Hurley vs. Cooley

RhodyFanNotAlum · Unread post by **RhodyFanNotAlum** » 4 years ago

Worth reading: https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/jeffja ... 517504.php

“I think we gave Connecticut new life,” said Cooley, the Providence coach. “We gave their fan base new life. I think they finally came to the conclusion that they are a basketball-centric school. They were pouring all their money into football and, in my opinion, it was going into a hole.

“A lot of people will be pissed at me for saying that, but when you’ve become a national brand in one sport and try to parlay it into something that isn’t — shame on you for making the decision up front.”

...

“Wow, pontificating on us,” Hurley said. “I disagree with that. I don’t take offense to it, I guess. We recruited Akok Akok, James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney and R.J. Cole and were in pretty good position to bring in a Top 15-Top 10 recruiting class before, I guess, the Big East ‘saved’ us.

“Our basketball program was well on its way to doing what I’d done at Wagner and what I’d done at Rhode Island. I remember my years five and six in the state of Rhode Island, we were kind of the thing with our performance in March and winning our league and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Big East is certainly going to help UConn, and UConn is certainly getting its act together right now and we were way before we returned to the Big East.”

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

So is this right that I have to pay $9.95 per month to be able to read the article you recommend reading?
Are you paying $9.95 per month? Is there another way to read it?

Rhody74 · Unread post by **Rhody74** » 4 years ago

JimSidd · Unread post by **JimSidd** » 4 years ago

Cooley exaggerated the situation, but I don’t think he’s wrong. Perhaps Hurley would have brought UCONN back to prominence anyway, but the move to the Big East will accelerate it. I told friends as soon as I heard about the move that I expect UCONN to be on par with Villanova in a couple of years and then surpass the Wildcats as the premier Big East team. (I realize that Seton Hall is the preseason favorite this year, but I’m looking at this from the long view.). I feel the main thing that’s held them back lately is conference identity and now they will have it.

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 4 years ago

Cooley was certainly right about the football program.

That is a black hole and doesn't look like it will get any better.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

I think the comments are slightly dramatic but accurate in scope. Many of their basketball fans (which outnumber the football fans) were tired of watching the program chase football dreams in a football conference, and are very excited to return to the Big East, and I believe that is what Cooley is alluding to, breaking the football ties and returning to the focus on basketball in a basketball conference. The day it was announced UCONN was going back to the Big East, Hurley's own personal bobo, Adam Zagoria, wrote the following in an article:

Hurley and Moore couldn’t comment on the reports of UConn shifting back to the Big East Conference in 2020-21, and they’re not allowed to comment on recruits, either.
But that didn’t stop several high school coaches at the event from discussing how the move would be a ‘game-changer’ for the Huskies recruiting efforts going forward.
“For a top-50 guy like Jabri [Abdur-Rahim], that obviously makes UConn a totally different option,” said Blair Academy coach Joe Mantegna, who hosted the Mid-Atlantic Independent School Shootout that drew Hurley, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Pitt’s Jeff Capel and Cal’s Mark Fox, along with a slew of high- and mid-major assistant coaches.
“Not to say they’ll get him,” Mantegna added, “but to say they look totally different on that list and they can sell totally different things that I think is a real benefit to the Northeastern’s highest-level guys.”
“The Big East has a lot of sway around here and obviously I know that that puts UConn back with the same company that they were always with,” Mantegna said. “And people our age think of UConn as a Big East school, and I think that changes everything for recruiting for Danny.”
Mantegna, who coached longtime NBA wing Luol Deng, said the advantage of being in the Big East is that kids and their families can see UConn play at a variety of local schools, including St. John’s (at MSG), Seton Hall, Villanova and Providence.
In the American Athletic Conference, UConn has no local rivals and plays schools like Wichita State, Memphis, Temple, Houston, Tulane and Florida schools like UCF and USF.
“The guys from the East Coast don’t want to go play at Tulsa and Houston and those places,” Mantegna said. “No disrespect, I know those teams are really, really good, but their families can’t see them play and also frankly we just don’t care as much about Midwestern basketball in the Northeast, whether that’s right or wrong, and that really hurts their recruiting. And I think now that they’re back in the Big East, they have a totally different sway in their recruiting.”
Still, Albany Academy coach Brian Fruscio agreed with Mantegna that a return to the Big East would be a boost for the Huskies.
“Yeah, I think it will influence kids because now if they’re a Northeast kid, not only can your parents see you play at home, now you can see them play on the road. You can see them play at St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence, Villanova so I can drive and my parents can see me play,” he said. “So I think from a logistical standpoint it brings them into being a major player that they always were. Let’s not forget they’re a decent brand. That could be really good. Then you have an aggressive talented coach like Danny Hurley.
“That’s a game-changer for college basketball. It just make sense, geographically and rivalry[-wise]. and now all of a sudden, that’s an extra 5,000 people who will give up their Wednesday night to go see a game.”
Westtown coach Seth Berger said every kid is different in that some want to stay close to home and some want to go far away.
Still, he said, ““The Big East has a one of a kind tradition and getting UConn back would be great for the the Big East and great for UConn.”

