Report: UConn Will Pay Yale a "Guaranteed" $285,000 To Play the FB Game

[LoyalFanCT]

When the two schools meet for the 50th time at Rentschler Field in October, UConn will pay Yale $285,000, according to public records obtained by the Yale Daily News. Despite not playing since 1998, the in-state rivalry thrived for a half century before UConn’s divisional realignment.

FOOTBALL: Inside the Yale-UConn rivalry set to resume for the first time in two decades this fall

In 1948, an intrastate rivalry was born. The Yale football team, led by first-year head coach Herman Hickman, was pitted against the University of Connecticut. […]

yaledailynews.com

 

[huskymedic]

For comparison from back when the game was announced...

 

[gtcam]

Yale should pay UConn the right to play
What a freaking joke
Chump change from the endowment
Ivy being Ivy
Screw the prima donnas

 

[coachcap]

Yale should pay UConn the right to play
What a freaking joke
Chump change from the endowment
Ivy being Ivy
Screw the prima donnas

I look at it from a contrarian point of view: when UConn A.D. AND NCAA President John Toner announced the realignment of college football with the creation of Division 1-AA (UConn at the time was Division 2 while Yale was Division 1) the Eli's & Harvard were miffed. Just recently Yale had been ranked # 16 in the nation in the final polls (Dartmouth was #20). Only Harvard, Yale, & Penn had stadia that complied with the new 1-A capacity requirements. (minimum 30,000). For the good of their conference, these 3 institutions grudgingly acquiesced & stepped down a division over the widespread disapproval of their alumni. Now that UConn is perceived as FBS (a.k.a. 1-A) it is correct to pay the guarantee.
I have 2 questions pertaining to this game: As Yale doesn't offer formal scholarships, why would the A.D. schedule this game as it doesn't count toward Bowl eligibility? And from the Yale point of view: Are the Bulldogs testing the water to finally upgrade to FBS status?

Edit: Princeton also has a stadium that exceeds 30k capacity

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I look at it from a contrarian point of view: when UConn A.D. AND NCAA President John Toner announced the realignment of college football with the creation of Division 1-AA (UConn at the time was Division 2 while Yale was Division 1) the Eli's & Harvard were miffed. Just recently Yale had been ranked # 16 in the nation in the final polls (Dartmouth was #20). Only Harvard, Yale, & Penn had stadia that complied with the new 1-A capacity requirements. (minimum 30,000). For the good of their conference, these 3 institutions grudgingly acquiesced & stepped down a division over the widespread disapproval of their alumni. Now that UConn is perceived as FBS (a.k.a. 1-A) it is correct to pay the guarantee.
I have 2 questions pertaining to this game: As Yale doesn't offer formal scholarships, why would the A.D. schedule this game as it doesn't count toward Bowl eligibility? And from the Yale point of view: Are the Bulldogs testing the water to finally upgrade to FBS status?

Interesting points. I doubt Yale is considering FBS. If it wants to test the waters, it would first allow its team to play in post-season FCS play. If Yale would leave the Ivy League, it would probably only do so if Harvard and Princeton do likewise. Most of the alumni now alive graduated from these schools when the Ivy League existed. They are used to it. For Yale to join something like the B10 it would require a massive upgrade that many at the school would not even support. They do not want to become sports-focused colleges, thus why the Ivy League was created. The other Ivy League schools are unlikely to leave either. UConn is the school to watch for P5 moves.

 

[BlueDogs]

Yale should pay UConn the right to play
What a freaking joke
Chump change from the endowment
Ivy being Ivy
Screw the prima donnas

I think their $25 Billion endowment is enough to get them by. Why the eph is the state paying Yale anything. I hate that elitist dump. They don’t squat for this state.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I look at it from a contrarian point of view: when UConn A.D. AND NCAA President John Toner announced the realignment of college football with the creation of Division 1-AA (UConn at the time was Division 2 while Yale was Division 1) the Eli's & Harvard were miffed. Just recently Yale had been ranked # 16 in the nation in the final polls (Dartmouth was #20). Only Harvard, Yale, & Penn had stadia that complied with the new 1-A capacity requirements. (minimum 30,000). For the good of their conference, these 3 institutions grudgingly acquiesced & stepped down a division over the widespread disapproval of their alumni. Now that UConn is perceived as FBS (a.k.a. 1-A) it is correct to pay the guarantee.
I have 2 questions pertaining to this game: As Yale doesn't offer formal scholarships, why would the A.D. schedule this game as it doesn't count toward Bowl eligibility? And from the Yale point of view: Are the Bulldogs testing the water to finally upgrade to FBS status?

Here is the thing.

UConn gets Yale for cheap. It is a local home game, and fun. As far as not counting towards FBS bowl eligibility...who cares? I think bowl games are in their last legs and UConn at 6-6 going to a bowl game probably spends the entire fee on guaranteed ticket sales.

