself. But Chicago is less than half the size of New York.

You could make an argument that the SEC has a lot of pull in Atlanta, or the Big 12 has a lot of pull in Dallas, or the PAC has a lot of pull in San Francisco. But New York is as big as Atlanta, DFW, and the whole Bay Area combined.


But what about UCLA and USC, both in Los Angeles? The Pac-12 in L.A. is a rather big deal. But, admittedly, I doubt it ever was as big a deal as the Big East had been in NYC back in its glory days. Plus, the Apple has 6 million more people in its MSA population area than L.A.

I recall when I lived in Chicago (1987-1993) that the Big Ten was a huge deal in the Windy City. I assume it still is.

My impression of LA is that the PAC is the only college game in town, but few people care about it.

A UCLA fan in Los Angeles is about as isolated as a UK fan in Cincinnati, or a Memphis fan in Nashville - every office has one or two of them, but around the watercooler they're sort of seen as the oddball who cares about something completely different than everyone else does.

But I could be wrong. I lived in San Diego, not LA. San Diego was certainly that way about college sports (although the Aztecs were the hometown team).


Some valid points. I have a friend (a big college football fan) who lived in L.A. for about 10 years (from roughly 2000 to 2010). He attended a handful of UCLA and USC football games and noted the overall lack of passion (compared to what you would see in college towns from other P5 programs). L.A. is such an international city. Lots of folks living there have minimal (if any) interest in college sports.

As to your overall point ...

... living in Nashville and having once taught part-time at HBCU Tennessee State University, I saw first-hand in the city's African-American community a genuine and rather significant interest in Memphis Tiger hoops. Lots of Nashville's Black citizens have a personal connection to the City of Memphis and like the Tigers. As such, your "water cooler" hypothetical (though accurate overall) does not apply well in this specific case.

As a long-time Vanderbilt fan, I often find myself in the minority in Nashville. There are more Tennessee fans here than Vandy fans and, even more so, lots of folks who cheer for other schools (including for those in leagues outside the SEC). However, if you drive an hour from here to, say, Tullahoma ... a significant percentage of college sports fans living in that town are Big Orange fans from what I've been told.

As a native Angeleno, I know L.A. is a Lakers and Dodgers town and will be so forever. The rest whether they’re pro or college will get attention if they’re winning. USC under Pete Carroll was the hottest ticket in town and had Hollywood all over it but the bad hires they made since then plus the return of the NFL with not just one but two teams means USC has to win big these days in order to get the following they used to get. The same applies to UCLA basketball. They’re the only blueblood that shares the same city with a NBA royalty team. Los Angeles (L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties) has two NFL, NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL and P5 teams. Add the great weather and the myriad of things to do outdoors and it’s easy to see why they’re not as passionate when the local teams struggle on the field and court.
02-20-2021 02:22 PM
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esayem Offline
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Post: #80
RE: UCONN how is the BE?
(02-20-2021 12:00 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 08:54 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-19-2021 10:03 AM)bill dazzle Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:51 PM)esayem Wrote:  
(02-18-2021 10:35 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  Old Dazzy once dreamt a slew of vivacious ladies on a bachelorette bash in Nastyville visited his swanky condo high above the unwashed masses. We drank craft whiskey, smoked cigars and listed to the crooning of Sammy Davis Jr.

Then, and after the chinless wizard was hammered on booze, the ladies took me on a pedal tavern ride through the city before we stopped at 9 p.m. at the Florida-Georgia Line bar and got crazy. At about 11 p.m., Dazz asked/insulted one of the employees why the joint wasn't playing Dropkick Murphys music (instead of that "garbage" FGL drivel) and was promptly escorted from the premises. Stunningly, the ladies, in solidarity, walked out with me and we then visited House of Cards (across the street) for some close-up magic. Then back to Club Dazzlebury we strolled at midnight.

At this point the dream is about to get insane when ... boom. I awaken to the reality that I've fallen asleep in my bed solo, wearing my shoes, urine-soaked trousers and a pigeon-feces-stained Greek fisherman's cap.

Welcome to NashVegas.

This makes me want to visit Club Dazzlebury!!!


And you would be welcomed. Over a tasty craft beer, we could discuss the topic "Brad Daugherty vs. Eric Montross: Who was better for the Heels?"

Oooh. BD was a little before my memory can recall. I know him more as a Cleveland Cav.

Montross I remember vividly, bloody in all his glory. I also remember the frustration he gave my father as we watched together. I seem to remember it was the free throw line particularly.

BD might be my all-time favorite Tar Heel. I also strongly enjoyed watching Sean May. I played youth basketball in the 1970s and was a back-to-the-basket "big man." I loved Kareem and Bill Walton back then (they remain my two all-time faves). So I like Daughtery's style. Montross was a very underrated college player but for some odd reason I found his crewcut hairstyle offputting. That's rather sad but I have to be honest about it.

You might not recall too well when Dean Smith was leading UNC. I enjoyed watching his teams (the four corners offense notwithstanding).

I remember the Dean well! I was just too young to remember 1986 haha.

And you better respect the crewcut and the work ethic!
02-20-2021 02:34 PM
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