(04-08-2021 02:37 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  We have to remember how we got here.

We got here because, when faced with the option of adding Louisville or UConn, the ACC chose Louisville. The Cardinals and Huskies both had good pedigrees in basketball. UConn had better academics and fit closer to the ACC profile. Ultimately the Cardinals got picked because of football. Louisville and WVU were the two standard bearers of the 2005-2012 Big East football. Had UConn had better gate attendance and won more during that era we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

UConn’s basketball success and branding were always tied to their association with the other great northeastern basketball schools. With all those old familiar faces now in the ACC or New Big East, their performance and recruiting were suffering and their fans were in revolt.

Football was already suffering from what some might call neglect, or others might call abuse. Wounds were self inflicted with bad coaching hires. In a way, UConn’s how FBS experiment had been a disappointment for the fan base, and again the problem was the company they kept—they moved up expecting to play against the original line up sans Temple, before they could get there Miami, VT, and BC were plucked and by the time the ACC was deciding between UConn and Louisville, so were Pitt, Cuse, WVU, and Rutgers. Poor performance and the lack of attractive regional opponents was hurting UConn.

UConn couldn’t fix their association problem in football but they could in basketball, so that’s what they did. They sacrificed the long term success of one program to give the other program a fighting chance at success.

There’s also the terrible tv contract to consider.

Ultimately, UConn had to make a tough decision and I think they made the right one.

They probably aren’t ever going to get into the ACC and they know this and even if it did, it would be a weaker one than the one we had today.

I think not only UConn -- if it gets its house in order -- but many of the fine programs in the AAC -- have a serious shot of getting into a P5 conference. The conferences may be struggling at that point -- be it financially or otherwise -- but I believe realignment has not come to a complete halt. Just a temporary break.

(04-08-2021 03:18 PM)connecticutguy Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:37 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  We have to remember how we got here.

We got here because, when faced with the option of adding Louisville or UConn, the ACC chose Louisville. The Cardinals and Huskies both had good pedigrees in basketball. UConn had better academics and fit closer to the ACC profile. Ultimately the Cardinals got picked because of football. Louisville and WVU were the two standard bearers of the 2005-2012 Big East football. Had UConn had better gate attendance and won more during that era we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

UConn’s basketball success and branding were always tied to their association with the other great northeastern basketball schools. With all those old familiar faces now in the ACC or New Big East, their performance and recruiting were suffering and their fans were in revolt.

Football was already suffering from what some might call neglect, or others might call abuse. Wounds were self inflicted with bad coaching hires. In a way, UConn’s how FBS experiment had been a disappointment for the fan base, and again the problem was the company they kept—they moved up expecting to play against the original line up sans Temple, before they could get there Miami, VT, and BC were plucked and by the time the ACC was deciding between UConn and Louisville, so were Pitt, Cuse, WVU, and Rutgers. Poor performance and the lack of attractive regional opponents was hurting UConn.

UConn couldn’t fix their association problem in football but they could in basketball, so that’s what they did. They sacrificed the long term success of one program to give the other program a fighting chance at success.

There’s also the terrible tv contract to consider.

Ultimately, UConn had to make a tough decision and I think they made the right one.

They probably aren’t ever going to get into the ACC and they know this and even if it did, it would be a weaker one than the one we had today.

I think not only UConn -- if it gets its house in order -- but many of the fine programs in the AAC -- have a serious shot of getting into a P5 conference. The conferences may be struggling at that point -- be it financially or otherwise -- but I believe realignment has not come to a complete halt. Just a temporary break.

I suspect multiple big-name schools that can command huge revenue on their own might explore those options if the conference can't get the revenue they are looking for. I know USC is very unhappy with the PAC-12 deal vs. what B1G and SEC got. Texas is always looking, so who knows what they will do once B12 contract is up.

Depending on options available from streaming companies like Amazon, Hulu etc., there might be more indys in the future.