 

[Palatine]

Does anyone remember a promtion where Yale tried to sell out the Bowl for the UConn game with $1 tickets?

 

[Huskygrad88]

Here is the thing.

UConn gets Yale for cheap. It is a local home game, and fun. As far as not counting towards FBS bowl eligibility...who cares? I think bowl games are in their last legs and UConn at 6-6 going to a bowl game probably spends the entire fee on guaranteed ticket sales.

This /\
local team,
You’ve heard of,
With some history,
@ home, and
Winnable

 

[HartfordHank]

This /\
local team,
You’ve heard of,
With some history,
@ home, and
Winnable

And possibly bring some fans!

 

[freescooter]

The payment is in line with what we are paying Central and others so no complaints there. It seems to have some juice so that’s good too. Finally it should be winnable. Not sure why anyone is complaining. I remember when the Ivy League was put in 1AA, the Boston Globe had a sports guy who wrote that Yale considered it an insult and was more opposed than Harvard or Princeton or Dartmouth, the other program that felt “slighted”. I always thought that the Ivy League should have played 1A Might ha e pushed the Yankee to do it too.

 

[coachcap]

Here is the thing.

UConn gets Yale for cheap. It is a local home game, and fun. As far as not counting towards FBS bowl eligibility...who cares? I think bowl games are in their last legs and UConn at 6-6 going to a bowl game probably spends the entire fee on guaranteed ticket sales.

Bowls MAY be on their last legs BUT: during the HCRE I era, he always stressed that being selected for a bowl was desirable for the extra coaching sessions allowed, making the following years team more mentally ready. Let's face it, as an independent, UConn already has 2 strikes against it. (Thinking back to UConn's last independent team before entering the Big East & more than qualified for post season play but was denied because of that status & being a Newbie on the FBS scene). It will be hard to reach 6 wins, & IF it does, it may get passed over for some team with conference affiliation. Assuming UConn beats Yale, it will have to have a 7-5 record to be bowl eligible.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Bowls MAY be on their last legs BUT: during the HCRE I era, he always stressed that being selected for a bowl was desirable for the extra coaching sessions allowed, making the following years team more mentally ready. Let's face it, as an independent, UConn already has 2 strikes against it. (Thinking back to UConn's last independent team before entering the Big East & more than qualified for post season play but was denied because of that status & being a Newbie on the FBS scene). It will be hard to reach 6 wins, & IF it does, it may get passed over for some team with conference affiliation. Assuming UConn beats Yale, it will have to have a 7-5 record to be bowl eligible.

True. That's fine though. Yale vs. paying an out of state team like a MEAC school $1 million to come? Think about it. Practice is great, as is bowl eligibility. But if they are 6-6, 4-6 against FBS teams, they probably shouldn't go bowling anyway, which is the privilege to lose money unless it is a decent bowl.

If I have this right though, as an indy they keep the entire bowl fee. Pinstripe pays $4.4M. Imagine getting in there and keeping the entire thing?

 

[Waquoit]

Yale might sell some tickets.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Also. I just want to go to a FB game. Let's have a UConn Daily tailgate. Not for the Yale game though. LOL.

 

[freescooter]

True. That's fine though. Yale vs. paying an out of state team like a MEAC school $1 million to come? Think about it. Practice is great, as is bowl eligibility. But if they are 6-6, 4-6 against FBS teams, they probably shouldn't go bowling anyway, which is the privilege to lose money unless it is a decent bowl.

If I have this right though, as an indy they keep the entire bowl fee. Pinstripe pays $4.4M. Imagine getting in there and keeping the entire thing?

The bowls are in the business of selling tickets. I have to think UConn would actually be attractive to the Pinstripe or the Fenway because we have lots of alumni in both cities and it’s an easy trip. Don’t know what the tie ins are for either one, but that stuff gets worked out if it makes sense. I also think though that if I had a choice I’d rather go to a Florida bowl. I suspect we would draw ok there too. Lots of flights between Hartford and various destinations. Final bowl thought is that yeah you lose money and the Hartford Courant will run the usual piece about it but it is part of the business. Kind of like buying equipment It’s better to face the “problem” of losing money on a bowl than not have it because you lost games.

 

[Drew]

True. That's fine though. Yale vs. paying an out of state team like a MEAC school $1 million to come? Think about it. Practice is great, as is bowl eligibility. But if they are 6-6, 4-6 against FBS teams, they probably shouldn't go bowling anyway, which is the privilege to lose money unless it is a decent bowl.

If I have this right though, as an indy they keep the entire bowl fee. Pinstripe pays $4.4M. Imagine getting in there and keeping the entire thing?

