The Unfortunate Truth of Basketball Success

[cellocgg]

Kinda think the football thing is a bit of an excuse and there is more to it. Theoretically UConn could improve and compete with P conference teams with the additional resources and improved recruiting that would likely come with inclusion. Schools that have experienced Down FB periods and not BB success have been invited.

Most P5 schools were just in the right place at the right time in history when their conferences initially formed. They've been in their conferences since the beginning and they grew into what they are today. I would imagine the New England schools didn't place as large of an emphasis on college athletics and were also overshadowed by the Ivy League

Most P5s have OK to good Football and lose money, only the top 15% would be good enough and earn enough to get their way into a conference off merit

 

[UConnJim]

The OP couldn't be more wrong.

When I was at the games in Boston, I ran into a senior athletic guy at one of the schools (I had never met him before) and I had a casual comment for him and he said to me the UConn fan base really turned out and he had no idea the fan base was like this. So, yes, basketball matters to demonstrate to others that UConn has a very strong following as the future of college athletics is brands not cable boxes.

For anyone that was not at the game on Saturday, I have been to many Big East championships, NCAA games,... and I have never seen the fan base turn out like this at an arena outside of Connecticut. Maybe the Michigan St. game at MSG? The nosebleed tickets were selling for $300+ and there had to be 75% UConn fans there.

 

[SubbaBub]

The problem has always been that the Northeast is a backwater of college sports. The people that should know about UConn's sports culture don't, in the same way we don't know anything about rural Mississippi or Missouri. We don't spend a lot of time in those spheres of influence and culture.

BB success will be crucial to any future FB realignment should there be such a thing. In the past FB culture and cable subscribers won the day. The next round will see the middle bottom tier of the P5 scrambling to maintain relevance as the B1G and SEC complete there monopoly scheme. You may very well see a bunch of former P5 schools looking for a home once the ACC dissolves. You may even see the top of the ACC and the top of the B12 form a true 3rd power conference.

UConn won't be part of that but you might have 12 schools look to form a respectable 4th confernce from the leftovers. At that point, they will need something to sell other than "We are P4" and want an upgrade in brand vs some of the other P5 bottom feeders (Cuse).

Depending how many Northeastern schools would be in the mix, it may or may not be worth leaving the BE but that's what it would take for FB to make a P4. No one is just going to add UConn and UConn isn't going to submarine it's BB programs again just for FB.

 

[Husky68]

None of it matters. Not even a little bit. National Champion number 6 should it happen will not move the needle. UCF, Wake Forest, BC, Rutgers, Northwestern, Vanderbilt etc all have free rides and bask in the glory of nothingness because at the end of the day football / the perception of football drives the bus. Yormark's push and value of basketball falling on deaf ears is even more telling.

Assuming you are correct, and none of it matters, why is it necessary to inform the rest of us?
I'll join in since you posted this to get a response: "nothing you think or say matters; another NCAA championship does matter."

 

[Nostical]

UConn isn't going to submarine it's BB programs again just for FB.

But they’ll leave the BE in a millisecond if football improves enough to get them an invite into the Big 12 or the (leftover) ACC —and Benedict is working hard to make it happen. It’s all about survival.

 

[Patman]

Not sure if you are a dedicated UConn fan. If you're a New England-er and love college football please note there are a lot of empty seats on the BCU wagon.

I'm not a basketball fan, guilty, I was a grad student, guilty. I think UConn is BETTER for winning in basketball but it doesn't get us to the power table and the idea that the Big East will save UConn from the inevitable split of the power conferences from the NCAA is ultimately wrong.

If you view that as disloyalty, great, good for you. That won't save UConn ultimately.

 

[Patman]

We are all hoping for something like that, but I would not count on it. For some reason, Cuse, BC, Pitt, don't realize that adding UConn would actually resurrect their flailing athletic programs.

a northeast league has always been beneficial for those programs as the last 20 years has shown. Being a bit player in somebody else's conference has shown to be a losing scenario despite the money.

 

[NHRich]

In the end, I could see one semi pro power league with multiple divisions, split off from the ncaa. It would be structured like the nfl, with a similar playoff format. Football would be the main
attraction, but basketball soon to follow. Everyone
else would be the farm system.

 

[KryHavok]

When the ACC implodes UCONN will get an invitation to join the schools left out of the SEC and the BIG 24 or so.

Such is our pathetic fate that despite our success in college's #2 sport, our endgame (barring a B12 invite) is to hope to get lumped with the rejects of a perhaps soon to collapse conference that shunned us time and time again.

 

[ktuck911]

I know/realize that, currently, what I'm about to say is a bunch of mularkey, but this school would've benefited MORE with a football stadium on campus... It's just that simple (or not)... whatever... we would've... as beautiful as the Rent is...

 

[DoctorWho85]

Must be great being a fan of those programs knowing you will never win anything.

I honestly don’t understand the point of the OP.

Tbf out of those teams UCF probably has the most potential because they are willing to spend the big bucks their programs to make it successful. No one saw them hiring Malzahn after he got fired from Auburn. Couple more years in the Big 12 and I think UCF is one of the best teams in that conference.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Tbf out of those teams UCF probably has the most potential because they are willing to spend the big bucks their programs to make it successful. No one saw them hiring Malzahn after he got fired from Auburn. Couple more years in the Big 12 and I think UCF is one of the best teams in that conference.