(04-08-2021 03:03 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:58 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:54 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:46 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:32 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  The AD is barely getting started. You honestly think UCONN will have problems scheduling? What's your point?

the majority of those aare bad p5 and spread out of 9 years.. plenty of g5 could say that..that doesnt mean there isnt trouble scheduling

I 100% think uconn has a scheduling problem, its obvious by your home and away disparity on some of the years...
according to people in the program, houston playing at uconn was a favor to uconn.. who had no way of getting a 6th home game next season otherwise

Show me one G5 team that has home and home series with 9 P5 schools on its schedule.

Well, any "G5" team in a conference has 1/3 the schedule openings that an independent does...

Most of the G5 teams sign 1 game series or 2 for 1 series with P5 schools.

First, you probably mean "G4" because most AAC schools have multiple home and homes with contract-bowl-conference teams.
Heck Navy is probably worst off because we have ND, Army, and AirForce for perpetuity. But in Navy's last 9 years of independence, we had home and homes vs:
ND (obviously), Ohio State, Indiana, Duke, Wake Forest, Stanford, Pitt, Rutgers, and UConn (when Big East was BCS AQ )
Single road games vs PennState, South Carolina. Single neutral site vs Maryland.
And bowl games pre-set each year including ACC, Big12, and Pac12 opponents.

I guess Im saying that when the topic is successful football independence, you maybe should listen to the Navy guy.

I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
.

(04-08-2021 02:32 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:26 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:05 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:03 PM)Noise Penalty Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 01:44 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  For people that keep thinking UCONN will go to FCS, it is just wishful thinking. UCONN football is here to stay. The future schedule is a mixture of 4-5 P5 teams per year with some interesting opponents all over the country. I suspect UCONN will probably sign a long-term series with BYU at some point as well.

https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/uconn/

UCONN fans will be like UCF fans were in the 90s. We were independent and played a bunch of great programs at a bunch of great locations...(we got beat) and then had a a pretty crap slate at home

Huge difference - UCONN has no problem getting home and home series with most P5 schools.

Reading must be a challenge for you.

So far, UCONN got home and home with the following schools:

NC State
North Carolina
Maryland
Purdue
Ole Miss
Syracuse
Boston College
Vandy
Duke

UCONN got 1 game with the following:

Ohio State
Michigan
Clemson
Tenn (one time Tenn signed a home and home with UCONN before they changed this)

Michigan did a home and home series in the past. I don't expect that will happen anytime soon, but Michigan played at East Hartford once. UCONN was also on the verge of signing an 11 games series with ND before it was canceled.

The AD is barely getting started. Do you honestly think UCONN will have problems scheduling? What's your point?

Congrats on scheduling a few bottom feeders. Yall will be FCS by the time half of those games get played anyways.

(04-08-2021 02:05 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:03 PM)Noise Penalty Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 01:44 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  For people that keep thinking UCONN will go to FCS, it is just wishful thinking. UCONN football is here to stay. The future schedule is a mixture of 4-5 P5 teams per year with some interesting opponents all over the country. I suspect UCONN will probably sign a long-term series with BYU at some point as well.

https://fbschedules.com/ncaa/uconn/

UCONN fans will be like UCF fans were in the 90s. We were independent and played a bunch of great programs at a bunch of great locations...(we got beat) and then had a a pretty crap slate at home

Huge difference - UCONN has no problem getting home and home series with most P5 schools.

An easy win is an easy win I guess. We had home games with some of those same teams back when we sucked too.

(04-08-2021 04:38 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:32 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:26 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:05 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:03 PM)Noise Penalty Wrote:  UCONN fans will be like UCF fans were in the 90s. We were independent and played a bunch of great programs at a bunch of great locations...(we got beat) and then had a a pretty crap slate at home

Huge difference - UCONN has no problem getting home and home series with most P5 schools.

Reading must be a challenge for you.

So far, UCONN got home and home with the following schools:

NC State
North Carolina
Maryland
Purdue
Ole Miss
Syracuse
Boston College
Vandy
Duke

UCONN got 1 game with the following:

Ohio State
Michigan
Clemson
Tenn (one time Tenn signed a home and home with UCONN before they changed this)

Michigan did a home and home series in the past. I don't expect that will happen anytime soon, but Michigan played at East Hartford once. UCONN was also on the verge of signing an 11 games series with ND before it was canceled.

