Where should the UConn Huskies go? With smoke about them joining the Big 12 coming out recently, let's take a look at where UConn is, where they've been, and where they could go.
@Et-bd9nd Maybe, but I'm telling you from personal experience that 2004, 2007, and 2010 had some electric atmospheres. Could they ever sell out a 90,000 seat stadium or get to SEC levels of hype? Probably not but they did fill the place and there was a pretty good home-field atmosphere.
@@primeconor I think they're more likely to pursue elevating an FCS program like Youngstown St. Or Dusquense or trying to poach WKU like they were considering when it looked like CUSA might collapse.
Beside the conference issue I think the biggest problem for Uconn is having the stadium so far from campus. Alot of students don't go to the games because they don't feel like sitting on a bus or driving. But for basketball it's in the middle of campus and the crowd is always great
I went to UConn, it’s not the location, everyone lives closer to Hartford than campus. The problem is how bad the team has been, you aren’t getting people to go watch college football in New England if they suck
@@theItalianshamrock This is absolutely not the reason, the XL Center is even farther and is packed for Basketball When UConn was good in the old BE, the Rent was packed. If UConn becomes good again that will continue
@@griffinhays2053the stadium is in East Hartford which actually has some benefits such as being closer to an airport and closer to a larger city which in theory should help the local economy. The only reason it’s an issue now is because we suck. People want to support a good product, see XL Center
@@cgtonic3637 exactly, large crowds show up at the XL Center for hockey. People need to understand that CT shows up if the product is good (unless your the Yard Goats then it's always packed).
As a UConn alumn and fan, I remain optimistic. We are a good program, I think Big 12 ends up being our home eventually. If not, we survive and keep going, we always have. One thing I’ll say is the Rent is near Hartford, but the population center is also near Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, the stadium is empty as a reflection of the poor performance of the team not the location.
if people pack the XL Center for basketball and hockey, they can pack The Rent, look at the game vs NCST last year. I think a 5 win or more season shows that last year was just tough luck.
Only New Englanders and Europeans would call Storrs "the middle of nowhere." If I learned only one non-food related thing living in the South, it was that any drive under 90 minutes is "just up the road."
@@whsxc12 20 mins from Hartford isn’t in the middle of nowhere! No place in CT is in the middle of no where! Please! Ever live down south? That’s a regular drive to High School for some.
I love this video but I do have one small bone to pick. Rentschler Field being in East Hartford is a feature, not a bug. Its central location and ease of access to multiple highways (once you get out of the dang parking lot) brings in people from all over the state. This is why the basketball teams still play games in Hartford even though Gampel has such a better atmosphere. Not as many people can or want to drive out to Storrs. The only down side could be a lack of student turnout but free shuttles and a solid tailgate atmosphere means that students usually show out pretty well.
Its obviously a problem because literally nobody shows up to UCONN football games. If it was such a better spot you would think there would be a decent turnout. Also young college students arent going to take a 30 minute shuttle
@@KevinQuinn81 The place was rocking??😂 You and me must have a very different definition of what a rocking crowd is. UCONN might have the worst football atmospheres for a FBS program I've ever seen. Any video or clip I've looked at from different time periods that place is boring and stagnant. You gotta go to a SEC game sometime that will show you what a rocking crowd looks like
I believe a majority of UConn fans understand the future is joining a power conference, loveeee the Big East but how much longer will you be able to compete in basketball with significantly less money we're earning from our media rights deal? rivalries are wonderful but if keeping St Johns and Providence on the schedule means the program slowly rots because we can't keep up financially with power conference teams then it's absolutely not worth it to stay, I think UConn administration and Yormark have been heavily pushing the move to the Big 12 I think it's partly putting pressure on the ACC but mostly Yormark's genuine desire for the Northeast program with the most dominant basketball and strong ties to the New York market, football when in a power conference enjoyed 93-95% capacity for The Rent selling out big games, UConn fans and alumni have been in the past very receptive to football, when it was competing with programs in a power conference
If we leave the big east again I’ll riot. Leaving was the stupidest fucking decision we ever made along with all of the other programs that left. God, those Cuse and Miami days were beautiful. Our football is shit and most students and taxpayers would rather be funding the most successful women’s program in history and a top 5 men’s program in history than football.
They should seriously drop back down a level like Idaho did a few years ago. They're only staying at FBS to enrich some administrators. They're not competitive with FBS programs, and they arent commited to putting resources into it to compete. Just drop down and be a football-only member of a North East based league. If they don't drop down, then join CUSA - that is the only league that I think will accept football-only. The MAC already said they wont and thats why UMASS was held out for so long
The problem with dropping down a level is the fact that the football stadium is costing taxpayers a lot of $ to maintain. That's why there is a push to get into a power 5 conf so that you have 3-4 teams a year from a big conference coming in. As a UConn hockey season ticket holder and UConn Mens and Women's Bball neutral site/tournament traveler I only go to maybe 1 game a year a in person for football. But if Big 12 teams were coming in me and other fans who stay home and watch on TV are more likely to go even if the football team is bad. The more gate revenue from local fans the better balanced the overall school budget cold be. Instead the 2 basketball venues in Hartford and Storrs are getting light renovations but are still outdated venues. Hockey had to cut about 1,000 seats in their new venue because there was no $ to do so. In a perfect world where we didn't have an aging large stadium I would love to jump down a level to FCS but it doesn't make financial sense.
@@concertvids34yeah but if we cut the football program we’d have more money and space for the 17x national champion basketball teams and and top 10 nationally ranked hockey teams. It’s a joke that our more successful sports have to live off the scraps of the gargantuan failure that is our football team and the surrounding admin
There's nobody left to play in FCS. Massachusetts, Delaware and JMU moved to FBS. Northeastern, Hofstra and Boston University dropped football entirely, and Rhode Island nearly did as well. Richmond football moved to the Patriot League, and Villanova football and W&M may follow. The current descendant of UConn's old FCS conference is a tangled mess of spaghetti strew across low prestige teams that UConn has no history with. New Hampshire and Maine are still around, but UConn could already get them on the schedule if they wanted. FCS is dying everywhere but the Midwest/Northwest. And UConn ain't getting into the Ivy League's private sanctuary.
I am actually disappointed in the UConn fan base. I feel there is a legitimate push to drop football entirely and just be have basketball …. It’s spineless….. when a power conference came knocking …. UConn flinched
There’s no tradition of big time college football at UCONN. Students, alumni, and sports fans are not particularly interested in college football. There ought not be any shame in that.
There’s a difference between being disappointed in the team being trash for years, and wanting to drop football. Only a vocal few want to drop football the vast majority of us don’t. We’ve supported them when they are good. College football isn’t a priority in New England so it takes extra effort to bring the fans to the stadium.
They really should drop football. Going forward there's going to be a lot of schools faced with dropping football or going into debt/cutting back on actual education spending, especially with revenue sharing on the horizon. I'm an Indiana State fan and we're really pushing on new AD to do what we should have done a decade ago and finally drop FB
UConn alum and fan. Really really good video. Didn’t know what to expect because so much of the national media is clueless about our situation and prefers their false narratives, but you were fair and clearly did a lot of prep on this. Truly a P(x) school in everything but name only. I really hope that life raft arrives soon, would love to play your Wildcats
I feel like moving from the American to the big east was definitely the best move for your basketball program and as an outsider it just made sense. The big 12 would be awesome for your basketball program but not sure if it’s great for football. What are your thoughts?
@@joshg1529 it definitely made sense and in a vacuum the Big East is where we should be. But in reality, the arms race created by these absurd TV dollars necessitates bring in a conference like the XII to even have a hope of being competitive at the highest level, in all sports, not just football. As for football, we’d fine a way to compete. Maybe a rough year or two but the investment and the fan interest would be there. Since we don’t have the built-in cultured we really need the team to be competitive to have the proper fire amongst the fan base. But when that’s the case… ask RGIII what was the hardest crowd for him to play against when he was in college
@@tarheel7406 Agreed. I’m sure BC was against the move, but it’s likely a lot of the football first schools (FSU, Clemson, etc) were against as well. Hard to see BC having the pull to single handedly block UConn.
@@tarheel7406because when a passionate entity offers a suitable substitute- in this case,Pitt- and other entities are ambivalent about choice A or choice B, they’ll side with the entity that feels passionate about the substitute. It’s decision theory, and it absolutely happened here.
This was the best analysis that I have read with regard to UConn's situation. Very well done. At this time, I believe that UConn's best path is with the ACC, if they can get an invite and Boston College drops their opposition. Perhaps Boston College would like a more natural rival for the entire program, given the travel challenges that they are about to face. If the Big XII issues an invite, assuming that it includes football, UConn should accept. With regard to their current situation, UConn fans need to get behind their football program, because eventually the money will leave their basketball program behind. The UConn AD has done too good of a job in scheduling good teams that the fans said they wanted. I attribute the dwindling fan support to too many losses. They need an easier schedule to get more wins that will draw the fans. Those who say they should drop football or go FCS, will cause the demise of the basketball program for lack of money.
