'UCONN: The One That Got Away'

[NickyNewark]

I'd change those odds to 10%, 5%, and 50% respectively. And on the P5 becoming P4, that will only happen if Texas decides to change conferences causing the Big XII to scatter to other conferences.

God....you're obviously in denial.

 

[NickyNewark]

You're either in denial or delusional, not sure yet. As Seea Blue stated, one league jacked up their exit fee, gave a sweetheart deal to ND for all sports but the one they're famous for, and invited a school that has ZERO in common with the rest of the schools in the league. The other conference stuck to their consistent approach of adding state flagships to help their network.

Sorry SAMCRO I said the same(denial) thing before scrolling down to you're post. Doe's stimpster have an agenda? Or just stubbornly unwilling to listen? Either way I pegged him and his smooth intentions from the beginning when some thought I was too harsh on him early on.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

UConn has no presence or pull in Boston.

 

[huskyniner]

Could UConn be the first team to forge a common bond among NYC and Boston fans?

 

[Pat125]

I think there would be desperation if/when the ACC loses its lawsuit with MD (whether it is in the courts or via a settlement that is perceived as a MD win), and/or when two or more schools leave for greener outcomes (FSU, Clemson, VA), or if the P5 shows strong signs of becoming the P4. Imo, 75%, 50%, and 33% chance respectively.

Those percentages are about right. For the first, this assumes there is no further discovery, and also assumes the NC court will not be biased towards the ACC. For the second, this is for ten years. I don't see any team leaving in the next couple of years. If P5 does become P4, the percentages are 80% the Big 12 will cease to exist, 60% for the ACC, and 40% the two leagues will merge.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Could UConn be the first team to forge a common bond among NYC and Boston fans?

The second. It happened about 240 years ago.

 

[btstimpy]

Yes, they were worried about losing Penn State, they needed more of an eastern presence, and they got it. Worrying is not a sign of desperation, it is a sign of a proactive person who recognizes future threats and preempts them. Whereas waiting for a departure to actually happen, and then scrambling to find a replacement, and in a period of 4 days reversing the long-planned choice of replacement based on lobbying, is desperation.

They didn't need an eastern presence. They already had Penn State. In college football there are only 2 teams, Penn State and Notre Dame. No one else moves the needle at all from a college perspective. The Big Ten already had Penn State, and they had Notre Dame playing them at least 3 games a season. When the Big Ten lost Notre Dame football, they felt threatened and desperate. You have to be desperate to add Rutgers athletics to anything, flag waving or not. And Maryland is in a desperate situation with its finances athletically. It has flushed 25% of its athletics department. Flushed. That is not worrying. That is desperate.

 

[btstimpy]

God....you're obviously in denial.

No denial here. I'm right on top of it, and follow it every day. I just needed to correct his percentages.

 

[CTMike]

Could UConn be the first team to forge a common bond among NYC and Boston fans?

UConn is the only team my wife and I can agree on!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Could UConn be the first team to forge a common bond among NYC and Boston fans?

NY counts Fairfield Cty as it's own, and loves a winner. So UConn is already NY's basketball team. St. John's passed the baton when Lou retired and Jackson, Mullin and Berry left campus (damn that was a good team). As I tried to say on the other thread, Boston also loves a winner, and is looking for somebody to fill the void created when O'Brien left BC and Jim Calhoun left Northeastern (and Calipari left UMass for that matter). They are so desperate they've grown fond of Harvard. They already love the UConn women. Calhoun is from Braintree, Shabazz is from Roxbury. Some of BC's and UMass' best players were from CT (Bagley, Adams, Camby). No, college basketball won't be the biggest game in town, but what support there is can certainly belong to UConn, or at worst be shared with BC.

 

[SouthronCross]

We don't really even need to get into comparisons to address this issue. The attitude toward the ACC is surely the result of BC blackballing UConn, FSU and Clemson aligning against it, Cuse adding its 2 cents that it would like to see UConn die. This should explain everything. It's not a matter of judging UConn worthy or not.

OK, I completely understand the dislike of the ACC. No problems there. I was just offering up what I think might happen if Carolina were ever faced with a choice of where to go if the ACC imploded.

Believe me, I was in no way judging UConn's worthiness. You already know my POV about you being in this league. We blew it, plain and simple.