https://www.zagsblog.com/2019/06/22/uco ... aches-say/

eli#10 · Unread post by **eli#10** » 4 years ago

Clearly a black hole that the football program was a major contributor to that helped create a $40million deficit in the Athletic Department. The hole was so big that Cooley (pre his stomach surgery) would have easily fit into it. I always found it comical when the TV announcers at Friar games would credit Cooley for working hard and losing over 100 pounds. The hardest thing he did was climbing up and getting his huge gut on to the operating table.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 4 years ago

Love the pot shot by Dan in saying that Rhody was moreso the talk of RI his last 2 years bc we won in March. Clap back.

rhodylocal · Unread post by **rhodylocal** » 4 years ago

ramster wrote: ↑4 years ago So is this right that I have to pay $9.95 per month to be able to read the article you recommend reading?
Are you paying $9.95 per month? Is there another way to read it?

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/stamfor ... 2940330060

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 4 years ago

UConn was in the Big East and the Big East became a competitive football league. UConn didn’t leave the Big East. Other schools left for P5 (a great move for any school over the Big East). UConn got stuck in the middle of the national realignment. They did get in a P5 and they weren’t part of the new league formed by 7 Catholic schools (most who didn’t have any football).

UConn Football won Bowl games in 2008 & 2009 and went to the Fiesta Bowl in 2011. They won the Big East two of those years.
Ed Cooley has no idea about UConn Football. He really needs to talk less. They obviously have struggled in the last 5 years. I am not saying the football program is going to make it back. But the way he depicted the history is completely wrong.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

Accidental duplicate

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑4 years ago UConn was in the Big East and the Big East became a competitive football league. UConn didn’t leave the Big East. Other schools left for P5 (a great move for any school over the Big East). UConn got stuck in the middle of the national realignment. They did get in a P5 and they weren’t part of the new league formed by 7 Catholic schools (most who didn’t have any football).

UConn Football won Bowl games in 2008 & 2009 and went to the Fiesta Bowl in 2011. They won the Big East two of those years.
Ed Cooley has no idea about UConn Football. He really needs to talk less. They obviously have struggled in the last 5 years. I am not saying the football program is going to make it back. But the way he depicted the history is completely wrong.

UCONN did not technically leave the Big East, but they did play their part in what happened. Once Syracuse and Pittsburgh announced their intent to leave, UCONN and Susan Herbst found every platform they could to discuss trying to land in any conference not named the Big East. So while they can truthfully sit there and say "We didn't leave the Big East, they left us," their actions led to the immediate destabilization of the rest of the conference and ruined any chance the old Big East had of staying together.

I think what gets lost in some of this commentary about UCONN's football in the late 2000s was that they were successful in the Big East, but the Big East UCONN was brought into was very different than the Big East UCONN was winning in. Losing Miami, Virginia Tech, and even Boston College took the talent level of the Big East five notches down. The UCONN program that made the Fiesta Bowl was 8-4. They were winning but weren't exactly operating at a P5 level. Cooley wasn't saying they shouldn't have played football, just that they shouldn't have sold their soul to the football devil when they were and always will be a basketball-first school.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 4 years ago

Agree with a chunk of what rj posted but not that Cooley was correct.
UConn football history:
In 1997 the BE gave UConn a deadline of the end of the year to decide if they were going to join the BE Football Conference.
Their first full season as I-A in 2002
UConn was scheduled to join the BE Football Conference in 2005
Miami, VT and BC left after the 2003 season.
UConn date was moved up to the 2004 season.
They went to Bowls in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2015. In 2003 as I-A Independent they went 9-3 & didn’t get a Bowl bid
They won the BE in 2007 & 2010.
They have 16 players currently in the NFL.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 4 years ago

Clap back hard by 83. By RJs logic BC should drop football as well.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 4 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Clap back hard by 83. By RJs logic BC should drop football as well.

