The sign of an athletic program that has actually accomplished a lot and generated lots of jealousy over the two decades that UConn has dominated the BE. Cuse fans and Pitt fans want Ville over UConn. In both cases, these schools have LOSING records against UConn in football. UConn literally held the conference together from falling to nothingness in basketball over two decades. Without UConn, the conference goes through a decade wandering the desert, it loses its mojo. As for Louisville's vast superiority in football, UConn football is 3-2 over Louisville the last 5 years. Ville's upswing comes from a coach on his way out who used one of the most crookedest recruiters known to the NCAA (a guy who will be banned for life soon) and as soon as that exited, your recruit rankings dropped off. Ville has never accomplished anything in football either. UConn is a football turd. Louisville is a CUSA wannabe turd with nothing to show for it either. And FYI, Uconn travels. Just because 3k tix were bought from an athletic department selling packages for 5G, doesn't mean there weren't tens of thousands of UConn fans there. UConn fans travel better than any other member of the conference not based below the Mason-Dixon line. Ville travels to the Orange Bowl? BFD. Ville is 50% closer to southern locales than Storrs is. UConn has brought 20k, 18k, 15k to bowls in recent years.
As for the rest, ACC is a southern conference, and I've heard penty of people down there admit they simply don't want another Yankee school. Because otherwise, in football, UConn has held its own against the ACC schools, against Maryland, UNC, NC State, including a 45-10 whipping of Virginia.
Keep telling yourself academics don't count. Keep on with that fantasy.
Then look at UConn's licensing fees, they dwarf Louisville's. Why? Interest.
What the hell has Louisville ever done in football? Look at your schedule this year. Smoke and mirrors.