CBS: Expansion to 14 by ACC thus week, unlikely to 16

[UC990411]

The reason fans of other schools travel so well is because they're used to driving seven hours to get to the supermarket and they're the only she in town. In two hours you could go from uconn to NYC or Boston or go to the beach or go skiing. The is more to do and more activities to spend money on other than college sports.

 

[John Greene]

i am new, but there must be jokes on this board that i do not get. sorry for asking dumb questions. just wondering . . .

The time to start worrying is when you realize that you get the jokes!

 

[Gurleyman]

i have looked over the threads, but i still don't see a valid argument for L over UConn. is there one? if so, i just want to consider it.

I actually was just joking around for the sake of joking around - didn't mean to come off like your question was bad. Sometimes I do that - should be more careful not to do that with newbies who might wonder what sort of nest of crazy they've fallen into.

A more serious answer is that the Louisville advantage is the same that almost every school has over us - football potential. We've done much better than anyone expected in the last 10 years, but our tradition is nil, we're not in a great recruiting area, and it's hard to look at us and say that we have the potential to have a top-tier program. You have to take a leap of faith that we can get there. Louisville is closer to the football-crazy south and it's not quite as hard to envision them as a consistently good program.

I think we bring enough to the table to offset that - especially if academics matters on some level. And we're an almost perfect replacement for Maryland straight up - passionate Northeast state with a strong overall athletic department, and limited football success.


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[sportsart]

Run away Willie before it's too late. Run Willie, run.

 

[Fishy]

If academics and the market actually do matter, you cannot make an argument for Louisville over UConn.

And I'm not buying the football potential thing either. They're south of us, but they're south of a lot of schools and let's be honest, it hasn't done a hell of a lot for them.

 

[junglehusky]

I think there's a couple things at play with UL fans and some of the media. For one thing UL has been more hyped this season, earlier it looked like the season was setting up to possibly have Rutgers and UL undefeated at the end of the season. The lack of recent success in the Pasqualoni era has hurt UConn's perception after the BCS appearance under Edsall (some UConn fans think the fact that we backed into the Fiesta and didn't acquit ourselves well is a factor, I think that's far enough in the past that it's not the main thing shaping perception. Plus if you look at the tape, there was a point in the 4th quarter where if ZF could have managed to drive and get a TD, we would have been down only 7 and who knows.... but I digress).

But on top of that, you have to consider that Louisville is a Southern school. Okay, being on the Ohio river they aren't as quite southern as other states but that seems to be the cultural fit coming into play. IMHO that is the real reason FSU and Clemson want Louisville over another northern team which will shift the political balance further away from them. Maybe FSU and Clemson think that having less southern membership hurts their recruiting (I think that's BS). I think UL's quote-unquote football prowess is 50% based on potential, not real achievement, and 50% code for southern-ness.

 

[whaler11]

It's head to head. Based on what we've seen to date I don't expect to win. Please be wrong.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think UConn gets the nod, and I also think this is a terrible plan by the ACC. The "we can get them later" approach is part of why instability has spread beyond the Big East. It is incredibly damaging to programs, as the ACC learned this weekend going 0-4 against the SEC with all 4 losses by 10+ points. It needs to pick a league, and stick with it. Waiting to get picked off is telling the world they are going to get picked off.

It is also a signal that ESPN is not budging on the contract, which, if true, is a show stopper.

 

[SAMCRO]

SyraPitt selection was based on history
WVU and TCU based on football
Rutgers and UMd based on TV market
This round will be based on bourbon. We are DOOMED.

 

[RMoore1999]

Not a dumb question, just something we've been debating since last week.
The response was typical from the boneyard

Welcome aboard.

Don't fret Willy...as Marty suggests, the Boneyard loves to eat its young...

 

[1husky]

Does anyone know who is on the ACC 4-4-4 expansion committee? I believe last time we got screwed because it included Shalala and deFellipo.

 

[uc1974]

This series of posts is the Xanax thread. I'll go out on a limb here. Do any of you seriously think that Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, UVA, BCU (yes, those guys), NC State, GT, VT or even Clemson want UL. Outside of FSU and Miami I cannot think of any no votes for us. In fact, if Miami is rational, they wouldn't not vote for us either. UConn gets offered, 9-2 with positive vibes from both SU and Pitt. There is no way that UL could possibly get 9 votes from the ACC's current make up unless Papa John promises free pizza for all ACC fans for life.

