This can't be true?!

[junglehusky]

And to all the UConn fans who suddenly turn into nelsonmuntz at the drop of a rumor. MAN THE duck* UP. Did all the positive arguments for UConn being a P5 school suddenly evaporate? Did our gains in fundraising suddenly turn out to be worthless like a pile of of hedge fund derivatives? HELL NO. Our leadership will fight (behind the scenes) on as long as they can. Who knows, maybe that's only ten years or but the minute we give up, we've closed the door on being a big boy school. Perhaps the door is only open a crack right now and hope is fading we can keep it open. But we have to try.

 

[TRest]

Why are people saying that FedEx is backing the Memphis move? If that's the case do we have any backers to help get us out of this godforsaken conference? Or is Burton it? From what I understand JC's son is president of converse (sub of Nike). Why can't we have nice things!

In addition, and if true, could this move open up a new series of realignment? Thoughts?

All the FedEx money in the world couldn't get Memphis into the BE until it went up in flames, it won't make a difference to the B12.

 

[Point6]

If this happens ESPN probably also comes back to renegotiate the AAC's crappy contract downward to make it even crappier. My recollection is that there are four "bell cow?" schools designated in the contract and if one or more leaves the conference, ESPN will come back in to add insult to injury. Cincy was one (along with us). I don't remember the others. Good times!

 

[The Viking]

Now is the time where it would be good if we had Bill Cosby as a big donor so he could have a few special cocktails with Mr. Delany. Just make sure the papers get signed soon after that first drink.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

It would be depressing but honestly, things really are already terrible from a conference perspective for UConn. Losing Cincy and Memphis would make it worse but things are already so bad, I'm not sure it really matters all that much. Getting leapfrogged by Memphis would be the worst part of it all.

 

[clmssun]

If this happens ESPN probably also comes back to renegotiate the AAC's crappy contract downward to make it even crappier. My recollection is that there are four "bell cow?" schools designated in the contract and if one or more leaves the conference, ESPN will come back in to add insult to injury. Cincy was one (along with us). I don't remember the others. Good times!

I believe the four bell cows are Cincinnati, Houston, Temple, and UConn.

 

[UCFBfan]

And to all the UConn fans who suddenly turn into nelsonmuntz at the drop of a rumor. MAN THE duck* UP. Did all the positive arguments for UConn being a P5 school suddenly evaporate? Did our gains in fundraising suddenly turn out to be worthless like a pile of of hedge fund derivatives? HELL NO. Our leadership will fight (behind the scenes) on as long as they can. Who knows, maybe that's only ten years or but the minute we give up, we've closed the door on being a big boy school. Perhaps the door is only open a crack right now and hope is fading we can keep it open. But we have to try.

Look I hear ya but being picked over for Memphis....a school that never got a shot in a BCS conference like Cincy or Louisville did to pump up it's image and such is a real shot in the heart. It truly makes it painful to be a UConn fan and have any hope that this would ever change. Plus, you're now looking at basically playing in C-USA. So you're sports teams have gone from being in the PREMIER bball conference and a BCS football conference to a conference that is a complete joke and worse off than C-USA was when we were still playing in the BE. Sorry but it's hard to swallow this one if true.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

To answer the original question...No, this can't be true. Can anyone..ANY-Butch-ONE see Texas sharing a dime with Memphis?? Me neither.

 

[clmssun]

Are you implying that Memphis Football is competent and UCONN Football is not? If so, then you must believe one or two years defines a program.

Utah had little beyond "one or two years" (Urban Meyer) before their Pac-12 invitation from my perspective/recollection. To lesser degrees, "great improvement recently" also helped TCU, Louisville, and Rutgers.

EDIT: ALL of those schools also had "unique" geographic appeal to their new conferences.

 

[Deleted]

If this happens ESPN probably also comes back to renegotiate the AAC's crappy contract downward to make it even crappier. My recollection is that there are four "bell cow?" schools designated in the contract and if one or more leaves the conference, ESPN will come back in to add insult to injury. Cincy was one (along with us). I don't remember the others. Good times!

