UConn to the MAC (football only)?

[Blue & Gold]

There was some buzz on twitter last night (if I have time I'll try to find some links to post) about UConn wanting to join the Big East in basketball.  Apparently the American Athletic Conference wouldn't allow UConn to be a football-only member, but the MAC is considering.  This is all preliminary right now & there might not be anything at all to the rumor.  But what would you guys think?  We tried this once before with UMass and the result was not good.  Would UConn be a big enough name to stoop to allowing them football-only status?  

[Blue & Gold]

There are a bunch of tweets about this on Hustlebelt's twitter feed.  Here are a few:

 

 

[skip-zip]

I wouldn't obviously prefer a football-only member.  But having UConn's stature as a sports school helps the conference's profile infinitely more than UMass did.  

[Captain Kangaroo]

Bring in UConn football. But every season, the previous year's MAC Men's Basketball Champ gets a home game with UConn.

 

I'd be for it. Maybe Army football would then consider joining, or bring back UMass to make things numerically even. 

[skip-zip]

18 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Bring in UConn football. But every season, the previous year's MAC Men's Basketball Champ gets a home game with UConn.

 

Love the idea, but think that would have about a .05% chance of succeeding.  

 

They likely feel that they are doing our conference a big favor by offering us an opportunity to take their football team.  We don't have any negotiating power in this situation, except to say NO.  

[kreed5120]

UConn could come in and compete in MAC football in a  short amount of time I feel. They wouldn't water down MAC football like UMass did. Their basketball program is also vastly better than UMass. I'd demand 4 OOC basketball games (2 home and 2 on the road) per year. 

[LZIp]

I like the thought of them in football and I also like the thought of extorting them for some basketball games.

[ZachTheZip]

It only makes sense if we bring in another team to make it fourteen. UMass is the obvious choice, but getting Army would be a coup.

[skip-zip]

31 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

It only makes sense if we bring in another team to make it fourteen. UMass is the obvious choice

 

This makes me wonder how the MAC members would feel about possibly multiple trips to the East Coast with a football team every year?

[ZachTheZip]

7 minutes ago, skip-zip said:

 

This makes me wonder how the MAC members would feel about possibly multiple trips to the East Coast with a football team every year?

 

New England is the only area the MAC could expand into that's not tapped out by the Big Ten or other conferences (Boston College barely registers even as an ACC school).

[skip-zip]

10 minutes ago, ZachTheZip said:

New England is the only area the MAC could expand into that's not tapped out by the Big Ten or other conferences (Boston College barely registers even as an ACC school).

 

I get that.  I was merely wondering what everyone else will think about the increased costs.  

[Captain Kangaroo]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

UConn could come in and compete in MAC football in a  short amount of time I feel. They wouldn't water down MAC football like UMass did. Their basketball program is also vastly better than UMass. I'd demand 4 OOC basketball games (2 home and 2 on the road) per year. 

But only against Top-tier MAC programs. 

 

If you suck (suck = bottom 75% of the MAC in the previous season) you don't get to play UConn. Top 2 teams get the home game. 

 

UConn is 12-12 this year. It's not "slumming" for them to travel to 22-4 Akron for a game. 

[skip-zip]

4 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

UConn is 12-12 this year. It's not "slumming" for them to travel to 22-4 Akron for a game. 

 

It shouldn't be.  But their perceived elitism surely hasn't disappeared.   

[ZippyRulz]

Shake em down good. This would be a chance for the MAC commish to demonstrate his mad DT deal-making negotiation skills. We have something they want, don't give away the store.

 

[K92]

Absolutely not.  They bring less than zero to the table in football.  They would be in the MAC East and every other year we would play them in Storrs and that is a trip that I would never make and a wasted date on the schedule.  Bring them in in tandem with UMass and then there is a wasted road trip opportunity every season.  You could kiss any regularly scheduled crossover games with Toledo goodbye and probably BG as well because they would probably move them to the West.

