I read the Uconn realignment board every day

[dasher]

I can't get enough of this stuff. Anyway, if you want to know how you should feel about UConn getting saved or not, read their board. I have thought that it isn't really right that a program such as theirs could be left out in the cold. They have a thread where Syracuse and Pitt are called basically second rate programs, this is about basketball, not football. Also knock our academics. They never seem to ask the big question. Why doesn't any league seem to want them?

 

[orangefan13]

Because they smell fishy.

 

[SkanSU]

They have a realignment board?? (I know they do b/c I've read it) ... actually WVA's is much more fun. But what can you expect them to say. Truly, nobody wants them. They bring nothing positive to the table and only negatives. Who wants a program with a rolling APR that is going to keep them from post-tournament playin the future. That does say a lot about their academics. They have begged the ACC and god knows who else ... I would grab any old lifeboat UConn.

 

[Orangemen]

More or less, realignment is working out the way it should (from a football perspective-I know. wrong board)

At this point, the only school who is "out" that belings "in" is WV.

Rutgers is a joke of a program, and always has been. You only get to be a sleeping giant for so long before you're just bad. There is a price for only really trying in football since about 5 years ago.

UConn is a never was. They were handed a golden ticket that they did not deserve or earn in any way, now they act like it's a birth right. The old George Bush analogy applies here. They are a school that was born on third base, but acts like they hit a triple.

USF, Cincy, and Louisville were never on the inside. Louisville and Cincy may end up there with the Big 12, USF is clearly out. Ville and Cincy have done more to earn their right than UConn over the past 8 years. Cincy put up 2 great seasons, and Ville put up 1. All UConn ever did was shine a light on just how bad the conference truly was.

Rutgers and UConn should be left out of the BCS mix. They were given golden tickets, have had about 25 years of BCS seasons between the 2 of them, and have produced one awful BCS bowl in total.

If they can pull off a TCU or Boise St ascendance, then let them in, otherwise they don't deserve it.

 

[newmexicuse]

I can't agree that UConn deserves to be left out. Combining M & W they clearly have the best hoops program in the nation. They are new to football, but given that they lack tradition they are doing OK. They have some other programs that are generally pretty decent. They are an above average school academically.

The question is - where do they belong if the BE can't survive in a viable fashion ? No reason they shouldn't be in the ACC w us if the league goes to 16. If that happens wo ND, the two most logical candidates would be UConn & Rutgers. If ND wants in then it becomes UConn or Rutgers. We know BC will do all it can to exclude them. So odds are that UConn is out if ND wants in.

So, if the ACC isn't to be their landing place then where ? BiG, maybe, if they expand. Big 12 seems to have plenty of more geographically better fits available. So all in all, they would certainly be in trouble if the BE can't patch something workable out of this mess.

They deserve better despite their many foibles that I dislike as much as anybody else.

Disclosure - I do have have a post-graduate degree from UConn though that really hasn't had much of an impact on my sports allegiances. I never went thru the on-campus experience like I did w the Cuse that makes it a part of my soul and who I am.

 

[zls44]

They have a realignment board?? (I know they do b/c I've read it) ... actually WVA's is much more fun. But what can you expect them to say. Truly, nobody wants them. They bring nothing positive to the table and only negatives. Who wants a program with a rolling APR that is going to keep them from post-tournament playin the future. That does say a lot about their academics. They have begged the ACC and god knows who else ... I would grab any old lifeboat UConn.

Everything you just said is stupid. Every last thing.

They were wanted. Why do you think BC spoke up against them, hmm? The ACC wanted them before Pitt. Politics.

Also, the school has improved tremendously in the past 20 years, by any academic measurement you'd like to use. It's a top 3o public university. It isn't Memphis.

They don't bring anything, you know, other than a Top 35 media market and numerous NC contending programs across a wide array of sports at a school that's been skyrocketing up rankings for two decades on the back of a $2,000,000,000 investment from the State of Connecticut. I guess if you want to ignore those minor points, yeah, they stink.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

The best thing that could happen to Syracuse football would be for UConn and Rutgers to be relegated to virtual D1AA status

 

[newmexicuse]

The best thing that could happen to Syracuse football would be for UConn and Rutgers to be relegated to virtual D1AA status

We are on the right track in football. We have a great coach and improving recruiting. We have a great tradition. We are coming back fast. Our recruiting footprint will expand being in the ACC.

Our success is not dependent upon the demise of UConn, Rutgers, or anybody else.

