UConn to the Big East? Rumors and Discussion Thread...

[herodotus]

UConn will be fine. one bad season does not a program make (or destroy)

Agree. Injuries have really wrecked them this season. You see what injuries have done to Xavier, and they haven't been hit nearly as hard as UConn has.

[GoldenWarrior11]

No doubt from UConn's discussions (or unofficial talks), the American is looking at adding Dayton, Wichita State and VCU, according to Blauds. Those additions would absolutely elevate the AAC's basketball profile, as it would improve the middle of the league - negating the atrocious impact that ECU, Tulane and USF have on the conference. It would bump them to 14 basketball members, and likely average between 5-7 teams per year in the tournament, between UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple, SMU, Houston, Dayton, Wichita State and VCU.

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

[Bill Marsh]

No doubt from UConn's discussions (or unofficial talks), the American is looking at adding Dayton, Wichita State and VCU, according to Blauds. Those additions would absolutely elevate the AAC's basketball profile, as it would improve the middle of the league - negating the atrocious impact that ECU, Tulane and USF have on the conference. It would bump them to 14 basketball members, and likely average between 5-7 teams per year in the tournament, between UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple, SMU, Houston, Dayton, Wichita State and VCU.

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

I was thinking the same thing and I would say, yes. That's what realignment has been all about. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. That was the ACC strategy in taking Big East schools. The problem will be that Fox might not be willing to commit to another team until the ratings improve.

[Toronto Rapture]

No doubt from UConn's discussions (or unofficial talks), the American is looking at adding Dayton, Wichita State and VCU, according to Blauds. Those additions would absolutely elevate the AAC's basketball profile, as it would improve the middle of the league - negating the atrocious impact that ECU, Tulane and USF have on the conference. It would bump them to 14 basketball members, and likely average between 5-7 teams per year in the tournament, between UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple, SMU, Houston, Dayton, Wichita State and VCU.

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

I was thinking the same thing and I would say, yes. That's what realignment has been all about. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. That was the ACC strategy in taking Big East schools. The problem will be that Fox might not be willing to commit to another team until the ratings improve.

Interesting. So we may not even have to wait until the next round of P5 realignment or until the ideal candidate, like a UCONN, becomes available for expansion. Even the expansion (or the potential for) of the AAC could influence BE expansion and the acceptance of Dayton, who many have argued for or against acceptance to the BE, but at the least does not appear to be the ideal candidate.

Not saying thats the right or wrong thing, but its interesting to see just how volatile this whole expansion matter can be. Bill, you are right in pointing out just how cutthroat it is. In such a scenario, things like institutional fit might not be as important to the BE in considering expansion candidates.

[Hoopfan]

No doubt from UConn's discussions (or unofficial talks), the American is looking at adding Dayton, Wichita State and VCU, according to Blauds. Those additions would absolutely elevate the AAC's basketball profile, as it would improve the middle of the league - negating the atrocious impact that ECU, Tulane and USF have on the conference. It would bump them to 14 basketball members, and likely average between 5-7 teams per year in the tournament, between UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple, SMU, Houston, Dayton, Wichita State and VCU.

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

I was thinking the same thing and I would say, yes. That's what realignment has been all about. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. That was the ACC strategy in taking Big East schools. The problem will be that Fox might not be willing to commit to another team until the ratings improve.

Interesting. So we may not even have to wait until the next round of P5 realignment or until the ideal candidate, like a UCONN, becomes available for expansion. Even the expansion (or the potential for) of the AAC could influence BE expansion and the acceptance of Dayton, who many have argued for or against acceptance to the BE, but at the least does not appear to be the ideal candidate.

Not saying thats the right or wrong thing, but its interesting to see just how volatile this whole expansion matter can be. Bill, you are right in pointing out just how cutthroat it is. In such a scenario, things like institutional fit might not be as important to the BE in considering expansion candidates.