 

[Vuce]

The case can and should be made that Uconn and Maryland are basically the same school. Football wise they are on the same footing. Uconn is a better basketball program by a decent amount over the last quarter century. Academically when you look at the US News ranking tied at #58 are Fordham, SMU, Syracuse, Pitt and.......Maryland. The very next school on the list at 63 is.......wait for it, wait for it......The University of Connecticut. Drop down 100 more spots to 160 and you have University of Maryland-Baltimore County tied with......Louisville. Schools rated ahead of UL are UMaine, UAB, URI, NJIT, etc. Does the ACC want to go down that road academically? Uconn and Maryland are so similar in so many ways. Top 65 schools with very solid athletics. I think the case should be made to the FSU's of the league that getting Uconn doesn't change anything and getting UL dramatically shifts the way they are looking at academics and will also never made them the SEC or the Big Ten (see yesterday's Uconn/UL football score). We may discount the academic side of things but the Presidents and faculty reps take that very seriously. I liked the part of the article where the source noted that the academics will be important - if that is true then there is no debate in this argument.

Like I said above - Uconn/Maryland are extremely close when you consider the entire package.

 

[jostar1]

Does anyone know who is on the ACC 4-4-4 expansion committee? I believe last time we got screwed because it included Shalala and deFellipo.

Last year the FSU AD, Randy Spetman, was on it.

 

[Jimdish255]

I think there's a couple things at play with UL fans and some of the media. For one thing UL has been more hyped this season, earlier it looked like the season was setting up to possibly have Rutgers and UL undefeated at the end of the season. The lack of recent success in the Pasqualoni era has hurt UConn's perception after the BCS appearance under Edsall (some UConn fans think the fact that we backed into the Fiesta and didn't acquit ourselves well is a factor, I think that's far enough in the past that it's not the main thing shaping perception. Plus if you look at the tape, there was a point in the 4th quarter where if ZF could have managed to drive and get a TD, we would have been down only 7 and who knows.... but I digress).

But on top of that, you have to consider that Louisville is a Southern school. Okay, being on the Ohio river they aren't as quite southern as other states but that seems to be the cultural fit coming into play. IMHO that is the real reason FSU and Clemson want Louisville over another northern team which will shift the political balance further away from them. Maybe FSU and Clemson think that having less southern membership hurts their recruiting (I think that's BS). I think UL's quote-unquote football prowess is 50% based on potential, not real achievement, and 50% code for southern-ness.

Great explanation. And Oky was on fire when we played them. Speed on offense hurt us where we were weakest. Who would have beaten them? Louisville?

 

[Srqhusky]

I think being in the acc will help recruiting an it would be a lot easier to develop our football than to improve their academics

 

[metsfan2323]

If we get the nod by one vote someone needs to write a folk song about the legend of Johnny McEntee. His name happens to rhyme with ACC.

I can't understand why they don't just finish the Big East off and take three schools. These conferences like to torture their victim.

 

[UConn9604]

I thought this line was interesting:

The league feels well-prepared for realignment talk after dealing with the additions of Pitt and Syracuse just 14 months ago, according to a source.

Maybe they're "well-prepared for realignment talk" because they just considered us on the merits about 14 months ago? For the record, I did not hear any discussion of adding Louisville at the time they added Syracuse and Pitt.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

They can offer a package of free Louisville Sluggers and primo Kentucky Derby tickets. So far, we've only come back with discount insurance. We need to get them to the Dairy Bar.


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You forgot the mint juleps.

 

[UConnRock]

The article on which this thread is based is just total space filler. There is absolutly no information or even anything worth speculating about let alone fretting about. All the Louisville cheerleading can't erace academics, demographics, or geography all of which favor UConn by a significant amount.

Geography - One move from the B1G (adding UConn and any other team) and the ACC risks total viewership isolation for BC, and Syracuse with New England and NYC becoming total B1G country.

Academics - The ACC presidents, who have the final vote, would have to throw aside all academic standards which unlike the SEC, have ALWAYS been of great importance to most of the ACC. Duke, Wake, UVA, BC, and at one time UNC are the academic standard bearers and importantly, Syracuse and Pitt used academics as one of the strong reasons for their move. Louisville goes against all the standards on which the ACC prides itself. There is one simple question I would love to ask the presidents of these institutions and other Louisville leaners in the ACC....."How would Louisville's football team look if they had the same academic admission standards as your school?" Bottomline, can enough Presidents hold their collective noses and vote in Louisville which would go against all that they strive for as leaders of quality academic institutions?

