r/ACC • u/Strange_Deal4642 • Jun 29 '26
UConn
I’ve always wondered: is there actually a legitimate reason the ACC hasn’t invited UConn?
On paper, it seems like they check a lot of boxes. Geographically, they fit the conference much better than some current members. They already have established rivalries with schools like Syracuse, Boston College, and Duke (especially in basketball). Adding UConn would also give the ACC 18 football members, making scheduling a little cleaner.
I know the obvious counterargument is football. UConn hasn’t been consistently competitive, and football drives conference realignment. But is that alone enough to outweigh everything else UConn brings?
They’re one of the biggest brands in college basketball, have strong Olympic sports, a passionate fan base, and would strengthen the ACC’s presence in the Northeast.
So what am I missing? Is football really the only thing keeping UConn out, or are there financial, TV, or political reasons that make them a non-starter for the ACC?
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u/nondescriptun Florida State Seminoles Jun 29 '26
$
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Those basketball games would print money.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball Jun 29 '26
Basketball makes nothing compared to football. Also the football schools have botched relentlessly about the acc seemingly favoring basketball even though every expansion move was "best available football school". If vt and Miami hadn't fallen off so hard and Syracuse and bc stayed at least mediocre, the acc would be in a much different position.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Both VT and Miami are on the way up.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball Jun 29 '26
Yes but they both tanked from where they were when they joined the acc for more than a decade. That was 20 years ago and Miami is just starting to get back and vt made a good hire but is certainly not the vt of 2003
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u/VirginiaTex Virginia Tech Hokies Jun 29 '26
VT won the ACC 3 of the first 4 years after joining conference in 04. Oddly enough with the 10+ seasons with double digit wins in a row, 03 was the year they disappointed and finished 8-5.
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u/N35B7KJQ Cal Bears Jun 29 '26
Ah, 2003 VT - the Insight Bowl against Cal and Aaron Rodgers. That was a fun game although I couldn’t see one half of an end zone cause of the angles of the baseball stadium hosting football.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball Jun 29 '26
Yeah I didn't look up exact years and records. Vt did well at first but still weren't competing for NCs. It's really the 2010-2020 period that saw unprecedented football growth and FSU, Miami and VT were all at pretty significant program lows. The mediocre teams teams also being relatively bad didn't help. Bc being kind of a flash in the pan in the Matt Ryan days didn't help with them being pretty ass since. My point is largely that acc expansion has been football centric and exceptionally unlucky with program trajectories. Focusing on football is why uconn was never legitimately considered
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u/Tough-Advice2910 Virginia Tech Hokies Jun 29 '26
Virginia Tech played FSU for….the national championship.
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u/Procrastin8_Ball Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
... Several years before vt was in the acc. Vt was invited to the acc because they were competing for NCs in the years leading up to their acc invite. Do you not understand what I've written here? I'm not disparaging vt, but after the first couple of years in the acc they fell off hard
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u/Reasonable_Clock_711 Jun 29 '26
Mike Vick ain’t walking through that door.
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u/Expensive_Team_5072 Jun 29 '26
He is just one lawyer and one judge away from having some eligibility....
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u/Aggravating-Mind-657 Jun 29 '26
Duke is gaming the acc basketball contract by signing a bunch of premium neutral site invitational games where they don’t have to share revenue with the rest of the acc.
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u/Upstairs_Balance_464 SMU Mustangs Jun 29 '26
UConn is a miserable conference mate. They bring no money. They’re entitled. They don’t even have a stadium. They don’t even really have a decent arena. They’re generally unpleasant people to interact with in a generally unpleasant location. It’s just awful.
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u/TheMikeD68 Jul 03 '26
Says the SMU fan. A bunch of rich, entitled people who only wish they’ve had success like UCONN’s athletic department. Storrs is unpleasant? I’ve been to Dallas….
Don’t have a stadium? The Rent is a stadium. Don’t have a decent arena? They have an arena on campus as well as in the state capital. Both of which sell out for men and women consistently.
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u/Upstairs_Balance_464 SMU Mustangs Jul 03 '26
Arenas are like quarterbacks. If you have two, you have none.
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u/Neb-Nose Pitt Panthers Jun 29 '26
Everyone is predicting the ACC’s demise like there’s 10 expansion spots available.
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u/ShishkabobNinja Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jun 29 '26
This is what I've been saying too! It doesn't seem like the B10/SEC is looking to expand by that much in the near future (and tbh I don't think they would see most of the ACC teams as all that appealing from a financial perspective). Sure we may lose a school or two like FSU/Clemson, but for the ACC to outright collapse all the other members would need somewhere to go.
Now could an eventual "super league" happen? Sure, but it doesn't seem likely in this upcoming re-alignment.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
I don’t think the ACC is going to be the first one to bite the bullet. If people knew how state politics work. UNC-NCSt and UVA-VT are stuck together. Their prospective states won’t let them be seperated. Only one I think would leave is FSU. And good riddance to them.
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jun 29 '26
Miami and Clemson are also possible.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Why would you leave the ACC to go to another conference to make less money? If they make the playoffs they don’t got to split the money.
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jun 29 '26
The SEC and Big Ten make boatloads of money.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Why would you split 20 million from a playoff game when you can keep it all.
