(06-23-2021 10:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  Potato Bowl no, but UConn getting a tie-in with the Pinstripe Bowl or a bowl in Florida would be solid.

I went to the International Bowl in Toronto the year UConn played Buffalo and it was a tremendous time. I wish they would bring it back.

(06-22-2021 12:17 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:50 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:39 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:33 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 07:40 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Or more precisely - UConn doesn’t have any willingness to pick MAC football over independence.

So they have Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, Middle Tennessee, Houston and Purdue for home games this year. Road is Fresno, Army, UMass, UCF, Clemson and Vanderbilt.

A potential MAC schedule looks better.

Surely you're joking?

No. Are you joking? Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, MTSU, Purdue and Houston as a home schedule for a New England FBS school?

Clemson on the road is a money game that a typical MAC school would play.

In terms of drawing fans, Purdue/Houston (2021) and Syracuse/BC/Liberty (2022) would draw better than MAC home games.

In terms of road trips, Clemson/UCF/Vanderbilt/Army (2021) and Michigan/NCSU/Army (2022) beat out anything in the MAC.

As a MAC member, UConn would have to drop home dates with Houston (scheduled Nov 27) and 1-2 of Syracuse/BC/Liberty. UConn would have to drop 2 roadtrips at Clemson/UCF/Vandebilt/Army and 1 roadtrip at Michigan/NCSU/Army.

I see no argument for UConn getting a better schedule in the MAC than Independence from any vantage point - SOS, home attendance, or exposure.

Don't think Purdue adds much over a MAC team. Vanderbilt definitely doesn't. Syracuse and BC are local and have had more recent success. But there is nothing stopping UConn from trying to schedule 4 P5s on top of their MAC schedule. in this scenario, they will be getting UMass and Buffalo in their MAC schedule, along with Ohio, Miami, Akron and Kent and 2 schools from the MAC West.

(06-23-2021 10:39 AM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 10:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  Potato Bowl no, but UConn getting a tie-in with the Pinstripe Bowl or a bowl in Florida would be solid.

I went to the International Bowl in Toronto the year UConn played Buffalo and it was a tremendous time. I wish they would bring it back.

I agree. I went to the USF/Northern Illinois International Bowl and had a great time (even though it was honest to God the coldest weather I've ever experienced (1 degree F)). Visiting Toronto was way cooler (pun not intended) than El Paso/Birmingham/Charlotte as far as I'm concerned.

USFFan

(06-23-2021 12:39 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 12:17 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:50 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:39 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:33 AM)bullet Wrote:  So they have Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, Middle Tennessee, Houston and Purdue for home games this year. Road is Fresno, Army, UMass, UCF, Clemson and Vanderbilt.

A potential MAC schedule looks better.

Surely you're joking?

No. Are you joking? Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, MTSU, Purdue and Houston as a home schedule for a New England FBS school?

Clemson on the road is a money game that a typical MAC school would play.

In terms of drawing fans, Purdue/Houston (2021) and Syracuse/BC/Liberty (2022) would draw better than MAC home games.

In terms of road trips, Clemson/UCF/Vanderbilt/Army (2021) and Michigan/NCSU/Army (2022) beat out anything in the MAC.

As a MAC member, UConn would have to drop home dates with Houston (scheduled Nov 27) and 1-2 of Syracuse/BC/Liberty. UConn would have to drop 2 roadtrips at Clemson/UCF/Vandebilt/Army and 1 roadtrip at Michigan/NCSU/Army.

I see no argument for UConn getting a better schedule in the MAC than Independence from any vantage point - SOS, home attendance, or exposure.

Don't think Purdue adds much over a MAC team. Vanderbilt definitely doesn't. Syracuse and BC are local and have had more recent success. But there is nothing stopping UConn from trying to schedule 4 P5s on top of their MAC schedule. in this scenario, they will be getting UMass and Buffalo in their MAC schedule, along with Ohio, Miami, Akron and Kent and 2 schools from the MAC West.