Demographics - population and TV viewership have been discussed frequently, but I will stress that while the Hartford-New Haven numbers are 30th in the country, UConn much longer tenticles than Louisville. UConn has strong fan support and viewership in Fairfield County, NYC and other parts of NE. Additionally, UConn to the ACC would re-spark significant interest from the greater Boston area (BC rivalry) and upstate NY (Syracuse rivalry). Louisville on the otherhand has a pocket of strong support in and around Louisville, but it drops dramatically outside the city. UK dominates the bulk of the state as any flagship institution should.

The great thing about academics, demographics and geography is that they are relatively permanent attributes. Louisville pins their hopes on a "aggressive AD" who could leave at a moment's notice and a "strong football and basketball product" which UConn matches quite nicely.

 

[ctchamps]

please, someone make the case for Louisville over UConn. I just don't see how there is a debate.

The board is rightfully nervous. Last round UConn should have been selected over Pitt and Cuse but bad blood ( and fear of being second fiddle in NE) allowed BC to deep six UConn's chances into the ACC. So to answer your question there is no rational case for Louisville over UConn, just irrational or emotional answers.

Best thing is to ignore this forum if you get easily upset by all the ups and downs of peoples chatter. Otherwise grab a beer and watch the process. Nothing any of us can do about events so hope for the best but expect the possibility of the worse.

 

[RMoore1999]

The article on which this thread is based is just total space filler. There is absolutly no information or even anything worth speculating about let alone fretting about. All the Louisville cheerleading can't erace academics, demographics, or geography all of which favor UConn by a significant amount.

Geography - One move from the B1G (adding UConn and any other team) and the ACC risks total viewership isolation for BC, and Syracuse with New England and NYC becoming total B1G country.

Academics - The ACC presidents, who have the final vote, would have to throw aside all academic standards which unlike the SEC, have ALWAYS been of great importance to most of the ACC. Duke, Wake, UVA, BC, and at one time UNC are the academic standard bearers and importantly, Syracuse and Pitt used academics as one of the strong reasons for their move. Louisville goes against all the standards on which the ACC prides itself. There is one simple question I would love to ask the presidents of these institutions and other Louisville leaners in the ACC....."How would Louisville's football team look if they had the same academic admission standards as your school?" Bottomline, can enough Presidents hold their collective noses and vote in Louisville which would go against all that they strive for as leaders of quality academic institutions?

Demographics - population and TV viewership have been discussed frequently, but I will stress that while the Hartford-New Haven numbers are 30th in the country, UConn much longer tenticles than Louisville. UConn has strong fan support and viewership in Fairfield County, NYC and other parts of NE. Additionally, UConn to the ACC would re-spark significant interest from the greater Boston area (BC rivalry) and upstate NY (Syracuse rivalry). Louisville on the otherhand has a pocket of strong support in and around Louisville, but it drops dramatically outside the city. UK dominates the bulk of the state as any flagship institution should.

The great thing about academics, demographics and geography is that they are relatively permanent attributes. Louisville pins their hopes on a "aggressive AD" who could leave at a moment's notice and a "strong football and basketball product" which UConn matches quite nicely.

Our cheerleaders have actually improved a lot this year; not just the dance team, but the traditional cheerleaders too.

Otherwise I agree 100%, especially your opening: "The article on which this thread is based is just total space filler. There is absolutly no information or even anything worth speculating about let alone fretting about". 100% true.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Rock - i agree with you 100%.

I toured UNC fb board at scout and I was very surprised that they favor UL about 3 -1 over UConn, or maybe i was just viewing the posts made by southern dumb hammerheads.

Only interesting thing I can add is certain ACC people were at work today in Greensboro - so maybe this week news will be made. If an ACC bid comes UConn should spend some money and put a huge welcome to the ACC sign in Times Square.

 

[Gurleyman]

Great explanation. And Oky was on fire when we played them. Speed on offense hurt us where we were weakest. Who would have beaten them? Louisville?

I remember that game was 34-20 early in 4th and we almost had a first down that would have put ball on the Oklahoma 20 or so. Their DB reached in and dislodged the ball from our WR's hands on the way down, and the drive stalled. No guarantee we score with that catch, but if we did, the collars might have gotten tight on the other side at 34-27.

Instead they go the length of field for a ridiculously tough catch for a TD, then and a pick six to make it 48-20, and the "blowout" label was able to take hold.

Granted we needed a break or two on a pick six and a kickoff return to hang in there, but that's football.

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[upstater]

Our cheerleaders have actually improved a lot this year; not just the dance team, but the traditional cheerleaders too.

Otherwise I agree 100%, especially your opening: "The article on which this thread is based is just total space filler. There is absolutly no information or even anything worth speculating about let alone fretting about". 100% true.

The article quotes a source in the ACC as saying they aren't going to 16 teams.