Originally Posted by
hurleyfor3
I agree with this. Does Uconn stay in-family in the first place? What outsider would be a good fit? Billy Donovan? Shaka Smart?
In addition to DePaul, other examples include Houston, Unlv and Notre Dame. Maybe Cincy post-Huggins. What these cases mostly had in common were a fanbase that didn't turn out to be all that large and/or devoted to basketball, the lack of membership in a major basketball conference (that would have provided teevee/recruiting exposure, natural rivalries, independent revenue streams etc) and a lack of "investment" from the school in perpetuating a strong basketball program. The latter means things like facilities, but also overall institutional giving-a-crapness. It's particularly a shame in DePaul's case, because it would have been relatively easy to build a new arena near campus around the time Ray Meyer was stepping down, and the void they left in Chicago sports has never really been filled.
I think UConn faces similar risks. I've never perceived the UConn fanbase to be that big, or that extant at all outside New England. It seems most fans are happy they have UConn basketball to follow when the Red Sox/Yankees/Mets/Celtics/Giants/Patriots/Rangers/whoever are in their relative offseasons but can get by if they're not there. What has the school, or Calhoun, done to perpetuate UConn basketball?
Does UConn WBB make money? I would guess it would.
Donovan wouldn't be moving up to go from UF to UConn. He's going to the pros or staying put, I would guess. He can beat most of the SEC senseless most years, and has won two championships there. Why get into super-competitive BE basketball?
I can't understand the appeal of UConn for the ACC in a post-Calhoun world. Their FB is pretty good for transitioning from I-AA so recently. I respect them, but at this point you sit tight, wait for the next plate tectonics to unfold, cross your fingers for Notre Dame, and tell Rutgers to talk to the hand. No reason to jump at this point. Without the 2003 expansion, the ACC would be vulnerable. Now that's it's absorbed half the all-sports Big East, it's not. So you can play a long game instead of a short one.
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