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Message: [QUOTE="sutomcat, post: 3290168, member: 27"] Glad we agree on the criteria we should be using to schedule OOC. It appears the disagreement now is down to whether UConn is relatively close for our fan base and whether it is a place where if we play there, it could help recruiting. Regarding proximity, the stadium UConn plays at is on an interstate, relatively close to Boston, Syracuse, and NYC. Boston is 99 miles away. NYC is 119 miles away. Syracuse is 256. Interstate highways all the way. I consistently get there in less than 3.5 hours. It is easier for me (and anyone from CNY anyway) to get to East Hartford than Boston, Philly, NYC, or even West Point. Only Buffalo would be easier. But Buffalo is good enough that playing them, like Temple, is not a no brainer. Playing and losing to either is a possibility and if we lost to either, it would help legitimize those programs. So for those programs, I am in the camp that we should do it only if they are willing to do a home only or a 2 for 1. Pretty sure that will never happen. We have a ton of fans in upstate NY, downstate NY, Northern NJ, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Look at the states with the most SU alums. These states are all on the list. No rational person would say East Hartford is not close for most of our fans. Plus, there is a good setup for tailgating there, we can get good seats and it will be cheap. This is all in marked contrast to other easily drivable away games for SU fans at BC and Rutgers. Regarding recruiting, Connecticut has a lot of good players. It was a gold mine for us for many years. We haven’t recruited well there since Coach P left but with UConn relegated and BC focusing recruiting on NJ, there is a real opportunity to re-establish ourselves there. Playing games there will also help us recruiting in surrounding areas, including downstate NY, Massachusetts, Northern NJ and upstate NY. A kid from say Iona Prep in New Rochelle will have a chance to play a lot of games in nearby Syracuse, along with away games at Rutgers, Army and UConn in coming years. This is good for our recruiting in the Northeast and good for our fanbase. The ACC has been great for our athletic program in many respects but it has definitely reduced the number of games fans in the Northeast can easily drive to. This strategy addresses this problem, at least to some extent. [/QUOTE]

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