I’m a big believer in the eventual P2 split. UCF won’t be a part of that group. If FSU, Clemson and Miami are potentially on the outside-looking-in for the SEC/B1G then there’s no world where the Big 12 programs matter in the long run.

 

[WNConn]

This post is insane. Fans of bad football teams don't care that their universities are taking in more money--they care about winning. Frankly, I'm happy that we essentially sacrificed football for the basketball success that we're witnessing now. I've been a huge football fan my whole life, and was probably football-first for the bulk of my life, but our football program is an absolute joke. There is absolutely no world where UConn football becomes relevant, I'm sorry. Enjoy the success our athletic department is having for what it is

 

[NH Husky]

This post is insane. Fans of bad football teams don't care that their universities are taking in more money--they care about winning. Frankly, I'm happy that we essentially sacrificed football for the basketball success that we're witnessing now. I've been a huge football fan my whole life, and was probably football-first for the bulk of my life, but our football program is an absolute joke. There is absolutely no world where UConn football becomes relevant, I'm sorry. Enjoy the success our athletic department is having for what it is

This is reality. Regional football rivalries should the way to go. Fans would enjoy winning with mixed attendance. I lived in VT/NH for twenty years. The fans enjoyed that game. Williams College (a D3 powerhouse) would bring over 7000 a game.
It’s only a matter of time before dominant B1G and SEC teams become greedier and start complaining about payouts to better teams. Didn’t take FSU and Clemson long at all.

 

[CL82]

This is reality. Regional football rivalries should the way to go. Fans would enjoy winning with mixed attendance. I lived in VT/NH for twenty years. The fans enjoyed that game. Williams College (a D3 powerhouse) would bring over 7000 a game.
It’s only a matter of time before dominant B1G and SEC teams become greedier and start complaining about payouts to better teams. Didn’t take FSU and Clemson long at all.

The reality is that the P2 schools will be able to price the non-P2 schools out of the market for coaches, facilities, and athletes. Don't believe that our current success means that we are somehow immune to that economic reality. Perhaps the schools in the survivor of the big 12/ACC may have a shot, but everyone else will have the relevance that the Ivy League schools have now. They used to be the power schools in athletics.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Sometimes you just need to enjoy what you have and stop coveting what someone else has.

 

[uconndogs]

Sometimes you just need to enjoy what you have and stop coveting what someone else has.

Wisdom!

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Sometimes you just need to enjoy what you have and stop coveting what someone else has.

True but all we are coveting is stability. We have earned everything whereas others were born into wealth.

 

[cellocgg]

True but all we are coveting is stability. We have earned everything whereas others were born into wealth.

The B12 and ACC aren't as stable as you think they are. UConn might already be in the best place for itself, and others could be joining us real soon

 

[Ha Who]

The B12 and ACC aren't as stable as you think they are. UConn might already be in the best place for itself, and others could be joining us real soon

 

[cellocgg]

I'm probably one of the biggest proponents for UConn realignment on this forum. You literally laugh at me everytime I bring up the good qualities UConn brings to the table on the realignment threads

 

[John]

I'm probably one of the biggest proponents for UConn realignment on this forum. You literally laugh at me everytime I bring up the good qualities UConn brings to the table on the realignment threads

It's his shtick.

 

[Kowalski]

Sometimes you just need to enjoy what you have and stop coveting what someone else has.

You mean coveting a BB & FB conference that generates enough revenue to sustain its athletic budget? Then yes, that’s what I want to see & Uconn deserves to be in a conference like that - instead of a basketball only conference of small schools with low revenue, which is also being carried by Uconn and new BE members that aren’t located east.

I wouldn’t trade UConn’s BB success for anything. But i also recognize that Hurley is by far the main reason for that success (does anybody believe Ollie would have gotten us here if we didn’t cut lim loose from his contract?). That’s no reason to believe Uconn BB wouldn’t also succeed in a conference like the ACC or B12.

 

[Kolumbo]

This post is insane. Fans of bad football teams don't care that their universities are taking in more money--they care about winning. Frankly, I'm happy that we essentially sacrificed football for the basketball success that we're witnessing now. I've been a huge football fan my whole life, and was probably football-first for the bulk of my life, but our football program is an absolute joke. There is absolutely no world where UConn football becomes relevant, I'm sorry. Enjoy the success our athletic department is having for what it is

Completely disagree. The football program has been put in an extremely bad spot as has been rehashed on these boards over and over again. Despite having to play as an independent with all the CR moves taking place, UConn has recently beaten BCU, Fresno State, FIU, Liberty, Rice, and UMass twice. On a level playing field, the football program would thrive just as it did when it was in the Big East, whether that means joining the Big 12, ACC/remnants, a regional conference, alliance.

 

[ZooCougar]

Realignment isnt about Football, it's about brand value and markets. UConn, who can turn MSG, Barclays, and TD Garden into home games, is prime to become the first repeat champion since the 07 Gators. Our basketball revenue has skyrocketed to fourth in the nation and we've received a ton of media coverage - especially during this tournament alone

I wouldn't be surprised (considering the state of the ACC/B12) if UConn received an invite this summer. Seriously this time

Realignment begins and ends with football in one way or another.

Basketball is just a side dish. If some conference added Rutgers 10 years ago it was to gerrymander more eyeballs to watch football games.

Media deals are what conferences pay out and football drives media deals.

Basketball only figures into a small part of the media money.