ok give it to me straight - why didn't we get in (again)

[Fishy]

Oh I agree, but I think the ACC is getting a little anxious.

Ultimately I believe that NBC will give ND that contract they want, but require they play 3-5 Big10 teams every year. 2 of those could be the LA schools so they get their Cali fix. Playing Purdue, Michigan (scheduled for ‘33 and ‘34), MSU and other Big10 rivalries. Still room to play Navy and BC.

ND has a scheduling agreement with the ACC; there’s no room for another. And there’s a question of leverage - NBC probably needs Notre Dame more than Notre Dame needs NBC.

 

[Fishy]

Never trust a leprechaun.

The one school that you can probably trust in all this is Notre Dame. They’re going to do what is good for Notre Dame when it’s good for Notre Dame.

 

[Rufus]

The ratings for Notre Dame vs. B1G teams are MUCH higher than Notre Dame vs. ACC teams. Notre Dame home games are not worth the $75 million price ND is asking for unless they are all highly rated games. I understand why NBC wants ND to play several B1G games each year.

 

[billybud]

The one school that you can probably trust in all this is Notre Dame. They’re going to do what is good for Notre Dame when it’s good for Notre Dame.

I think other programs have gone to school on this....

 

[Fishy]

I think other programs have gone to school on this....

Almost all of them not named Michigan or Ohio State or Alabama or Georgia really have no ability to make things happen for themselves the way Notre Dame can.

That’s probably the most annoying thing about all this upheaval - you pretty much know that Notre Dame is watching without a care in the world.

 

[billybud]

I was thinking more of Irish lore...

The leprechaun plays several roles in Irish folklore; he is principally a roguish trickster figure who cannot be trusted and will deceive whenever possible.

 

[Rufus]

Ten years ago, if you were to have heard that the Huskies were joining the B1G, would anyone have imagined it would be the Washington Huskies and not UConn?

 

[Dizzy21]

It is pretty simple, the reality is the following:
-Networks pay for this whole thing and they want teams who draw viewers currently or have something that will lead to them doing that in the future.
-UConn football does not draw viewers.
-As much as everyone thinks basketball is a blue blood so they draw viewers, the fact is the men's team won this year and every headline was that the final had the lowest viewership ever.
-The women were not in the final this year, LSU and Iowa were, and it drew twice as many viewers as any other finals game. Demolishing any game that the UConn women were ever in. Twice as many as last year.
-As good as the Big East has been for the performance of the basketball teams, no one watches Big East Basketball. The Big East tournament viewers are consistently the 9th most, behind the P5, MW, A10, and AAC tournament viewers. Adding UConn has not meaningfully changed this.

UConn needs to keep winning and improve football, but also start to create some stories that captivate a larger audience. We don't have the built in fan base to rely on to tune in and move the needle for the networks in any sport. Something needs to give people a reason to do that and UConn needs to find whatever it is that does that. Oregon used some insane uniforms to do it and UConn needs to find that creative thing to move that needle and make UConn "cool" to a larger audience.

 

[Vowelguy]

try, as best as you can, to give a simple, sober-minded, non-emotional answer as to why we failed to get in again, and if you still believe we can, what are your top 3-5 things we must do to get into the p4/ p3 party ASAP.

UConns football resume this year:
1) 2 players run into each other causing a fumble
2) getting manhandled by Georgia St

Don’t be duped by far kls saying “it’s a no brainer for the AAC to add UConn in FB.” UConns FB brand is worse than mud. It will take years of success to erase that, and make UConn attractive.

Also MCBB extreme dip during the ACC has raised many doubts the program can succeed out the BgE.

 

[Hoophound]

UConns football resume this year:
1) 2 players run into each other causing a fumble
2) getting manhandled by Georgia St

Don’t be duped by far kls saying “it’s a no brainer for the AAC to add UConn in FB.” UConns FB brand is worse than mud. It will take years of success to erase that, and make UConn attractive.

Also MCBB extreme dip during the ACC has raised many doubts the program can succeed out the BgE.

It will take one year to erase it. That’s why we are where we are. Other schools have a big year or two and surpass us in public perception. We need our big year.

 

[billybud]

Yes...A big year moves the perception needle...two big years back to back, helps solidify that perception.

Wins over good teams is the barometer.

And...PR helps...look at how much mileage Colorado gets from Deion's over the top style.

 

[uchusky32]

Need to upgrade around Mora. Have no choice but to spend money. Spend money or die.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

My thoughts on why we didn't get a Big 12 invite:

1) Better options arose for the Big 12 as the Pac 12 collapsed. The 4 corner schools have athletic history with many of the Big 12 schools.
2) Geography. As much as Yormack wants a NY presence, the 4 corner schools are a more natural fir for the Big 12.
3) Lack of recent football success for UConn and not much history of playing FBS football.
4) Perception that UConn doesn't value football. UConn was one of 2 schools that cancelled the football season in 2020.
5) The lack of measurable TV ratings for football to help determine UConn's football value. Being on CBSSN is great, but the channel ratings are not measured by Nielsen.