The AD is barely getting started. Do you honestly think UCONN will have problems scheduling? What's your point?

Congrats on scheduling a few bottom feeders. Yall will be FCS by the time half of those games get played anyways.

Keep wishing for that to happen though.

(04-08-2021 03:31 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:03 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:58 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:54 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:46 PM)pesik Wrote:  the majority of those aare bad p5 and spread out of 9 years.. plenty of g5 could say that..that doesnt mean there isnt trouble scheduling

I 100% think uconn has a scheduling problem, its obvious by your home and away disparity on some of the years...
according to people in the program, houston playing at uconn was a favor to uconn.. who had no way of getting a 6th home game next season otherwise

Show me one G5 team that has home and home series with 9 P5 schools on its schedule.

Well, any "G5" team in a conference has 1/3 the schedule openings that an independent does...

Most of the G5 teams sign 1 game series or 2 for 1 series with P5 schools.

I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
.

The bottom line is UCONN fans are far happier with the way our football scheduling is going vs. the old AAC schedule. At end of the day, that's all it matters. Now it is up to the players and the coach to perform.

(04-08-2021 07:20 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 04:38 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:32 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:26 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:05 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Huge difference - UCONN has no problem getting home and home series with most P5 schools.

Reading must be a challenge for you.

So far, UCONN got home and home with the following schools:

NC State
North Carolina
Maryland
Purdue
Ole Miss
Syracuse
Boston College
Vandy
Duke

UCONN got 1 game with the following:

Ohio State
Michigan
Clemson
Tenn (one time Tenn signed a home and home with UCONN before they changed this)

Michigan did a home and home series in the past. I don't expect that will happen anytime soon, but Michigan played at East Hartford once. UCONN was also on the verge of signing an 11 games series with ND before it was canceled.

The AD is barely getting started. Do you honestly think UCONN will have problems scheduling? What's your point?

Congrats on scheduling a few bottom feeders. Yall will be FCS by the time half of those games get played anyways.

Keep wishing for that to happen though.

Its inevitable. Yall signed your death sentence the day you chose to go independent. The good news is that yall might actually win some games at the FCS level.

(04-08-2021 10:53 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 07:20 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 04:38 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:32 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:26 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

Reading must be a challenge for you.

So far, UCONN got home and home with the following schools:

NC State
North Carolina
Maryland
Purdue
Ole Miss
Syracuse
Boston College
Vandy
Duke

UCONN got 1 game with the following:

Ohio State
Michigan
Clemson
Tenn (one time Tenn signed a home and home with UCONN before they changed this)

Michigan did a home and home series in the past. I don't expect that will happen anytime soon, but Michigan played at East Hartford once. UCONN was also on the verge of signing an 11 games series with ND before it was canceled.

The AD is barely getting started. Do you honestly think UCONN will have problems scheduling? What's your point?

Congrats on scheduling a few bottom feeders. Yall will be FCS by the time half of those games get played anyways.

Keep wishing for that to happen though.

Its inevitable. Yall signed your death sentence the day you chose to go independent. The good news is that yall might actually win some games at the FCS level.

Sure. This is why UCONN is scheduling schools 10 years out with the goal of going to FCS asap This makes a ton of sense

(04-08-2021 07:22 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:31 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:03 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:58 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:54 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Show me one G5 team that has home and home series with 9 P5 schools on its schedule.

Well, any "G5" team in a conference has 1/3 the schedule openings that an independent does...

Most of the G5 teams sign 1 game series or 2 for 1 series with P5 schools.

I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
.

The bottom line is UCONN fans are far happier with the way our football scheduling is going vs. the old AAC schedule. At end of the day, that's all it matters. Now it is up to the players and the coach to perform.

This is the bottom line. You have pinpointed the issue. Fanbase response. Happier will not necessarily lead to more success. However, how long will UCONN fans be happy with no success, or success but no bowl ties or conference championships to play for? You got to a BCS game because you won a conference title. UCONN FB seems to have a short term strategic trajectory.

As an Ohio State grad and HUGE Cincinnati fan, these schedules are WTF to me. It's all over the place.

