UMass Football Out of the MAC

[rodfromcranston]

As a lifetime follower of ND football, I don't get how they can
stay in that NBC contract putting out a less than great product?
It's been a long time since Ara Parsegian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz
brought national championships to ND.
Bad coaching hires, and built in problems with admissions, don't bode well
for competing with SEC schools.
They are currently undertaking a 400 MILLION dollar renovation to
expand ND stadium. That's a lot of money!

[TruePoint]

The B1G schools are currently getting around $25M per year in total revenue, which includes TV but also includes bowl payouts and NCAA tournament units. Notre Dame's new deal with NBC is for $18M just for football. That doesn't include bowl payouts or NCAA tournament units (which they share in with the ACC, obviously). There are also other avenues of income for athletic departments, such as direct giving and sponsorships, where ND does quite well. I think ND values it's independence enough that even being competitive financially would be enough for them. The only thing that would force then into a conference would be if the college football landscape evolved to where access to the playoff were tied to conference affiliation and they would be shut out if they didn't join. To that end, they have positioned themselves to join the ACC if that happens.

[rjsuperfly66]

To that end, they have positioned themselves to join the ACC if that happens.

Is that necessarily their final move? I think the ACC is great for what ND is currently there for. It's a very good basketball conference which allows them tremendous primetime opportunities against some very good schools. The B1G has some good schools of course, but as much as I love Michigan St., how do they compare to Duke, UNC, and Syracuse? But in terms of football, the ACC in no way compares to the B1G. I'm going to guess the B1G didn't want to offer them basketball-only and that is what led them to the ACC. But all of their football rivalries (Am I the only one pained that ND/Michigan is on hold)? Geographically? Financially? Doesn't the B1G make more sense if they decide to conference-up?

[rodfromcranston]

MSU has won 2 NCAAs to Syracuse's one. I don't consider Syracuse in
Duke or UNC's class, historically.
Big 10 could have had three out of four teams in the Final Four, with some breaks.
Michigan has been a very good program over the years. The won it all in 1989 and have been
in the finals five other times.
An ACC team won the National Championship in football this year. The Big 10 continues to
bomb in bowl games, year after year.
When was the last time an Big 10 school won the national championship?
It's SEC and everyone else, most years.

[TruePoint]

Notre Dame will not join the B1G. One reason is if you look at the history, they wanted to join 100 years ago and Michigan blackballed them because their coach/AD was a racist. That is how they got their identity as a barnstorming team that played across the country. Teams in the Midwest wouldn't play them. So there's that. But moreover, they don't really recruit in the Midwest anymore and see the talent base as being in the south. In addition to California and Texas, their recruiting base has shifted primarily to that part of the country. I think they view the ACC territory as more fertile recruiting ground going forward, and they have existing relationships or traditional rivalries with BC, Pitt, Wake, Miami, Florida State, Syracuse and UNC.

[Gonebarongone]

Couple points. The ACC signed a grant of rights deal through 2026-27 which means each president assigned all of their schools TV rights for all sports to the conference. So, a team could leave, but they won't bring their TV rights. This took a lot of cajoling with teams like FSU but, when they finally signed, it effectively ended any ACC movement for the next decade. The only thing that would change is ND at some point joining in football full time. The difference between their TV deal and the ACC football deal is just not that much anymore. It's more about giving up the scheduling flexibility for old rivalries like Stanford, USC, Navy, etc. But, we already saw they were willing to ditch Michigan and Pitt ( I think) so I wouldn't be surprised if ND was in the conference by 2020.

As for BC v. Uconn, there is no question UConn is a better hoops school but the difference between BC and UConn football is huge. We love to say BC is irrelevant because it is a pro sport's town but there national football ratings blow UConn out of the water. There was a reason the Big East wanted BC hoops in 1980 and the ACC wanted BC in 2005. There is no conference head that would choose UConn over BC if all sports are considered. Plus, the ACC has a really nice academic footprint, too. And that matters to the presidents.

[rjsuperfly66]

GBG, is that in addition to the $50 million exit fee? Or is that by itself?

One would have to imagine if it's standing by itself at $17 million a year, and the B1G came in with $50 million annually, a team could try to make that work. A little different if you add 50+17 a year.

