Nah, their fball is toast. If you can't recruit and be respectable in a league and you have virtually no history of success the probability of getting good teams to come to Ct. in Oct and Nov. is almost impossible. Nd and Army are natural draws based on history, etc.. Uconn not so much. Big writeoff coming down the pike for them. They'll never be part of any D1 fball configuration however it evolves in the future. This will also complicate it when you're pretty much busted to begin with:muskieman wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:10 pmLet's say they go independent and improve their football program over a five year period while enjoying the benefits of being in the big east what is to stop them from jumping again to the ACC or less likely the Big Ten? I just wonder if they are using the BE as an interim landing until they get their football act together.Anti-Homer wrote: ↑Mon Jun 24, 2019 8:29 amI did a cursory, search of Calhoun’s teams every five years during his tenure, and came up with a group of his NBA players listed below. They include several Hall of Famers. This isn’t a complete list, and I am no historian of the League, but it shows they’ve represented the NBA very well over his 25 years there. They were also a top 10 cbb team during his time, winning two or three NCs. They can certainly regain their elite status, and their addition definitely raises the profile of the BE. They are the 2nd most storied program after Nova.thecoach wrote: ↑Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:55 amObviously for Uconn this is somewhat of an inevitable and tough move among a lot of their fans given the resources they committed to fball. For a state flagship school to pretty much have to abandon fball when their aspirations were to build it was/is a costly move for a state school. Not to mention i'm guessing they're on the hook for a termination fee to the AAC. There's no way you're going to be able to schedule decent teams in fball as an independent at D1 once you get into normal conference schedules, so i think that's a no brainer it's heading back to a very low competition fball program or extinction. They've admitted they have no plan there which is kind of surprising. Must be some divided camps between who thinks they can be independent and those who realize they're done. Definitely a bball brand worth saving, but the question at this point will be is there life after Jim Calhoun? So far, it's looked more like St. Johns, Depaul or even Gtown after their long time guys left. Calhoun is a love or hate guy as a coach. Uconn was never a Duke or Ky who get the big recruits every year. He was a guy who was very good at developing players. Hurley's a good coach, question is good enough? They haven't recruited badly. They just do not have the edge Calhoun gave them. Will be interesting to watch. Hall of Fame coaches are tough to follow.
Ray Allen, Donnie (sp?) Marshall, Donyell Marshall, Jeremy Lamb, Kemba Walker, Drummond, Okafor, Butler, Gordon, Rudy Gay, Napier, Scott Burrell, Richard Hamilton, El Amin, among others.
Also, in regards to cfb, though I'm no expert, I believe there are at least two independents who schedule decent teams during conference season: ND and Army. I think Navy joined a mid-major league a couple of years ago. I'm not suggesting it will be easy, but when scheduling non-conference bball games, Uconn can leverage their P-5 bball brand by scheduling mid-major schools with decent football programs, by making it a caveat to schedule football along with basketball games (eg. MW teams -Boise State, Nevada, Air Force; AAC teams - UC, Houston, CFU).
"If UConn decides to leave the Big East, it will have to pay a hefty fee. The terms of the contract state that UConn will be responsible for paying the conference $30 million if it withdraws within the first six years of membership. If the school bails within a three-year period after that, $15 million is owed. After 10 years, UConn would owe $10 million. A withdrawal fee can be split up into four payments, if necessary."