I suppose one thing I don't like about this entire saga is that UConn (amongst fans at least, dk about the staff) is dealing in extremes. Either they go to one extreme and accept an invite to the Big XII or ACC, which fulfills their desire to play in a Power Conference. Or they drop back down to FCS level football or drop football altogether, the other extreme. There's no middle ground here, which imo is completely foolish. It amazes me that UConn, not for even one second, has even thought about joining a G5 Conference for some sports (UConn Football to the MAC is not a crazy idea, no matter what others will tell you and me). If UConn wants to have their cake and eat it too, they can go ahead and do so but just count the cost.
financially it makes no sense for UConn, a G5 conference makes just about as much as the Big East, it is significantly better that we have 2-3 home at home with a P4 and schedule other games with G5 around our level, then play our hoops in a power conference in basketball. we run a power conference budget not a G5, the extremes are because of that.
@@yorkqueer I just think that dismissing the G5 idea altogether without further discussion isn't wise long-term. Consider if the Big XII/ACC doesn't get a deal done with UConn Football anytime soon, where does the program go? Cancel football altogether? This is why I say UConn is dealing in extremes. You want all or nothing and make no middle ground available. UConn needs to make more financial sense out of this by evaluating all their options, not just the ones that appeal to them. Count the cost.
The MAC doesn't want to add football only members, that's why they kicked out UMass until they agreed to come back for all sports, and if they wanted to do that they could have tried to negotiate keeping their football team in the American. Football isn't worth it and doesn't attract interest from UConn fans unless it's bringing in P4 revenue.
@@joshg1529 Exactly. UConn's draw for any conference P4/G5 is their basketball programs. Sure this video pointed out that the football program got better when it was in a good football conference, but right now, there is no reason for a conference to want to add them for football only.
Another awesome video! Being a UConn basketball fan, I think it would be a great fit for Big XII in basketball. As for football it's a wait and see I guess. It's possible they could compete but it's also possible they could be destroyed! ACC additions would definitely help them. Only time will time. Or just stay in the Big East and go to MAC with UMass in football. Love your videos! Keep up the great work!
A couple thing on location of The Rent that people outside of Connecticut don't understand. 1. Men and Womens Basketball spit games at Gample (Storrs) and The XL Center (Hartford) and both sellout. 2. Men's Hockey also plays some games at The XL Center and they draw decent crowds for college hockey 3. The stadium is in the center of CT and near I91, so it makes it easier for people to get there. CT is small so distance isn't an issue. The issue is that we've sucked for over a decade and nearly every sport is getting better or the chance to be better (new on campus hockey rink and baseball stadium), but football is getting nothing. 2022 revived hope in this team and 2023 that was a tough 3-9 with a lot of games that were lost by one possession in the 4th qtr and injuries. There's potential to become decent, I just hope that the school doesn't screw up again like they did in 2013.
THANK YOU. Not only have we SUCKED. But we’ve paid coaches millions of dollars multiple times after firing them in that decade. Taxpayers and students are tired of pumping money into a mismanaged withered corpse. Trust me, I wish I could’ve gone nuts at college football games, but that’s not a reality of being a UConn Husky. I was in gampel for 3 national championship games and the 2 men’s victories tho sooooo
Thank you so much for making this video. Everything you mentioned is all facts! Everyone is ragging on UCONN like it's a bubonic plague to have them in the power conference. They need to stop, competition is healthy!
Love your videos, not trying to correct u but Rentschler Field wasn’t originally planned to be for the Huskies. It was planned to try to sway the New England Patriots away from Massachusetts to East Hartford. When they figured they were just being used as a bargaining chip, the state figured it could still be used as UCONN’s new football stadium. As a local who lives very close to the stadium this little piece of history always fascinates me, knowing, as a Giants fan, that the Patriots could’ve played in my hometown is crazy .
I remember; most people don't know that a good number of Patriots' fans are from Connecticut. Also, this move was done to bring pro sports back to Hartford: the Boston Celtics would play a few games at the Civic Center, and the city lost the Whalers when they moved to Raleigh to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
Given that the Big 12 is more of a basketball conference, notwithstanding the geography (then again, we have Stanford, Cal, and SMU in the ATLANTIC COAST Conference), UConn would be a good fit. Especially as there has also been talk of Gonzaga coming there as a basketball-only member (it doesn't play football).
so false. our footballs way better and our basketball had the top recruits in the country this year. no one even thinks of uconn besides the 1 month they are relevant for basketballs march madness. ur in a shit confrence in a state with less people.
@@chasemartins3359 I’ll assume you’re talking about Rutgers. A top ranked class? Wow. How many natty’s has that translated to? Ya’ll haven’t been to a Final Four since the 70’s. I’ll give you football, I like Schiano as a coach, but let’s not forget…….Rutgers was a part of that same shitty basketball conference themselves. And only left after football made it implode. Up until that point, it was THEE basketball conference. And ya’ll were happy to be there.
And not to belabor the point, your football program has a total of one conference championships and zero New Year’s Six appearances. Both of which our crappy football program bests you by one. So don’t toot that horn too loudly. We did more in our short Big East football stay than you guys did from the beginning of it.
The settlement terms of the House case and expected revenue sharing are probably going to force some moves that appear awkward. I hope UConn stays in the Big East, but I can see them moving if the Big 12 offers an invite. Not sure how a seven-year wait would truly help UConn football though; feels more like protecting the Big 12's strength of schedule.
I've lived first hand through this. I like us being independent in football and don't want to sacrifice what we have going in basketball for anything. I appreciate being in the Big East again after feeling the total disconnect in AAC.
The football stadium is out in E Hartford off i84. The campus is about a 30-45 minute drive. Not sure if that contribute to attendance issues at football games cause the basketball teams play at the XL center in Hartford and they usually draw well. Think it's how atrocious the football team has been.
I think the East Hartford location may hurt student attendance but as someone who tries to go once a year to the rent, the Huskies are absolutely brutal to watch from an offensive side. Some fans are pushing for an on campus venue online which sounds sweet but fans won't show up if the team continues to be as bad as it is. And I definitely do not want to sit in traffic leaving Storrs just to watch the abysmal teams that have been pushed out the last decade or so. Basketball games have bad enough traffic in Storrs having 2 to 3 times as many fans leaving a football game would be worse.
I think UConn should be in the CAA (FCS). They would have instant rivalries with Maine, New Hampshire, Villanova, Rhode Island, and more. Look how well Idaho did after moving back to the FCS. UConn is not alone, there are a lot of schools who should go back to FCS.
The CAA is an absolute mess to the point where you have teams leaving to less competitive conferences (Richmond) and teams inside complaining about an atrocious media deal (Flosports). It’s not a stable conference and is constantly seeing teams going in and out. And while I’ve stated this across this section a few times already, none of the schools you mentioned would create meaningful games, they are not rivalries just because they’re regional. FCS is a great way to kill the fan support even further than before.
As a fan, UConn will 100% take the Big 12 offer. The athletic department recently went to Dallas to propose the value we’d bring to the conference. Also important to note that Endeavor, the Big 12’s consultant along with ESPN are both in favor of the move, though Fox is against it. From what I’m hearing, the issue is a matter of convincing both the Big 12 presidents and Fox to allow UConn to join (ESPN would fork the bill). The Big East requires a 27 month announcement period for departures with a somewhat reduced exit fee by 2026. If the school is accepted by the Big 12, UConn will make the move for financial security. TLDL; while the school might be happy with its regained basketball prestige, it is far from content and will move if possible.
UConn will be a member of the big 12 sooner rather than later. I predict the move will help peel off a few more northeast schools later from the ACC to form a regional pod (UConn, Pitt, Louisville, WV, Cinci, Syracuse) if Clemson/Florida State and others bolt to SEC or Big 10. I also predict UConn FB will likely improve once back in a league with power conference resources just as they did in the old big east.
Boston College would never let that happen and they only begrudgingly brought Syracuse with them. Why do you think there were times that they didn't want Pitt in the conference?
Notre Dame is effectively an ACC member literally all other sports being in the ACC, they're only independent because of their independent TV broadcasting deal. As long as that exists, they'll be an independent
Notre Dame has partial ACC rights. That's where they'll go. NBC is not going to keep paying ND knowing that it can pay Ohio State to win a playoff game or a New Year's Six bowl.
I would love to see Notre Dame join the Big Ten but it’ll never happen because they don’t want to give up the money they get from NBC to broadcast their home games. In addition to maintaining their rivalry with USC I would love to see ND renew their rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue while forming new rivalries with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Oregon. Sadly it’ll never happen
@PeteyThePanda The only connection Notre Dame has to the Big Ten is in ice hockey. They left Hockey East as soon as the Big Ten started to sponsor it after Penn State upgraded from club to varsity.
I don't think the Big 12 will add UConn yet. If by some miracle the Big 12 can convince Notre Dame to join the Big 12 with the same deal they currently have with the ACC (football independent yet play 5 games every season against Big 12 members) - the Big 12 could THEN allow UConn to join the Big 12 with the caveat that only 4 UConn games a season will be against Big 12 members. 4 UConn games + 5 Notre Dame games = 9 conference football games for conference purposes - the 2 schools combined are ONE Big 12 team. The only difference - neither can EVER compete in the Big 12 title game. UConn is probably the only school that would be willing to take that deal and it would balance out taking Notre Dame under the conditions they would want to join.
Honestly, in my opinion it’s either ACC or Big 12. ACC makes more sense to me, but Big 12 adding Conn would help with their eastern division. Random thought.. but Big 10 could work also.
The ACC makes the most sense, but they simply don’t want UConn. They’ve had 6 chances to add them in the last 15 years and still went with Cal and Stanford over them.
@@nickfra yeah… they would fit quite well with ACC. I bet Big12 grabs them… conferences don’t make sense anymore anyways (location wise) so I guess it could happen lol.