This article gave a good summation of UConn/MAC.

"The MAC should avoid UConn. This is UMass 2.0.

The Huskies have downgraded conferences to the Big East in basketball (a far cry from the former Big East in which UConn was a part of) and other sports, where they’ll generate a lot less revenue than the AAC. The AAC established a somewhat-lucrative TV deal in March, resulting in $83.3 million per year to be split among the member institutions, standing as the richest Group of Five league."

(06-23-2021 01:27 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 12:39 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 12:17 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:50 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:39 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Surely you're joking?

No. Are you joking? Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, MTSU, Purdue and Houston as a home schedule for a New England FBS school?

Clemson on the road is a money game that a typical MAC school would play.

In terms of drawing fans, Purdue/Houston (2021) and Syracuse/BC/Liberty (2022) would draw better than MAC home games.

In terms of road trips, Clemson/UCF/Vanderbilt/Army (2021) and Michigan/NCSU/Army (2022) beat out anything in the MAC.

As a MAC member, UConn would have to drop home dates with Houston (scheduled Nov 27) and 1-2 of Syracuse/BC/Liberty. UConn would have to drop 2 roadtrips at Clemson/UCF/Vandebilt/Army and 1 roadtrip at Michigan/NCSU/Army.

I see no argument for UConn getting a better schedule in the MAC than Independence from any vantage point - SOS, home attendance, or exposure.

Don't think Purdue adds much over a MAC team. Vanderbilt definitely doesn't. Syracuse and BC are local and have had more recent success. But there is nothing stopping UConn from trying to schedule 4 P5s on top of their MAC schedule. in this scenario, they will be getting UMass and Buffalo in their MAC schedule, along with Ohio, Miami, Akron and Kent and 2 schools from the MAC West.

This article gave a good summation of UConn/MAC.

"The MAC should avoid UConn. This is UMass 2.0.

The Huskies have downgraded conferences to the Big East in basketball (a far cry from the former Big East in which UConn was a part of) and other sports, where they’ll generate a lot less revenue than the AAC. The AAC established a somewhat-lucrative TV deal in March, resulting in $83.3 million per year to be split among the member institutions, standing as the richest Group of Five league."

.....and then UConn went out and got a better TV deal and better schedule than they'd have in the MAC. UConn has no need to play Kent State on a Wednesday in November.

(06-23-2021 10:15 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 12:23 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 08:19 PM)esayem Wrote:  Hey, maybe UConn will rip off a handful of 8/9 win seasons and make the Fiesta Bowl! - said no one before they did.

That's the thing ... UConn supporters won't feel any sting at all from independence until and unless UConn is left at home while schools with substantially weaker records go bowling to some made for TV pre-Christmas bowl.

And it makes a lot of sense not worry about crossing that bridge unless and until they come to it, because if it happens, then they are having winning seasons and that will be good for them in any event.

Mind, it will be something like the Bahamas Bowl or the Potato Bowl that they have been locked out of, because the Fiesta Bowl was a thing for doing well in what was, at the time, still an AQ conference.

Is it that big a loss to not go to the Potato Bowl or something if you are UConn? Your fans are more apt to follow the basketball team to Maui or the Bahamas for a multi-team event. There's your cold weather trip.

And, as Bogg said, that $3M a year that UConn would have received as an AAC member is kind of moot. It likely would have been needed to keep up with Houston, Memphis, et al. in football. None of the Big East schools are getting $3M that UConn isn't, so UConn doesn't fall behind its peers by not getting that payout.

UConn is a basketball school but it’s a basketball school with football ambition. Otherwise they won’t have swtiched to FBS. Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

Reading the thread, I guess UConn made a big mistake by leaving the AAC to go to the Big East, but the football program is awful and no other football conference, including the AAC, should want them. It reminds me when some argued that the AAC is a power/major/etc. basketball conference by having a program of UConn's brand, history and success, but then argue that UConn under-performed and would be easily replaceable.

Entertaining logical progressions, as always.

