Renew UMass UConn Rivalry?

[Bosoxfan44]

Just watched UMass beat VCU on ESPN2. I would drive to Amherst or Storrs to catch a rematch of the old UConn/UMass rivals. Any pros or cons for this idea?

 

[SubbaBub]

In before "not this again"

 

[storrsroars]

I would've rather had them than Tulane to begin with.

I doubt they'd do the Harvard thing and visit Storrs every year or even do a 2-for-1. While UMass does add some RPI, it also makes it a little more challenging to keep having other quality home and homes. I dunno... not a horrible idea if the bottom 5 of the AAC don't get better quick.

 

[PRHusky]

They first need to make the tournaments at least a couple of times in a row before we should consider starting a series with them. Same goes with PC.

 

[Hoophound]

I think it's a good idea. They are pretty good again and we certainly need rivalry games. However, given the week half of the AAC schedule we are probably better off scheduling a bigger name program each year for now. I'd gladly dump Fairfield etc. for UMass though.

 

[mauconnfan]

Although Kellogg played for and coached with Calipari the ghost is gone…….I think this is a good idea. Make them play at Boston or Springfield (too small) and our home games at Hartford. Maybe we'll see them in the tourney?

 

[TRest]

We got forced into playing them the last time and promptly won 9 of 10. They then demanded home-and-homes to continue the series. I would rather play them and URI alternate years.

 

[Waquoit]

When I went was at UConn they had a Homecoming parade renewal. One of the floats expressed my feelings about this issue. It said Muck UFass.

 

[BoatShow]

UMass has one season of near relevancy and a game on ESPN2 and all of a sudden we need to have a home and home with them.

 

[temery]

We got forced into playing them the last time and promptly won 9 of 10. They then demanded home-and-homes to continue the series. I would rather play them and URI alternate years.

Yup. Neither has earned a home and home schedule. If UMass has one or two more good years, or does better in the tournament, they will have earned a home and home.

For now, a home game would be a nice addition.

 

[mauconnfan]

UMass has one season of near relevancy and a game on ESPN2 and all of a sudden we need to have a home and home with them.

If an old Yankee Conference team is relevant again then it needs to happen for New England. No reason not to with the time distance between the time the Squid was there and now!

 

[husky99]

UMess has been ranked once since cal jumped ship. Keep the money in state. If they make the tourney three times in the next 5 years

 

[mauconnfan]

UMess has been ranked once since cal jumped ship. Keep the money in state. If they make the tourney three times in the next 5 years

Have to disagree……he's doing a pretty good job in Amherst and they'll be pretty decent and certainly better for the RPI (needed with our conference) than Yale etc etc……state's fine without us, our RPI isn't fine in state!

 

[Calhoun's Court]

Although Kellogg played for and coached with Calipari the ghost is gone…….I think this is a good idea. Make them play at Boston or Springfield (too small) and our home games at Hartford. Maybe we'll see them in the tourney?

I was thinking the same thing. I think we'll see them too. If they go the NCAA loves doing this-pitting regional "rivals"(or teams with a somewhat history) against each other.

 

[Palatine]

It's a good game every decade or so when Umass cobbles together a decent team. But the idea this is a rivalry game is an empty notion.

 

[husky99]

We could play every 4 years when they have five senior s starting...

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I would've rather had them than Tulane to begin with.

I doubt they'd do the Harvard thing and visit Storrs every year or even do a 2-for-1. While UMass does add some RPI, it also makes it a little more challenging to keep having other quality home and homes. I dunno... not a horrible idea if the bottom 5 of the AAC don't get better quick.

they play in a better league than the AAC right now so why should they agree to travel out to Storrs every year? doubt it. make it a fair home and away series and they would surely agree. Im sure many will love and watch that game.

but as a few said already. give em a couple of years of sustained success before locking anything

 

[husky99]

1st pick Cuse pitt nova or st.john (only because of msg)

2nd possible group pc, bc(hate the idea) or umess


We need 1st class rivals

 

[mauconnfan]

they play in a better league than the AAC right now so why should they agree to travel out to Storrs every year? doubt it. make it a fair home and away series and they would surely agree. Im sure many will love and watch that game.

but as a few said already. give em a couple of years of sustained success before locking anything

Better league than the AAC? Who?