[Gonebarongone]

Not sure where you get that $17MM. Think I missed it. The grant of rights is more restrictive than any of the cash. $50MM is a lot but can be overcome. MD might have to do it. A school isn't going anywhere unless it's bringing it's TV rights with it, though.

[SGreenwell]

I wonder if there is ever a point financially where ND has to abandon independancy. For example, football/basketball Big 10 schools will probably being looking at an AAV around $50 million come 2017. I think Fox is going to drive the price up and ESPN will either have to find the way to financially commit or lose them. And the problem for ESPN is that if they pay B1G $50 million, the price of every conference goes up for them. If they don't, they can call Fox crazy and try to maintain their current structure.

But back to the point, if Big 10 schools are hypothetically getting $50 million per (and maybe even more if ND was a part of the negotiations), and Notre Dame is getting $18 million with their football/basketball combined, is the exposure of being NBC's baby 5 or 6 times a year worth the money they would lose by being in a great football conference? They would still get plenty of primetime and national TV games. Given past football rivalries, the B1G would be a perfect fit for the Irish.

I think as long as they're getting a reasonable, competitive amount of cash for going solo, that's in their best interest. Outside of the lump sum payment from NBC, it also means that their games are guaranteed to be on national TV every week. While I imagine they might (eventually) not make as much as other programs do by splitting up billions multiple ways, they also wouldn't get as many guaranteed nationally televised games.

If anything, I wonder if NBC has tried to tempt over big time programs to go the independent route. Meaning, it would be easier for NBC to just pay Notre Dame and Team X for the rights to their games, and lock up from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. each Saturday for those games, as opposed to paying for the rights to an entire conference.

[rjsuperfly66]

Gotcha, GBG. Misinterpreted that to be their earned media income of $17 million a year or whatever it breaks down to now.

[TruePoint]

Couple points. The ACC signed a grant of rights deal through 2026-27 which means each president assigned all of their schools TV rights for all sports to the conference. So, a team could leave, but they won't bring their TV rights. This took a lot of cajoling with teams like FSU but, when they finally signed, it effectively ended any ACC movement for the next decade. The only thing that would change is ND at some point joining in football full time. The difference between their TV deal and the ACC football deal is just not that much anymore. It's more about giving up the scheduling flexibility for old rivalries like Stanford, USC, Navy, etc. But, we already saw they were willing to ditch Michigan and Pitt ( I think) so I wouldn't be surprised if ND was in the conference by 2020.

They will play USC and Navy pretty much no matter what. Those are the only two teams that Notre Dame considers rivals. They would like to keep playing Stanford because they would like to play one game in California every year (they play USC home and @Stanford then vice versa). I also think they'd like to keep playing Michigan State and Purdue if they can, but those games are less important. Pitt and BC have regularly been on the schedule, but ND will now play them with the same frequency as all of the other ACC teams.

The reasons ND has been independent have historically been necessity (when Michigan had blackballed them from the then Western Conference), exposure (when they were the only team on national TV every week), to money (when they were the first team to make a ton of money from a TV contract), to now tradition and independence for independence sake. If you ask Jack Swarbrick why ND is independent, you'll get practical answers, but the truth is that its identity is so wrapped up in being independent that it will continue to do so for as long as it can. None of the prior factors that led it to be independent still exist.

Forbes estimated that ND is the second most valuable CFB program and its $78M of revenue rank it ahead of all B1G teams except Michigan ($81M). Ohio State is second in the B1G at $61M. So whatever their TV deal lacks, they aren't going broke.

As for BC v. Uconn, there is no question UConn is a better hoops school but the difference between BC and UConn football is huge. We love to say BC is irrelevant because it is a pro sport's town but there national football ratings blow UConn out of the water. There was a reason the Big East wanted BC hoops in 1980 and the ACC wanted BC in 2005. There is no conference head that would choose UConn over BC if all sports are considered. Plus, the ACC has a really nice academic footprint, too. And that matters to the presidents.

UConn football is just as good, if not better, than BC football at this point. It is hard to find financial data for BC because it is private, but in FY 2010 they had $19.1M of revenue, and UConn had $21.3M. UConn has more recently been to a BCS game, has a much better stadium, has better access to more recruits because of respective admissions standards, has better fan support, a bigger alumni network and in general UConn's overall brand is 1000X better with high school kids than BC's. Traditionally, BC has been better than UConn, but the gap is closing quickly. In 2013, UConn's recruiting class was 65th and BC's was 88th. They may not repeat that year in and year out yet, but the program is still pretty new so even outranking BC once at this stage is impressive.