Agree that UConn's foray into football wasn't a disaster, but it clearly is now....

Iggy1979 · Unread post by **Iggy1979** » 4 years ago

I gotta admit I will try to be in the Dunk for PC-UConn!

Rhode_Island_Red · Unread post by **Rhode_Island_Red** » 4 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote: ↑4 years ago I gotta admit I will try to be in the Dunk for PC-UConn!

I’ll be rooting for a double forfeit so they can both lose.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 4 years ago

Iggy1979 wrote: ↑4 years ago I gotta admit I will try to be in the Dunk for PC-UConn!

I'll watch if the timing works out...just for the Hurls show. You know he'll be even more amped than usual (sure to be a treat), but I wouldn't 'pay' to see it.

section(105) · Unread post by **section(105)** » 4 years ago

......UConn/PC at the Dump......I will get there......as one of my several upstate trips......love the PC Band.....

theblueram · Unread post by **theblueram** » 4 years ago

fuck pc and fuck uconn

eli#10 · Unread post by **eli#10** » 4 years ago

You are the man "theblueram"!!!!!

Getting back to Cooley for a second: he can recruit and performs well in front of a TV camera BUT cannot coach.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑4 years ago Agree with a chunk of what rj posted but not that Cooley was correct.
UConn football history:
In 1997 the BE gave UConn a deadline of the end of the year to decide if they were going to join the BE Football Conference.
Their first full season as I-A in 2002
UConn was scheduled to join the BE Football Conference in 2005
Miami, VT and BC left after the 2003 season.
UConn date was moved up to the 2004 season.
They went to Bowls in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2015. In 2003 as I-A Independent they went 9-3 & didn’t get a Bowl bid
They won the BE in 2007 & 2010.
They have 16 players currently in the NFL.

And yet...nobody cares. That’s the real point here. W-L record aside, they can’t draw live or on TV.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 4 years ago

UConn may be returning to the the Big East, but it is not the same Big East. They essentially traded great rivalries with Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville for Butler, Xavier and Creighton. Not the same today or ever!!

I have no criticism of UConn trying to move their football program to higher level. That's Thinking Big. Their huge mistake was to engage in emotionally induced thinking in response to BC moving to the ACC which led the Connecticut AG to sue the ACC and win some sort of settlement. But that proved to be a pyrrhic victory and now the Huskies have essentially been blackballed from the one P5 conference where they would have been a good fit. Being in a good conference especially at the P5 level is essential to having a successful football program.

Billyboy78 · Unread post by **Billyboy78** » 4 years ago

I don't even understand why this thread is here.

NYGFan_Section208 · Unread post by **NYGFan_Section208** » 4 years ago

Obadiah wrote: ↑4 years ago UConn may be returning to the the Big East, but it is not the same Big East. They essentially traded great rivalries with Pitt, Syracuse and Louisville for Butler, Xavier and Creighton. Not the same today or ever!!

I have no criticism of UConn trying to move their football program to higher level. That's Thinking Big. Their huge mistake was to engage in emotionally induced thinking in response to BC moving to the ACC which led the Connecticut AG to sue the ACC and win some sort of settlement. But that proved to be a pyrrhic victory and now the Huskies have essentially been blackballed from the one P5 conference where they would have been a good fit. Being in a good conference especially at the P5 level is essential to having a successful football program.

Agree that, if not for the lawsuit, they'd have been in a P5, eventually, instead of the P6 conference they wound up in...
P6 is the "South County" of college football conferences...

RhodyFanNotAlum · Unread post by **RhodyFanNotAlum** » 4 years ago

Billyboy78 wrote: ↑4 years ago I don't even understand why this thread is here.

