Seawolves Fans

There was some speculation that we will see next batch of major realignment in 2024/2025 with Big 12 looking to expand or Texas/OU looking to finally bolt to Pac12/Big10. But now it seems none of those are likely to happen. Conferences have stabilized. Especially if CFP expands to 8, then there’s no incentive for any changes to the power 5 conferences. Rumored expanded 8 team playoffs: 5 spots to five P5 champions, 1 spot to best of G5 and 2 spots at large. Big 12 schools already making a lot of money. More than ACC and PAC 12. Texas and OU will realize best to stay in Big 12 as big fish and easier path to the playoffs each year. PAC12 will be happy with a guaranteed spot in expanded playoffs. UCF will be happy in AAC If G5 gets a guaranteed spot in the expanded playoffs as rumored currently. Notre Dame will be happy because of at large opportunity. Basically I think we will see a long time stability.

Big10 might regret adding programs like Rutgers. Because cable money is drying out. Cord cutting age is here. More and more people will be streaming. Incentive for more content for cable channels will end. The desire to reach new tv markets will end. Espn won’t be the sole streaming option monopolizing college sports.

How’s the rest of The American doing... or is it just UCONN struggling

SBNation article on UConn suggests a move to FCS (NEC then CAA) and men's hoops to Big  East (total pipe dream). UMass, BTW, continues to show the folly of a New England public school trying to play FBS.

Boy, that article sounds like Hofstra Football on steroids.  I can see UConn dropping football and other sports.  Leaving the Big East really backfired, huh?

Quote from: iBOsbu on January 20, 2019, 12:32:49 am

Quote from: Checkmate on January 19, 2019, 05:24:33 pm

Hey UConn, let’s get in a room with UMass and a few other schools and talk about a regional conference that makes sense for everybody.

https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-uconn-sports-athletic-department-finances-revenue-expenses-20190117-2wdp5gimnvhlliwykl6npcmy7u-story.html


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UConn should wave the white flag in football and save their basketball. P5 dream invite ain't coming. Rutgers going to B10 was probably the last lucky one from northeast region. UConn along with Umass, Buffalo, Temple, ODU, ECU, Navy and Army would make a nice 8 teams northeast regional public school FBS conference. Enjoy the football and local rivalry and forget about toilet bowls. Navy and Army can keep their all sports in patriot leage and add VCU and URI for basketball. Should get 3-4 bids to the dance every year. Minimizes travel costs. Fans would be more excited facing these teams than Tulane or Tulsa.

FB: UConn, Umass, Buffalo, Temple, ODU, ECU, Army and Navy
BB: UConn, Umass, Buffalo, Temple, ODU, ECU, VCU and URI

Makes too much sense to ever happen in dysfunctional FBS world.

It can't happen because conference realignment is never clean. What incentive do many of these school shave to move?? You're taking schools from three different conferences plus some independents and trying to mix them in together.

If Uconn ever did anything to football, it would be dropping to FCS (CAA would take them) and putting everything else in the Big East like Villanova does. Any other movement is contingent on what the Big 12 does here in the coming decade, if it survives, does the AAC get raided, etc. This would be a nice league and would be something us, JMU, Delaware, and others would have an interest in, but again, it's too early to say what will happen.

It would be stunning to me if UConn dropped football. Football is too much of a reputation marker for large state universities. It's why UMass is clearly lost in the ether there, yet still makes every attempt to permit the sport to exist.

At some point, the digital migration and geography agnostic identity of the internet will do three things:
1. Make revenue outside P5 near flat for all sports but football
2. Make G5 revenue unsustainable against the maintenance costs of a FBS football conference
3. Mandate the re-regionalization off football conferences to drive down prohibitive travel costs and as a way to attempt to drive up local attention and support. (this could be more substantial than you think - it would just need to be at a crossroads year when a bunch of media contracts are up all at once)

Conference wishlist:

NE/Mid-Atlantic Large State Universities
SUNY - Stony Brook
SUNY - Buffalo
UMass
Temple
Delaware
Old Dominion
James Madison
Towson
Army
Navy

NE Small State/Privates
Maine
UNH
URI
Richmond
Villanova
LIU
CCSU
William & Mary
Elon
Albany

Looking at UConn and UMass's messy situations, here is my question to fellow Seawolves fans? What is our main sport, football or basketball?

If football is our main sport, then we should be improving ourselves so that if there is a realignment in the northeast/mid-atlantic region, we are ready for jump to FBS along with JMU and Delaware, whether to an eastern CUSA division with ODU and UNCC, or to an eastern MAC division with Buffalo. Highly doubt an AAC invite. Also to keep in mind that joining any of these conferences will push our athletic expenses through the roof. The travel cost to Texas teams in CUSA won't be sustainable. MAC might be more manageable but will they expand after the failed experiments with UMass and Temple? Is being independent an option, like UMASS?

If basketball is our main sport, then perhaps multi-bid A10 should be the goal while football stays FCS? Except a few outlier (SLU and Dayton), most of the teams are in the east coast.

What is our athletic department and university board's vision?

while i love good football- i do want to point out that getting to that next level will also invite the bad.  you guys know what im talking about

The biggest obstacle in football is attendance and it's not going to improve. We have now played 6 years of CAA football hosting more familiar names than the unknown Big South teams. But our average attendance has been constantly less 8k. Only time we break the 10k attendance is homecoming games. 6 years ago when we moved our football to CAA, I expected a steady rise in attendance. That has not happened. Even if we go to FCS quarterfinal or semifinals, I don't think its gonna change. Can't blame Priore for college football apathy on Long Island. Hofstra was averaging less than 5k before shutting their football. I am getting more and more pessimistic about college football on Long Island. I don't think "If you build it, they will come" applies here. Am I wrong?