Not a big fan, but a curious question on UConn football (Storrs: schools, college)

BobNJ1960 · 10-09-2021, 07:06 PM

Saw them on tv vs UMass. UMass ended 16 game losing streak vs UConn, who lost 11th straight.

How did they go from a getting better to the point of competing against nationally known teams to this awful level so quickly?

They have Yale coming up, so perhaps they can handle them.

UMass-UConn today looked like small college football, in terms of quality (sar).

Hoping their loyal fans can assist in explaining the downfall.

WILWRadio · 10-09-2021, 07:49 PM

My theory about this is that with the implosion of the Big East they lost their ability to recruit better talent. Literally the moment the Big East fell apart, the slide into irrelevance began. Sure hope they can solve this problem pretty soon. Right now I am watching my second favorite college football team Texas A&M winning against Alabama at the half which is a shock. Sure wish UConn could get back to respectability and also being a ranked team again.

BobNJ1960 · 10-09-2021, 08:31 PM

I assume they play in a 80% empty stadium now.

This level of drop in quality is incredible.

WILWRadio · 10-09-2021, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

I assume they play in a 80% empty stadium now.

This level of drop in quality is incredible.

Yes. What makes this even more astounding is that after their transition from a 1AA program to 1A they became the top team to transition to a winning program quicker than any other team. By that I mean getting a winning program and making bowl games. South Florida also became a quick success in the same manner but I seem to recall UConn did it faster.

BobNJ1960 · 10-09-2021, 08:36 PM

UConn thought it could clone the Auriemma miracle. Found out it can't.

Big time women's bb does not translate into big time sports elsewhere.

UConn had a good couple of years in football. Now its back to its long-term pattern.

Nothing wrong with that, except for the fact its stadium is far larger than its need now.

7 Wishes · 10-10-2021, 07:11 PM

The Northeast in general has never really been a college football hotbed especially since the Ivy League dropped to Division 1AA decades ago....basically Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse and BC, maybe Maryland and (big maybe) Rutgers; compare this to how big a deal it is in the South and West. Like UConn, SUNY Buffalo is trying to ramp up to being a national 1A team, they were actually ranked 25th last year and got into a bowl game but this year they are meh and my daughter (freshman there who got into following them) says their stadium (small by Division 1A standards but still 30,000 seats) is half empty like with UConn.

NUHuskies01 · 10-11-2021, 02:07 PM

The football program should be shut down, or moved back down a level. That is the only fix. UMass should do the same thing.

Some schools need to realize what their bread & butter sports are. For UConn its basketball. It will always be basketball. To keep throwing $$$ at a football program in hopes that it could be nationally relevant will eventually bleed dollars and wins from its good sports teams. Its a vicious cycle.

The sooner they cut it, the better off all the other athletic programs will be.

7 Wishes · 10-11-2021, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NUHuskies01

The football program should be shut down, or moved back down a level. That is the only fix. UMass should do the same thing.

Some schools need to realize what their bread & butter sports are. For UConn its basketball. It will always be basketball. To keep throwing $$$ at a football program in hopes that it could be nationally relevant will eventually bleed dollars and wins from its good sports teams. Its a vicious cycle.

The sooner they cut it, the better off all the other athletic programs will be.

My alma mater, RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) is like that. Division I in hockey but Division III in everything else and intends to stay that way.

NUHuskies01 · 10-11-2021, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7 Wishes

My alma mater, RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) is like that. Division I in hockey but Division III in everything else and intends to stay that way.

Northeastern, my alma mater dropped its football program, maybe 10 years ago. It was the only program at the school that was not division 1. Now all the other programs are seeing more sustained success, including the main ones, hockey and basketball, then they ever have.

You cannot have sustained football success anymore. And schools like UConn which never had it to begin with are fooling themselves.

JP Nutmegger · 10-12-2021, 12:04 AM

Believe it or not, it all stems back to the actions of our former AG turned Senator: Richard Blumenthal. When BC (along with Miami, Va Tech, and West Virginia) decided to leave the Big East, Blumenthal tried to sue BC for the damages caused by them leaving. In retaliation, BC made sure that UConn could never join the ACC every time it expanded. The ACC was really UConn’s ticket to success (the B1G was never an option since you’d have to be in a state connected to another with a school in it). Instead, they ended up in the AAC, which never seemed a good fit as there were only 3 schools (plus part-timer Navy) within 1000 miles of Storrs. Eventually, UConn decided that the AAC was damaging its basketball product too much, and joined Big East 2.0. The AAC wouldn’t let them stay for football only, so here they are an independent.