UCONN POLL

[gosports1]

I'm still not convinced that the BE would be totally welcoming to UConn. (as long as they have FB aspirations) The BE has been down that road before. In 1979 it was just Syracuse and BC. Then Pitt came along Next came Miami and the FB only schools, eventually, with the exception of Temple and delayed Virginia Tech,, became full membership. Some point during that time offers made to the lower level FB schools to upgrade and secure a spot in the BEFB conference.

Obviously times have changed but where do you draw the line? If the BE has one fbs fb member why no bring in more? After a few years the divide grows etc

There hasn't been football in the Big East since 2013. Any team that has a football program that wants to join our conference will have to place football elsewhere. Our leaders as a conference will have to decide on a case by case basis if allowing a program to do so is worth it in terms of risk/reward for the BE. In the case of UConn I would say its pretty cut and dry. But to suggest football will somehow permeate our league's integrity again is ludicrous. They voted to split as seven for the sole reason of never having to directly deal with a football program again.

Exactly. So why would the same 7 vote to include UConn and have to deal with a program that sponsors FB again?
I don't think UConn is going to sit quietly in the corner and let everyone else run the show. Down the line (long term) should expansion be deemed necessary or desirable, UConn will not just sit there and agree to have non fb schools only added. They will lobby for more schools like them. Its just human nature.

I wouldn't be totally upset if UConn was added but I am not in favor of it either

[hortle]

Exactly. So why would the same 7 vote to include UConn and have to deal with a program that sponsors FB again?

This is semantics but I think you mean Athletic Department, "program" refers to football, basketball, etc.. and that difference is key I think. We aren't dealing with their football. We are dealing with their basketball.

UConn will not just sit there and agree to have non fb schools only added

.

Yes they will, or they should. How will the one school that sponsors major football hold any power/leverage over the 10 non-football schools that gave their main athletic program a lifeline out of mediocrity? That seems like some backwards logic to me. Also I don't think the slippery slope logic applies either. Uconn is the only school I feel is an appropriate scenario of allowing a school to join while retaining major football elsewhere. In no other case does the giveback match the risk that you take. The only other schools I would apply this same rule to are all entrenched in the ACC.

Uconn is on an island in this regard. This is not us making a new rule. Uconn is the one exception

[Xudash]

Exactly. So why would the same 7 vote to include UConn and have to deal with a program that sponsors FB again?

This is semantics but I think you mean Athletic Department, "program" refers to football, basketball, etc.. and that difference is key I think. We aren't dealing with their football. We are dealing with their basketball.

UConn will not just sit there and agree to have non fb schools only added

.

Yes they will, or they should. How will the one school that sponsors major football hold any power/leverage over the 10 non-football schools that gave their main athletic program a lifeline out of mediocrity? That seems like some backwards logic to me. Also I don't think the slippery slope logic applies either. Uconn is the only school I feel is an appropriate scenario of allowing a school to join while retaining major football elsewhere. In no other case does the giveback match the risk that you take. The only other schools I would apply this same rule to are all entrenched in the ACC.

Uconn is on an island in this regard. This is not us making a new rule. Uconn is the one exception

Exactly.

Two points of amplification about this:

1. Set expectations. Negotiate up front. Let them know what they're getting into.

2. This is 2016, not the early 2000's. If they come in soon, they probably won't be leaving again.

[Bill Marsh]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

[BigmanU]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

Gonzaga without blinking. They want to be in the conference i.e. Creighton, Butler And Xavier. Being private is another bonus. We need like minded institutions

UConn think we are a step down to where they want to be. Without the interest in the BEast schools non conference games, the Huskie's would die on the vine

[DudeAnon]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

Gonzaga without blinking. They want to be in the conference i.e. Creighton, Butler And Xavier. Being private is another bonus. We need like minded institutions

UConn think we are a step down to where they want to be. Without the interest in the BEast schools non conference games, the Huskie's would die on the vine

There is definitely an interesting dynamic if UCONN gets left out of the Big 12. The AAC becomes even more dire than it is now and it is possible that another 8-10 years there could irrevocably harm their basketball program. The irony is that if we gave them a way out of their situation they could maintain their brand until a P5 conference comes calling.

[Bill Marsh]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

Gonzaga without blinking. They want to be in the conference i.e. Creighton, Butler And Xavier. Being private is another bonus. We need like minded institutions

UConn think we are a step down to where they want to be. Without the interest in the BEast schools non conference games, the Huskie's would die on the vine

There is definitely an interesting dynamic if UCONN gets left out of the Big 12. The AAC becomes even more dire than it is now and it is possible that another 8-10 years there could irrevocably harm their basketball program. The irony is that if we gave them a way out of their situation they could maintain their brand until a P5 conference comes calling.

Membership in the AAC is already hurting their program. Attendance in both sports has dropped since they left the Big East.

Funny thing is that the same thing happened to BC when they went to the ACC. Just goes to show longstanding regional rivalries are hard to replace. Very hard.

[GumbyDamnit!]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

Both.

Now that would be a great BB conference.

[JohnW22]

If Fox have us 2 choices and said pick one, who would you take?

1 UConn or
2. Gonzaga

Both.

Now that would be a great BB conference.

That's what I was thinking but I'd take UCONN first but I don't think others feel the same; which I can't blame because as a Xavier fan I don't want UD in the conference and that's how others feel about UCONN.

[handdownmandown]

OT, but I love nelsonmuntz over on the Boneyard. It's as if he was created from whole cloth just to drive every other poster over there nucking futs. Dude cracks me up.