And that is just football. Basketball may be less of a revenue driver than football, but it still makes money for the best programs, and UConn's basketball program compared to BC's is on a different planet.

[ramster]

Here are the facts in ESPN Recruiting for this year 2014:

Boston College is 5th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 30
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 1
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 3
3 Star = 19
Connecticut is 117th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 16
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 0
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 0
3 Star = 8

[TruePoint]

Here are the facts in ESPN Recruiting for this year 2014:

Boston College is 5th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 30
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 1
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 3
3 Star = 19
Connecticut is 117th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 16
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 0
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 0
3 Star = 8

UConn had a coaching change this year, so obviously their class in a transition year was going to be a little smaller and a little less impressive overall. UConn has more upside as a football program than BC does, and that is with it still being without a legit conference. Also, I wouldn't judge based on quantity. There is a 25 scholarship per year limit (with you can get around with early enrollees, which I'm assuming BC did) and 85 scholarship limit overall. So signing 30 players in one year probably means they had a pretty small class not too long ago (probably during their coaching change).

[ramster]

Here are the facts in ESPN Recruiting for this year 2014:

Boston College is 5th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 30
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 1
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 3
3 Star = 19
Connecticut is 117th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 16
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 0
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 0
3 Star = 8

UConn had a coaching change this year, so obviously their class in a transition year was going to be a little smaller and a little less impressive overall. UConn has more upside as a football program than BC does, and that is with it still being without a legit conference. Also, I wouldn't judge based on quantity. There is a 25 scholarship per year limit (with you can get around with early enrollees, which I'm assuming BC did) and 85 scholarship limit overall. So signing 30 players in one year probably means they had a pretty small class not too long ago (probably during their coaching change).

I agree on the quantity statement, but BC got 3 four star players to none for UCONN and 19 three star players to only 8 for UCONN.
Just not seeing your claim in the numbers.
I know that UCONN would give anything to be in the ACC instead of BC. BC is in a much better place than UCONN who is on the outside looking in.
I always think of BC Football as being superior to Uconn in Recruiting capability.

Looking to 2015 Verbals as an additional comparison to Date:
BC with 5
1Lukas Denis, Everett, Massachusetts
2Chris Lindstrom, Dudley, Massachusetts = 3 star
3Aaron Monteiro, Brockton, Massachusetts
4Anthony Palazzolo, Fairfield, Connecticut = 4 star
5John Phillips, Syracuse, New York
UCONN with none to date

[TruePoint]

I think part of that is that, like I said, UConn has a new staff. They're starting from scratch with recruiting. I do agree that BC has been the better program, but UConn hasn't been around for that long at this level.

[SmartyBarrett]

BC started from scratch with a new coach last year, and made a bowl game coming off a pretty hideous season. In that respect, BC is only one year ahead of UConn in their respective rebuilds.

[Gonebarongone]

Here are the facts in ESPN Recruiting for this year 2014:

Boston College is 5th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 30
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 1
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 3
3 Star = 19
Connecticut is 117th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 16
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 0
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 0
3 Star = 8

UConn had a coaching change this year, so obviously their class in a transition year was going to be a little smaller and a little less impressive overall. UConn has more upside as a football program than BC does, and that is with it still being without a legit conference. Also, I wouldn't judge based on quantity. There is a 25 scholarship per year limit (with you can get around with early enrollees, which I'm assuming BC did) and 85 scholarship limit overall. So signing 30 players in one year probably means they had a pretty small class not too long ago (probably during their coaching change).

If you talked to 100 people in football (coaches, writers, ADs), I doubt you would find more than one who agrees with you on that. It took maybe the worst head coach in the history of college football to drag BC down, gut the roster, and necessitate a total rebuild. And a year later they made a bowl and have maybe their best recruiting class since Tom O'Brien with 2015 off to a good start. UConn is in a horrible conference with no real landing spot anytime soon. If there was a redraft of conferences, BC would be taken before UConn every time. Mostly because of football, where the facts are the draw national eyeballs and UConn probably never will. The highest rated college hoops games are dwarfed by inconsequential football games. So, because most of us are hoops guys, we think it matters. But, it doesn't. Football and market matters.