Best case for them is to just stay Big East. I think they should be reaching out to schools in similar situations. For example, Army, Navy, Massachusetts, Delaware, & Temple.
Army and Navy would not be interested. The service academies don't have the same goals as other football programs. It is a recruitment tool for the military, they want to be seen in large parts of the country. Locking them away in a regional conference would harm that goal.
Because it would be such a small conference, they'd essentially return to an independent schedule with 5 conference games and Air Force. I think they could go for it to have 6 pre-scheduled games a year while also having 6 games to schedule across the country for fanbase and recruiting purposes. Plus this could allow for Army & Navy to return to playing 2 to 3 major college football programs each season.
@@ElwoodPDowd1970 Temple was kicked out of Big East football around 2005. I know the stadiums suck in the northeast but it's my only idea for each of the few schools up here to play local teams and stay in their all sports conferences.
and? Rutgers is starting to be more competitive. I'd love to be Rutgers, knowing that one good season and with some luck we could make the CFP? Even if it never happens just the thought is exciting.
They have to jump. The entire landscape has just changed with revenue sharing. Where are the best basketball players going to go? They’re gonna go where they make the most money and when you’re getting $60-$80 million per year from the larger conferences versus $10 million per year in the big east, there’s not a lot of revenue to be shared. It’s a no-brainer for survival. The impact will be in the next 3 to 4 years since this is brand new.
If you're right, Brett Yormark deserves a Nobel Prize for getting the (mostly) old Big East back together. EDIT: This inevitably leads to Florida State and Clemson leaving the ACC for the Big 12 eventually, too.
@@WVUer21 The already Tier 2 BIG12 is very unlikely to pay materially different per team than a future Tier 2 ACC. Why pay CLEMSON an unequal amount when it is worth less after such a move and will depreciate?
Excellent video as always by Lucas. However, when I think about UConn’s future in a different conference other than the Big East (from a big picture perspective), I get a little disheartened. Football is what’s been driving the “Conference Realignment Musical Chairs” game for so long. I’m worried that UConn’s basketball programs - both men’s and women’s teams, mind you - could suffer as a result. Maybe not now, but possibly 5-10 years from now. That would be a major shame if such a thing happened to UConn.
Listening to how many times UConn was passed up feels like a dog in a shelter watching everyone else get adopted because their name is literally Huskies
As a Texas fan I have to give all of my props to Brett Yormark for making the Big 12 the third best conference and his continuous aggression made the big 12 more stable than ever
In terms of the product on the field, UConn football belongs back in the old Yankee Conference or its modern equivalent - and it eventually will end up back there in ten years or so. The school is fighting that because the football program still makes a little money. But the school also has had to decrease institutional support for athletics generally; and as growing state and federal debt demands further cuts, a time will come when the profit dries up. The boom in college athletics, and in government-funded education generally, was built on a 40-year cycle of easy debt: Treasury bills, municipal bonds, student loans, and leveraged investment of endowments. Now that credit cycle is ending, and the growth it created will end as well.
Another thing is that I think sometime in the near future a northeast G5 conference will become viable again. A couple rounds of realignment turning the AAC a regional southern conference will open create an opportunity for some of these northeastern schools that don’t fit nicely anywhere (Temple, Army, UMass, Buffalo, Delaware) to not only be in a regional football conference but also they oly sports conference of their choice. UConn might be above those school's paygrade buy it's not the worst group to be associated with
I like the idea of the Big East for Olympic sports, and I think the football program should park itself in a conference where it's easy to win on a regular basis. Either the MAC or C-USA, and they should move on from there only when their stadium situation makes more sense.
It’s not only imperative that UConn join the Big12 or ACC to support its football program, it’s existential. UConn needs to make a big time commitment to its football program. It needs an on campus stadium, a better coaching staff and enough $$ to attract recruits or portal transfers. UConn is a huge highly rated land grant university. It needs to be a football school too.
Just off... a) BC had neither the power nor influence to block UCONN. The objections were (and remain) strong and broad, enough to overcome T-Road support. b) Once the ACC agreed to add MIAMI with its conditions, the ACC really only had discretion over the PITT slot, MARYLAND's replacement, and the recent CAL+2 preemptive backfill. Again, objections remain strong/broad, partly due to UCONN's overly hostile litigation during the collapse of the old BIGEAST. c) If UNC stays, only FSU leaves. d) The ACC has already backfilled for ~4 members. The BIG12 is likely UCONN's sole chance to elevate football.
My big question is, once its just the Big Ten and SEC, who will be the first to start trying to pick off the other? And at what point, if any, will someone above the conference commissioners, maybe even above the NCAA, move in to break it all up?
UConn likely stays in the Big East. They just come off as a school that values tradition over money. And I don't see the ACC if they get poached to even consider them because UConn doesn't really care about football anymore. Sure they did for a time, but it's been left out to dry for a long time now. I wouldn't be surprised if they pull an Idaho and go back to the FCS level since they're now the last Independent. Notre Dame is effectively an ACC member with their scheduling agreement so they don't count. Only other thing can think of is maybe Conference USA as a football only member if they continue to expand. Delaware is joining next year. The conference could go after Towson as full member or maybe convince Villanova to make the jump as a football only member too along with UConn. That would create a nice mid-Atlantic/Northeast pod. With 6 teams on the east coast as a whole. Which would cut down travel costs from needing to go to Texas and New Mexico every year.
If UConn doesn’t get into a power football conference, then their basketball will always be in a precarious position because if a super conference gets formed and UConn is left out, then the money gap will become too big to overcome…basically football drives the bus, so if they ever get offered a seat, then they have to get on
College football earns a lot of money but incurs significant costs. I think that overall, given the antipathy that fans in the northeast have about college football, and the fact that UCONN's basketball program id profitable, it would be most prudent for UCONN to drop foorball to FCS and concentrate on what it does well. No one would argue that Maryland moving to the Big 10 has been an unmitigated disaster. Why should UCONN follow that same path?
MARYLAND was a financial disaster when the B1G invite came. The move effectively allowed its athletics to survive. That came at the cost of fan apathy, but sometimes one must pick (at least risk) a poison.
@@glassman1533 I've read UMD fans claim to be #3 in B1G overall athletics. We really don't disagree. Per its own fans, UMD has no real football rivals and it's lost its basketball rivals. Most outsiders don't see UMD as a B1G or ACC school these days. No rivals, no identity. A cautionary tale.
I'm probably a divergent opinion here, but I think we should emulate what Idaho has done and drop back down to FCS. To me, it's pointless to be in FBS right now because there's no other eastern teams to play properly. But FCS now isn't the 1-AA of years gone by. I think Idaho and NDSU are the blueprints for a new, more relevant FCS that still gets eyes AND still draws crowds. It's the old hockey argument: better to have 12K in a building that fits 10 than 15 in a building that fits 50.
In my College Football 25 dynasties I put UConn and a couple other eastern schools in the Big 12, reform divisions, and name the eastern bloc “The Big East”
:55 - 1:10, and 2:10, UConn running the flexbone triple option; it's a pretty sight. Let's bring it back. Also, if people want to doubt Connecticut fans, RG3 is quoted coming out of college naming Rentschler Field the loudest place he played in during his college career. (He played when Baylor was @ UConn his freshman year) They will turn out for a good team. It's just UConn was delt several bad hands, (F*** the NCAA, f*** Boston College) and some years fielded among the worst teams ever (Literally '18 was the single worst defense in history). It was exceptionally hard on the brand, fans, and the university. It was so bad it genuinely tarnished the image the state and UConn had built up. To see it claw itself back up from the depths of hell is a joy to go through, it makes each victory and championship that much sweeter. Go UConn.
Interesting ACC breakdown towards the end. However, you didn’t included several ACC schools AND you are high as hell if you think the ACC is bringing in Memphis or USF.
I think UConn has to chase the money in football. The ACC will want them bad after they’re inevitably forced to turn themselves into a basketball league after FSU and Clemson leave
Pawn, they should pressure the AAC to join as a football only member or all sports except for basketball and hockey, which should stay in the Big East…of course that is after Liberty, the University of Delaware, Old Dominion University, and James Madison’s join the AAC in the next round of realignment.
If you look at that article about joining the Big Ten, they never would've had a shot. The Big Ten considers academics extremely important, so AAU membership is key. It almost kept Nebraska out.
With the stadium being in Hartford shouldnt be a downside. That's an upside for everyone not in the eastern part of CT. Plus, big games for basketball are usually played in Hartford as well for at least the Men
6 or 7 ACC teams will bounce and create their own conference. The eastern big 12 teams and uconn will likely join that new conference. Either that or they all join the big 12
Power conference is a football term, yes the power conferences do have a solid finical edge, but saying they need to join a power conference with out a football team is not really necessary
UMass already accepted a MAC invite, they move in 2025. But it's an all sports invite. When they were in the MAC before, the MAC told them the football only trial period was over and they had to either join for all sports or leave, so they left. Meaning it's probably not likely they'll be open to UConn as a football only member.
My scenario is the following: - stay independent - Big 10, SEC and Big 12 will break away - Rest of FBS and FCS will merge into one division - Massive Realignment - UConn will join one of the low to mid tier conferences in football.