Clemson and Ohio State as away games are an extra bye week for them.

Then, you have teams like Yale, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, UMass which are small/small time football for D1.

Enjoy the NEW Big East! Why does Uconn always come up on this board? They are gone and most of us are happy about it besides their men's basketball program history.

My thoughts if I were a Uconn grad/fan in parenthesis.

2021:
08/28 - at Fresno State (random AF and away)
09/04 - Holy Cross (small time home game, but kind of cool IMO. Will there be more Holy Cross fans at the game?)
09/11 - Purdue (solid home game)
09/18 - at Army (good game but away)
09/25 - Wyoming (random AF)
10/02 - at Vanderbilt (away game, small time SEC)
10/09 - at UMass (NEW RIVAL?!)
10/16 - Yale (small time home game I guess they are in NE too so kind of cool)
10/23 - Middle Tennessee (small time home game)
11/13 - at Clemson (get blown out)
11/20 - at UCF (AAC game?)
11/27 - Houston (AAC game?)

2022:
08/27 - at Utah State (dumb away game)
09/03 - Central Connecticut (NEW RIVAL?!)
09/10 - Syracuse (good home game)
09/17 - at Michigan (get blown out)
09/24 - at NC State (away game)
10/01 - Fresno State (solid home game)
10/08 - at FIU (terrible away game)
10/15 - at Ball State (terrible away game)
10/29 - Boston College (great home game)
11/12 - Liberty (average home game)
11/19 - at Army (away again at army. I love the service academies though)

2023:
09/02 - Duke (solid home game)
09/09 - at Georgia State (bad away game)
09/23 - NC State (solid home game)
09/30 - Utah State (random home game)
10/14 - FIU (random home game)
10/28 - at Boston College (good away game)
11/04 - at Tennessee (get blown out away game)
11/11 - at Liberty (bad away game)
TBA - Sacred Heart (whatever this home game is)

2024:
08/31 - at Maryland
09/07 - Army
09/14 - at Duke
09/21 - Florida Atlantic
09/28 - Buffalo
10/05 - Temple
11/02 - Georgia State

2025:
08/30 - Central Connecticut
09/06 - at Syracuse
09/13 - at Purdue
09/20 - Ball State
09/27 - at Buffalo
10/04 - FIU
10/11 - at Army
10/18 - at Ohio State (get blown out)
11/15 - at Liberty

2027:
09/04 - Temple
09/11 - Ole Miss
09/18 - North Carolina
10/02 - at FIU
11/06 - Syracuse
11/27 - Army

2028:
09/16 - San Jose State
09/23 - Buffalo
09/30 - at Temple
10/14 - at Army
11/18 - at Ole Miss

2029:
09/15 - at Buffalo
11/10 - Army

(04-09-2021 02:09 PM)natibeast21 Wrote:  As an Ohio State grad and HUGE Cincinnati fan, these schedules are WTF to me. It's all over the place.

Clemson and Ohio State as away games are an extra bye week for them.

Then, you have teams like Yale, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, UMass which are small/small time football for D1.

Enjoy the NEW Big East! Why does Uconn always come up on this board? They are gone and most of us are happy about it besides their men's basketball program history.

My thoughts if I were a Uconn grad/fan in parenthesis.

2021:
08/28 - at Fresno State (random AF and away)
09/04 - Holy Cross (small time home game, but kind of cool IMO. Will there be more Holy Cross fans at the game?)
09/11 - Purdue (solid home game)
09/18 - at Army (good game but away)
09/25 - Wyoming (random AF)
10/02 - at Vanderbilt (away game, small time SEC)
10/09 - at UMass (NEW RIVAL?!)
10/16 - Yale (small time home game I guess they are in NE too so kind of cool)
10/23 - Middle Tennessee (small time home game)
11/13 - at Clemson (get blown out)
11/20 - at UCF (AAC game?)
11/27 - Houston (AAC game?)