Probably should have dropped it into the Hurley thread (sorry), but in addition to Hurley's pot shot, I thought there was some interesting stuff deeper into the column, including the fact that Hurley was apparently consulting Cooley about his career choices. I doubt Cooley was making a case for him to stay in Kingston.

“Me and Ed are close now. My last couple of years [at URI] and in the offseason when I had to make career decisions, Ed was an advisor for me. He gave me great advice. Once we get on the court it will be bitter. And my return, there will be no love lost with the fans. I’m pretty good for fans to hate because of my personality.”

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Clap back hard by 83. By RJs logic BC should drop football as well.

Who said UCONN should drop football? The point was that by pushing so hard to be invited to a marquee football conference, they lost their basketball-centric identity and hurt their elite basketball program in the process. Had UCONN looked to be a stabilizing force after Pittsburgh/Syracuse, there may have still been some attrition but the basketball-schools might not leave. The reason the basketball-schools left was because UCONN started the mass exodus of programs leaving the conference after Pitt/Syracuse and continued it even when there wasn’t an opening anywhere. Why would the C7 have stayed with those schools when all those top basketball schools were all publicly trying to leave? So they did the best thing for them which was to split rather than risk getting left in a basketball conference with USF, Tulsa, Tulane, etc. The reality was that the nightmare for the C7 became the foundation of the AAC.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 4 years ago

They chased $$ and big time football, when they felt they had a window of opportunity to do so. They thought big. Hindsight is 20/20 but the business decision at that time for them was the right one. Their struggles of the last 5+ years are due to poor coaching and poor coaching hires.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

Saying that UConn making this hilarious attempt at “big time” football was thinking big is the best argument for risk averse thinking I’ve ever heard.

Can’t wait to pull a UConn this weekend: empty my bank account, take all the cash and put it in a barrel in my backyard and set that shit on fire. When my wife asks me what the hell im doing, I’ll just tell her I’m thinking big.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 4 years ago

This is what Cooley said “ They were pouring all their money into football and, in my opinion, it was going into a hole.”

“A lot of people will be pissed at me for saying that, but when you’ve become a national brand in one sport and try to parlay it into something that isn’t — shame on you for making the decision up front.”

UConn went to six Bowl games in 11 years. Ed Cooley has won one NCAA Tournament game in 8 years.
Do I understand some comments above that the football diversion caused the basketball program to fall from national prominence?
UConn won National Championships in 2011 and 2014. The fall was due to Calhoun being forced out and the Ollie hiring mistake.

Rhody83 · Unread post by **Rhody83** » 4 years ago

College sports have a big impact on fundraising for the school.
UConn Foundation fundraising by FY:
2018 $82.5 million
2017 $71.8 million
2016 $78.3 million
2015 $78 million
2014 $81.1 million
2013 $63.3 million
2012 $60 million
2011 $50.6 million

Another gauge of the impact of the sports teams is the number of undergraduate applications received.
In 2000 UConn received 12,000 applications. In 2016 -19 they received 35,000-36,000 applications each year.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

All due to their inspiring and immensely popular football program, no doubt.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

Rhody83 wrote: ↑4 years ago This is what Cooley said “ They were pouring all their money into football and, in my opinion, it was going into a hole.”

“A lot of people will be pissed at me for saying that, but when you’ve become a national brand in one sport and try to parlay it into something that isn’t — shame on you for making the decision up front.”

UConn went to six Bowl games in 11 years. Ed Cooley has won one NCAA Tournament game in 8 years.
Do I understand some comments above that the football diversion caused the basketball program to fall from national prominence?
UConn won National Championships in 2011 and 2014. The fall was due to Calhoun being forced out and the Ollie hiring mistake.

Not for anything but who cares about bowl games? 60% of NCAA football teams make bowl games. It would be like 211 teams making the NCAA Tournament. 2 of UCONNs 3 bowl wins are against Toledo and Buffalo. Real gauntlet there. Their other bowl win was against South Carolina who finished that season 7-6.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote: ↑4 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Clap back hard by 83. By RJs logic BC should drop football as well.
Who said UCONN should drop football? The point was that by pushing so hard to be invited to a marquee football conference, they lost their basketball-centric identity and hurt their elite basketball program in the process. Had UCONN looked to be a stabilizing force after Pittsburgh/Syracuse, there may have still been some attrition but the basketball-schools might not leave. The reason the basketball-schools left was because UCONN started the mass exodus of programs leaving the conference after Pitt/Syracuse and continued it even when there wasn’t an opening anywhere. Why would the C7 have stayed with those schools when all those top basketball schools were all publicly trying to leave? So they did the best thing for them which was to split rather than risk getting left in a basketball conference with USF, Tulsa, Tulane, etc. The reality was that the nightmare for the C7 became the foundation of the AAC.