Again, I'd argue this all goes back to the Ivy League abandoning major college sports by refusing to issue athletic scholarships because that meant you weren't putting a portion of the normal student body out on the field and they saw it in a way as paying players to give them a scholarship to go to the school because of athletics. The biggest programs in New England and the Northeast in general were the Ivy League and their associates. Yale was the big football school in Connecticut not UCONN, and same goes for Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Army, Penn, and arguably Navy over, Rhode Island, UMass, Boston College, New Hampshire, any of the other SUNY schools or CUNY schools, Rutgers, Temple, Penn State, Pitt for a time, and Maryland. With the exception of the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland public schools the public schools were not big college sports powers, and until Popp Warner was hired by Pitt all of even the New Jersey and further south Northeast schools were overshadowed by the Ivy League, and with the exception of Pitt they really didn't leave that shadow until the 50s and 60s. The schools in New York and further north had never really even tried with the small exception of City College and maybe Maine.
I know it's a pipe dream but I think If the BIG 12 invite never comes then UCONN, The Big EAST, The Pac 2, and the West Coast Conference should work together to form a national football only conference where the schools in the east play basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East and the schools in the west play in the WCC. The Chip Kelly model, keep the non revenue sports some what regional and have the football be national. You have separate media deals for football and basketball. Hypothetically you could invite schools like USF, Memphis, Tulane, maybe even Rice or UTSA on The Big East side and schools like San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State, UNLV, and Colorado State on the WCC side.
If you want to survive in the model, you have to do things differently than how they've been done. I've been quietly pushing for the Big 12 to add 8 more teams and then be two conferences under one banner for a little bit. Not sure how that'd work legally, but a Big West and Big East with 12 teams each acting as separate conferences with the "Big 12" being a regulatory group to keep everything in check makes a little bit of sense. But again, not sure how that'd work legally.
UConn..... I think that while there are some people with the school who would gladly join the Big XII, there are just too many that are happy to be in the Big East. Leaving the AAC for the Big East was clearly leaving their football team behind. Not only is their football team not good (and they really were only good for that period you mention in the video-- compare their FCS resume with James Madison, or Georgia Southern, or Appalachian State....), but the financial difficulties facing their athletic department stem heavily from having an FBS football program. I think their dream situation would be Big XII as a football only team, and keep the rest of their sports in the Big East, but I doubt that happens. What they probably should do is swallow their pride, and drop football back down to FCS. (They aren't the only team that ought to do that, but...)
It’s not a swallowing pride issue, it literally makes no financial sense to drop to FCS. If it were that easy, more programs would do it. UConn is not going to commit financial suicide just to drop to a current mess of an FCS conference (CAA) with a horrible media deal, a guaranteed decrease in fan support and larger potential for their basketball programs to be left behind financially
I think for Yormark it’s a win-win to use UConn the same way he used Gonzaga. If they have the votes for admittance, great. If not, he destabilizes the second tier of the ACC the same way he got Colorado antsy enough in the Pac-12’s future, they jumped ship. As for UConn, I think they’d be best off looking at their last two decisions in realignment. The decision to prioritize football and go to the American was a disaster and one that was reconciled in 2020. They reprioritized basketball first and they have reaped massive benefits as a result. The Big East is in a uniquely stable position right now and could get aggressive to add other basketball first schools if the ACC falls apart or the top tier of collegiate sports branch off from the rest of the NCAA.
I feel like the biggest issue is that UConn is so strong at basketball but so weak at football that it makes it hard to find a conference that’s a good fit.
Big East G5 football conference: UConn, UMass, BC, Buffalo, Army, Temple, Villanova, Delaware, Navy, James Madison, Liberty, Old Dominion. who says no?
I don’t think the ACC will collapse past the Clemson-FSU move, knowing they can bring in SDSU for the West Wing, UConn, and a conference TV deal with either ESPN or NBC (though I think NBC opts to take the Big Ten offer instead). The ACC also can be a conference involved with the NCAA Breakaway, since if it were to collapse, where does Syracuse, BC, and Miami go? One of those solid markets with good history would get shafted. UConn would be a great addition for proximity and rivalry reasons. The ACC would have no choice but to bring them in.
As one would have expected, this didn't age well with the SDSU reference. Anyway.... a) FSU is ~100% to BIG12 but to where is CLEMSON going? b) The former BIGEAST schools are among the most hostile to UCONN. c) The ACC has already backfilled with CAL+2.
@@tarheel7406Don’t like the move from SDSU. The new PAC is the new Mountain West, and SDSU could’ve made the jump into a power conference. FSU to the Big 12 doesn’t make sense for me. I figured both FSU and Clemson go to the SEC because while that conference would be at 18 teams, culturally and rivalry wise it is perfect. I also figured the rest of the ACC would tell BC and Syracuse to shut up as bringing in UConn will only help the conference. Cal and Stanford doesn’t seem to be big enough of a west wing too.
@@sawyertuide7636 a) I don't have much standing to judge SDSU's decisions. I don't see a path for it to "power" conference as things stand. What the PAC should have done rather than panic scatter was to create a trust to hold the PAC name and assets, dissolve, and then try to recreate under better controlled circumstances. Such a new PAC could have been a Tier 2 and include SDSU. b) The SEC doesn't want CLEMSON and FSU ~but~ would take to secure UNC and/or UVA. The latter two would be willing to coattail CLEMSON but not FSU. If FSU can't stay in the ACC and since the SEC/B1G doesn't want, that leaves the BIG12 or indy. c) T-Road supported UCONN in the past; the objections have been wider than from just CUSE/BC. d) CAL/STANFORD are deep geo outliers but are an obvious travel pair that mitigates logistics. They otherwise easily meet ACC branding. CAL+2 barely got approved and required ND to make additional concessions (~100% certain of that). WST/OST have messed up. By trying to keep the PAC alive rather than using a trust as I noted, they have added too many lower value teams that will make getting the 4Cs and CAL+2 to return/join much harder.
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
not tryna be a hater, but i had to click off the video because the background music was giving me aids
Aids is not a joking matter. It's a vicious auto-immune disease that has caused untold tragedy and loss of life.
@Et-bd9nd Maybe, but I'm telling you from personal experience that 2004, 2007, and 2010 had some electric atmospheres. Could they ever sell out a 90,000 seat stadium or get to SEC levels of hype? Probably not but they did fill the place and there was a pretty good home-field atmosphere.
@@Michael_Chandler_Keatonthank you. Your comment was 10/10 enlightening.
I love the use of retro logos in these videos
If this Big 12 thing doesn’t go through I feel like an obvious choice is football only membership in the MAC
True, and with UMASS joining next season, it would make sense for the Mac too
The MAC doesn't want to add any football only members, that's why the kicked out UMass until they agreed to join for all sports
@@BrandonAckley218 and now they’re at an uneven amount of members another reason they kicked Umass out
@@primeconor I think they're more likely to pursue elevating an FCS program like Youngstown St. Or Dusquense or trying to poach WKU like they were considering when it looked like CUSA might collapse.
Yes, Youngstown State is a team that could add a lot to the MAC if they join
Beside the conference issue I think the biggest problem for Uconn is having the stadium so far from campus. Alot of students don't go to the games because they don't feel like sitting on a bus or driving. But for basketball it's in the middle of campus and the crowd is always great
They have the furthest off-campus stadium in FBS, and yet this doesn't come up nearly as often as it should in these conversations
I went to UConn, it’s not the location, everyone lives closer to Hartford than campus. The problem is how bad the team has been, you aren’t getting people to go watch college football in New England if they suck
@@theItalianshamrock This is absolutely not the reason, the XL Center is even farther and is packed for Basketball
When UConn was good in the old BE, the Rent was packed. If UConn becomes good again that will continue
@@griffinhays2053the stadium is in East Hartford which actually has some benefits such as being closer to an airport and closer to a larger city which in theory should help the local economy.
The only reason it’s an issue now is because we suck. People want to support a good product, see XL Center
@@cgtonic3637 exactly, large crowds show up at the XL Center for hockey. People need to understand that CT shows up if the product is good (unless your the Yard Goats then it's always packed).
As a UConn alumn and fan, I remain optimistic. We are a good program, I think Big 12 ends up being our home eventually. If not, we survive and keep going, we always have. One thing I’ll say is the Rent is near Hartford, but the population center is also near Hartford. Storrs is in the middle of nowhere, the stadium is empty as a reflection of the poor performance of the team not the location.
I’ll drive the xtra 30 mins to Storrs just have a product fans can get behind! Last Saturday was bullocks !
if people pack the XL Center for basketball and hockey, they can pack The Rent, look at the game vs NCST last year. I think a 5 win or more season shows that last year was just tough luck.
@@SumoOrange1776 last years NCSt game was 36,000… they lost… fans stopped showing! We are quite forgiving! But this isn’t working!
Only New Englanders and Europeans would call Storrs "the middle of nowhere." If I learned only one non-food related thing living in the South, it was that any drive under 90 minutes is "just up the road."
@@whsxc12 20 mins from Hartford isn’t in the middle of nowhere! No place in CT is in the middle of no where! Please! Ever live down south? That’s a regular drive to High School for some.
I love this video but I do have one small bone to pick. Rentschler Field being in East Hartford is a feature, not a bug. Its central location and ease of access to multiple highways (once you get out of the dang parking lot) brings in people from all over the state. This is why the basketball teams still play games in Hartford even though Gampel has such a better atmosphere. Not as many people can or want to drive out to Storrs. The only down side could be a lack of student turnout but free shuttles and a solid tailgate atmosphere means that students usually show out pretty well.