 

[upstater]

OK, I completely understand the dislike of the ACC. No problems there. I was just offering up what I think might happen if Carolina were ever faced with a choice of where to go if the ACC imploded.

Believe me, I was in no way judging UConn's worthiness. You already know my POV about you being in this league. We blew it, plain and simple.

I totally understand UNC's perspective on the SEC. My cousin started speaking with a southern drawl a few months after moving there from Conn. Now on Facebook, I see she's in for the whole southern thang. Which is amazing. The cultural pull down there is strong.

 

[SouthronCross]

Like you SC but have to disagree here as B1G fans can take over stadiums even at away games....What NC fans don't show 20 B1G fans will take their place and seats and you're attencence would probably IMPROVE !!

Oh, I know B1G fans travel well. I was speaking just to how out own fans would react to that choice is all.

I know RU is worried cause 4 or 5 B1G school's fans are buying season ticket's to go to 1 single RU game and are willing to pay exorbitant prices.No contest here the ACC has horrible attendance problems at many school's....the "U" gets way more fans at OOC away games than at home games(I saw 1 game est 300 fannies) and their 1 of the ACC's highlighted FB programs....theres FSU,Clemson and who? VT maybe but who else?

FSU, Clemson, VPI, and NCSU all have full stadia each Saturday. I really have to tip my cap to Wolfpackers, because they haven't had one ounce of the success that the others have, and yet, they still fill Carter-Finley Stadium each week. It sort of makes me a bit envious, because our fanbase is so non-caring at times. UVA does ok, as do we, but, nothing like either of us SHOULD BE doing. We've discussed Miami's issues here before, and, Ga Tech is surrounded by UGA zealots. The rest suffer from either very small fanbases, apathy, or both, IMHO.

 

[SouthronCross]

I totally understand UNC's perspective on the SEC. My cousin started speaking with a southern drawl a few months after moving there from Conn. Now on Facebook, I see she's in for the whole southern thang. Which is amazing. The cultural pull down there is strong.

It really is amazing. Some of my friends and neighbors often tell me that their families sometimes laugh at them for the slight Southern accents they pick up while living down here...LOL.

 

[NickyNewark]

It really is amazing. Some of my friends and neighbors often tell me that their families sometimes laugh at them for the slight Southern accents they pick up while living down here...LOL.

My aunt and 2 cousins left NJ as solid NE citizens for Fla to get out of the snow in the early 70s. 1 now on FaceBook thinks he's Robert E Lee southern and on FB where it asks where he's from instead of like I would proudly say NYC/NJ he claims Orlando ....talk about me being disappointed? My aunt wants to move back now since her husband passed as she miss's NYC metro,4 seasons,culture etc but won't leave due to her sons living there and loving it though their heritage goes back 160 yrs here in NY/NJ/Pa. WTF is wrong with some people? Brainwashed?Too humid for my celtic blood down there though I like the Key's and some of NW.Fla.

 

[TerryD]

I totally understand UNC's perspective on the SEC. My cousin started speaking with a southern drawl a few months after moving there from Conn. Now on Facebook, I see she's in for the whole southern thang. Which is amazing. The cultural pull down there is strong.

I was born/raised in Western Pennsylvania and moved to Louisiana 32 years ago. Maybe I am just stubborn, but I am still a Yankee In Exile down here.

 

[Jimdish255]

Agree, but what would you do if Swoffir invited UCONN tomorrow?

I' d put him on hold until the B1G received my fax.

 

[WestHartHusk]

I was born/raised in Western Pennsylvania and moved to Louisiana 32 years ago. Maybe I am just stubborn, but I am still a Yankee In Exile down here.

Hang on to that!

 

[Sea Goat]

OK, I completely understand the dislike of the ACC. No problems there. I was just offering up what I think might happen if Carolina were ever faced with a choice of where to go if the ACC imploded.

Believe me, I was in no way judging UConn's worthiness. You already know my POV about you being in this league. We blew it, plain and simple.

