There are so many sports entertainment options in Boston both college and pro that it is tough for anyone, other than the Red Sox, to dominate the local scene. Boston (and media members like The Globe) fancies itself as a "Hub of New England" and offers coverage to all New England entities - including UCONN. Search through the archives of The Globe and you will find a fair amount of content about UCONN. This is why I always contest that UCONN would deliver a presence in Boston for any P5 conference, much like it would deliver a presence in NYC (in addition to being the only sport in town in our own DMA). It is the only former Big East school that could boast about being in the Top 5 followed football programs in both Boston and NYC. UCONN's untapped potential in the northeast is enormous. If you put UCONN in a P5 conference, my guess is that coverage of UCONN athletics in Boston would increase (as it would here and in NYC).
That said, what Yawkey says is not off-base. BC, as of today, is New England's top college football program. It has more history and tradition and plays a MUCH better schedule. Attendance at BC games will dwarf attendance at UCONN games in the near future. While BC plays home games against the likes of USCw, FSU, Clemson, Va Tech, and nearby Syracuse, we will get a home schedule next year that consists of Villanova, Army and a slew of AAC dregs. Now, all this could change and change very rapidly if UCONN is invited to the B1G or ACC (although we're all in agreement that an ACC invite will never happen, thanks to BC and other schools). Ironically, BC support could also reap the benefit of UCONN being on equal footing. It would have that much-needed local rival that would bring instant hatred amongst the Eagle fanbase...something that college athletics sorely needs back after all the CR.
As for basketball, an annual game at the XL against BC would sell out every year not because BC is any good, but because UCONN fans hate BC. BC hoops will always be behind UCONN hoops, regardless of what conference UCONN plays in, but the average UCONN fan would still get more fired up to play against an unranked, mediocre BC team than most ranked AAC teams. Look how fired up everyone was around here over last year's game at MSG and the potential for a rematch this year in Puerto Rico.
Even if the two schools never play against each other as conference mates, I think both would benefit from annual games against one another in all sports. Even if you played the football games at Gillette and the basketball games at TD Bank, you would get sellout crowds with close to a 50/50 split. It would generate a great amount of excitement in and around New England and re-ignite what could be a very long lasting and heated rivalry. The northeast is often criticized by southern fans of not caring much about football and, for the most part, it's true. An annual game between the two most followed athletic programs could help change that perception, over time, in the same way that Yale/Harvard is played. Southerners just don't understand the importance of Yale/Harvard up here because the players carry 4.0 GPAs and will never go to prison. The same importance would be placed on a UCONN/BC annual game.