[ramster]

Here are the facts in ESPN Recruiting for this year 2014:

Boston College is 5th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 30
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 1
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 3
3 Star = 19
Connecticut is 117th in the Nation in Quantity of Recruits with 16
ESPN 300 Ranked Players = 0
5 Star = 0
4 Star = 0
3 Star = 8

UConn had a coaching change this year, so obviously their class in a transition year was going to be a little smaller and a little less impressive overall. UConn has more upside as a football program than BC does, and that is with it still being without a legit conference. Also, I wouldn't judge based on quantity. There is a 25 scholarship per year limit (with you can get around with early enrollees, which I'm assuming BC did) and 85 scholarship limit overall. So signing 30 players in one year probably means they had a pretty small class not too long ago (probably during their coaching change).

If you talked to 100 people in football (coaches, writers, ADs), I doubt you would find more than one who agrees with you on that. It took maybe the worst head coach in the history of college football to drag BC down, gut the roster, and necessitate a total rebuild. And a year later they made a bowl and have maybe their best recruiting class since Tom O'Brien with 2015 off to a good start. UConn is in a horrible conference with no real landing spot anytime soon. If there was a redraft of conferences, BC would be taken before UConn every time. Mostly because of football, where the facts are the draw national eyeballs and UConn probably never will. The highest rated college hoops games are dwarfed by inconsequential football games. So, because most of us are hoops guys, we think it matters. But, it doesn't. Football and market matters.

Agree with you GBG. The only hope Connecticut has is to get invited to join the ACC and get out of the AAC - that is their dream. I tmight happen one day but who knows - with the exit restrictions now in place for teams in the ACC nobody is likely to leave. The ACC is getting stronger in Football and in Basketball.
The programs are not close and the gap between then will get wider as Boston College Football improves.

[Seawrightspostgame]

BC and UCONN are light years away. History in football matters a little more than basketball. Look at TAMU, a heisman trophy winner does wonders. I would doubt UCONN ever has one. BC just had a heisman candidate. BC's game day atmosphere is awesome. I've been to many games, as well as SEC big games and ACC, hell even saw mizzou. BC is unique with the hills of Newton, boston in the fall, tailgating, it's cool.

BC has the 07 success, is one of the only true urban universities which is a recruiting draw.

ACC is rumored and speculated to have a tv network in the works. ACC and big10 are much more competitive than any on this board are giving credit for.

ACC could be argued to be positioned to become the standard in conferences if your looking at them for academics,football,basketball.

[TruePoint]

BC's problem is that it's brand is the equivalent of Buick. It is warned over mashed potatoes. UConn on the other hand has brand cache. If UConn never gets into a good conference then it's football team probably won't ever totally make it. But the upside is higher than BC, which has peaked and since plateaued. As I explained in an above post that GBG chose not to respond to, it has a better stadium, a bigger fan base, a bigger alumni network, competitive budget, and a larger potential player pool. Right now the advantages BC has are history of success and conference affiliation. The latter is temporary and the former can be overcome by all the other institutional advantages UConn has.

[rjsuperfly66]

As long as UCONN is in the AAC, they will have a tough time "competing" with BC for the crown of New England. Have you seen how bad that conference is? This was last year's stats from Sagarin, and of course some of the names don't strike you as perennial powers.

#25 - Central Florida
#50 - Houston
#51 - Navy
#56 - East Carolina
#67 - Cincinnati
#91 - Tulane
#102 - SMU
#107 - Memphis
#117 - Temple
#121 - UCONN
#132 - Tulsa
#143 - South Florida

*Of course you know there are only 126 FBS programs.

Compared to the ACC:

#1 - Florida St.
#14 - Clemson
#20 - Louisville
#37 - Georgia Tech
#42 - Duke
#43 - Virginia Tech
#45 - North Carolina
#49 - Miami (FL)
#55 - Pittsburgh
#62 - Syracuse
#64 - Boston College
#86 - Wake Forest
#106 - Virginia
#113 - North Carolina St.

Forgot about Maryland leaving, guess that leaves 14 football, 15 basketball.