UCONN did not start the mass exodus

You had Dave Gavitt, Mike Tranghese - fine- but then John Marinatto as BE Commissioner??? That guy was so far over his head!! While Marinatto was the wrong guy for the job the root cause was whoever decided to put him in the BE Commissioner job.

Dana O’Neil says it all I her ESPN article. Remember Boise State? San Diego State? Even the Brigham Young debacle? Even TCU?
Don’t blame UCONN for the BE exodus. Blame BE hiring one of their own to fill a position that needed a General Patton at that time in History, not Goober Pyle.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... omed-start

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

Of course it’s easy for Cooley to blame UCONN for the football situation

PC putting one of their own graduates into the Commissioner job who was way over his head and way under qualified gets no mention by Cooley.

Marinatto is largely blamed for the Big East's failure to keep quality athletic institutions and to secure additional institutions during the 2010-2013 Conference Realignment.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marinatto

steviep123 · Unread post by **steviep123** » 4 years ago

Why did I read this thread? That's 3 minutes of my life I'll never get back....

URIRecruitingInfo · Unread post by **URIRecruitingInfo** » 4 years ago

Theater

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

RhodyFanNotAlum wrote: ↑4 years ago Worth reading: https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/jeffja ... 517504.php

“I think we gave Connecticut new life,” said Cooley, the Providence coach. “We gave their fan base new life. I think they finally came to the conclusion that they are a basketball-centric school. They were pouring all their money into football and, in my opinion, it was going into a hole.

“A lot of people will be pissed at me for saying that, but when you’ve become a national brand in one sport and try to parlay it into something that isn’t — shame on you for making the decision up front.”

...

“Wow, pontificating on us,” Hurley said. “I disagree with that. I don’t take offense to it, I guess. We recruited Akok Akok, James Bouknight and Jalen Gaffney and R.J. Cole and were in pretty good position to bring in a Top 15-Top 10 recruiting class before, I guess, the Big East ‘saved’ us.

“Our basketball program was well on its way to doing what I’d done at Wagner and what I’d done at Rhode Island. I remember my years five and six in the state of Rhode Island, we were kind of the thing with our performance in March and winning our league and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. The Big East is certainly going to help UConn, and UConn is certainly getting its act together right now and we were way before we returned to the Big East.”

Love the comment by Hurley

Cooley and the BE come to the rescue of UCONN

Typical haughty attitude of Cooley

Just like he schedules cream puffs for home games because the BE Conference is so incredibly Brutal

Hurley has more NCAA wins than Big Ed whose only NCAA win was a gift from USC

rambone 78 · Unread post by **rambone 78** » 4 years ago

Have to admit, UConn has the best football stadium in the Northeast, by far.

Great place to have a beer and watch a game.....unfortunately most of the games are over for UConn by the end of the 1st half lol...…

Yeah Cooley can recruit them but can't coach them, at least when it comes to the Dance.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

8 years and 1 NCAA win. A gift from USC to Drew Edwards.

rjsuperfly66 · Unread post by **rjsuperfly66** » 4 years ago

ramster wrote: ↑4 years ago 8 years and 1 NCAA win. A gift from USC to Drew Edwards.

Who cares, that doesn't make any difference in the conversation. What is Ed Cooley supposed to do if asked a question? "Sorry I can't answer that because I only have one NCAA win?" A coaches tournament record doesn't make their take valid or invalid. The validity of their comments makes the take valid or invalid.

Cooley's comments weren't total truth but it was more truth than fiction.

Hurley had UCONN heading up (Cooley never said he wasn't but probably could have included that), but definitely gets a nice lift and additional juice from being in the Big East versus the AAC. Like I posted yesterday, Hurley's personal hype-machine Adam Zagoria wrote the article quoting three coaches of recruits UCONN was after talking about how big of a deal it was and what a huge lift it would bring to recruiting.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 4 years ago

TruePoint wrote: ↑4 years ago Saying that UConn making this hilarious attempt at “big time” football was thinking big is the best argument for risk averse thinking I’ve ever heard.