Institutional fit out the window...VCu is a no brainier. Big fan base, money to spend, and dedicated to basketball

[ArmyVet]

Institutional fit out the window...VCu is a no brainier. Big fan base, money to spend, and dedicated to basketball

This has been debated for years on this board, but ask yourself this question - which of the 10 current Big East schools would vote to add VCU?

Nova? no
Hoyas? no
PC? no
new schools - CU, XU, BU - no, no, no

If the schools don't want VCU, it's not going to happen.

[SJHooper]

UConn is going to be a 30 for 30 documentary in another 10 years. They are a trailblazer for their level of stupidity and there is no precedent. They will set a new one. UConn will serve as a cautionary tale for greedy wannabe major football schools who are having an identity crisis. Chase the dollars and it can ultimately derail your entire athletic program. There is poetic justice in that. UConn is the first school with a major blue blood national basketball brand that decided it wanted to explode it with TNT in an attempt to become a big time football school. Changing your identity passing off as something you aren't typically doesn't end well...Rachel Dolezal anyone?

I don't think UConn has any delusions about becoming a football power. I think every move they've made was with the idea of getting a P5 invite to protect their basketball programs. Remember, Villanova was worried enough to actually seriously look into doing the same thing, and probably would have had the stadium issues not been so daunting.

Exactly. The football initiative was actually begun in 1991 under then AD Lew Perkins who predicted back then that football would become the driver in college sports and that UConn would be left behind if they didn't upgrade their football program. The only national basketball success that UConn had up to that point was their magical run to the Elite 8 in 1990. Perkins was clearly trying to protect basketball, a sport with which Connecticut fans had long enjoyed a love affair despite their lack of national prominence.

The UConn offer from the Big East to upgrade football with guaranteed membership in Big East Football came in 1997. UConn accepted and began the steps that were required to achieve D1A status. That's a process which takes time with UConn finally joining the Big East in 2004. By 1997 when the key decisions were made, UConn had been to just one more Elite 8. They had not yet reached a Final 4 and they had yet to win their first NC. Although they were winners of multiple BE championships by this time, they really had not yet established themselves as a national power.

BTW, UConn wasn't the first to build up their football program while also having a highly valued basketball program. Louisville had been a national power in basketball since the 1950's and were the most successful basketball program in the country in the 1980's. Nonetheless they invested a fortune in their football program - especially in the 1990's while their basketball program was in decline. It took Rick Pitino to rehabilitate the basketball program and bring it back to where it once was. The difference is that Louisville was successful in gaining a P5 invitation when they were picked over UConn by the ACC. Memphis and Cincinnati have done the same thing while having basketball programs with great histories.

Louisville is a different story...they went from major conference (old BE) to another major conference (ACC). They did not downgrade from major to mid major like UConn in an attempt to go all in for football long-term. Maybe there's another comparable case, but I can't think of any. The truth is that college football will never be huge in the Northeast tri-state area. It's a southern thing. It's just cultural. Even when Rutgers was ranked a few years back, no one really cared outside of students and alumni. It's not like they were all over ESPN and in water cooler discussions in offices. Here in the tri-state we just don't produce the talent, we don't have the climate to be outside year-round, and we just don't have the same demand for it as the south does. That's another reason Louisville was able to do very well in football. UConn is a different animal. I always hear about high schools in the south getting tens of thousands to football games. The whole community comes out in droves. In the tri-state, it just doesn't happen. It just hasn't taken root here and it never will...the only college football fans here are most likely to be front runners following Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, etc. My point is that UConn will never even reach this level and even if they did, no one would care outside campus for the most part.

This is also true for baseball...the tri-state area is definitely more into pro teams i.e. Mets, Yankees, Red Sox. Look at all the baseball stadiums in the SEC. They are state of the art and look like they could be professional. They have the benefit of warm weather all year to practice outside and they have very fertile recruiting grounds. As I speak, St. John's is actually #16 in the country in baseball after knocking off #9 UNC and #7 Coastal Carolina, but that's the exception not the rule. We usually have a very good baseball team and even then, the stands are mostly empty. You can't ignore the cultural aspect of college sports. Baseball is huge in the NYC area but professional only. UConn is not and never will be a big time football school. They could have stuck with their true calling which is hoops, but they didn't and they are paying for it right now and for at least the next decade I would think.