 

[Bosoxfan44]

It would be nice if playing UMass in a home and home arrangement helped our RPI every year but playing someone nearby has some other advantages too. With most of our conference teams being a long plane ride away, it might be good to avoid the wear and tear of plane travel by having an away game nearby. Playing Washington in Seattle then going to Texas the following week to play Houston and SMU might have been too wearing on our team. If we crush SMU tomorrow like we crushed Houston at home then maybe travel had something to do with those loses in Texas earlier in the season. Plus it gives UConn fans an additional chance to attend a game.

 

[metsfan2323]

When I went was at UConn they had a Homecoming parade renewal. One of the floats expressed my feelings about this issue. It said Muck UFass.

The fact that someone took the time to put Muck UFASS on a float tells you they are a rival, that is exactly the stuff good rivalries are made of. We should absolutely play them in basketball and football.

Providence should also be on the schedule.

 

[chapwilvaug72]

yankee conf & big east conf is the past/ I hope I never see any of them on the UCONN regular season schedule going forward. Stop the yales, loyolas, coppin states, towson states, bridgeports, fairfields, george masons, delaware states, detroits, jackson states, monmouths, lemoynes, gannons, hartfords, centrals, quins, robert morrises, umbcs, charlestons, vmi's, armys ad infinitum.

With the louisville exit and the poor attendance the schedule maker needs to get a brain on. Recruiting is on the uptick so UCONN needs to reach out to the creightons, wichitas, vcu's, byu's, san diego states ,etc.

 

[storrsroars]

yankee conf & big east conf is the past/ I hope I never see any of them on the UCONN regular season schedule going forward. Stop the yales, loyolas, coppin states, towson states, bridgeports, fairfields, george masons, delaware states, detroits, jackson states, monmouths, lemoynes, gannons, hartfords, centrals, quins, robert morrises, umbcs, charlestons, vmi's, armys ad infinitum.

With the louisville exit and the poor attendance the schedule maker needs to get a brain on. Recruiting is on the uptick so UCONN needs to reach out to the creightons, wichitas, vcu's, byu's, san diego states ,etc.

JC was the driver behind having smaller CT/NE schools on the OOC schedule. In past interviews he stated he did that so UConn would cement its rep as New England's basketball school and attract more attention to the region as a great place for hoops. I imagine minimal travel and some easy wins were factors.

It worked well with the competition/RPI value of the BE. It would still work if UConn were in the ACC/B1G. Maybe not so in the AAC.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Obviously UMass is an RPI upgrade over schools like Yale but most of you here still don't understand why we play those cupcake games. We have to play a certain number of schools that agree to play us in our house every time without a return game for revenue purposes. So unless UMass agrees to play in Hartford or Storrs every time, playing Yale is much more lucrative for the athletic program. We only play 3 or 4 home and home's a year and we currently have series going with Florida, Washington, Stanford and some others like Texas and possibly Kansas are in the works. You want to drop one of those schools to play freakin PC or UMass? Please. There's a list of about 50 other schools that take a front seat to those programs.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

One thing to keep in mind is that with the new conference, we will have less flexibility in scheduling home and home series than we did while we were in the BE because quality (ie requiring a home and home) non conference opponents will be more important to our overall strength of schedule than they had been in the past. Additionally, we may from time to time need to keep a spot or two open for a basketball home and home to use to sweeten the pot for a non conference football series or two.

If the local teams that keep getting mentioned (UMass, PC, and in this thread URI) had more to offer in terms of the above, it would be easier to add them as opponents for home and home series'. As they cannot (and the first two likely would be offended by a series that treated them the way we've treated Fairfield, Northeastern, etc.), this is pretty much a dead issue.