Nobody is paying a MEAC school a million bucks for anything. But UConn should add 50 Delaware State games tomorrow if they can. I want to win football games. I do agree that Yale should probably be on the schedule as much as possible, preferably towards the end of the season. Its a fun game that hold significant value for UConn fans and the state of CT, even if it doesn't do anything for our bowl hopes.

I laid this out on Twitter last week and I think in another thread somewhere on the BY as well, but I'd basically have this as the formula for UConn Football scheduling going forward if I was the AD:

1. P5 buy game
2. P5 buy game
3. P5 H/H
4. P5 H/H
5. Southeastern (Georgia/Florida/North Carolina based) G5 H/H
6. Southwestern (Texas) G5 H/H
7. Local G5 H/H (Navy, Temple, Buffalo, Army)
8. "Destination" G5 H/H (Think fun cities, other alumni "hubs" or places to visit, Tulane (New Orleans), Hawaii (duh), Wyoming (gorgeous), UNLV, Memphis, Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego State, etc)
9. FCS 1 (MEAC/SWAC/Yale/Local school like CCSU)
10. FCS 2 (MEAC/SWAC/Yale/Local school like CCSU) --> This could also be another G5 H/H series if needed
11. UMass annual H/H series
12. NMSU annual H/H series

With the above you'd basically look for a future schedule in any given year of something like:

1. Central Connecticut (FCS 1)
2. @ Purdue (P5 H/H)
3. Syracuse (P5 H/H)
4. @ FIU (Southeastern H/H)
5. UTSA (Southwestern H/H)
6. @ Tulane ("Destination" G5 H/H)
7. Temple (Local G5 H/H)
8. @ Michigan (P5 buy game)
9. NMSU (NMSU annual H/H series)
10. Yale (FCS 2) --> This could also be another G5 H/H series if needed
11. @ Auburn (P5 buy game)
12. UMass (UMass annual H/H series)

The above is a schedule of both (to me at least) intriguing and mostly "winnable" games. UConn should ALWAYS be playing UMass, NMSU, and at least 1 FCS team. That gets you 3 wins in 90% of seasons. That means you need to go 3-6 (or 4-5 depending on the number of FCS teams) against the remaining schedule to be bowl eligible. UConn is a hard job but we also need to schedule appropriately to help out the team and staff where possible.

 

[Ldandy]

If anything it feels a bit light to me. Yale is an FCS Team that can actually draw fans in the state of Connecticut. You'll probably sell more tickets for this game than if you bought a home game with a non descript G5 School like Arkansas State or Bowling Green.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Nobody is paying a MEAC school a million bucks for anything. But UConn should add 50 Delaware State games tomorrow if they can. I want to win football games. I do agree that Yale should probably be on the schedule as much as possible, preferably towards the end of the season. Its a fun game that hold significant value for UConn fans and the state of CT, even if it doesn't do anything for our bowl hopes.

I laid this out on Twitter last week and I think in another thread somewhere on the BY as well, but I'd basically have this as the formula for UConn Football scheduling going forward if I was the AD:

1. P5 buy game
2. P5 buy game
3. P5 H/H
4. P5 H/H
5. Southeastern (Georgia/Florida/North Carolina based) G5 H/H
6. Southwestern (Texas) G5 H/H
7. Local G5 H/H (Navy, Temple, Buffalo, Army)
8. "Destination" G5 H/H (Think fun cities, other alumni "hubs" or places to visit, Tulane (New Orleans), Hawaii (duh), Wyoming (gorgeous), UNLV, Memphis, Cincinnati, Charlotte, San Diego State, etc)
9. FCS 1 (MEAC/SWAC/Yale/Local school like CCSU)
10. FCS 2 (MEAC/SWAC/Yale/Local school like CCSU) --> This could also be another G5 H/H series if needed
11. UMass annual H/H series
12. NMSU annual H/H series

With the above you'd basically look for a future schedule in any given year of something like:

1. Central Connecticut (FCS 1)
2. @ Purdue (P5 H/H)
3. Syracuse (P5 H/H)
4. @ FIU (Southeastern H/H)
5. UTSA (Southwestern H/H)
6. @ Tulane ("Destination" G5 H/H)
7. Temple (Local G5 H/H)
8. @ Michigan (P5 buy game)
9. NMSU (NMSU annual H/H series)
10. Yale (FCS 2) --> This could also be another G5 H/H series if needed
11. @ Auburn (P5 buy game)
12. UMass (UMass annual H/H series)

The above is a schedule of both (to me at least) intriguing and mostly "winnable" games. UConn should ALWAYS be playing UMass, NMSU, and at least 1 FCS team. That gets you 3 wins in 90% of seasons. That means you need to go 3-6 (or 4-5 depending on the number of FCS teams) against the remaining schedule to be bowl eligible. UConn is a hard job but we also need to schedule appropriately to help out the team and staff where possible.