(06-23-2021 05:50 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

The rivals are Nova, Georgetown, and Syracuse. BC and Rutgers don't register because they were never any good for any length of time. Played a couple good football games against Rutgers at least, but BC was already gone by then.

UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

(06-23-2021 12:39 PM)bullet Wrote:  Don't think Purdue adds much over a MAC team. Vanderbilt definitely doesn't. ...

As far as their local fans go, I would think Vanderbilt is a more interesting game than any of the MAC teams. If they lose, well, they lost to an SEC team, and if they should happen to win, they have beaten an SEC team. And at the same time, they'll recognize the University as a University, because after all it's Vanderbilt.

(06-23-2021 01:25 PM)usffan Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 10:39 AM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 10:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  Potato Bowl no, but UConn getting a tie-in with the Pinstripe Bowl or a bowl in Florida would be solid.

I went to the International Bowl in Toronto the year UConn played Buffalo and it was a tremendous time. I wish they would bring it back.

I agree. I went to the USF/Northern Illinois International Bowl and had a great time (even though it was honest to God the coldest weather I've ever experienced (1 degree F)). Visiting Toronto was way cooler (pun not intended) than El Paso/Birmingham/Charlotte as far as I'm concerned.

USFFan

I thought the Rogers Centre had a retractable roof?

UConn will not reconsider. They are where they belong - in a basketball-centric conference among geographic/historic rivals. That's their bread and butter and where natty chips were forged. See Villanova. I would not hesitate if there was an oppotunity to schedule them in football with a home-and-home hoops series as part of the deal.

(06-23-2021 10:15 AM)ccd494 Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 12:23 AM)BruceMcF Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 08:19 PM)esayem Wrote:  Hey, maybe UConn will rip off a handful of 8/9 win seasons and make the Fiesta Bowl! - said no one before they did.

That's the thing ... UConn supporters won't feel any sting at all from independence until and unless UConn is left at home while schools with substantially weaker records go bowling to some made for TV pre-Christmas bowl.

And it makes a lot of sense not worry about crossing that bridge unless and until they come to it, because if it happens, then they are having winning seasons and that will be good for them in any event.

Mind, it will be something like the Bahamas Bowl or the Potato Bowl that they have been locked out of, because the Fiesta Bowl was a thing for doing well in what was, at the time, still an AQ conference.

Is it that big a loss to not go to the Potato Bowl or something if you are UConn? Your fans are more apt to follow the basketball team to Maui or the Bahamas for a multi-team event. There's your cold weather trip.

It's easier to say it's not a big deal that you didn't get to go to a minor bowl in a not particularly attractive location when you haven't had a couple of experiences of a winning team sitting home during Bowl season.

I mean, it's not like people travel to the Potato Bowl in large numbers, it's a made for TV bowl with locals who show up and a sponsor willing to pay for the football addicts who tune in for a bowl like that because it's the game that is available to watch.

(06-23-2021 06:43 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 05:50 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

The rivals are Nova, Georgetown, and Syracuse. BC and Rutgers don't register because they were never any good for any length of time. Played a couple good football games against Rutgers at least, but BC was already gone by then.

UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

By peers, I didn’t mean rivals. Cuse and G’town are rivals to each other but their peer groups are different. IMO UConn’s current athletic profile is close to that of Syracuse, BC and Rutgers than that of Georgetown or Nova.

(06-23-2021 09:52 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 06:43 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 05:50 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

The rivals are Nova, Georgetown, and Syracuse. BC and Rutgers don't register because they were never any good for any length of time. Played a couple good football games against Rutgers at least, but BC was already gone by then.

UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

By peers, I didn’t mean rivals. Cuse and G’town are rivals to each other but their peer groups are different. IMO UConn’s current athletic profile is close to that of Syracuse, BC and Rutgers than that of Georgetown or Nova.

Agree fully. UConn's peers are the large universities in the Northeast that play football and big-time baseball and that are members of the ACC and Big Ten: Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse and Boston College (and, to a lesser extent, Maryland) — and not, as you note, Georgetown and Nova.

