UConn Smoke

[GoldenWarrior11]

Exhibit A on why the C7 decided to distance itself from football. Sheesh. It's worse than I thought. But - they made their bed, and they are committed to sleeping in it (even if the house is burning).

[REDMEN1415]

Exhibit A on why the C7 decided to distance itself from football. Sheesh. It's worse than I thought. But - they made their bed, and they are committed to sleeping in it (even if the house is burning).

UConn is 1-4 in the garbage ACC, why are some on here kissing their ass? Their crap, let them rot in the AAC.
If any UConn fans read this board, I dedicate this song to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc0mxOXbWIU

[NJRedman]

Well according to the UConn fans on the boneyard they are better off just burning cash because the Big East will be dead in 20 years or at the level of the Yankee conference.

[redmen9194]

I have always thought UConn needed us more than we need them. There really is no reason to invite them at all unless we are definitely going to 11 at some point rather than 10. If we are going to 11, UConn should only get in if they get rid of FBS football. If not, they can stay where they are. I'm not saying this because I'm a UConn hater and the rivalries they had with many of us were great. But our identity is a very simple one...basketball first. All decisions revolve around basketball. If we have even one school whose athletic decisions are made around football, we will have a problem.

[Irishdawg]

You could make the same argument about football considering the drops in participation rates and rising insurance costs for leagues. I sincerely doubt either happens in the next 20 years, but unless you're a Notre Dame, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, etc., football is not a money-making enterprise like everyone seems to think. Cost management in basketball is MUCH easier to deal with.

[adoraz]

Well according to the UConn fans on the boneyard they are better off just burning cash because the Big East will be dead in 20 years or at the level of the Yankee conference.

While true, there's a lot more people over there wanting to go to the Big East now than there were just a year or two ago. Maybe 50% want to go to the Big East and 100% want to leave the AAC eventually. Everyone on that forum thinks they're better than the AAC, even though teams like Houston, UCF and Memphis will be taken by the P5 long before they are.

[MullinMayhem]

1. The more we find out about CTE, you will see football participation drop substantially. Rules will also likely change further to the point where it's tag football and viewership decreases.
2. UConn is in the tri-state area which doesn't have any good recruiting for football, nor do most people care about college football here. Basketball is the opposite.
3. UConn is losing tons of money every year and it's not sustainable.
4. Who cares if they refuse to go FCS or get rid of it completely? If we want to be at 11, tell them to park football and come back. Just make sure the exit fee is insane. Worst case, we all make a ton of money if they leave. They are not wanted by any F5 conferences, so even that is a small chance. Win-win for us. Worst case, we have a lot more money and are no worse than we were before them.
5. I'd try to get them now before they get good again with Hurley. He's too good to not get UConn back to top 25 within a few years.

[Xudash]

Which of the following is the dumbest way of thinking:

[a] The Big East will be dead in 20 years.

[b] UCONN should continue to hang onto hopes of being invited to the P5.

[c] a and b.

- - - - - - - - -

You C7 guys have the experience with their fanbase. A few visits to the Boneyard have been interesting to say the least. While some of them clearly get it, the ardent football crowd is stone cold delusional. I would love to know what their true EBITDA (cash flow) losses look like, but the figures reported in that article suggest that they're about out of time regardless.

UCONN would be a great addition under non-toxic circumstances, and that assumes that the football issue is resolved to the BE's satisfaction. But, were the BE to end up with UCONN as a member, that might end up looking like us getting the crazy ass high school prom queen on the rebound 10 years down the road with bad hair and too much smeared lipstick, constantly fuming from having been dumped by the captain of the football team.

EDIT: MullinMayhem's point about the exit fee is spot on. Besides, the risk of them being called up to the P5 from here on is beyond minuscule.

[redmen9194]

Remember, for the last five years UCONN was living off the money that the C-7 left on the table when we left. That money is now gone and they are on their own in terms of revenue. And I disagree with going to 11 just to get them. If there is a decision to go to 11, we should consider them as well as others but only without football. I know the thought is who cares if they come and then leave. That's a big deal though. When a school leaves, it devalues the conference. Again, we are a basketball first league. Our decisions revolve around hoops. Once a school comes in where that is not the case, we will not be good.

[adoraz]

How is it possible to lose $41 million a year on sports? How are Big East schools doing?

I actually now think UConn would be best off completely dropping football, along with the equivalent # of required Title IX scholarships. Flying women's track out to Houston must be killing them. Temple I think is the ONLY school they can ride a bus to. That's insane.