I like it.

 

[Bongo Fury]

The bowls are in the business of selling tickets. I have to think UConn would actually be attractive to the Pinstripe or the Fenway because we have lots of alumni in both cities and it’s an easy trip. Don’t know what the tie ins are for either one, but that stuff gets worked out if it makes sense. I also think though that if I had a choice I’d rather go to a Florida bowl. I suspect we would draw ok there too. Lots of flights between Hartford and various destinations. Final bowl thought is that yeah you lose money and the Hartford Courant will run the usual piece about it but it is part of the business. Kind of like buying equipment It’s better to face the “problem” of losing money on a bowl than not have it because you lost games.

Yeah and I can feel it is because government can only lose money and I’m not wealthy because I have to subsidize a non profitable football program with MY tax dollars. ?

 

[freescooter]

Yeah and I can feel it is because government can only lose money and I’m not wealthy because I have to subsidize a non profitable football program with MY tax dollars. ?

Do you know what UConn‘s annual budget is? It is roughly $1.5 billion for the Storrs and regional campuses plus another $1.25 billion for the Medical School and hospital. Any loss from going to a bowl game is lost in the decimal places. Finally, most subsidy comes from students, not direct tax payer funds.

But here’s another way to save money. Let’s petition the Big East to move the Big East Tournament out of New York and Madison Square Garden. Everything is really expensive there. Hotels, meals, travel, even parking the bus. Move it to Santander Arena in Reading PA. Everything is WAY cheaper so the league makes more money to share with members. Plus it’s closer to the Midwestern teams.

As a general statement it’s true that governments don’t make money. You know why? Because they essentially provide community wide services. Gonna snow here Thursday. Youll be looking to government to keep the roads clear no matter the cost, I suspect.
But you raise a great point. Why should colleges and universities support athletic programs just really to provide entertainment for the general public? Let’s drop them entirely, or maybe just go down to D3. MIT fund raises to support its athletic programs. Each team is given a funding goal. Don’t meet it, no team next year. That would meet your criteria, I think.

 

[Bongo Fury]

I am a fan of D1 UConn Athletics. I believe the School and State benefit and are enriched by it. Just guessing what the exaggerated media headlines and general population feelings would be.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Do you know what UConn‘s annual budget is? It is roughly $1.5 billion for the Storrs and regional campuses plus another $1.25 billion for the Medical School and hospital. Any loss from going to a bowl game is lost in the decimal places. Finally, most subsidy comes from students, not direct tax payer funds.

But here’s another way to save money. Let’s petition the Big East to move the Big East Tournament out of New York and Madison Square Garden. Everything is really expensive there. Hotels, meals, travel, even parking the bus. Move it to Santander Arena in Reading PA. Everything is WAY cheaper so the league makes more money to share with members. Plus it’s closer to the Midwestern teams.

As a general statement it’s true that governments don’t make money. You know why? Because they essentially provide community wide services. Gonna snow here Thursday. Youll be looking to government to keep the roads clear no matter the cost, I suspect.
But you raise a great point. Why should colleges and universities support athletic programs just really to provide entertainment for the general public? Let’s drop them entirely, or maybe just go down to D3. MIT fund raises to support its athletic programs. Each team is given a funding goal. Don’t meet it, no team next year. That would meet your criteria, I think.

Most people who use the Tax Payer subsidized, that is just a way to say you don't like it. The entire athletic program is taxpayer-subsidized including women's and men's hoops and baseball. As is the school. People in CT are ridiculous. They act like none of these arguments and or taxes has happened anywhere else in the world.

Classic CT in the fact if I don't use it, it is a waste of money.

 

[Griggs]

The bowls are in the business of selling tickets. I have to think UConn would actually be attractive to the Pinstripe or the Fenway because we have lots of alumni in both cities and it’s an easy trip. Don’t know what the tie ins are for either one, but that stuff gets worked out if it makes sense. I also think though that if I had a choice I’d rather go to a Florida bowl. I suspect we would draw ok there too. Lots of flights between Hartford and various destinations. Final bowl thought is that yeah you lose money and the Hartford Courant will run the usual piece about it but it is part of the business. Kind of like buying equipment It’s better to face the “problem” of losing money on a bowl than not have it because you lost games.

Might not be many fans going to Fenway or Yankee stadium for football game late December or early January.

 

[freescooter]

Might not be many fans going to Fenway or Yankee stadium for football game late December or early January.

Oh I don’t know. It is a limited sample size I grant you, but there was Avery good UConn crowd for the BC game on a very nasty November night. And there was a good UConn crowd when the Hockey team played at Frozen Fenway and that was really cold weekend. So I suspect the crowd would be decent. We are New Englanders after all, well maybe not Fairfield County but most of us.