[Gonebarongone]

BC's problem is that it's brand is the equivalent of Buick. It is warned over mashed potatoes. UConn on the other hand has brand cache. If UConn never gets into a good conference then it's football team probably won't ever totally make it. But the upside is higher than BC, which has peaked and since plateaued. As I explained in an above post that GBG chose not to respond to, it has a better stadium, a bigger fan base, a bigger alumni network, competitive budget, and a larger potential player pool. Right now the advantages BC has are history of success and conference affiliation. The latter is temporary and the former can be overcome by all the other institutional advantages UConn has.

BC has a national recruiting base. It's best players have been from almost every state (Matt Ryan PA, Luke Kuechly-OH, Kiwanuka Indiana, Montel Harris Florida, the O-lineman are from all over), especially over the last 20 years. UConn does not. The admissions difference nowhere near makes up for this. BC has an on campus stadium that seats more than the Rent and isn't 40 minutes from campus. In what world is that a better stadium? You think recruits want to get on a bus for a stinking home game? BC gets to tell kids they are going to play at The U, in Death Valley, at Doak Walker. UConn goes to where again? This is not inconsequential. They get a huge check from the ACC every year which allows them to pay assistants decent money (compared to UConn.) You think Don Brown is taking the DC spot at UConn? No chance. Then the history. UConn is a gutter football program in a gutter football league. There one BCS title game was when in a HORRIBLE Big East and the school lost millions (look it up). I like your take on sports you are in no man's land on this one. Again, if they both were free agent schools, not a single AD, pres, or conference head would take UConn over BC. Not a single one. Swofford isn't a dope. Gavitt wasn't a dope when he started the Big East, either.

[TruePoint]

My assumption is that UConn will land in a real conference eventually, which will negate a lot of the advantages that BC currently has. Yes, BC has a better history (by a huge margin) and they are in a much better conference. But in terms of latent potential, I think UConn has it and I think BC has already been as good at football as they will ever be.

[rjsuperfly66]

Is that a bad thing for BC though? In the mid-2000s, they were always a borderline Top 25 team that won a lot of games, even after going to the ACC. If that's their ceiling, it's a damn good ceiling. Their only problem was that they never got over the hump, believe they had 3 or 4 chances to get to BCS games and failed every time. Think their last year in the Big East, they just had to beat Syracuse in the last week of the season, and lost. They made a few ACC championship games and believe they lost each one brutally. The year they made #2 in the country, sure that was a strange season for FBS football and they got lucky along the way, but that was a credit to fantastic coaching. O'Brien made many underrated decisions to get the most out of that team, the biggest one being in 05-06 I beileve when in a move similar to Brady/Bledsoe if memory recalls, he went with Matt Ryan who was the #2 entering the season.

UCONN has a long way to go if they want to recreate the magic BC had up in Chestnut Hill for many years.

[RhowdyRam02]

It didn't have a whole lot to do with O'Brien. In 2005 O'Brien had Ryan split time with Quinton Porter. Ryan was better but Porter was a Senior so he was able to earn a split due to seniority. In 2006 Ryan was the man, but that was because it was just Ryan and Chris Crane, who had the same amount of time in, so O'Brien went solely with talent instead of rewarding seniority. Finally 2007 was the year when BC rose to number 2 in the country and their first ACC Championship game, but that was Jagodzinski's first year as head coach.

BC lost their first ACC Championship game in 2007 30-16 to Virginia Tech, but it was closer than that score. Virginia Tech scored a TD on an interception with 11 seconds left when Ryan was trying to lead an improbable comeback drive. 2008 they lost to VT again, that year 30-12. They were a slight favorite the second time, but with Dominique Davis at QB that season instead of Ryan they were a much weaker squad. They made the championship game on the back of their defense. That was the year Mark Herzlich had his monster season.

O'Brien did a great job of helping BC recover from the gambling scandal, but he could never get BC into a BCS game, mostly because of his habit of having one WTF loss each season, such as their last year in the Big East against Syracuse. He also too often rewarded seniority over talent.

[Seawrightspostgame]

GBG knocked it out of the park. UCONN doesn't have the ability or potential to pass BC.

Also in football the rankings or program positions aren't fluid. Programs are where they are, people aren't changing that hierarchy much.

Over the past 10-15 BC has lured a fair share of hs AA and turned other guys into NCAA AA.

[ramster]

GBG knocked it out of the park. UCONN doesn't have the ability or potential to pass BC.