I'm not advocating this, but look at what Cincinnati did during COVID. They shut down men's soccer to save ~$750k and invested the savings into paying Luke Fickell more money. Look at UConn. Mora is paid ~$1.5 million (slightly less than what PP earned back in 2011!), Hurley is going to be paid $5 million plus, and Geno makes ~$3 million. Granted, Hurley and Geno have accomplished a lot, but at no P5 school is the football coach paid less than both the men's and women's basketball coach. It's pretty clear that basketball is more important than football.

People say that UConn WILL invest more in football if we get a P5 invite. That is not how it works when a G5 team wants to move up. They invest in football BEFORE getting the P5 invite.

What should UConn do right now? Announce an increase in the investment in football. Increase salaries for coaches, etc. How to fund it? Since we have an athletic department deficit, the athletic department has to raise the money from donors and through ticket sales. And, we need to pack the Rent. The athletic department needs to go to every company in Connecticut and push ticket sales. The athletic department needs to call every alumnus in the Northeast and ask them to buy football tickets and explain why football is important to the athletic department. Give free tickets to Connecticut state workers,... Finally, win games!

From my perspective UConn seemed to view its elevation into a then power conference as found money not as an opportunity to invest in a secure. Future We had worth in the Big East because of basketball. value in that conference. When that fell apart I only football centric leagues remained.

 

[Vowelguy]

It will take one year to erase it. .

Nah, need sustained success to erase the bad memories.

 

[JeepCSC]

Total expenses for football, 2022

Temple- $29m
SMU- $27.1m
BYU- $23.8m
Cincinnati- $23.7m
Central Florida- $20.9m
Houston- $20.4m
South Florida- $18.7m
Connecticut- $18.4m
Memphis- $17.1m
ECU- $14.6m
Tulsa- $13.9m
Tulane- $9.9m

Equity in Athletics

ope.ed.gov

$20 million seems a rough separating point between those moving up and those not (save Temple lol).

 

[Hoophound]

We play too many sports. We should cut some non revenue programs.

 

[Vowelguy]

We play too many sports. We should cut some non revenue programs.

UConn funds 8 M sports. Which ones you wanna cut?

• FB, Bkb, IH, BB, Soccer
• Golf, Indoor track, outdoor track

I assume you don’t want to cut the top row. Dropping one from the bottom would probably save about $10.

And don’t say “cut a women’s team.” If you are going to cut sports, you pretty much have to do 1 of each. Otw, you will get sued and surely lose.

 

[WrenchFan69]

We play too many sports. We should cut some non revenue programs.

We're already on the line of the NCAA minimum for men's sports. We were going to cut golf but boosters decided to fund it privately. All that's left to cut really is men's track which is a rather successful program in the Big East

 

[Hoophound]

Eh. I had some vodkas. However, it seems that we sponsor a lot more sports than many of the big football schools. Any savings could be used to pay better football coaches. It’ll never happen, I just want to see football prosper.

 

[Vowelguy]

Eh. I had some vodkas. However, it seems that we sponsor a lot more sports than many of the big football schools. Any savings could be used to pay better football coaches. It’ll never happen, I just want to see football prosper.

Well hockey and the associated women’s sports were a decent expense.

I suspect that more rural schools have a bigger sports push to give folks stuff to do.

 

[Hoophound]

Well hockey and the associated women’s sports were a decent expense.

I suspect that more rural schools have a bigger sports push to give folks stuff to do.

I think it’s because we’re in the Northeast where trying different things is encouraged and many kids are introduced to a variety of sports at a young age including golf, tennis, swimming etc. UConn sponsoring a lot sports just kind of goes with the territory. Hockey is well worth it for UConn. I love the excitement around big time college hockey in New England.

 

[hardcorehusky]

Need to upgrade around Mora. Have no choice but to spend money. Spend money or die.

Uconn boosted the budget significantly from REv2 to Mora year 1

 

[uchusky32]

Uconn boosted the budget significantly from REv2 to Mora year 1

Yes they did. But not enough. Our coordinators need to be upgraded. Only way to do test is pay. Once you do test Mora’s pay will need to go up. Time to show we're in this long-term.

 

[Vowelguy]

Yes they did. But not enough. Our coordinators need to be upgraded. Only way to do test is pay. Once you do test Mora’s pay will need to go up. Time to show we're in this long-term.

Given the environment now, is it better to give extra dollars to coaches or NIL/players?

 

[Makryspost]

I hate that we don't capture or report a media valuation of every mention of uconn in the press. I am sure the marketing team does, but we should report. In the last 2 weeks Paige was a headline for her Nike deal and the Army deal. We made ESPN Football front page re: the QB change. Non-brand names (P5 and G5) don't get these mentions - and there is very much a value to it. Even when FB and BB were down, we were always captured in the news.