 

[Orange87]

I can't get enough of this conf. realignment stuff as well and I also agree that the WVU board is the best place to watch this huge car crash.

UConn - I'm a Syracuse alum from the '80s when UConn was the league doormat and they didn't play football. I root as hard against UConn sports as I did and do against Georgetown. The fact that I'm also a CT resident makes me hate their sports teams that much more because I'm inundated with people wearing huskies logowear wherever I go. Keep in mind that these people also think that college basketball was invented in Storrs by Jim Calhoun. However, being that I am a resident with kids approaching college age I appreciate what the state university is and can offer my family in the near future.

So I'm a little torn. As a Syracuse alum and fan I say UConn can go to hell and play in the friggin' MAAC. Let's see how well Calhoun recruits there. As a state resident with a financial and educational interest in the continued success of the university, I say let 'em into the ACC. Their basketball team is one of the top 2-3 in the country and their football team has gone from nothing to competitive in a really short amount of time.

I hate them but they do not deserve to be left out of this.

Lastly, let me say this in terms of the academics of Syracuse and UConn. If my kids get in and go to Syracuse it would be considered an accomplishment and I'd be thrilled. UConn will be their safety school as it continues to be for most of the kids in my town's high school. So whoever is on the UConn board comparing academics, needs to take a step back and reassess those statements.

 

[OrlandoCuse]

We are on the right track in football. We have a great coach and improving recruiting. We have a great tradition. We are coming back fast. Our recruiting footprint will expand being in the ACC.

Our success is not dependent upon the demise of UConn, Rutgers, or anybody else.

Dependent upon, no.

Accelerated by, most likely.

 

[nyucuse]

More or less, realignment is working out the way it should (from a football perspective-I know. wrong board)

At this point, the only school who is "out" that belings "in" is WV.

Rutgers is a joke of a program, and always has been. You only get to be a sleeping giant for so long before you're just bad. There is a price for only really trying in football since about 5 years ago.

UConn is a never was. They were handed a golden ticket that they did not deserve or earn in any way, now they act like it's a birth right. The old George Bush analogy applies here. They are a school that was born on third base, but acts like they hit a triple.

USF, Cincy, and Louisville were never on the inside. Louisville and Cincy may end up there with the Big 12, USF is clearly out. Ville and Cincy have done more to earn their right than UConn over the past 8 years. Cincy put up 2 great seasons, and Ville put up 1. All UConn ever did was shine a light on just how bad the conference truly was.

Rutgers and UConn should be left out of the BCS mix. They were given golden tickets, have had about 25 years of BCS seasons between the 2 of them, and have produced one awful BCS bowl in total.

If they can pull off a TCU or Boise St ascendance, then let them in, otherwise they don't deserve it.

Absolutely spot on. Could not have said it better myself...

 

[DoctorBombay]

I think having UConn join us in the ACC would be the best scenario. At least they've kept up their end of the competitive bargain, as opposed to Rutgers who're totally a FUGAZY program.
We NEED rivalries in the new ACC & having instant rivals in BC & UConn, along w/ growing new ones vs UVA & MD would be perfect. UNC & DUKE are fine, but for football, a NE ftball rivalry made up of those 3 schools would be great- both for us, the ACC, & great for CFB.

 

[JoeCollege]

Send Uconn back to the Yankee conference. Rendering them irrelevant would be a huge plus for SU.

 

[Guinness]

I think folks would do well to remember what it was like around here when we got left out in 2003. Our fans were saying many of the same things about the schools that left. We are a bit smug now that we are safe and might want to recall what it was like when were on the outside looking in. I don't blame the folks at any BE school for panicking and acting like idiots.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

The thing that's weird to me is this idea that there are teams that "deserve" to sit at the big boy table.

Nobody "deserves" it. Some just get to be in a position to do so.

 

[SyracuseFan]

I am torn like most of you. Yes we were just as scared 5 weeks ago, so maybe some should look in the mirror before laughing out loud. I do believe there is a very good chance the death of uconn and moreso rutgers would help our recruiting esp FBall. It would most likely help our recruiting and definitely our footprint, most imprtantly keep SU exclusively in front NYC eyeballs.

However without em. ACC North? north who? Without more north we have less pull and without allies maybe even less pull. With less natural rivalries we could hurt bball recruiting, we could lose NYC as a footprint or share it. The natural alumni rivalries in NYC from north schools is powerful and always relevant, we will lose some of that draw. Maybe lose some of the magic of the garden if we can even get it there without more local or tri state schools. UNC benefits more from the duke rivalry and its mystique than maybe Jordan helps them? Maybe not but probably.