Also in football the rankings or program positions aren't fluid. Programs are where they are, people aren't changing that hierarchy much.

Over the past 10-15 BC has lured a fair share of hs AA and turned other guys into NCAA AA.

WOW, GBG you have a fan I also agree with you completely, UCONN never has been comparable to BC in football and certainly isn't now either even though BC has been down of late. BC recruits high level athletes period.
UCONN may get there someday as I would not rule that University out of anything but they are not close yet.

[SmartyBarrett]

Sign me up for agreeing 100% with GBG as well. BC also seems to be on the upswing right now with their new coach, and they'll probably be better this year than they were last year. I'm not ready to say their best years are behind them just yet.

[rambone 78]

No question BC has a better FB program than UConn.

UConn's FB program will be lost in the wilderness until they can get into the ACC. Which might take a while. Their BB programs are on another planet, however.

Meanwhile, UMass has 2 years to get into the AAC. If not, time to come back to the friendly confines of the CAA. Even if they do go AAC, I can't see them ever making a profit on football in that conference. They will be competitive in BB though.

[TruePoint]

Wow. You guys love BC, huh?

I just assumed everyone understood what a joke they are. They aren't a serious football program. You guys are funny.

BC football = Penn State basketball

OBVIOUSLY Boston College has been better than UConn, historically. That really isn't an insightful argument. UConn football basically just started. But UConn has more upside and if they get into a real conference they will out-recruit BC and become the clearly better program within a relatively short period of time.

[SmartyBarrett]

UConn football basically just started. But UConn has more upside and if they get into a real conference they will out-recruit BC and become the clearly better program within a relatively short period of time.

Not sure I buy that, as long as Steve Addazio is around. Hard to top his resume: Brandon Spikes, Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Cam Newton, Aaron Hernandez, Riley Cooper, Mike Pouncey, Reggie Nelson... guy can recruit a little bit.

[Gonebarongone]

Wow. You guys love BC, huh?

I just assumed everyone understood what a joke they are. They aren't a serious football program. You guys are funny.

BC football = Penn State basketball

OBVIOUSLY Boston College has been better than UConn, historically. That really isn't an insightful argument. UConn football basically just started. But UConn has more upside and if they get into a real conference they will out-recruit BC and become the clearly better program within a relatively short period of time.

Well, first, a pretty big assumption. I don't see them in the ACC or Big Ten in the next ten years. They don't add a darn thing other than the hoops team and we know hoops doesn't move the needle. The don't add eyeballs to any TV deal and that is what additions are all about.

And I have no idea where the upside is if they do get in by some miracle. BC has a top 40 recruiting class the year after going 2-10. Addazio can recruit. That guy has scalps on the wall. UConn has zero four star recruits since 2009. They were not in the top 70 of schools (Rivals doesn't go further) out of 126. BC started the 2015 cycle with a four star OL. No one wants to go to the cow pastures to play football in a gutter league and hop on a bus to play it's games in Hartford.

In the 2000s, they went to over ten bowls. Won eight straight. Produced several first round NFL picks. How is that not serious? They hired a bad coach. It happens. And it looks like they are on their way back.

[Gonebarongone]

Came across this from the SI college football guy in his mailbag.

As a Boston College fan, what is a reasonable ceiling to expect from the Eagles in the coming years?
-- Kris, Edwardsville, Pa.
It's high. Boston College is not that far removed from winning consecutive ACC Atlantic Division titles in 2007 and '08 under Jeff Jagodzinski (the first with quarterback Matt Ryan). Unfortunately for the Eagles, their division has become considerably tougher following Florida State's resurgence, Clemson's rise and Louisville's arrival.
However, Boston College has more history than Louisville and was arguably stronger than Clemson for about 15 years before Tajh Boyd suited up for the Tigers. Now the Eagles have a coach, Steve Addazzio, who both preaches the physical style of offense that's long been a hallmark at Boston College and, along with his staff, may be the best recruiter to come through Chestnut Hill in a long, long time. Getting to 7-6 last fall given the state of that roster was no small feat. The Eagles may take a step back this year without Heisman finalist Andre Williams, but I'd bet on them becoming a Top 25-caliber team again soon.



National guys know the deal. BC, with what looks like a good coach, should be a top 25 team again soon.