Too bad - as noted, my biggest concern about the ACC is that it allowed BC to have any sway in the first place. BC has done nothing for the ACC yet they were still allowed to persuade the Tobacco Road decision makers that UConn should be kept out. Sure I am bitter, but, more importantly, the conference showed overall poor judgment when that was allowed to happen. I feel the same way about the Louisville add. If nothing else, the ACC was known as pretty strong academic conference. That was thrown away when you decided to add Louisville. These decisions concern me. No only because UConn was left out, but because the ACC seemed to do the expedient thing instead of the right thing. Thus, I would rather throw in with the B1G. You could argue that Rutgers was a poor choice by them, but without AAU, UConn wasn't even in the running.

 

[SouthronCross]

My aunt and 2 cousins left NJ as solid NE citizens for Fla to get out of the snow in the early 70s. 1 now on FaceBook thinks he's Robert E Lee southern and on FB where it asks where he's from instead of like I would proudly say NYC/NJ he claims Orlando ....talk about me being disappointed?

Thats what upstater and I were talking about. For some folks, being down here gets in your blood, and, you want to stay. Especially if you find good neighbors. I don't care where you are from and where you might end up, once you're tight with some of the locals, you never want to leave. My oldest sister felt the same way when she left Westchester County, NY, to move back home to NC. Said leaving her neighbors was like leaving family.

My aunt wants to move back now since her husband passed as she miss's NYC metro,4 seasons,culture etc but won't leave due to her sons living there and loving it though their heritage goes back 160 yrs here in NY/NJ/Pa. WTF is wrong with some people? Brainwashed?

I don't think its being brainwashed. I think its having a level of comfort attached to living in a certain locale for an extended period of time. Just like your aunt, some northerners who relocate here often return home if their spouse passes unexpectedly. With no other family close by, they're all alone on another planet...LOL.

Too humid for my celtic blood down there though I like the Key's and some of NW.Fla.

Yeah, the humidity can wear on you, thats for sure. Especially when its 90 degrees, with 90% humidity outside. That is just brutal. Even us native-born Southerners head for the beach, the pool, or inside to the AC when its like that.

 

[SouthronCross]

Too bad - as noted, my biggest concern about the ACC is that it allowed BC to have any sway in the first place. BC has done nothing for the ACC yet they were still allowed to persuade the Tobacco Road decision makers that UConn should be kept out. Sure I am bitter, but, more importantly, the conference showed overall poor judgment when that was allowed to happen. I feel the same way about the Louisville add.

BC has no stroke within the ACC. None, nada, nil, nein, nunca, zero, zip, zilch, bubkes. Their powers that be were flat out being dishonest about how much influence they wielded, in regards to UConn joining.

They have done nothing inside the league since about 2007-2008.

They hold no sway over Tobacco Road. It was the TR schools, UVA, and, UMD who openly supported UConn. It was the southernmost ACC schools, and, your former BE Conference mates, who voted against you. Louisville was a compromise solution, plain and simple.

I know none of this changes yor opinion, but, it wasn't as if BC was telling the rest of the league what to do. They'll never have that kind of influence. Even if they're here for 100 years.

If nothing else, the ACC was known as pretty strong academic conference. That was thrown away when you decided to add Louisville.

Because the ACC added UL, all of a sudden a league with the likes of UNC, UVA, Duke, Wake, Tech, Miami, BC, etc, is no longer a strong academic conference? Thats just not true. None of their reputations took a hit because it took on UL, rather than UConn. It still IS a pretty strong academic conference. Easily either 1st or 2nd amongst the major conferences.

Did the B1G's academic rep take a hit for adding a mediocre institution like Nebraska?

These decisions concern me. No only because UConn was left out, but because the ACC seemed to do the expedient thing instead of the right thing. Thus, I would rather throw in with the B1G. You could argue that Rutgers was a poor choice by them, but without AAU, UConn wasn't even in the running.

JMHO, but, the ACC did what it had to do, to hold the league together as it was. I am not saying it was the right thing, as I do not believe that it was. It was the necessary thing at the time.

 

[ZooCougar]

How UConn could be in a position where many of the former conference mates in the Big East won't support continuing a relationship with UConn makes no sense, and I'm not sure that this is actually the case. It may be paranoia. It is the case with Boston College, but there was bad blood generated when BC left the BE. They are the exception. And the AD involved then has now left.