Wouldn't it be cheaper for ESPN to just cancel/not renew the contract? Those are big markets for the American to lose.

 

[junglehusky]

Look I hear ya but being picked over for Memphis....a school that never got a shot in a BCS conference like Cincy or Louisville did to pump up it's image and such is a real shot in the heart. It truly makes it painful to be a UConn fan and have any hope that this would ever change. Plus, you're now looking at basically playing in C-USA. So you're sports teams have gone from being in the PREMIER bball conference and a BCS football conference to a conference that is a complete joke and worse off than C-USA was when we were still playing in the BE. Sorry but it's hard to swallow this one if true.

The AAC is a subpar league. That was true in 2012, it's true now and it'll be true in 2018+. Look, UConn was going to have to hold out for at least ~2020 for an ACC/B1G invite anyway. Those are the only P5 possibilities. Maybe in ten years the AAC will be untenable. But you have to put off that decision as long as possible.

 

[Yawkey Way]

Are you implying that Memphis Football is competent and UCONN Football is not? If so, then you must believe one or two years defines a program.

While its true that " 1 or 2 years ( of success ) should never define a football program", I don't understand the hostility to the thought that Umass could not be a good replacement for the AAC if Memphis and Cincinnati left the ACC.

I do agree that Umass has financial hurtles to overcome and facility upgrades that would be required. But if these football program hurdles could be overcome, playing Umass, while not ideal, is still a better game of interest than SMU, Tulane, Temple league games each year. The games could be played in Harttford, then Foxboro. The schools have played before. There is a history there. Much of the undergraduate student body are from New England. NESN can be assured to cover the games, and with several players on the programs coming from New England it would make for a good future recruiting tool of competition between the 2 schools. Umass playing non New England based schools in football, doesn't do that much for me and for the life of me, I really don't understand why playing Tulane, Temple, SMU, each and every season has more of an appeal to the Uconn football fanbase than would Umass. A Umass- Uconn game, that would be a league annual game, would be a great boost to College Football in New England. Without question, a Umass- Uconn football game will outdraw a Uconn- Temple, Uconn- SMU, Uconn- Tulane games too. So I don't quite understand why a Umass league game possibility is not more appealing than these others that are in the AAC.

 

[Kolumbo]

Utah had little beyond "one or two years" (Urban Meyer) before their Pac-12 invitation from my perspective/recollection. To lesser degrees, "great improvement recently" also helped TCU, Louisville, and Rutgers.

EDIT: ALL of those schools also had "unique" geographic appeal to their new conferences.

Did you just use "great improvement" and "Rutgers" in the same sentence? Rutgers got in for several reasons, and football was not even close to being one of them.

 

[Kolumbo]

This rumor is pure BS. But for argument's sake, if CR were to start up, anything could happen. Two schools moving change the dynamics and could motivate other moves. Cinci and Memphis moving be huge blasts in our already shoddy basketball wall and this is no wall for our program. None. But again, this is pure BS.

 

[zls44]

NESN doesn't give one third of a flip about covering a UConn-UMass football game. As it is, NESN has a history of acting like CT doesn't exist.

 

[Fishy]

Utah had little beyond "one or two years" (Urban Meyer) before their Pac-12 invitation from my perspective/recollection. To lesser degrees, "great improvement recently" also helped TCU, Louisville, and Rutgers.

EDIT: ALL of those schools also had "unique" geographic appeal to their new conferences.

Louisville didn't improve - they are what they were.

TCU needed to win a Rose Bowl to get a Big 12 invite, but yes - basketball is much better than it has been, too.

And I'm not sure you're familiar with Rutgers.

 

[Yawkey Way]

NESN doesn't give one third of a flip about covering a UConn-UMass football game. As it is, NESN has a history of acting like CT doesn't exist.