2022:
08/27 - at Utah State (dumb away game)
09/03 - Central Connecticut (NEW RIVAL?!)
09/10 - Syracuse (good home game)
09/17 - at Michigan (get blown out)
09/24 - at NC State (away game)
10/01 - Fresno State (solid home game)
10/08 - at FIU (terrible away game)
10/15 - at Ball State (terrible away game)
10/29 - Boston College (great home game)
11/12 - Liberty (average home game)
11/19 - at Army (away again at army. I love the service academies though)

2023:
09/02 - Duke (solid home game)
09/09 - at Georgia State (bad away game)
09/23 - NC State (solid home game)
09/30 - Utah State (random home game)
10/14 - FIU (random home game)
10/28 - at Boston College (good away game)
11/04 - at Tennessee (get blown out away game)
11/11 - at Liberty (bad away game)
TBA - Sacred Heart (whatever this home game is)

2024:
08/31 - at Maryland
09/07 - Army
09/14 - at Duke
09/21 - Florida Atlantic
09/28 - Buffalo
10/05 - Temple
11/02 - Georgia State

2025:
08/30 - Central Connecticut
09/06 - at Syracuse
09/13 - at Purdue
09/20 - Ball State
09/27 - at Buffalo
10/04 - FIU
10/11 - at Army
10/18 - at Ohio State (get blown out)
11/15 - at Liberty

2027:
09/04 - Temple
09/11 - Ole Miss
09/18 - North Carolina
10/02 - at FIU
11/06 - Syracuse
11/27 - Army

2028:
09/16 - San Jose State
09/23 - Buffalo
09/30 - at Temple
10/14 - at Army
11/18 - at Ole Miss

2029:
09/15 - at Buffalo
11/10 - Army

Why do some people text their ex? These UConn fans are just trying to make us jealous so that we'll take them back. They don't seem to realize that that ships sailed. We're better off without them.

(04-09-2021 02:03 PM)Fishpro10987 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 07:22 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:31 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:03 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 02:58 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  Well, any "G5" team in a conference has 1/3 the schedule openings that an independent does...

Most of the G5 teams sign 1 game series or 2 for 1 series with P5 schools.

I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
.

The bottom line is UCONN fans are far happier with the way our football scheduling is going vs. the old AAC schedule. At end of the day, that's all it matters. Now it is up to the players and the coach to perform.

This is the bottom line. You have pinpointed the issue. Fanbase response. Happier will not necessarily lead to more success. However, how long will UCONN fans be happy with no success, or success but no bowl ties or conference championships to play for? You got to a BCS game because you won a conference title. UCONN FB seems to have a short term strategic trajectory.

If UConn wants a chance to play for conference championships, a share of college FB playoff money, bowl access, and access to the G5 at large bid they should negotiate FB only with the MAC with UMass FB only as part of the package to get the MAC up to 14 for the conference FB. Throw in some BB games from both schools along with east coast TV exposure and maybe ESPN will pony up some decent TV revenue again. Both schools will have 4 games for east coast opponents and money games to go with the 8 conference games and scheduling gets a lot easier too. Beats eventually being forced back to FCS football again.

(04-09-2021 02:39 PM)WhoseHouse? Wrote:  

(04-09-2021 02:09 PM)natibeast21 Wrote:  As an Ohio State grad and HUGE Cincinnati fan, these schedules are WTF to me. It's all over the place.

Clemson and Ohio State as away games are an extra bye week for them.

Then, you have teams like Yale, Holy Cross, Sacred Heart, Central Connecticut, UMass which are small/small time football for D1.

Enjoy the NEW Big East! Why does Uconn always come up on this board? They are gone and most of us are happy about it besides their men's basketball program history.

My thoughts if I were a Uconn grad/fan in parenthesis.

2021:
08/28 - at Fresno State (random AF and away)
09/04 - Holy Cross (small time home game, but kind of cool IMO. Will there be more Holy Cross fans at the game?)
09/11 - Purdue (solid home game)
09/18 - at Army (good game but away)
09/25 - Wyoming (random AF)
10/02 - at Vanderbilt (away game, small time SEC)
10/09 - at UMass (NEW RIVAL?!)
10/16 - Yale (small time home game I guess they are in NE too so kind of cool)
10/23 - Middle Tennessee (small time home game)
11/13 - at Clemson (get blown out)
11/20 - at UCF (AAC game?)
11/27 - Houston (AAC game?)