Can’t wait to pull a UConn this weekend: empty my bank account, take all the cash and put it in a barrel in my backyard and set that shit on fire. When my wife asks me what the hell im doing, I’ll just tell her I’m thinking big.

If it wasn’t in pursuit of the almighty dollar then why did they do it? So they had something to do on Saturdays?
You can knock the results all you want and even knock the logic in daring to think they could compete in big time football but it was still a sign of ambition which is something I wish we had more of at URI.

bigappleram · Unread post by **bigappleram** » 4 years ago

Your analogy is also an odd one since I fail to see any upside in burning your money in a barrel. The obvious upside to football success is $$$$$$$.

ramster · Unread post by **ramster** » 4 years ago

rjsuperfly66 wrote: ↑4 years ago
ramster wrote: ↑4 years ago 8 years and 1 NCAA win. A gift from USC to Drew Edwards.
Who cares, that doesn't make any difference in the conversation. What is Ed Cooley supposed to do if asked a question? "Sorry I can't answer that because I only have one NCAA win?" A coaches tournament record doesn't make their take valid or invalid. The validity of their comments makes the take valid or invalid.

Cooley's comments weren't total truth but it was more truth than fiction.

Hurley had UCONN heading up (Cooley never said he wasn't but probably could have included that), but definitely gets a nice lift and additional juice from being in the Big East versus the AAC. Like I posted yesterday, Hurley's personal hype-machine Adam Zagoria wrote the article quoting three coaches of recruits UCONN was after talking about how big of a deal it was and what a huge lift it would bring to recruiting.

The decision to rejoin helps the Basketball program - at least in the short term
AAC now has 3 teams in the Top 25
Some schools are thinking/looking seriously at the spot vacated by UCONN
The decision hurts the football program.
Not sure yet how it impacts all the other sports
Still a public university in a Catholic league - seems an odd fit is most all ways except basketball

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Your analogy is also an odd one since I fail to see any upside in burning your money in a barrel. The obvious upside to football success is $$$$$$$.

And yet it has about the same chance of making me money as UConn’s football program had. I can (and do) make the same criticism of UMass’s decision to (try to) play FBS football. In general I’m an advocate of taking risks in pursuit of greater achievement but the risks need to be calculated and the potential for return can’t be so vanishingly small. Generally I wouldn’t advise URI (or anyone or anything else I care about) to be risk averse, but if the choice is between being conservative or making foolish gambles then the argument for being conservative looks much better.

Thinking big should not become synonymous around here with foolish risk taking. You can build thru smart, incremental decisions that are part of a well thought out strategy in pursuit of fairly specific goals.

Obadiah · Unread post by **Obadiah** » 4 years ago

TruePoint wrote: ↑4 years ago Saying that UConn making this hilarious attempt at “big time” football was thinking big is the best argument for risk averse thinking I’ve ever heard.

Can’t wait to pull a UConn this weekend: empty my bank account, take all the cash and put it in a barrel in my backyard and set that shit on fire. When my wife asks me what the hell im doing, I’ll just tell her I’m thinking big.

This is an excellent example of how emotionally induced thinking almost always undermines and distorts rational discussion on any subject. The big picture here rests on the move begun in the late 90's by the State of Connecticut to break away from the pack among the New England publics by significantly increasing the monetary support to UConn. This move beneficially impacted all aspects of the school - academics and athletics.

daytonflyerfan · Unread post by **daytonflyerfan** » 4 years ago

TruePoint wrote: ↑4 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Your analogy is also an odd one since I fail to see any upside in burning your money in a barrel. The obvious upside to football success is $$$$$$$.
And yet it has about the same chance of making me money as UConn’s football program had. I can (and do) make the same criticism of UMass’s decision to (try to) play FBS football. In general I’m an advocate of taking risks in pursuit of greater achievement but the risks need to be calculated and the potential for return can’t be so vanishingly small. Generally I wouldn’t advise URI (or anyone or anything else I care about) to be risk averse, but if the choice is between being conservative or making foolish gambles then the argument for being conservative looks much better.

