UCONN to new Big East

[j66kicker]

They got beat by a good Oklahoma team. It was a terrible choice for us to play in that bowl, as opposed to the Orange bowl. We had nothing to do with that. We did the best we could, and quite frankly, as an FBS school for all of 7-8 years, I think we did ok.
I really enjoyed your Boise State game too.

Big of you to bring up that 12-year-old game - I hope you feel better now. Oklahoma was favored by 7-1/2 and lost in overtime. It happens. Oklahoma survived. But it put Boise State on the map.

Epic Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma did wonders for Boise State and its home city

From increased enrollment to academic recruitment, Boise State benefited from its 43-42 Fiesta Bowl victory over OU

oklahoman.com

“It changed our program, our city, our state” - Boise State AD

“It was a transformational effect. There’s no way to overstate the incredible impact that game had in what Boise State University has become.” - Boise State University President

“It put us on the map, not just from an athletic standpoint. We had instant growth in enrollment, in fundraising. It put us in a direction of expanding our campus from a facilities standpoint.”

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I found this quote from Geno interesting. The man knows how to cut to the chase.

“For however many years now, and I’m not saying rightly or wrongly, the world has revolved around college football,” UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said. “All of us coaches at Connecticut, since 2013, have always been in limbo. Where are we going? It depends on the football thing. What’s happening next? We’re going to get invited to the ACC, so we have to make this work. And then it didn’t. That’s OK, we’re going to the Big 12. And then we didn’t.

“And now I hear people talking, we're going to the Big Ten. No, we're going to the Southeast Conference. And at some point you have to look at yourself and go, no we're not, no we’re not. We’ve given up that dream. That dream could have been a reality when we went to the Fiesta Bowl. And that dream died the night the football team came back from the Fiesta Bowl, maybe.”

Mike Anthony: Nostalgia is nice, but UConn’s move to the Big East is about writing and sending its own athletic messages

 

[eebmg]

Voepel on what this means to UConn. Not too much new, but some interesting thoughts.

- Feels the move is good for UConn, good for the BE, and good for the AAC.
- Thoughts on how it impacts UConn after Geno.
- Advent of power (football) conferences leading to the downfall of ODU, La Tech, etc. in WBB, but not for UConn's (yet?)

What a move to the Big East means for UConn women's basketball

Even if UConn rules the new Big East as expected, the league should provide more competition, shorter road trips and a better experience for fans.

www.espn.com

View attachment 44310

Quite a stretch arguing how this is good for the AAC

And it's important to note that this could be good for the American and its remaining schools, especially South Florida, four-time runner-up to the Huskies in the American tournament.

That might sound contradictory, considering the positives of UConn's presence in a conference. But now, the American champion is no longer a foregone conclusion. So perhaps that can work to the advantage of the top programs in that league.

 

[uconnfan68]

Big of you to bring up that 12-year-old game - I hope you feel better now. Oklahoma was favored by 7-1/2 and lost in overtime. It happens. Oklahoma survived. But it put Boise State on the map.

Epic Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma did wonders for Boise State and its home city

From increased enrollment to academic recruitment, Boise State benefited from its 43-42 Fiesta Bowl victory over OU

oklahoman.com

“It changed our program, our city, our state” - Boise State AD

“It was a transformational effect. There’s no way to overstate the incredible impact that game had in what Boise State University has become.” - Boise State University President

“It put us on the map, not just from an athletic standpoint. We had instant growth in enrollment, in fundraising. It put us in a direction of expanding our campus from a facilities standpoint.”

It was for Boise. I was just pointing out that your vaunted super team doesn’t always beat the chumps, as you consider everyone else.

 

[Carnac]

I took a 22 month hiatus. I’m trying to get back in sync. Hey, it ain’t easy. Fear not, I’ll be dialed in by the start of the season.

 

[Plebe]

Interesting article from the perspective of Butler WBB:

How Butler women's basketball benefits from UConn's return to Big East

UConn announced that it will rejoin the Big East Conference no sooner than July 1, 2020. Here's why the move can benefit member schools, like Butler.

www.indystar.com

“I think it immediately gives us that national respect to hopefully get more of our teams in the league into the NCAA Tournament,” Butler women’s basketball coach Kurt Godlevske said. “I think that would automatically vault us up into the top five (in RPI), which is a huge thing in the power conferences.” ...

“In talking to the coaches that were in the prior Big East, having UConn in really raises your level of recruiting attention and makes you more attractive to high-level recruits,” Godlevske said. “… I can’t wait. I think it may be the first time where we may have the opportunity to sell out Hinkle Fieldhouse with having Geno Auriemma coming in.”

 

[winlots]

I took a 22 month hiatus. I trying to get back in sync. Hey, it ain’t easy. Fear not, I’ll be honed in by the start of the season.

CARN: you talkin to ME?? If so, best be careful with a hiatus of that duration. You run the risk of a hiatus hernia. No fun!

 

[j66kicker]

It was for Boise. I was just pointing out that your vaunted super team doesn’t always beat the chumps, as you consider everyone else.

Whatever. Like WCBB, today there are about 6-8 teams with any realistic shot at an NCAA football NC. I don't think all the rest are chumps. Those 6-8 teams lose to some of them every year, and one or two of the "others" end up being in that 6-8 group the next year.

I respected the commitment UConn made to staying in a BCS conference, the community support for that effort (like UTC donating the land for the stadium), and the headway Edsall was making with the team. The conference landscape changed, Edsall left, and it didn't work out. Unfortunately in football today UConn are indeed chumps.

Just an aside. One thing I gotta say about UConn's WBB vaunted super team - they DO always beat the chumps. Always.

 

[Carnac]

Hiatus as in another handle that was not as much fun as Mimicking the great Carnac. Carson had Carnac down cold.

 

[winlots]

Hiatus as in another handle that was not as much fun as Mimicking the great Carnac. Carson had Carnac down cold.

CARN: Indeed, and he still does if you watch the reruns as we do?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Interesting thread, with a few detours.

On the women's side, UConn will be very good for the BE; the BE brings some great things to UConn particularly in terms of travel and the changes in media coverage.

As I said above, and I just looked through my spreadsheets of who the AAC and BE played, beat and lost to last year, while the BE is the better conference, when compared to UConn or compared to the upper halves of the various P5 conferences (so called) there isn't a lot of difference. Most of the teams are - as those who are carried over from the oBE were in the day - mid-level. They are not going to replace the need for UConn to play some top teams late in the season as part of their post season prep.

 

[hoophuskee]

Interesting thread, with a few detours.

On the women's side, UConn will be very good for the BE; the BE brings some great things to UConn particularly in terms of travel and the changes in media coverage.

As I said above, and I just looked through my spreadsheets of who the AAC and BE played, beat and lost to last year, while the BE is the better conference, when compared to UConn or compared to the upper halves of the various P5 conferences (so called) there isn't a lot of difference. Most of the teams are - as those who are carried over from the oBE were in the day - mid-level. They are not going to replace the need for UConn to play some top teams late in the season as part of their post season prep.

But the point is that there are "more" good teams. Which means UCONN can more likely be picked off. Which means any team that picks them off or comes very close they are more likely to have some sort of recruiting success. The more overall success of these teams then better chance a team or two will exceed "mid-level" status. And maybe the better competition will help UCONN in the FF games. And maybe the higher RPI will keep UCONN as number 1 seeds and also keep playing at or near home.

I definitley agree UCONN needs to keep playing several top teams outside the conference. Without a doubt I agree.