Its obviously a problem because literally nobody shows up to UCONN football games. If it was such a better spot you would think there would be a decent turnout. Also young college students arent going to take a 30 minute shuttle
@@Et-bd9ndNobody shows up because they suck now. When they were decent, the place was packed and rocking.
@@KevinQuinn81 The place was rocking??😂 You and me must have a very different definition of what a rocking crowd is. UCONN might have the worst football atmospheres for a FBS program I've ever seen. Any video or clip I've looked at from different time periods that place is boring and stagnant. You gotta go to a SEC game sometime that will show you what a rocking crowd looks like
@@Et-bd9nd everybody is allowed to have an opinion, no matter how uneducated it may be
I believe a majority of UConn fans understand the future is joining a power conference, loveeee the Big East but how much longer will you be able to compete in basketball with significantly less money we're earning from our media rights deal? rivalries are wonderful but if keeping St Johns and Providence on the schedule means the program slowly rots because we can't keep up financially with power conference teams then it's absolutely not worth it to stay, I think UConn administration and Yormark have been heavily pushing the move to the Big 12 I think it's partly putting pressure on the ACC but mostly Yormark's genuine desire for the Northeast program with the most dominant basketball and strong ties to the New York market, football when in a power conference enjoyed 93-95% capacity for The Rent selling out big games, UConn fans and alumni have been in the past very receptive to football, when it was competing with programs in a power conference
UConn can still play Providence and St.John’s out of conference
@@someperson3883this.
If we leave the big east again I’ll riot. Leaving was the stupidest fucking decision we ever made along with all of the other programs that left. God, those Cuse and Miami days were beautiful. Our football is shit and most students and taxpayers would rather be funding the most successful women’s program in history and a top 5 men’s program in history than football.
I loved the 4:15 mark where there is the subtle reference to Temple being in the conference, and dipping out with the owl haha.
Best video I’ve seen on UConn in all of TH-cam.
They should seriously drop back down a level like Idaho did a few years ago. They're only staying at FBS to enrich some administrators. They're not competitive with FBS programs, and they arent commited to putting resources into it to compete. Just drop down and be a football-only member of a North East based league. If they don't drop down, then join CUSA - that is the only league that I think will accept football-only. The MAC already said they wont and thats why UMASS was held out for so long
The problem with dropping down a level is the fact that the football stadium is costing taxpayers a lot of $ to maintain. That's why there is a push to get into a power 5 conf so that you have 3-4 teams a year from a big conference coming in. As a UConn hockey season ticket holder and UConn Mens and Women's Bball neutral site/tournament traveler I only go to maybe 1 game a year a in person for football. But if Big 12 teams were coming in me and other fans who stay home and watch on TV are more likely to go even if the football team is bad. The more gate revenue from local fans the better balanced the overall school budget cold be. Instead the 2 basketball venues in Hartford and Storrs are getting light renovations but are still outdated venues. Hockey had to cut about 1,000 seats in their new venue because there was no $ to do so. In a perfect world where we didn't have an aging large stadium I would love to jump down a level to FCS but it doesn't make financial sense.
I would love to see them in conference with UD, JMU, and UMass again. the old Yankee conference
@@concertvids34yeah but if we cut the football program we’d have more money and space for the 17x national champion basketball teams and and top 10 nationally ranked hockey teams. It’s a joke that our more successful sports have to live off the scraps of the gargantuan failure that is our football team and the surrounding admin
There's nobody left to play in FCS. Massachusetts, Delaware and JMU moved to FBS. Northeastern, Hofstra and Boston University dropped football entirely, and Rhode Island nearly did as well. Richmond football moved to the Patriot League, and Villanova football and W&M may follow. The current descendant of UConn's old FCS conference is a tangled mess of spaghetti strew across low prestige teams that UConn has no history with. New Hampshire and Maine are still around, but UConn could already get them on the schedule if they wanted. FCS is dying everywhere but the Midwest/Northwest. And UConn ain't getting into the Ivy League's private sanctuary.
@maninredhelm the fcs will survive especially as it looks like fbs is about to break in two soon.
I am actually disappointed in the UConn fan base. I feel there is a legitimate push to drop football entirely and just be have basketball …. It’s spineless….. when a power conference came knocking …. UConn flinched
There’s no tradition of big time college football at UCONN. Students, alumni, and sports fans are not particularly interested in college football. There ought not be any shame in that.
There’s a difference between being disappointed in the team being trash for years, and wanting to drop football. Only a vocal few want to drop football the vast majority of us don’t. We’ve supported them when they are good. College football isn’t a priority in New England so it takes extra effort to bring the fans to the stadium.
@@whsxc12I think it also hurts because you don’t have a good recruiting base
They really should drop football. Going forward there's going to be a lot of schools faced with dropping football or going into debt/cutting back on actual education spending, especially with revenue sharing on the horizon. I'm an Indiana State fan and we're really pushing on new AD to do what we should have done a decade ago and finally drop FB
Very Big East of them
My dad is from Connecticut and flips between the Yankees and Red Sox. It is the land of confusion.
LOL yikes that's not good. They must have therapists for that.
UConn alum and fan. Really really good video. Didn’t know what to expect because so much of the national media is clueless about our situation and prefers their false narratives, but you were fair and clearly did a lot of prep on this. Truly a P(x) school in everything but name only. I really hope that life raft arrives soon, would love to play your Wildcats
I feel like moving from the American to the big east was definitely the best move for your basketball program and as an outsider it just made sense. The big 12 would be awesome for your basketball program but not sure if it’s great for football. What are your thoughts?
@@joshg1529 it definitely made sense and in a vacuum the Big East is where we should be. But in reality, the arms race created by these absurd TV dollars necessitates bring in a conference like the XII to even have a hope of being competitive at the highest level, in all sports, not just football. As for football, we’d fine a way to compete. Maybe a rough year or two but the investment and the fan interest would be there. Since we don’t have the built-in cultured we really need the team to be competitive to have the proper fire amongst the fan base. But when that’s the case… ask RGIII what was the hardest crowd for him to play against when he was in college
I didn't know Boston College blackballed UConn in joining the ACC.
Based Boston College
Why do people think that BC would have either the power or influence to block UCONN?
BC and Jim Boeheim.
@@tarheel7406 Agreed. I’m sure BC was against the move, but it’s likely a lot of the football first schools (FSU, Clemson, etc) were against as well. Hard to see BC having the pull to single handedly block UConn.
@@tarheel7406because when a passionate entity offers a suitable substitute- in this case,Pitt- and other entities are ambivalent about choice A or choice B, they’ll side with the entity that feels passionate about the substitute. It’s decision theory, and it absolutely happened here.
This was the best analysis that I have read with regard to UConn's situation. Very well done. At this time, I believe that UConn's best path is with the ACC, if they can get an invite and Boston College drops their opposition. Perhaps Boston College would like a more natural rival for the entire program, given the travel challenges that they are about to face. If the Big XII issues an invite, assuming that it includes football, UConn should accept. With regard to their current situation, UConn fans need to get behind their football program, because eventually the money will leave their basketball program behind. The UConn AD has done too good of a job in scheduling good teams that the fans said they wanted. I attribute the dwindling fan support to too many losses. They need an easier schedule to get more wins that will draw the fans. Those who say they should drop football or go FCS, will cause the demise of the basketball program for lack of money.
The ACC needs to keep expanding so I agree.
I suppose one thing I don't like about this entire saga is that UConn (amongst fans at least, dk about the staff) is dealing in extremes. Either they go to one extreme and accept an invite to the Big XII or ACC, which fulfills their desire to play in a Power Conference. Or they drop back down to FCS level football or drop football altogether, the other extreme. There's no middle ground here, which imo is completely foolish. It amazes me that UConn, not for even one second, has even thought about joining a G5 Conference for some sports (UConn Football to the MAC is not a crazy idea, no matter what others will tell you and me).
If UConn wants to have their cake and eat it too, they can go ahead and do so but just count the cost.
financially it makes no sense for UConn, a G5 conference makes just about as much as the Big East, it is significantly better that we have 2-3 home at home with a P4 and schedule other games with G5 around our level, then play our hoops in a power conference in basketball. we run a power conference budget not a G5, the extremes are because of that.
@@yorkqueer I just think that dismissing the G5 idea altogether without further discussion isn't wise long-term. Consider if the Big XII/ACC doesn't get a deal done with UConn Football anytime soon, where does the program go? Cancel football altogether?
This is why I say UConn is dealing in extremes. You want all or nothing and make no middle ground available. UConn needs to make more financial sense out of this by evaluating all their options, not just the ones that appeal to them. Count the cost.
The MAC doesn't want to add football only members, that's why they kicked out UMass until they agreed to come back for all sports, and if they wanted to do that they could have tried to negotiate keeping their football team in the American. Football isn't worth it and doesn't attract interest from UConn fans unless it's bringing in P4 revenue.
@@stevenvitteI think the issue is they don’t really have any leverage to get only their football team in a conference.
@@joshg1529 Exactly. UConn's draw for any conference P4/G5 is their basketball programs. Sure this video pointed out that the football program got better when it was in a good football conference, but right now, there is no reason for a conference to want to add them for football only.
CT is a wealthy state and NIL is a game changer for them. Football is already improving and the fans are returning. Do not count UCONN out!
...pretty informative vid...enjoyed all the "vintage" logos...