In many respects (and as I have previously posted), UConn is an odd fit in the Big East. But the university was even odder fit in the AAC.

The best home (all factors considered and if you are a UConn fan) would be the ACC. The second best home would be the Big Ten. The third best home is essentially a tie between either the Big 12 or the Big East/AAC football only. The fifth best arrangement is what UConn has: BE and indy football.

UConn being all-sports in the AAC was less ideal than the five situations I list.

(06-23-2021 08:19 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  UConn will not reconsider. They are where they belong - in a basketball-centric conference among geographic/historic rivals. That's their bread and butter and where natty chips were forged. See Villanova. I would not hesitate if there was an oppotunity to schedule them in football with a home-and-home hoops series as part of the deal.

I agree with you on the first part but disagree on the second...

Scheduling Uconn does nothing for Cincinnati now that we're not in a conference together. There is nothing compelling about a UC-Uconn match-up. No offense to the Huskies, but I don't care if we ever play them again. In basketball or any other sport.

(06-23-2021 06:43 PM)Bogg Wrote:  UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

Yeah, and I’m in the camp who feels that if there was never a favored share cut for remaining football schools when the dust settled after the C7 split and other defectors, UConn may have left sooner. “Layover” was exactly how I thought of it. And sure enough, when other conferences closed their doors to growth and the special cut money ran out, out came the talk about leaving the AAC.

And it’s nothing against the AAC, but, I suspect that if they could have split with the C7 back then, if there wasn’t going to be more money for staying, it would have been C7+1.

(06-23-2021 09:52 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 06:43 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 05:50 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

The rivals are Nova, Georgetown, and Syracuse. BC and Rutgers don't register because they were never any good for any length of time. Played a couple good football games against Rutgers at least, but BC was already gone by then.

UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

By peers, I didn’t mean rivals. Cuse and G’town are rivals to each other but their peer groups are different. IMO UConn’s current athletic profile is close to that of Syracuse, BC and Rutgers than that of Georgetown or Nova.

...and that would lead UConn to re-join the AAC how?

(06-23-2021 07:59 PM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 01:25 PM)usffan Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 10:39 AM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 10:24 AM)esayem Wrote:  Potato Bowl no, but UConn getting a tie-in with the Pinstripe Bowl or a bowl in Florida would be solid.

I went to the International Bowl in Toronto the year UConn played Buffalo and it was a tremendous time. I wish they would bring it back.

I agree. I went to the USF/Northern Illinois International Bowl and had a great time (even though it was honest to God the coldest weather I've ever experienced (1 degree F)). Visiting Toronto was way cooler (pun not intended) than El Paso/Birmingham/Charlotte as far as I'm concerned.

USFFan

I thought the Rogers Centre had a retractable roof?

It does. Great for the game but you still have to walk a block or two to get to a tunnel uf you're staying downtown.

(06-23-2021 01:27 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 12:39 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 12:17 PM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:50 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(06-22-2021 10:39 AM)IWokeUpLikeThis Wrote:  Surely you're joking?

No. Are you joking? Holy Cross, Yale, Wyoming, MTSU, Purdue and Houston as a home schedule for a New England FBS school?

Clemson on the road is a money game that a typical MAC school would play.

In terms of drawing fans, Purdue/Houston (2021) and Syracuse/BC/Liberty (2022) would draw better than MAC home games.

In terms of road trips, Clemson/UCF/Vanderbilt/Army (2021) and Michigan/NCSU/Army (2022) beat out anything in the MAC.

As a MAC member, UConn would have to drop home dates with Houston (scheduled Nov 27) and 1-2 of Syracuse/BC/Liberty. UConn would have to drop 2 roadtrips at Clemson/UCF/Vandebilt/Army and 1 roadtrip at Michigan/NCSU/Army.

I see no argument for UConn getting a better schedule in the MAC than Independence from any vantage point - SOS, home attendance, or exposure.