 

Potential MAC East

Akron

Kent

Miami

Ohio

Buffalo

UMass

UConn

 

Turrible idea.

[LZIp]

25 minutes ago, K92 said:

Absolutely not.  They bring less than zero to the table in football.  They would be in the MAC East and every other year we would play them in Storrs and that is a trip that I would never make and a wasted date on the schedule.  Bring them in in tandem with UMass and then there is a wasted road trip opportunity every season.  You could kiss any regularly scheduled crossover games with Toledo goodbye and probably BG as well because they would probably move them to the West.

 

Potential MAC East

Akron

Kent

Miami

Ohio

Buffalo

UMass

UConn

 

Turrible idea.

Not bad points. I don't really care about road trips though. Do we REALLY have a regularly scheduled crossover game with Toledo, or is that just the way its worked the past few seasons? It's not as if they are a permanent crossover game even though I do like playing them. Also couldn't care less about playing BG every season either. Just want Buffalo, OU, and Kent on the schedule every year.

 

UCONN has been pretty bad recently but they just rehired Randy Edsall who is their winningest coach of all time, won a couple of Big East titles, and took them to a BCS bowl in his first stint there. I think I'd be okay with it if the basketball games happened like above and our cut of TV deal/Bowl money didn't decrease (which is unlikely). The MAC is already in last place when it comes to coaching salaries, and Akron is near the bottom of that.

Edited February 16, 2017 by LZIp

[ZachTheZip]

UConn, thanks to their basketball program, has enough money to fund football at a level better than any other MAC program.

[skip-zip]

1 hour ago, ZippyRulz said:

Shake em down good. This would be a chance for the MAC commish to demonstrate his mad DT deal-making negotiation skills. We have something they want, don't give away the store.

 

The Art of the Deal.  I read it back in about 1987.  

 

Come on.  Who are we kidding?  If we want another member and we see a benefit, the MAC will cave to get it done.  But, we can all keep dreaming of a basketball-related perk.  

[Let'sGoZips94]

If there are basketball-related perks, such as a couple guaranteed home games for MAC schools throughout the season, I'd be ok with this. Make UCONN play the MAC Tourney Champion at the MAC school's gym. The runner-up gets to play UCONN at UCONN. Then take the other 2, top 4 schools and either split home and away, or send them both to UCONN to give UCONN some incentive to agree to this. 

 

Otherwise, the MAC needs to grow a spine and a pair, and tell UCONN to go pound salt. 

[Blue & Gold]

29 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Also couldn't care less about playing BG every season either.

Agreed.  

 

Bowling Green  

[ZachTheZip]

Maybe we'll get lucky and NIU will drop to the FCS so their AD can enjoy a meaningless football playoff.

[K92]

4 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

Agreed.  

 

Bowling Green  

You guys must not travel for road games then.  

 

BG is a great roady.

 

Not really sure why BG would be a snore for any Zips fan.  They have beaten us 8 in a row.

[Blue & Gold]

15 minutes ago, K92 said:

You guys must not travel for road games then.  

 

BG is a great roady.

 

Not really sure why BG would be a snore for any Zips fan.  They have beaten us 8 in a row.

You're right. I don't. I probably should.

 

Bowling Green & Ball State just don't do it for me for some reason.  

[Captain Kangaroo]

Give me a home-home with UConn football over a home-home with BG anytime. We'd still play BG frequently enough for me in cross-over games...it's not like they'd be completley off the schedule.

 

Note - UConn football plays in Hartford...a 25 mile drive from Storrs.

 

Just my opinion. 

[K92]

2 minutes ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

Give me a home-home with UConn football over a home-home with BG anytime. We'd still play BG frequently enough for me in cross-over games...it's not like they'd be completley off the schedule.

 

Note - UConn football plays in Hartford...a 25 mile drive from Storrs.

 

Just my opinion. 

Hartford, you say?  Well, at one time I would have said "Cool, maybe we could catch a Whalers game while we are out there" but even they knew Connecticut blows and moved to Raleigh.