Great video! And not to mention Randy Edsall coming back to UCONN from 2017 to 2021
Another awesome video! Being a UConn basketball fan, I think it would be a great fit for Big XII in basketball. As for football it's a wait and see I guess. It's possible they could compete but it's also possible they could be destroyed! ACC additions would definitely help them. Only time will time. Or just stay in the Big East and go to MAC with UMass in football. Love your videos! Keep up the great work!
A couple thing on location of The Rent that people outside of Connecticut don't understand.
1. Men and Womens Basketball spit games at Gample (Storrs) and The XL Center (Hartford) and both sellout.
2. Men's Hockey also plays some games at The XL Center and they draw decent crowds for college hockey
3. The stadium is in the center of CT and near I91, so it makes it easier for people to get there. CT is small so distance isn't an issue.
The issue is that we've sucked for over a decade and nearly every sport is getting better or the chance to be better (new on campus hockey rink and baseball stadium), but football is getting nothing. 2022 revived hope in this team and 2023 that was a tough 3-9 with a lot of games that were lost by one possession in the 4th qtr and injuries. There's potential to become decent, I just hope that the school doesn't screw up again like they did in 2013.
I-91, not I-95.
THANK YOU. Not only have we SUCKED. But we’ve paid coaches millions of dollars multiple times after firing them in that decade. Taxpayers and students are tired of pumping money into a mismanaged withered corpse. Trust me, I wish I could’ve gone nuts at college football games, but that’s not a reality of being a UConn Husky. I was in gampel for 3 national championship games and the 2 men’s victories tho sooooo
@@mirzaahmed6589 thank you my bad, it was late when i watched this
It’s hilarious you chose that version of the Husky logo. 🤣
I tried to choose the fun ones! Couldn't fit the Colonial Husky in though.
@@lukeontheplains And I thought you picked the melancholy Husky because he was sad about their conference situation.
Thank you so much for making this video. Everything you mentioned is all facts! Everyone is ragging on UCONN like it's a bubonic plague to have them in the power conference. They need to stop, competition is healthy!
Love your videos, not trying to correct u but Rentschler Field wasn’t originally planned to be for the Huskies. It was planned to try to sway the New England Patriots away from Massachusetts to East Hartford. When they figured they were just being used as a bargaining chip, the state figured it could still be used as UCONN’s new football stadium. As a local who lives very close to the stadium this little piece of history always fascinates me, knowing, as a Giants fan, that the Patriots could’ve played in my hometown is crazy .
I remember; most people don't know that a good number of Patriots' fans are from Connecticut. Also, this move was done to bring pro sports back to Hartford: the Boston Celtics would play a few games at the Civic Center, and the city lost the Whalers when they moved to Raleigh to become the Carolina Hurricanes.
Given that the Big 12 is more of a basketball conference, notwithstanding the geography (then again, we have Stanford, Cal, and SMU in the ATLANTIC COAST Conference), UConn would be a good fit. Especially as there has also been talk of Gonzaga coming there as a basketball-only member (it doesn't play football).
The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics are pretty big basketball brands in the North East
12:25 hey…😔
UConn basketball is more important in NYC than anything Rutgers has.
You forgot St. John’s too.
UConn basketball is more important than anything else college anything and that includes all of the other college things up here.
so false. our footballs way better and our basketball had the top recruits in the country this year. no one even thinks of uconn besides the 1 month they are relevant for basketballs march madness. ur in a shit confrence in a state with less people.
@@chasemartins3359 I’ll assume you’re talking about Rutgers. A top ranked class? Wow. How many natty’s has that translated to? Ya’ll haven’t been to a Final Four since the 70’s. I’ll give you football, I like Schiano as a coach, but let’s not forget…….Rutgers was a part of that same shitty basketball conference themselves. And only left after football made it implode. Up until that point, it was THEE basketball conference. And ya’ll were happy to be there.
And not to belabor the point, your football program has a total of one conference championships and zero New Year’s Six appearances. Both of which our crappy football program bests you by one. So don’t toot that horn too loudly. We did more in our short Big East football stay than you guys did from the beginning of it.
The settlement terms of the House case and expected revenue sharing are probably going to force some moves that appear awkward. I hope UConn stays in the Big East, but I can see them moving if the Big 12 offers an invite. Not sure how a seven-year wait would truly help UConn football though; feels more like protecting the Big 12's strength of schedule.
Because it would give the state some confidiance in it occurring and moving forward with the investments UConn needs to make.
ESPN will extend to 2036 and Brett will not kill the ACC. Tough luck
We would be in the BigXII if the Pac 12 didn't collapse
I've lived first hand through this. I like us being independent in football and don't want to sacrifice what we have going in basketball for anything. I appreciate being in the Big East again after feeling the total disconnect in AAC.
The football stadium is out in E Hartford off i84. The campus is about a 30-45 minute drive. Not sure if that contribute to attendance issues at football games cause the basketball teams play at the XL center in Hartford and they usually draw well. Think it's how atrocious the football team has been.
I think the East Hartford location may hurt student attendance but as someone who tries to go once a year to the rent, the Huskies are absolutely brutal to watch from an offensive side. Some fans are pushing for an on campus venue online which sounds sweet but fans won't show up if the team continues to be as bad as it is. And I definitely do not want to sit in traffic leaving Storrs just to watch the abysmal teams that have been pushed out the last decade or so. Basketball games have bad enough traffic in Storrs having 2 to 3 times as many fans leaving a football game would be worse.
I think UConn should be in the CAA (FCS). They would have instant rivalries with Maine, New Hampshire, Villanova, Rhode Island, and more. Look how well Idaho did after moving back to the FCS. UConn is not alone, there are a lot of schools who should go back to FCS.
The CAA is an absolute mess to the point where you have teams leaving to less competitive conferences (Richmond) and teams inside complaining about an atrocious media deal (Flosports). It’s not a stable conference and is constantly seeing teams going in and out.
And while I’ve stated this across this section a few times already, none of the schools you mentioned would create meaningful games, they are not rivalries just because they’re regional.
FCS is a great way to kill the fan support even further than before.
As a fan, UConn will 100% take the Big 12 offer. The athletic department recently went to Dallas to propose the value we’d bring to the conference. Also important to note that Endeavor, the Big 12’s consultant along with ESPN are both in favor of the move, though Fox is against it.
From what I’m hearing, the issue is a matter of convincing both the Big 12 presidents and Fox to allow UConn to join (ESPN would fork the bill).
The Big East requires a 27 month announcement period for departures with a somewhat reduced exit fee by 2026. If the school is accepted by the Big 12, UConn will make the move for financial security.
TLDL; while the school might be happy with its regained basketball prestige, it is far from content and will move if possible.
UConn will be a member of the big 12 sooner rather than later. I predict the move will help peel off a few more northeast schools later from the ACC to form a regional pod (UConn, Pitt, Louisville, WV, Cinci, Syracuse) if Clemson/Florida State and others bolt to SEC or Big 10. I also predict UConn FB will likely improve once back in a league with power conference resources just as they did in the old big east.
Boston College would never let that happen and they only begrudgingly brought Syracuse with them. Why do you think there were times that they didn't want Pitt in the conference?
The BIG12 is already too large/wide for a Tier 2 conference.
Went to the first game at Rentschler, those Edsall /Orlovsky days were exciting. Now I like my Fordham Rams' chances against the Huskies
You’ve convinced me. I need to play a UConn Dynasty on CFB 25 now
UCONN & Notre Dame joining the ACC or Big 10 would make a lot of sense right now.
Notre Dame is effectively an ACC member literally all other sports being in the ACC, they're only independent because of their independent TV broadcasting deal. As long as that exists, they'll be an independent
Notre Dame has partial ACC rights. That's where they'll go. NBC is not going to keep paying ND knowing that it can pay Ohio State to win a playoff game or a New Year's Six bowl.
I would love to see Notre Dame join the Big Ten but it’ll never happen because they don’t want to give up the money they get from NBC to broadcast their home games. In addition to maintaining their rivalry with USC I would love to see ND renew their rivalries with Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue while forming new rivalries with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Oregon. Sadly it’ll never happen
@PeteyThePanda
The only connection Notre Dame has to the Big Ten is in ice hockey. They left Hockey East as soon as the Big Ten started to sponsor it after Penn State upgraded from club to varsity.
I don't think the Big 12 will add UConn yet. If by some miracle the Big 12 can convince Notre Dame to join the Big 12 with the same deal they currently have with the ACC (football independent yet play 5 games every season against Big 12 members) - the Big 12 could THEN allow UConn to join the Big 12 with the caveat that only 4 UConn games a season will be against Big 12 members. 4 UConn games + 5 Notre Dame games = 9 conference football games for conference purposes - the 2 schools combined are ONE Big 12 team. The only difference - neither can EVER compete in the Big 12 title game. UConn is probably the only school that would be willing to take that deal and it would balance out taking Notre Dame under the conditions they would want to join.
I would like to see a video essay on Cal football. A powerhouse pre-ww2 to its downfall and to its current position.
Honestly, in my opinion it’s either ACC or Big 12.
ACC makes more sense to me, but Big 12 adding Conn would help with their eastern division.
Random thought.. but Big 10 could work also.
Big 10 won't consider them as they are football driven.
The ACC makes the most sense, but they simply don’t want UConn. They’ve had 6 chances to add them in the last 15 years and still went with Cal and Stanford over them.