Don't think Purdue adds much over a MAC team. Vanderbilt definitely doesn't. Syracuse and BC are local and have had more recent success. But there is nothing stopping UConn from trying to schedule 4 P5s on top of their MAC schedule. in this scenario, they will be getting UMass and Buffalo in their MAC schedule, along with Ohio, Miami, Akron and Kent and 2 schools from the MAC West.

This article gave a good summation of UConn/MAC.

"The MAC should avoid UConn. This is UMass 2.0.

The Huskies have downgraded conferences to the Big East in basketball (a far cry from the former Big East in which UConn was a part of) and other sports, where they’ll generate a lot less revenue than the AAC. The AAC established a somewhat-lucrative TV deal in March, resulting in $83.3 million per year to be split among the member institutions, standing as the richest Group of Five league."

Well that quote from the article doesn't seem to make much sense. First, UConn didn't "downgrade" basketball conferences. The old Big East crumbled beneath them 10 years ago, and recently they left the AAC for the new Big East, which if history is a guide is a basketball upgrade, not downgrade.

Also, what does the AAC having signed a recent TV deal have to do with UConn and the MAC?

I'm not saying UConn should try to join the MAC for football, or that the MAC should want them. But the logic in this quote above is .... nonexistent, IMO.

(06-23-2021 10:20 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 09:52 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 06:43 PM)Bogg Wrote:  

(06-23-2021 05:50 PM)random asian guy Wrote:  Even when the old Big East splitted, they stayed with the football schools. So I guess UConn would consider BC, Cuse, or Rutgers as their peers rather than Villanova or Georgetown.

The rivals are Nova, Georgetown, and Syracuse. BC and Rutgers don't register because they were never any good for any length of time. Played a couple good football games against Rutgers at least, but BC was already gone by then.

UConn went with the AAC in the split because it was supposed to be a short layover before the next round of expansion. It became clear it was actually a 20+ year home when the Big 12 got threatened out of expanding by the networks, showing the money wasn't there anymore. That's when UConn cut their losses and went back to playing their rivals.

By peers, I didn’t mean rivals. Cuse and G’town are rivals to each other but their peer groups are different. IMO UConn’s current athletic profile is close to that of Syracuse, BC and Rutgers than that of Georgetown or Nova.

Agree fully. UConn's peers are the large universities in the Northeast that play football and big-time baseball and that are members of the ACC and Big Ten: Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse and Boston College (and, to a lesser extent, Maryland) — and not, as you note, Georgetown and Nova.

In many respects (and as I have previously posted), UConn is an odd fit in the Big East. But the university was even odder fit in the AAC.

The best home (all factors considered and if you are a UConn fan) would be the ACC. The second best home would be the Big Ten. The third best home is essentially a tie between either the Big 12 or the Big East/AAC football only. The fifth best arrangement is what UConn has: BE and indy football.

UConn being all-sports in the AAC was less ideal than the five situations I list.

Damn, I thought I could avoid this thread, but it's now 9 pages long and keeps popping up the top of my news feed, so what the hell ...

1) Agree that as an institution, UConn's peers are schools like Syracuse, Maryland and Rutgers, not Villanova and Georgetown and Seton Hall.

2) But as a basketball program, UConn fits like a glove in the Big East.

3) Still, as a Big East fan, I recognize that institutionally, and for football, UConn would dump us in a red hot minute if a call from the B1G or ACC came through. That is the one hesitation I had when I welcomed them back to the Big East fold.

4) I think the B1G, not ACC, is more of their natural institutional home, but it's close. Either tower over anything else.

Anything extant thing. Their true natural home was the Big East of 10+ years ago, but thanks to B1G and ACC raids, that doesn't exist anymore.

5) UConn is nowhere near getting a B1G or ACC invite, so they might be the most institutionally-stuck, out of place major athletic school in the country.

6) Oh well. I don't think there's any chance UConn tries to rejoin the AAC, or join the MAC. The MAC is a bad fit for them and the MAC.