2022:
08/27 - at Utah State (dumb away game)
09/03 - Central Connecticut (NEW RIVAL?!)
09/10 - Syracuse (good home game)
09/17 - at Michigan (get blown out)
09/24 - at NC State (away game)
10/01 - Fresno State (solid home game)
10/08 - at FIU (terrible away game)
10/15 - at Ball State (terrible away game)
10/29 - Boston College (great home game)
11/12 - Liberty (average home game)
11/19 - at Army (away again at army. I love the service academies though)

2023:
09/02 - Duke (solid home game)
09/09 - at Georgia State (bad away game)
09/23 - NC State (solid home game)
09/30 - Utah State (random home game)
10/14 - FIU (random home game)
10/28 - at Boston College (good away game)
11/04 - at Tennessee (get blown out away game)
11/11 - at Liberty (bad away game)
TBA - Sacred Heart (whatever this home game is)

2024:
08/31 - at Maryland
09/07 - Army
09/14 - at Duke
09/21 - Florida Atlantic
09/28 - Buffalo
10/05 - Temple
11/02 - Georgia State

2025:
08/30 - Central Connecticut
09/06 - at Syracuse
09/13 - at Purdue
09/20 - Ball State
09/27 - at Buffalo
10/04 - FIU
10/11 - at Army
10/18 - at Ohio State (get blown out)
11/15 - at Liberty

2027:
09/04 - Temple
09/11 - Ole Miss
09/18 - North Carolina
10/02 - at FIU
11/06 - Syracuse
11/27 - Army

2028:
09/16 - San Jose State
09/23 - Buffalo
09/30 - at Temple
10/14 - at Army
11/18 - at Ole Miss

2029:
09/15 - at Buffalo
11/10 - Army

Why do some people text their ex? These UConn fans are just trying to make us jealous so that we'll take them back. They don't seem to realize that that ships sailed. We're better off without them.

Do you think they are still trying to slide back into the conference for FB only.

There are a handful of non-P5 overall athletic programs that could one day be members of a comprehensive P5 league. And I feel UConn is one of them.

(04-09-2021 08:41 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  There are a handful of non-P5 overall athletic programs that could one day be members of a comprehensive P5 league. And I feel UConn is one of them.

That's certainly true, and that was on the agenda for them and the American until they chose to join the Big East independent in FB.

It was their calculated decision to abandon the attempt to achieve power conference status with the one conference that had a chance to get there. Apparently, they either saw too little potential for success or were simply under such severe financial pressure that they thought they had no other option but to focus on the best near-solution - - i.e., the Big East.

Now, their only path to a comprehensive "P" league would require them to join an all-sports conference with FBS football, and the only thing that would make them leave the Big East would be an invitation from the ACC or the Big Ten...

...or an invitation to rejoin the AAC as a full member at some point, as part of a guaranteed package deal, underwritten by a major sports network, that would transform the American into the next power conference and triple or quadruple the amount that they get to play in the Big East.

It may seem far-fetched, but perhaps Commissioner Aresco should keep that possibility in mind as one of several expansion proposals that the conference might consider presenting to the network.

.

I think some are looking too much into it. I really think that even if the American becomes a true P6 conference with the addition of BYU and/or Boise State, UConn would rather be in the Big East and independent in football than in the American. Whether or not SMU, Houston, Cincinnati, UCF, USF, Temple and Memphis are P6 or not they would rather face Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, Seton Hall, and St. John's in basketball. To them, not even a Houston team coming off a Final Four appearance is as appealing as facing a St. John's team that missed the NCAA tournament.

(04-09-2021 07:00 PM)panite Wrote:  

(04-09-2021 02:03 PM)Fishpro10987 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 07:22 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:31 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:03 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  Most of the G5 teams sign 1 game series or 2 for 1 series with P5 schools.

I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
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The bottom line is UCONN fans are far happier with the way our football scheduling is going vs. the old AAC schedule. At end of the day, that's all it matters. Now it is up to the players and the coach to perform.

