Why so much UCONN hate?

[NovaBall]

Uconn was essentially open enrollment 20 years ago, so I guess it is good to see them improve.

But the idea that they view athletic conference affiliation as a factor in academic prestige is laughable considering they are currently in a conference with Memphis, temple, Cincy and the directional southern schools.

[anXUfan]

Well, before I didn't hate UConn, but now I'm definitely sick of reading about them, so I'm getting close.

[Bill Marsh]

Uconn was essentially open enrollment 20 years ago, so I guess it is good to see them improve.

But the idea that they view athletic conference affiliation as a factor in academic prestige is laughable considering they are currently in a conference with Memphis, temple, Cincy and the directional southern schools.

Uh, it's a stepping stone.

[NovaBall]

I understand that it is not viewed as a long term fix, but at some point will start to feel like a king term thing.

How many years affiliating with those type of schools before they start to have a tarnished institutional reputation?

That's the hung with uconn. Nobody expects them to jump in the next year or two. But can they withstand a decade affiliating with those schools if a real conference does not come calling?

[Bill Marsh]

Uconn aspires to be a top academic university?

Wow, conference ofAmericans is definitely the wrong place for them!

Look at the nonsense they are affiliating with. Memphis, temple, Cincy, and a bunch of directional community colleges from the south.

If academic perception through athletic affiliation were important to uconn they would not be in conference of Americans. They also would have fired Jim Calhoun long before he created the reputation of uconn as a cess pool with a good hoops program.

They want to be affiliated with major public research universities. Where do you suggest they should be while they wait in hopes of a p5 invite?

Calhoun was a winner who brought in a lot of money and reputation for them. A complete d-bag, but a winner nonetheless. Plenty of those guys at top universities. Bob Knight comes immediately to mind.

[NovaBall]

If academic respect is part of their desire, the big east has schools with good academic reputations, especially in the northeast. nova, PC and georgetown are all better schools than any p5school in the northeast besides maybe bc (which only leaves cuse, rutgers and maryland). But the academic prestige of the big east as far as our region if the country is as high as the acc or big ten representatives.

[Bill Marsh]

If academic respect is part of their desire, the big east has schools with good academic reputations, especially in the northeast. nova, PC and georgetown are all better schools than any p5school in the northeast besides maybe bc (which only leaves cuse, rutgers and maryland). But the academic prestige of the big east as far as our region if the country is as high as the acc or big ten representatives.

I agree.

The issue is that they're looking at a particular model and a particular peer group. It's not so much about respect as it is about striving for excellence - as they see it. They don't see themselves as The Ivy League any more than they see themselves as the current Big East.

Public Ivy is what they want to be. As a conference, the Big Ten is their model for that. They know that's not where they are, so they're building toward that as their goal. The Big Ten public research universities have a certain package. In striving for excellence across the board, part of that package is excellence in sports - all sports, even the minor ones.

I'm not advocating for their position. I'm not judging it as right or wrong either. I'm just describing it. They could do something different. But they're not going to. At least not under the current administration. Susan Herbst has a vision for the university that isn't much different than the one that Bryce Jordan had when he took over as Penn State's president in 1983. She just has a bigger hill to climb.

The reason they're in the AAC is not because they think it's a good substitute for where they want to be. Frankly they hate it. But they're stuck there. And they're stuck simply because they have no other options that they can see. While they are building their football program the way that Louisville did in the '90's and Rutgers did in the 2000's, the AAC is a place where they can compete for now. That's all it is.

Right now they are on a mission. Time will tell if they succeed or fail in achieving it.

[whiteandblue77]

If academic respect is part of their desire, the big east has schools with good academic reputations, especially in the northeast. nova, PC and georgetown are all better schools than any p5school in the northeast besides maybe bc (which only leaves cuse, rutgers and maryland). But the academic prestige of the big east as far as our region if the country is as high as the acc or big ten representatives.

I agree.

The issue is that they're looking at a particular model and a particular peer group. It's not so much about respect as it is about striving for excellence - as they see it. They don't see themselves as The Ivy League any more than they see themselves as the current Big East.

Public Ivy is what they want to be. As a conference, the Big Ten is their model for that. They know that's not where they are, so they're building toward that as their goal. The Big Ten public research universities have a certain package. In striving for excellence across the board, part of that package is excellence in sports - all sports, even the minor ones.

I'm not advocating for their position. I'm not judging it as right or wrong either. I'm just describing it. They could do something different. But they're not going to. At least not under the current administration. Susan Herbst has a vision for the university that isn't much different than the one that Bryce Jordan had when he took over as Penn State's president in 1983. She just has a bigger hill to climb.

The reason they're in the AAC is not because they think it's a good substitute for where they want to be. Frankly they hate it. But they're stuck there. And they're stuck simply because they have no other options that they can see. While they are building their football program the way that Louisville did in the '90's and Rutgers did in the 2000's, the AAC is a place where they can compete for now. That's all it is.

Right now they are on a mission. Time will tell if they succeed or fail in achieving it.

Since you're the one who described it with so many words, could you please give us an example of the research dollars they have compared with the average B1G school? Their accreditation? I know Nebraska is not accredited (I think the only one not to be AAU in the Big 10).

[Bill Marsh]

If academic respect is part of their desire, the big east has schools with good academic reputations, especially in the northeast. nova, PC and georgetown are all better schools than any p5school in the northeast besides maybe bc (which only leaves cuse, rutgers and maryland). But the academic prestige of the big east as far as our region if the country is as high as the acc or big ten representatives.

I agree.

The issue is that they're looking at a particular model and a particular peer group. It's not so much about respect as it is about striving for excellence - as they see it. They don't see themselves as The Ivy League any more than they see themselves as the current Big East.

Public Ivy is what they want to be. As a conference, the Big Ten is their model for that. They know that's not where they are, so they're building toward that as their goal. The Big Ten public research universities have a certain package. In striving for excellence across the board, part of that package is excellence in sports - all sports, even the minor ones.

I'm not advocating for their position. I'm not judging it as right or wrong either. I'm just describing it. They could do something different. But they're not going to. At least not under the current administration. Susan Herbst has a vision for the university that isn't much different than the one that Bryce Jordan had when he took over as Penn State's president in 1983. She just has a bigger hill to climb.

The reason they're in the AAC is not because they think it's a good substitute for where they want to be. Frankly they hate it. But they're stuck there. And they're stuck simply because they have no other options that they can see. While they are building their football program the way that Louisville did in the '90's and Rutgers did in the 2000's, the AAC is a place where they can compete for now. That's all it is.

Right now they are on a mission. Time will tell if they succeed or fail in achieving it.

Since you're the one who described it with so many words, could you please give us an example of the research dollars they have compared with the average B1G school? Their accreditation? I know Nebraska is not accredited (I think the only one not to be AAU in the Big 10).

In 2014, the most recent reporting year, UConn's spending on research was $258 million, ranked 82nd. The lowest spending Big Ten university was Nebraska with $278 million, ranked 80th.

UConn hasrecently developed a public/private partnership for the study of the human genome and its medical applications. It. Currently building that center and expanding the breadth of the research. It will put them in the forefront of this cutting edge research and one of the primary human genome research centers in the country.

Virtually all colleges and universities are accredited. LikeNebraska, UConn is not AAU.

[Hoya Hoya Hoya]

I don't hate UConn/Cincy because they got royally screwed. Being stuck in the AAC would make anyone miserable. Luckily, it's looking like UConn is on deck for the Big 12.