The ACC will add UConn if the $ makes sense. There won't be any desperation. The only desperation that has occurred was the Big Ten's addition of Maryland and Rutgers. The direct quote from Jim Delaney was "We felt threatened." And Maryland's move was desperate because their athletics department was falling apart due to mismanagement, and the Big Ten sold them on a possible lucrative business venture.

You are dead wrong and incredibly naive. Pitt/SU/BC see this as killing of some competition. There admins are essentially afraid of competition and scrutiny.

Perhaps ironically, Louisville might be a proponent of ours.

But honestly, you have the same problem that Okielite has. You should stop trying to educate us, ask more questions instead of making statements because you are pretty uninformed on the Big East politics that now reside in the ACC.

 

[Sea Goat]

JMHO, but, the ACC did what it had to do, to hold the league together as it was. I am not saying it was the right thing, as I do not believe that it was. It was the necessary thing at the time.

I suppose "other BE conference mates" includes Syracuse. UConn has eclipsed Syracuse both academically and athletically. I think Syracuse would rather not have UConn in a conference where they can be compared and contrasted with UConn. Syracuse is an expensive, second tier private institution. It costs as much as any Ivy. When their academic ratings started to slip behind UConn, I think they became defensive. I'll tell you one thing: more Connecticut parents are forgoing the dubious advantage of sending a kid to Syracuse @ $65k per year and hope instead that their kid gets into UConn at about 1/3 the cost. UConn is getting more like UNC and UVA in that regard (at least that is what UConn strives for). What NC kid or VA kid would pass up the opportunity to go to state u and instead go to an expensive private institution with little cache? Syracuse does not want to be compared to UConn in the Northeast college market. Being in the same conference would promote that. So, as a practical matter, I don't expect Syracuse would give us any help in getting into the ACC. I can see Syracuse lobbying for Louisville because it doesn't threaten Syracuse in its market. UConn does and Syracuse just as soon see us elsewhere. I hope the "elsewhere" turns out to be the B1G. But I have to say , it would be a load of fun to be in a conference with UNC and UVA.

 

[freescooter]

So this academic year, UConn has won 2 national championships, so far, and had another Final four team (mens soccer) and the year isn't over yet. When you look at BC or Syracuse at least they have one sport that they are good at. hockey for BC, lacrosse for Syracuse, though both are niche sports (and I say that as a huge hockey fan), but if I were doing which doesn't belong and why, and listed UConn, Michigan and Pitt, I think it would be pretty easy...

 

[SouthronCross]

I suppose "other BE conference mates" includes Syracuse. UConn has eclipsed Syracuse both academically and athletically. I think Syracuse would rather not have UConn in a conference where they can be compared and contrasted with UConn. Syracuse is an expensive, second tier private institution. It costs as much as any Ivy. When their academic ratings started to slip behind UConn, I think they became defensive. I'll tell you one thing: more Connecticut parents are forgoing the dubious advantage of sending a kid to Syracuse @ $65k per year and hope instead that their kid gets into UConn at about 1/3 the cost. UConn is getting more like UNC and UVA in that regard (at least that is what UConn strives for). What NC kid or VA kid would pass up the opportunity to go to state u and instead go to an expensive private institution with little cache? Syracuse does not want to be compared to UConn in the Northeast college market. Being in the same conference would promote that. So, as a practical matter, I don't expect Syracuse would give us any help in getting into the ACC. I can see Syracuse lobbying for Louisville because it doesn't threaten Syracuse in its market. UConn does and Syracuse just as soon see us elsewhere. I hope the "elsewhere" turns out to be the B1G. But I have to say , it would be a load of fun to be in a conference with UNC and UVA.

Yes, I was including Syracuse in that group.

Frankly, I was shocked that they weren't supportive of your invite. I honestly had no idea that they'd look upon UConn as you say. What has made the Carolina-Duke rivalry work so well are the differences between the two schools. Each has pushed the other to be better, on the field, and, off of it. Theres no bigger or better feeling than beating the other at ANYTHING.

UConn-Syracuse could have been the same thing within this league. Ditto UConn-BC. It could have made for a fun mini free-for-all in the northeast for the ACC. For all of the grief he catches about everything, Swofford knew this, too. That the untapped potential you all have would have been a boon for the league. Not to mention, completely outflank the B1G in that part of the country. A few folks here have ripped him for what transpired, but, he doesn't have the authority to unilaterally invite/disinvite a school.