This is the bottom line. You have pinpointed the issue. Fanbase response. Happier will not necessarily lead to more success. However, how long will UCONN fans be happy with no success, or success but no bowl ties or conference championships to play for? You got to a BCS game because you won a conference title. UCONN FB seems to have a short term strategic trajectory.

If UConn wants a chance to play for conference championships, a share of college FB playoff money, bowl access, and access to the G5 at large bid they should negotiate FB only with the MAC with UMass FB only as part of the package to get the MAC up to 14 for the conference FB. Throw in some BB games from both schools along with east coast TV exposure and maybe ESPN will pony up some decent TV revenue again. Both schools will have 4 games for east coast opponents and money games to go with the 8 conference games and scheduling gets a lot easier too. Beats eventually being forced back to FCS football again.

I got the impression from MAC fans that the schools don't want 'onlies' any more.

(04-09-2021 11:51 PM)Fishpro10987 Wrote:  

(04-09-2021 07:00 PM)panite Wrote:  

(04-09-2021 02:03 PM)Fishpro10987 Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 07:22 PM)SF Husky Wrote:  

(04-08-2021 03:31 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote:  I've been complimentary - but it's laughable when UConn fans try to make it something it isn't.
.

The bottom line is UCONN fans are far happier with the way our football scheduling is going vs. the old AAC schedule. At end of the day, that's all it matters. Now it is up to the players and the coach to perform.

This is the bottom line. You have pinpointed the issue. Fanbase response. Happier will not necessarily lead to more success. However, how long will UCONN fans be happy with no success, or success but no bowl ties or conference championships to play for? You got to a BCS game because you won a conference title. UCONN FB seems to have a short term strategic trajectory.

If UConn wants a chance to play for conference championships, a share of college FB playoff money, bowl access, and access to the G5 at large bid they should negotiate FB only with the MAC with UMass FB only as part of the package to get the MAC up to 14 for the conference FB. Throw in some BB games from both schools along with east coast TV exposure and maybe ESPN will pony up some decent TV revenue again. Both schools will have 4 games for east coast opponents and money games to go with the 8 conference games and scheduling gets a lot easier too. Beats eventually being forced back to FCS football again.

I got the impression from MAC fans that the schools don't want 'onlies' any more.

The MAC fans give that impression after the Temple / UMass experiment, but if ESPN waffles the right amount of cash under the the conference school presidents noses, I'm sure they will look at the bottom line before making a decision.

(04-08-2021 02:37 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  We have to remember how we got here.

We got here because, when faced with the option of adding Louisville or UConn, the ACC chose Louisville. The Cardinals and Huskies both had good pedigrees in basketball. UConn had better academics and fit closer to the ACC profile. Ultimately the Cardinals got picked because of football. Louisville and WVU were the two standard bearers of the 2005-2012 Big East football. Had UConn had better gate attendance and won more during that era we wouldn’t be having this conversation.

UConn’s basketball success and branding were always tied to their association with the other great northeastern basketball schools. With all those old familiar faces now in the ACC or New Big East, their performance and recruiting were suffering and their fans were in revolt.

Football was already suffering from what some might call neglect, or others might call abuse. Wounds were self inflicted with bad coaching hires. In a way, UConn’s how FBS experiment had been a disappointment for the fan base, and again the problem was the company they kept—they moved up expecting to play against the original line up sans Temple, before they could get there Miami, VT, and BC were plucked and by the time the ACC was deciding between UConn and Louisville, so were Pitt, Cuse, WVU, and Rutgers. Poor performance and the lack of attractive regional opponents was hurting UConn.

UConn couldn’t fix their association problem in football but they could in basketball, so that’s what they did. They sacrificed the long term success of one program to give the other program a fighting chance at success.

There’s also the terrible tv contract to consider.

Ultimately, UConn had to make a tough decision and I think they made the right one.

They probably aren’t ever going to get into the ACC and they know this and even if it did, it would be a weaker one than the one we had today.

Say what???

UC was the outright champ in '08 and '09 and co champs in '11 and '12.

They picked Louisville because BC hated UConn and Jurich hustled to get Louisville in while Greg Williams sat there with his thumb up his @$$ trying to keep the BE together.