I'm torn but for the better of our fball program (you know the one that could make serious money)

 

[SkanSU]

This thing is going to shake out however it shakes out ... God help us we have Congress and Senator's involved in all this - as if they haven't already screwed everything up in Washington. I'm reading on the Connecticut board some posters say Blumenthal and Lieberman need to get involved b/c Rockefeller and Menchin (WV) are involved b/c McConnell stuck his nose into it ... I mean our economy is going down the old drain hole; we have an endless war; we have people needing jobs; the healthcare system sucks; and Congress is frozen to the ground on any bill that comes down the pike. My God ... purposeful or unpurposeful realignment is now in serious trouble. Anybody ever hear of Darwin?

 

[slidingdown]

I hate UConn with every bone in my body. If a patient walks into my office with any clothing that has that ugly little dog's head on it I will not see them until it is removed and disinfected. I long to see Calhoun's head on a stake in the deepest, darkest circle of hell, surrounded by images from every defeat he has suffered at the hands of SU. And this is why I want them in the ACC with us. Because GTown will not be. Because Nova will not be. Because Pitt, as much as I hate them, will never cause the same gut-burning reaction and explosions of elation that an SU/UConn game will.

I don't care about UConn's academics. I don't care about financials. I care about rivalries. Because this is a goddamn sport and it makes no objective difference in the rest of my life, but this is what I care about.

I want to play UConn twice every year and I want to absolutely destroy them every single goddamn time.

 

[SkanSU]

Usually reading the WVU realignment board provides considerable enjoyment b/c its so much fun (I don't mean that in a negative way). Today though I read a lot of pissed off WVU fans ... internal sniping. It wasn't so much fun. I feel bad for the Mountaineers ... it sounds like they are getting the royal screw. I still think they end up in the Big 12 if that's what they want ... but that conference sounds as unstable as the Big East and worse seems to be too easily swayed by outside influence. Good luck WVU.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think having UConn join us in the ACC would be the best scenario. At least they've kept up their end of the competitive bargain, as opposed to Rutgers who're totally a FUGAZY program.
We NEED rivalries in the new ACC & having instant rivals in BC & UConn, along w/ growing new ones vs UVA & MD would be perfect. UNC & DUKE are fine, but for football, a NE ftball rivalry made up of those 3 schools would be great- both for us, the ACC, & great for CFB.

We will have rivalries with BC, Pitt, Maryland to start with, which are all old foes. Have you also forgotten that we shared a league and fought for the league title for about 10 years with Miami and Virginia Tech? That's a great start to the conference. Then you add in the games we have played over the years against NC State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Clemson, and you've covered most of the conference. And who isn't going to be excited to play Duke ??

We don't need UConn. They have probably a 50/50 chance of joining us in the ACC, and it would probably be good for the ACC, provided that the 16th team is Notre Dame, and it's for all sports. But lacking that, there is certainly enough in the rivalry department for this to be a good league. Frankly, I'd rather see Penn State or West Virginia in the ACC North rather than UConn, as an old-time Eastern Independent football guy, but that's just me, and it's not likely to happen.

 

[SkanSU]

It looks like the Big East may have struck out at Boise State despite Marinade's visit. Reports from SI indicate that BS is looking at the far west for basketball. IMO other schools are closely watching the goings on of the Big East teams ... with the loss of SU and Pitt and TCU as well as the likely defection of WVA and Louisville they are seeing a rapidly sinking ship ... and are holding off making any committment ... which bodes well for both WVA and Louisville b/c the higher penalty for leaving doesn't take effect (I believe) until another school comes on board.

For those UConn lurkers who feel that Imay be totally anti-UConn let me say this: Congratulations on turning around your APR. No matter what school I would hate to see any kid deprived of participating in post-season tournaments. Good luck ... and if you do end up in the ACC I look forward to the continuation of our rivalry ... Who else would I have to hate as much?

 

[IthacaMatt]

Everything you just said is stupid. Every last thing.

They were wanted. Why do you think BC spoke up against them, hmm? The ACC wanted them before Pitt. Politics.

Also, the school has improved tremendously in the past 20 years, by any academic measurement you'd like to use. It's a top 3o public university. It isn't Memphis.

They don't bring anything, you know, other than a Top 35 media market and numerous NC contending programs across a wide array of sports at a school that's been skyrocketing up rankings for two decades on the back of a $2,000,000,000 investment from the State of Connecticut. I guess if you want to ignore those minor points, yeah, they stink.