B1G should've picked UConn over Rutgers
@@nickfra yeah… they would fit quite well with ACC. I bet Big12 grabs them… conferences don’t make sense anymore anyways (location wise) so I guess it could happen lol.
@@nickfra they didn’t “go with Cal and Stanford over them.” UConn has no interest in the ACC atm because they are worried it’s going to collapse soon.
Best case for them is to just stay Big East. I think they should be reaching out to schools in similar situations.
For example, Army, Navy, Massachusetts, Delaware, & Temple.
Army and Navy would not be interested. The service academies don't have the same goals as other football programs. It is a recruitment tool for the military, they want to be seen in large parts of the country. Locking them away in a regional conference would harm that goal.
Because it would be such a small conference, they'd essentially return to an independent schedule with 5 conference games and Air Force. I think they could go for it to have 6 pre-scheduled games a year while also having 6 games to schedule across the country for fanbase and recruiting purposes.
Plus this could allow for Army & Navy to return to playing 2 to 3 major college football programs each season.
I think at one point Temple was kicked out of the Atlantic 10 to make room for UConn.
And UMass basically has a high school stadium.
@@ElwoodPDowd1970 Temple was kicked out of Big East football around 2005. I know the stadiums suck in the northeast but it's my only idea for each of the few schools up here to play local teams and stay in their all sports conferences.
I hope they don’t jump because realistically, they’ll just turn into the big 12 version of the Rutgers football program
Yep. Trending up.
and? Rutgers is starting to be more competitive. I'd love to be Rutgers, knowing that one good season and with some luck we could make the CFP? Even if it never happens just the thought is exciting.
At least Rutgers has a few peers who are close by (Maryland and Penn State)
They have to jump. The entire landscape has just changed with revenue sharing. Where are the best basketball players going to go? They’re gonna go where they make the most money and when you’re getting $60-$80 million per year from the larger conferences versus $10 million per year in the big east, there’s not a lot of revenue to be shared. It’s a no-brainer for survival. The impact will be in the next 3 to 4 years since this is brand new.
If you're right, Brett Yormark deserves a Nobel Prize for getting the (mostly) old Big East back together.
EDIT: This inevitably leads to Florida State and Clemson leaving the ACC for the Big 12 eventually, too.
FSU will likely be forced to move to the BIG12, but why would CLEMSON?
@@tarheel7406 Money. That's about it.
@@WVUer21 The already Tier 2 BIG12 is very unlikely to pay materially different per team than a future Tier 2 ACC. Why pay CLEMSON an unequal amount when it is worth less after such a move and will depreciate?
God I love seeing a new dalukes upload
thats crazy because my 7'0 400lb scrambling QB just got them a perfect season in road to glory 🤷♂️
Excellent video as always by Lucas. However, when I think about UConn’s future in a different conference other than the Big East (from a big picture perspective), I get a little disheartened. Football is what’s been driving the “Conference Realignment Musical Chairs” game for so long. I’m worried that UConn’s basketball programs - both men’s and women’s teams, mind you - could suffer as a result. Maybe not now, but possibly 5-10 years from now. That would be a major shame if such a thing happened to UConn.
Listening to how many times UConn was passed up feels like a dog in a shelter watching everyone else get adopted because their name is literally Huskies
As a Texas fan I have to give all of my props to Brett Yormark for making the Big 12 the third best conference and his continuous aggression made the big 12 more stable than ever
Huh? The BIG12 is the worst P4 by far.
In terms of the product on the field, UConn football belongs back in the old Yankee Conference or its modern equivalent - and it eventually will end up back there in ten years or so. The school is fighting that because the football program still makes a little money. But the school also has had to decrease institutional support for athletics generally; and as growing state and federal debt demands further cuts, a time will come when the profit dries up.
The boom in college athletics, and in government-funded education generally, was built on a 40-year cycle of easy debt: Treasury bills, municipal bonds, student loans, and leveraged investment of endowments. Now that credit cycle is ending, and the growth it created will end as well.
Another thing is that I think sometime in the near future a northeast G5 conference will become viable again. A couple rounds of realignment turning the AAC a regional southern conference will open create an opportunity for some of these northeastern schools that don’t fit nicely anywhere (Temple, Army, UMass, Buffalo, Delaware) to not only be in a regional football conference but also they oly sports conference of their choice. UConn might be above those school's paygrade buy it's not the worst group to be associated with
I like using UConn in ncaa 06 football haven’t used them as a dynasty team yet and they got two impact players at running back too
I like the idea of the Big East for Olympic sports, and I think the football program should park itself in a conference where it's easy to win on a regular basis. Either the MAC or C-USA, and they should move on from there only when their stadium situation makes more sense.
It’s not only imperative that UConn join the Big12 or ACC to support its football program, it’s existential. UConn needs to make a big time commitment to its football program. It needs an on campus stadium, a better coaching staff and enough $$ to attract recruits or portal transfers. UConn is a huge highly rated land grant university. It needs to be a football school too.
I live in the storrs area and it’s like a 40 minute drive to Hartford lol. That’s crazy they play there
UConn will bring teams to the big east they ain’t leaving
Just off...
a) BC had neither the power nor influence to block UCONN. The objections were (and remain) strong and broad, enough to overcome T-Road support.
b) Once the ACC agreed to add MIAMI with its conditions, the ACC really only had discretion over the PITT slot, MARYLAND's replacement, and the recent CAL+2 preemptive backfill. Again, objections remain strong/broad, partly due to UCONN's overly hostile litigation during the collapse of the old BIGEAST.
c) If UNC stays, only FSU leaves.
d) The ACC has already backfilled for ~4 members.
The BIG12 is likely UCONN's sole chance to elevate football.
My big question is, once its just the Big Ten and SEC, who will be the first to start trying to pick off the other? And at what point, if any, will someone above the conference commissioners, maybe even above the NCAA, move in to break it all up?
Being around and on the campus of UConn, I will say I’ve never seen anyone hyped about football. Mansfield is nice though.
UConn likely stays in the Big East. They just come off as a school that values tradition over money. And I don't see the ACC if they get poached to even consider them because UConn doesn't really care about football anymore. Sure they did for a time, but it's been left out to dry for a long time now. I wouldn't be surprised if they pull an Idaho and go back to the FCS level since they're now the last Independent. Notre Dame is effectively an ACC member with their scheduling agreement so they don't count.
Only other thing can think of is maybe Conference USA as a football only member if they continue to expand. Delaware is joining next year. The conference could go after Towson as full member or maybe convince Villanova to make the jump as a football only member too along with UConn. That would create a nice mid-Atlantic/Northeast pod. With 6 teams on the east coast as a whole. Which would cut down travel costs from needing to go to Texas and New Mexico every year.
If UConn doesn’t get into a power football conference, then their basketball will always be in a precarious position because if a super conference gets formed and UConn is left out, then the money gap will become too big to overcome…basically football drives the bus, so if they ever get offered a seat, then they have to get on
The dog went to Seattle to play for the Washington Huskies.
College football earns a lot of money but incurs significant costs. I think that overall, given the antipathy that fans in the northeast have about college football, and the fact that UCONN's basketball program id profitable, it would be most prudent for UCONN to drop foorball to FCS and concentrate on what it does well. No one would argue that Maryland moving to the Big 10 has been an unmitigated disaster. Why should UCONN follow that same path?
MARYLAND was a financial disaster when the B1G invite came. The move effectively allowed its athletics to survive. That came at the cost of fan apathy, but sometimes one must pick (at least risk) a poison.
@@tarheel7406 Debbie Yow was a disaster, but Maryland athletics is no longer relevant.
@@glassman1533 I've read UMD fans claim to be #3 in B1G overall athletics. We really don't disagree. Per its own fans, UMD has no real football rivals and it's lost its basketball rivals. Most outsiders don't see UMD as a B1G or ACC school these days. No rivals, no identity. A cautionary tale.
I'm probably a divergent opinion here, but I think we should emulate what Idaho has done and drop back down to FCS.
To me, it's pointless to be in FBS right now because there's no other eastern teams to play properly. But FCS now isn't the 1-AA of years gone by. I think Idaho and NDSU are the blueprints for a new, more relevant FCS that still gets eyes AND still draws crowds.
It's the old hockey argument: better to have 12K in a building that fits 10 than 15 in a building that fits 50.
In my College Football 25 dynasties I put UConn and a couple other eastern schools in the Big 12, reform divisions, and name the eastern bloc “The Big East”
ESPN did say they would flip the bill if it meant February UConn v. Kansas was exclusively on ESPN.
:55 - 1:10, and 2:10, UConn running the flexbone triple option; it's a pretty sight. Let's bring it back.
Also, if people want to doubt Connecticut fans, RG3 is quoted coming out of college naming Rentschler Field the loudest place he played in during his college career. (He played when Baylor was @ UConn his freshman year) They will turn out for a good team.
It's just UConn was delt several bad hands, (F*** the NCAA, f*** Boston College) and some years fielded among the worst teams ever (Literally '18 was the single worst defense in history). It was exceptionally hard on the brand, fans, and the university. It was so bad it genuinely tarnished the image the state and UConn had built up. To see it claw itself back up from the depths of hell is a joy to go through, it makes each victory and championship that much sweeter.
Go UConn.
Interesting ACC breakdown towards the end. However, you didn’t included several ACC schools AND you are high as hell if you think the ACC is bringing in Memphis or USF.
UMass and UConn should go back to FCS.