[Seawrightspostgame]

Yea its foolish to say BC is Penn State basketball..... BC football was beating Penn state football in the mid 2000's.

Countless things to point to proving BC overwhelmingly is above uconn.

7 first rounders? I wonder how many drafted overall or top 3 rounds. If your drafted, your pretty good in college.

I just think your severely misinformed, hate BC, or believe the Uconn hype more than anybody.

[TruePoint]

Mostly it's that I hate Boston College. But I also think a small private school is going to face institutional roadblocks that big state schools don't. Yes, by any objective measure BC will be ahead of UConn at this point. They've been around for 100 more years. And obviously the disparity that exists right now with BC having a home in a quality conference and UConn without one weighs heavily in BC's favor. I just think if one of the two schools ultimately is able to pose a threat to get into the football playoff at some point down the line, it's UConn.

Also, to quickly address the point brought up before about basketball being worthless with respect to getting UConn an invite to a conference: I don't agree. Do you think Duke brings more value to the conference with its basketball or football program? What about Syracuse? Yes, overall football is much more valuable than basketball, but there is a certain amount of value in exposure and basketball will still get you a lot of that.

[SmartyBarrett]

um, what?

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... membership

[RhowdyRam02]

If you read umasshoops.com, a lot of the posters there seem to hate this idea. That said, a bunch of them are clinging to a rumor that the athletic department is exploring going to the Big 10, so reality might be a bit of a struggle for them right now.

[Rhody74]

Sounds like a desperation move. The closest Sunbelt football member is Appalachian State University in Boone, NC (go Mountaineers!)

[rambone 78]

UMass wants into the AAC. Desperately. Looks doubtful, unless UConn leaves. Then what local rivalry would they have?

The Sun Belt? What a crock. Talk about travel expenses, with little TV money to spend on that.

They are delusional if they think they are going to get an invite to the B10, or the ACC.

They belong where they left. The CAA.

[TruePoint]

The AAC is a road to nowhere. It's the island of misfit toys, and their premier program is going to find their way off the island eventually. When that is what you are aspiring too, something has gone terribly wrong.

[Ramblinrose]

What a xisaster. Waste of tons of cash.

[RhowdyRam02]

The CAA is a bigger road to nowhere, and we keep trotting out a team.

[TruePoint]

The CAA is a bigger road to nowhere, and we keep trotting out a team.

How is it a road to nowhere? It is the best FCS conference in the country.

[SmartyBarrett]

Two CAA schools (UNH and Towson) made it to the Final Four of the FCS Tournament last season. Towson played in the FCS Title game.

[Ramblinrose]

URI is a bad program in a very good conference.

[rambone 78]

I've said this before and I'll say it again:

If this new staff can't turn this program around, it's over. The bell will toll.

URI is making improvements to the program, but won't spent a lot of money going forward if they don't start at least becoming competitive in a couple of years.

I think they will get better, the level of players being brought in so far seems much higher than what Trainor could get.

How much better is the big question. My expectations are, win a few games this year, be competitive in most games. Next year, a winning record. Then, sustain it.

[Ramblinrose]

Pretty bad when two in state recruits chose Bryant over URIm

[RhowdyRam02]

The CAA is a bigger road to nowhere, and we keep trotting out a team.

How is it a road to nowhere? It is the best FCS conference in the country.

Your answer is right there in the second sentence. The FCS itself is a road to nowhere, a road to nowhere for worse than the AAC. When UMass won the national championship in 1998 they lost the standard amount of money they lost every season plus they lost a significant chunk of money for each extra playoff game they played, and they received almost no extra national attention, so they couldn't write off the lost money as the cost of advertising. The AAC participates in the top level of the sport, its participants have a chance to play for the real national title, and their games are on national TV. The CAA might be the best conference in FBS, but that just means the winner of the conference is the tallest midget. You can enjoy going to games at Meade and support URI football, but don't pretend like playing in the CAA is better than playing in any conference in FBS because it's not.

[TruePoint]

That is a strange way of looking at things. The CAA is the best conference at its level. Not everyone can have a big national football program. URI never will. Neither will UMass. At least by being in the CAA URI is competing at the appropriate level for it, against other similarly situated schools. UMass is just stupidly chasing the idea of playing big-time football. It's a joke.

[Ramblinrose]

A colossal waste of money from day one.