I agree. But NESN would take interest in Uconn football if its matchup was with UMASS. NESN is more interested in a potential annual Uconn- Umass football game, than one between Uconn- Tulane or some such. So a Umass- Uconn game would get Uconn more football exposure in the Greater Boston region... and the ability to secure better N.E. football exposure is a positive... not a negative, of course. My guess, a Umass- Uconn annual football game on NESN would have more viewers than an annual BC - Wake Forest annual football game. And tell me what Uconn and Umass football fans wouldn't want better and larger football viewership in New England than BC currently receives.

 

[whaler11]

If this sheet happens I'm buying a fugging Subaru, finding where whaler lives and driving 20 fugging mph every where I go!

Good luck averaging 20 behind the other subarus. And why is it my fault?

 

[MASSconn]

Did the thread creator really just try to spin this positive? Are you insane...




If this is true we are so screwed.

 

[CTMike]

I agree. But NESN would take interest in Uconn football if its matchup was with UMASS. NESN is more interested in a potential annual Uconn- Umass football game, than one between Uconn- Tulane or some such. So a Umass- Uconn game would get Uconn more football exposure in the Greater Boston region... and the ability to secure better N.E. football exposure is a positive... not a negative, of course. My guess, a Umass- Uconn annual football game on NESN would have more viewers than an annual BC - Wake Forest annual football game. And tell me what Uconn and Umass football fans wouldn't want better and larger football viewership in New England than BC currently receives.

Dude ENOUGH. Jesus H. Christ on a stick how obtuse can you be. We've been to the top level of college football, even had some modicum of success while there. Now we've been demoted, lost all the teams we cared to play, it naturally upsets us, and all you can do wonder why we don't see the silver lining in playing gddamn UMASS? YOU play UMass. Oh...no? You won't? I wonder why. Go play in traffic.

 

[Marty Jackson]

It is an interesting rumor - it would surprise me, but not completely shock me. It's at least in the plausible category (unlike those old rumors of the Big 12 going after Florida State). The threshold question for me is whether the Big 12 wants to expand at all in the first place.

To be sure, football still does matter here. You have to look at the whole football-related picture just like Rutgers. Rutgers certainly doesn't have a great on-the-field football history. However, the state of New Jersey was the largest non-Sun Belt/Southern football recruiting base (which, along with TV markets, is what commissioners like Jim Delany is really referring to when they talk about "demographics") that wasn't already in the Big Ten. #2 on that list was the state of Maryland. Those certainly weren't the ONLY factors involved (as the TV markets were the number one consideration for the B1G), but they were big ones that university presidents and ADs have actually been very open about. So, it was still a football-driven expansion for the Big Ten even if marquee football programs weren't necessarily added.

In the same vein, the Memphis area is also one of the strongest per capita football recruiting regions in the country. In fact, both Memphis and Cincinnati would instantly be the two best football recruiting areas in the Big 12 outside of the state of Texas.

At the same time, Memphis has shown to be at least football *competent* this year. Any school with a great hoops fan base (which includes UConn, Memphis, UNLV, New Mexico, San Diego State, etc.) combined with competent football becomes more intriguing in conference realignment. The football program just can't be down in the dumps horrific or else even the greatest basketball in the world can't compensate for that. Too many schools that I've listed above have the great hoops fan base, but not the competent football.

is that the measure now? have a good season and you're instantly fodder for P5 CR rumors?

 

[Marty Jackson]

It would be depressing but honestly, things really are already terrible from a conference perspective for UConn. Losing Cincy and Memphis would make it worse but things are already so bad, I'm not sure it really matters all that much. Getting leapfrogged by Memphis would be the worst part of it all.

if Memphis and Cincy move, you really have to wonder who is blatantly got a hard - on for killing uconn. that move would essentially kill bb.

 

[NEforceUConn]

I honestly can't stomach any more kicks to my CR nuts.

Neither can your wife.

 

[ASweet3781]

If UConn can't even argue it's way in over Memphis than we are run by .

I don't believe it. It is incomprehensible.

 

[TigerJ]

You guys ok over here?