Thinking big should not become synonymous around here with foolish risk taking. You can build thru smart, incremental decisions that are part of a well thought out strategy in pursuit of fairly specific goals.

You act like you knew ahead of time that UConn and UMass football were going to run into trouble. How were you so prescient?

Syracuse football seems to do well.

Is there something about New England that makes football not work?

And the New England Patriots are a dynasty of unrivaled proportion since the salary cap in the NFL really took over maybe near the end of the 1990's. No one has dominated in the NFL salary cap era like the Pats have, nobody else even comes close.

The 49ers, Cowboys, etc. did all their winning by outspending everybody else.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

I agree, Obadiah. Wanting a fancy football program was the result of emotionally induced thinking (in your words) at UConn that has dampened an otherwise brilliantly executed plan to boost UConn’s eminence as a public institution of higher learning. That effort has been a success for them despite the Quixotic football detour. Imagine what more they could have accomplished if they hadn’t wasted so much time, energy and money on such a foolish pursuit.

The lesson here, I think, for URI and Rhode Island is that investing in and growing the state university is a very worthwhile use of state resources and much can be accomplished, especially if you focus your resources in areas where there are realizable goals that fit neatly into your vision for the future of the institution.

daytonflyerfan · Unread post by **daytonflyerfan** » 4 years ago

TruePoint wrote: ↑4 years ago I agree, Obadiah. Wanting a fancy football program was the result of emotionally induced thinking (in your words) at UConn that has dampened an otherwise brilliantly executed plan to boost UConn’s eminence as a public institution of higher learning. That effort has been a success for them despite the Quixotic football detour. Imagine what more they could have accomplished if they hadn’t wasted so much time, energy and money on such a foolish pursuit.

The lesson here, I think, for URI and Rhode Island is that investing in and growing the state university is a very worthwhile use of state resources and much can be accomplished, especially if you focus your resources in areas where there are realizable goals that fit neatly into your vision for the future of the institution.

Again, how did you know that UConn football was going to have problems? UConn football was doing fairly well there for a while in terms of wins and losses.

This sounds a lot like Monday morning quarterbacking.

Unread post by **TruePoint** » 4 years ago

daytonflyerfan wrote: ↑4 years ago
TruePoint wrote: ↑4 years ago
bigappleram wrote: ↑4 years ago Your analogy is also an odd one since I fail to see any upside in burning your money in a barrel. The obvious upside to football success is $$$$$$$.
And yet it has about the same chance of making me money as UConn’s football program had. I can (and do) make the same criticism of UMass’s decision to (try to) play FBS football. In general I’m an advocate of taking risks in pursuit of greater achievement but the risks need to be calculated and the potential for return can’t be so vanishingly small. Generally I wouldn’t advise URI (or anyone or anything else I care about) to be risk averse, but if the choice is between being conservative or making foolish gambles then the argument for being conservative looks much better.

Thinking big should not become synonymous around here with foolish risk taking. You can build thru smart, incremental decisions that are part of a well thought out strategy in pursuit of fairly specific goals.
You act like you knew ahead of time that UConn and UMass football were going to run into trouble. How were you so prescient?

Syracuse football seems to do well.

Is there something about New England that makes football not work?

And the New England Patriots are a dynasty of unrivaled proportion since the salary cap in the NFL really took over maybe near the end of the 1990's. No one has dominated in the NFL salary cap era like the Pats have, nobody else even comes close.

The 49ers, Cowboys, etc. did all their winning by outspending everybody else.

Syracuse has been playing football in the highest division for over 100 years and have one of the biggest fan bases in all of college sports. Yes, the northeast is not a great college football area because of both minimal fan interest and minimal player talent pool. Syracuse and Boston College are both established programs in the best conferences with long histories of success and plenty of money, and even they struggle to truly compete at an elite level. There is not necessarily anything about UMass and UConn that would prevent them from having football programs at about that level if they had existed for 50+ years, but they’re just too late to the game. Syracuse and BC are great examples of exactly how uphill of a battle UConn and UMass faced: even with all the institutional advantages those schools have over one entering the fray fresh, they cannot be consistently competitive in any meaningful way. It’s just too hard to build it up from scratch when you are starting this far behind, it’s too expensive to try, and the ceiling is not high enough even if you do it perfectly to justify the investment.