[SJHooper]

Let the AAC have them. The "American American Conference" will never be the name brand the Big East is. They don't have the history or the rivalries we do. We are lucky because our brands are already established and our foundation is rock solid. People all over the country know who we are. I can't tell you how many casual basketball fans have assumed UConn is still in the Big East or the ACC...or something. No one knows the AAC and they are stupid for having a name so close to the ACC which can easily be confused but only semantically. The only schools that I would honestly be ok with taking are schools like UConn, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Gonzaga, Cincy, Memphis, etc. Of course the WF's and Vandy's of the world are longshots due to their football in the ACC, but I bet somewhere down the road they realize they will never be able to compete with the huge public state schools like Michigan and Ohio State and lower or remove their football programs. Boston College would also be welcomed back in the same scenario. Can we trade DePaul for someone?

[sciencejay]

No doubt from UConn's discussions (or unofficial talks), the American is looking at adding Dayton, Wichita State and VCU, according to Blauds. Those additions would absolutely elevate the AAC's basketball profile, as it would improve the middle of the league - negating the atrocious impact that ECU, Tulane and USF have on the conference. It would bump them to 14 basketball members, and likely average between 5-7 teams per year in the tournament, between UConn, Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple, SMU, Houston, Dayton, Wichita State and VCU.

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

I was thinking the same thing and I would say, yes. That's what realignment has been all about. Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed. That was the ACC strategy in taking Big East schools. The problem will be that Fox might not be willing to commit to another team until the ratings improve.

Interesting. So we may not even have to wait until the next round of P5 realignment or until the ideal candidate, like a UCONN, becomes available for expansion. Even the expansion (or the potential for) of the AAC could influence BE expansion and the acceptance of Dayton, who many have argued for or against acceptance to the BE, but at the least does not appear to be the ideal candidate.

Not saying thats the right or wrong thing, but its interesting to see just how volatile this whole expansion matter can be. Bill, you are right in pointing out just how cutthroat it is. In such a scenario, things like institutional fit might not be as important to the BE in considering expansion candidates.

I think this thread has made it abundantly clear that UConn is NOT the ideal candidate due to the huge elephant in the room that is football. Of course any additions to the BEast will have to get approval of the schools, Fox and (lastly) the conference execs. I agree that those additions to the AAC make it an interesting bball conference in the short term, but to me, it will look like the OBE did (without the stature in either sport) where you have fb-centric schools, bb-centric schools and schools that try to do both at a high-ish level. That didn't last in the OBE with schools that had a very long regional co-relationship (see Syracuse and BC heading south for greener pastures). I doubt it would last for the new AAC either.

FWIW, I would take Wichita St. and VCU into the BE fold right now. I agree that it's eat or be eaten, and while our ten comprise a very strong unit, but conferences are not about school type, etc. They are made up of schools with a similar interest (focus on bball, no or FCS fb) that band together for financial gain all around. Of course the presidents of the C7 were attracted to XU and CU for expansion because those priests all know each other. But they were attracted to BU because they promised to add money to the pool, not due to religious history. Again, conferences are about money, and the conference could be strengthened by the addition of two more basketball-focused programs who have been good to very good of late. But would WSU and VCU increase the value of the TV package in Fox's eyes? This we don't know because they'd have to take the risk (expanding the package to pay WSU and VCU) before they knew if the new 12 would end up being greater than the current 10.

[Edrick]

I can't believe I am suggesting this, but should the BE be proactice and snatch Dayton before the American does? We absolutely cannot allow the AAC to threaten the firm standing that the Big East has created as a top basketball conference.

No. Because if at any point they actually wanted them, Dayton would leave to join the Big East . That Frankenstein abomination of a conference would be doomed to fail much as it is now. The only thing holding it together are those that want to be somewhere else.