Although the school's "measurables" in academics have improved recently, part of a school's reputation is built on its alumni network, and the level of success those alumni have achieved in business. This, in turn, impacts the hiring process. By those measures, UConn alumni are not currently (in my experience) considered on the same level as applicants from certain other schools. I would put them on a second tier, no disrespect intended, because every school produces bright and successful students; it's just a question of how many of them per capita.

I haven't worked in NYC in about 10 years, but did so for about 20 years before that. In my last job down there, I rose to a level where I did quite a bit of hiring for my company, which was the fastest growing in our industry for a few years. I did hire a couple UConn people, but I also hired people from Michigan, Penn State, NYU, Syracuse, Boston University, Columbia, Brown, Williams and quite a few other schools, many of which have graduates whose degrees are held in higher esteem.

So what I guess I'm saying is that the transformation in image, academically as well as in terms of sports, is an evolution. Just because recent UConn grads had higher SAT scores, they still have to deal with middle aged hiring people having come up when UConn was a second tier school. That takes time for those perceptions to change - for me, Boston College is only really becoming the source of high performers at jobs now, even though the grades and SAT scores of their grads have been high for 10-20 years.

Likewise with UConn football - sure, they made a BCS game, but it's not like they have a generation or two of success on the field, household names playing in the NFL, and a handful of all-pro or hall of famers that all the announcers know. That's what makes a program a national brand. Is Boise a national brand? Not yet; they are a novelty. Don't forget, in some of our lifetimes, teams like Northwestern used to compete for national titles in football. Those days are long gone. Temporary success does not make a national brand.

Syracuse, despite it's decade lost in the desert, is still a national brand. You see that by hearing Kirk Herbstreit's comments about the "old Syracuse" being back. You have that in part because our communications program graduates all these broadcasters who know our history (and grew up reporting on our sports teams for WAER ...). That's why The Express was so important, rebranding us as the school that had the first black Heisman Trophy winner (which you will note that Nancy Cantor mentioned in her defense of SU academics in the paper the other day). That is powerful branding. That's what separates SU from so many other Eastern football schools like UConn, Rutgers and even Boston College.

 

[DoctorBombay]

I hate UConn with every bone in my body. If a patient walks into my office with any clothing that has that ugly little dog's head on it I will not see them until it is removed and disinfected. I long to see Calhoun's head on a stake in the deepest, darkest circle of hell, surrounded by images from every defeat he has suffered at the hands of SU. And this is why I want them in the ACC with us. Because GTown will not be. Because Nova will not be. Because Pitt, as much as I hate them, will never cause the same gut-burning reaction and explosions of elation that an SU/UConn game will.

I don't care about UConn's academics. I don't care about financials. I care about rivalries. Because this is a goddamn sport and it makes no objective difference in the rest of my life, but this is what I care about.

I want to play UConn twice every year and I want to absolutely destroy them every single goddamn time.

Well said!

 

[SkanSU]

I'm not sure where to put this or whether to start a new thread ... I was just reading the WVA realignment board ... it is a lot of fun reading that board and I don't mean that in a negative way. A poster indicated that a Rivals or Scout report stated that WVA and Louisville are being invited to the Big 12.

Add that it is more likely that Boise State will go to the Big West conference. But UCF seems all excited about joining a BCA conference- for how long?

Wishful thinking or strong possibility ... good luck to WVA. They deserve it ... really!

 

[grepal]

Responding to Orange 87's feelings, I am an SU alum a few years ahead of him. My son went to Seton Hall for a year (he did look at SU, but chose The Hall. He was so disappointed in the academics there that he transferred to UCONN saving almost 25K a year. He's a sports nut like his old man, but a little confused (how can anybody be a Cuse, Hall, and UCONN fan at the same time). Anyway, he felt that UCONN's academics were superior to those at Seton Hall, he has a good job in his chosen field and his life is pretty good.

I to dislike being surrounded by UCONN fans, but I've learned to deal with it simply knowing the most consistent top program in the best basketball league in the country has been SU. I do think at the end of the day UCONN will be in the ACC, even though the BC AD hates them, their center was caught bashing Christian Laettner's head into the floor during a scrum, and they play fast and loose with the rules. The ACC took Miami, one of the dirtiest programs in he history of college sports, UCONN is not as bad as Miami. Thugs, convicts, and an athletic department that ran a slush fund by defrauding the government of student loan money. Any conference that takes on a Miami, (Big East or ACC) can't have too high a purity standard. (Anybody remember Clemson" Tiger Paw Hookers, err students doing their part to lure recruits)