I think UConn has to chase the money in football. The ACC will want them bad after they’re inevitably forced to turn themselves into a basketball league after FSU and Clemson leave
After the the entire state of georgia humiliated those two teams over the past two weeks, I think the SEC is is reconsidering.
a) To where would CLEMSON be going?
b) The ACC just preemptively backfilled with SMU over UCONN. Let that sink in.
Big Ten member here. Always thought that UConn made a decent fit for Big Ten but they didn't hit the academics and football checkboxes.
Anything is possible at this point. UConn has the potential to be Oregon in football. It also could go back to FCS.
Ideally Uconn should be in the ACC.
Pawn, they should pressure the AAC to join as a football only member or all sports except for basketball and hockey, which should stay in the Big East…of course that is after Liberty, the University of Delaware, Old Dominion University, and James Madison’s join the AAC in the next round of realignment.
If you look at that article about joining the Big Ten, they never would've had a shot. The Big Ten considers academics extremely important, so AAU membership is key. It almost kept Nebraska out.
UConn is a top rated public university academically.
With the stadium being in Hartford shouldnt be a downside. That's an upside for everyone not in the eastern part of CT. Plus, big games for basketball are usually played in Hartford as well for at least the Men
6 or 7 ACC teams will bounce and create their own conference. The eastern big 12 teams and uconn will likely join that new conference. Either that or they all join the big 12
Power conference is a football term, yes the power conferences do have a solid finical edge, but saying they need to join a power conference with out a football team is not really necessary
UConn and UMASS need to drop to FCS in football.
I never think they grow again, and end up in the MAC with rival UMass to even their numbers
As someone from CT, the football stadium is in East Hartford not Hartford
As a UConn fan, for football its best we join Penn State in the Big 10, for basketball its best we stay in the Big East.
We love football in CT here man it’s sad ta see
Good stuff!
They are BYs pawn right now, but they will play at least basketball in the B12 someday
Gonzaga wont give up a free pass to march madness every year until its forced to. It would take the WCC to collapse for gonzaga to move.
This aged well lol
Honestly, if I'm UConn and UMass, I'm heavily considering joining the MAC in football
UMass already accepted a MAC invite, they move in 2025. But it's an all sports invite. When they were in the MAC before, the MAC told them the football only trial period was over and they had to either join for all sports or leave, so they left. Meaning it's probably not likely they'll be open to UConn as a football only member.
@@yader91 That sucks for UConn, because the MAC is pretty good at sports across the board
My scenario is the following:
- stay independent
- Big 10, SEC and Big 12 will break away
- Rest of FBS and FCS will merge into one division
- Massive Realignment
- UConn will join one of the low to mid tier conferences in football.
BIG12 is already dead as a peer Tier 1.
Again, I'd argue this all goes back to the Ivy League abandoning major college sports by refusing to issue athletic scholarships because that meant you weren't putting a portion of the normal student body out on the field and they saw it in a way as paying players to give them a scholarship to go to the school because of athletics. The biggest programs in New England and the Northeast in general were the Ivy League and their associates. Yale was the big football school in Connecticut not UCONN, and same goes for Brown, Harvard, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Army, Penn, and arguably Navy over, Rhode Island, UMass, Boston College, New Hampshire, any of the other SUNY schools or CUNY schools, Rutgers, Temple, Penn State, Pitt for a time, and Maryland. With the exception of the New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland public schools the public schools were not big college sports powers, and until Popp Warner was hired by Pitt all of even the New Jersey and further south Northeast schools were overshadowed by the Ivy League, and with the exception of Pitt they really didn't leave that shadow until the 50s and 60s. The schools in New York and further north had never really even tried with the small exception of City College and maybe Maine.
I know it's a pipe dream but I think If the BIG 12 invite never comes then UCONN, The Big EAST, The Pac 2, and the West Coast Conference should work together to form a national football only conference where the schools in the east play basketball and Olympic sports in the Big East and the schools in the west play in the WCC. The Chip Kelly model, keep the non revenue sports some what regional and have the football be national. You have separate media deals for football and basketball. Hypothetically you could invite schools like USF, Memphis, Tulane, maybe even Rice or UTSA on The Big East side and schools like San Diego State, Fresno State, Boise State, UNLV, and Colorado State on the WCC side.
If you want to survive in the model, you have to do things differently than how they've been done. I've been quietly pushing for the Big 12 to add 8 more teams and then be two conferences under one banner for a little bit. Not sure how that'd work legally, but a Big West and Big East with 12 teams each acting as separate conferences with the "Big 12" being a regulatory group to keep everything in check makes a little bit of sense. But again, not sure how that'd work legally.
UConn..... I think that while there are some people with the school who would gladly join the Big XII, there are just too many that are happy to be in the Big East. Leaving the AAC for the Big East was clearly leaving their football team behind. Not only is their football team not good (and they really were only good for that period you mention in the video-- compare their FCS resume with James Madison, or Georgia Southern, or Appalachian State....), but the financial difficulties facing their athletic department stem heavily from having an FBS football program. I think their dream situation would be Big XII as a football only team, and keep the rest of their sports in the Big East, but I doubt that happens. What they probably should do is swallow their pride, and drop football back down to FCS. (They aren't the only team that ought to do that, but...)
It’s not a swallowing pride issue, it literally makes no financial sense to drop to FCS. If it were that easy, more programs would do it.
UConn is not going to commit financial suicide just to drop to a current mess of an FCS conference (CAA) with a horrible media deal, a guaranteed decrease in fan support and larger potential for their basketball programs to be left behind financially
I think for Yormark it’s a win-win to use UConn the same way he used Gonzaga. If they have the votes for admittance, great. If not, he destabilizes the second tier of the ACC the same way he got Colorado antsy enough in the Pac-12’s future, they jumped ship.
As for UConn, I think they’d be best off looking at their last two decisions in realignment. The decision to prioritize football and go to the American was a disaster and one that was reconciled in 2020. They reprioritized basketball first and they have reaped massive benefits as a result. The Big East is in a uniquely stable position right now and could get aggressive to add other basketball first schools if the ACC falls apart or the top tier of collegiate sports branch off from the rest of the NCAA.
What ACC members would prefer to move to the already Tier 2 BIG12?
I feel like the biggest issue is that UConn is so strong at basketball but so weak at football that it makes it hard to find a conference that’s a good fit.
Big East G5 football conference: UConn, UMass, BC, Buffalo, Army, Temple, Villanova, Delaware, Navy, James Madison, Liberty, Old Dominion. who says no?
Rutgers would be a good fit also but they are locked into the Big 10.
@@99somerville yeah, I can’t imagine them ever leaving even if they’d be a better fit in terms of competition and geography
Army and Navy would not do that. BC will stay in the ACC as long as it exists. Also FBS does not allow football only conferences, at least not yet.
Buffalo is in the MAC and not contributing much to the level of competition.
I think they should join the fcs if that's even possible and try and create a football rilvery with Villanova
2 days from release and the BIG 12 has paused discussions with UCONN again. Classic DaLukes moment.
I'm surprised so many fans are cool with this.. Who's traveling from CT to Utah, to support the school?
Who's traveling from College Park to Eugene?
What about the 1995 UConn women's team? That makes 11 for them!
I don’t think the ACC will collapse past the Clemson-FSU move, knowing they can bring in SDSU for the West Wing, UConn, and a conference TV deal with either ESPN or NBC (though I think NBC opts to take the Big Ten offer instead). The ACC also can be a conference involved with the NCAA Breakaway, since if it were to collapse, where does Syracuse, BC, and Miami go? One of those solid markets with good history would get shafted. UConn would be a great addition for proximity and rivalry reasons. The ACC would have no choice but to bring them in.
As one would have expected, this didn't age well with the SDSU reference. Anyway....
a) FSU is ~100% to BIG12 but to where is CLEMSON going?
b) The former BIGEAST schools are among the most hostile to UCONN.
c) The ACC has already backfilled with CAL+2.
@@tarheel7406Don’t like the move from SDSU. The new PAC is the new Mountain West, and SDSU could’ve made the jump into a power conference.
FSU to the Big 12 doesn’t make sense for me. I figured both FSU and Clemson go to the SEC because while that conference would be at 18 teams, culturally and rivalry wise it is perfect. I also figured the rest of the ACC would tell BC and Syracuse to shut up as bringing in UConn will only help the conference. Cal and Stanford doesn’t seem to be big enough of a west wing too.
@@sawyertuide7636
a) I don't have much standing to judge SDSU's decisions. I don't see a path for it to "power" conference as things stand. What the PAC should have done rather than panic scatter was to create a trust to hold the PAC name and assets, dissolve, and then try to recreate under better controlled circumstances. Such a new PAC could have been a Tier 2 and include SDSU.
b) The SEC doesn't want CLEMSON and FSU ~but~ would take to secure UNC and/or UVA. The latter two would be willing to coattail CLEMSON but not FSU. If FSU can't stay in the ACC and since the SEC/B1G doesn't want, that leaves the BIG12 or indy.
c) T-Road supported UCONN in the past; the objections have been wider than from just CUSE/BC.
d) CAL/STANFORD are deep geo outliers but are an obvious travel pair that mitigates logistics. They otherwise easily meet ACC branding. CAL+2 barely got approved and required ND to make additional concessions (~100% certain of that).
WST/OST have messed up. By trying to keep the PAC alive rather than using a trust as I noted, they have added too many lower value teams that will make getting the 4Cs and CAL+2 to return/join much harder.