Frank the Tank
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RE: UConn Needs To Review Its Move to the New Big East
(04-19-2021 08:50 AM)Cubanbull1 Wrote: (04-18-2021 08:39 PM)SF Husky Wrote: (04-16-2021 06:29 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote: (04-16-2021 06:11 PM)Agust Wrote: (04-16-2021 04:18 PM)slhNavy91 Wrote: Are you kidding?
UConn FB sitting out 2020 was GREAT for the UConn Athletic Department.
Erase most of a $10 million dollar annual deficit. Double check that - Edsall's contract probably has a bonus for cancelled seasons.
But we all know that $10million annual shortfall isn't going anywhere with upcoming seasons having travel to Fresno, Logan UT, and Muncie IN, and home games vs MTSU, FIU, Georgia State, etc.
Cancelling football in 2020 was like a tourniquet when a Husky has it's paw in a bear trap of it's own making.
Their goal is to cancel next season also but you know..for players safety.
Joking aside what they did and will do to their football program is a shame. Those guys and the alumni deserve better. It's only a matter of time before they go fcs or just get rid of it. All because of over spending and incompetent administration.
No use trying to butter it up or play make believe.
I do disagree that UConn is destined for FCS.
And I say that from the perspective of a fan of a successful independent football program.
Independent Navy football had a lot of advantages 15-20 years ago that UConn doesn't. Period. But UConn does have name recognition, generally as a state flagship school and specifically as a MBB brand and a WBB super-brand. That branding does translate to a certain extent.
I actually like the scheduling philosophy of getting football home-and-homes with basketball-centric P5s -- Duke, Wake, NCSU, UNC. It's not terrible.
Bowls aren't really an issue with UConn football (independent 1-year bowl deals and then averaging 15,000+ official ticket sales was a big positive feedback loop for Navy's successful independence).
And overall, strategically, the move to the Big East was the right strategic move for the institution. Football will just be a loss leader. That football deficit will remain, but it will be a loss relative to their overall gain of returning to their Big East basketball focus.
Husky fans will talk about Syracuse, BC, Rutgers series filling the Rent, but I only see like two of those. Long-term series with Army is a win, but not going to fix the deficit. Football games against basketball names will be meh, and will not offset the MTSU, FIU, etc games.
And that's okay for them, I guess.
If football can get a couple wins against that schedule rather than zero wins against the AAC, then maybe just maybe Big East MBB, fading WBB, and a life support FBS program that isn't a perennial 0-8 in the AAC just might keep the chance of ACC or Big10 bid some decimal dust above zero. (and their Big East buddies in Omaha and Mikwaukee have no illusions that UConn wouldn't drop them like a hot rock if that snowball's chance came up).
I think UConn can avoid dropping to FCS and muddle along at the level of UMass or NMSU. And overall, they made the right move to Big East MBB.
You really think UCONN only schedule other basketball FB schools? UCONN scheduled those schools because it is easy travel for both schools. UCONN is also scheduling FLA schools. Also, UCONN will be schedule TX schools due to recruiting. There is no set agenda to schedule just basketball P5 schools.
You also act like UCONN will suck forever. UCONN has won 2 BE championships before in football. This is before the AAC. During the AAC, UCONN had horrible FB coaches. With the kind of support from the state and the school, do you honestly think UCONN will suck forever in FB?
For all of the ones who keep wishing UCONN will go FCS, sorry it won't happen for a long long time.
Time will tell.
UConn’s move out of AAC to Big East was a basketball move, everyone knows that. They will be ok there basketball and Olympic sports wise.
Football will suffer which is why it asked to remain in AAC for football only, which was wisely turned down by the AAC. You guys will find out that being an independent now a days is very different, you have no access to NY6 bowls and if CFP expands you will also be shut out from that. UConn football is not BYU football, you do not have the support nor past history in football as BYU.
I think UConn football will have a tough time after a few years and the school will come to a big decision on how they will proceed.
I don’t wish UConn to fail in their move but im being honest on their situation it was a good move basketball wise , but a bad move football wise.
I think independence tracks with UConn’s football goals. It’s not about making it to a NY6 bowl for them (even if that would be nice). Ultimately, if UConn can play more (a) P5 opponents and/or (b) regional Eastern teams compared to an AAC schedule, then that’s a net positive. I actually think they’re doing a much better job than I expected putting together schedules that address both of those desires even with a limited timeframe. They’ve got series with BC and Syracuse on top of Army and UMass, they’re playing multiple P5 teams every year (including home games), and they still sprinkle in AAC opponents like Temple and Houston. It’s sort of an Eastern version of BYU’s scheduling philosophy (albeit BYU has always had more leverage to get home-and-home series with P5 teams with their ESPN contact and large ticket buying fan base).
Let’s put it this way: a school may have a better shot moving up in the pecking order by being an independent than in a G5 league at this point. There’s simply not going to be a “P6” - period. Big East basketball honestly has more built-in capital with the P5 than any of the of G5 conferences, so UConn’s move looks pretty rational to me.
Think of it this way: if Houston could (a) join the Big East for basketball and (b) schedule 5 or 6 P5 teams per year as an independent in football, would it take that deal? Put anyone else in that position: UCF, Memphis, Cincinnati, etc. I don’t know if that would be the right call in each case, but I think each school would have to think about it long and hard. Expecting to get either a P5 invite or expecting the AAC to move to the power level isn’t likely going to be fruitful, so there isn’t really any other alternative to change the status quo.
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