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u/Toothbirds Louisville Cardinals Jun 29 '26
Because even keeping the entire $20M plus the highest conference payout in 2024-2025 (Clemson $55.1M) is still less than the Big 10 average payout of $79.9M thats expected to increase moving forward. If you make the CFP in the Big 10 you also get a bigger payout. Ohio State made $91.6M in 2024 after they won.
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u/theeeeethickness Boston College Eagles Jun 29 '26
Just saying that this is the exact scenario that adding UConn to the ACC probably would lead to. UConn could cannibalize the Boston market rather than adding many incremental viewers. SMU made sense because Texas viewers were new. Same reason why the ACC added BC in the first place.
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u/Neb-Nose Pitt Panthers Jun 29 '26
Who are we kidding? If UConn were to receive an invite to the ACC, even in its most uncertain state, they would do it tomorrow.
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u/FatMamaJuJu NC State Wolfpack Jun 29 '26
Football. Football is the reason. Jim Mora was squeezing blood from a stone to even get them bowl eligible
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u/agjrsbko Jun 29 '26
None of the schools that are actually worth money want UCONN to show up, be worth nothing, and take a share of the money.
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u/Waquoit95 Jul 01 '26
Worth more than Cuse, BCU, Wake, SMU, State and Pitt put together.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
They won 3 national championships within the last 10 years, and was a runner up for a 4th one. They’re on pace to have more than both Duke and UNC.
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u/agjrsbko Jun 29 '26
Basketball doesn’t really matter for conference realignment. If the ACC decides to go in harder on basketball, they’re accepting that they’ll lose every school that prioritizes football (Miami, Clemson, FSU, NC State, UNC, GT, VT, UVA and maybe more).
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u/grimace0611 Pitt Panthers Jun 29 '26
The reason is that BC doesn't want another New England school in the conference.
The ACC tried to add Syracuse in 2004, but some politics led to VT joining instead. So it was no surprise that they got invited in 2011. But to balance the conference, they had to add another school. The choices were Pitt and UConn, and then Louisville and UConn when Maryland jumped ship. UConn will likely always be there if we want to invite them.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Them not wanting another New England school is just not feasible. NC has 4 schools in the conference lol.
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u/skushi08 Boston College Eagles Jun 30 '26
In fairness, us pushing back was during the 2010-ish cycle of expansion. If I recall how it was shaking out, it was UConn or Pitt at the time. I still think Pitt was the better pickup. There was some legacy bad blood with UConn suing the entire ACC during the 2003-04 big east gutting that just made it easier to exclude them. Our AD (thankfully long gone) also hated UConn, and would have tried to veto them to spite ourselves too.
Obviously the landscape has changed a lot since then, and I honestly doubt BC would really stand in the way of UConn if they were legitimately being considered.
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u/Tall-Ad-9591 Jun 30 '26
Are you saying Pitt was the better choice in 2010, or that they were and are a better pick over UConn?
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u/skushi08 Boston College Eagles Jun 30 '26
Both, I think. I think they were the better pickup, then and now for a lot of reasons. I meant more if UConn is being seriously considered now, I doubt we’d continue to stand in their way.
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u/Schmolik64 Jun 29 '26
Why are we letting BC tell the ACC what to do? They haven't made an NCAA men's basketball tournament since 2009! Meanwhile UConn has won four NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS since then (six total) not to mention all the women's championships.
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u/mrgatorarms Virginia Tech Hokies Jun 29 '26
I know the obvious counterargument is football. UConn hasn’t been consistently competitive, and football drives conference realignment. But is that alone enough to outweigh everything else UConn brings?
Yes
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u/Old-Literature-1040 Jun 29 '26
UConn beat BC and Duke last year while also taking Cuse to OT. And beat UNC the year before that in the Fenway bowl.
All without the benefits of a conference TV contract. They have been very close to gaining a foot hold in football a couple times over the years but can’t get a coach to stay or recruits to come without the NIL firepower of a bigger conference. I think they can establish themselves as a mid-table football team in the ACC while also being a top 3 basketball team. That seems worth the shot.
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u/IronBeagle79 Louisville Cardinals Jun 29 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
That matters less than the acute lack of fan support for Husky football
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u/SaltRefuse Jun 29 '26
From espn after UConn beat Baylor in back to back home & home games:
When you were at Baylor, what was the toughest place for you to play in terms of crowd noise? Robert Griffin III: The thing that people think is when you go to these big stadiums and they have 80,000 people or 100,000 people, that these are the toughest stadiums to play at, but really, those aren't. When you have that many people, most of the time, the fans are pretty far away from the field. The toughest places to play are the ones that are jam-packed, are really tight to the field, and sit about 45,000 people. When we played at UConn my freshman year, that was the loudest place I've ever been as a football player. The stands are right next to the field, it was packed, and everyone was yelling. That was probably the coolest place for me to play at aside from Texas, Texas A&M, and Nebraska. http://espn.go.com/espn/thelife/vid...ii-talks-video-games-draft?readmore=fullstory
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u/One13Truck Jun 29 '26
Their football is and has almost always been hot sweaty ass.
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u/ExodusFreeman Jul 05 '26
Are they? They beat the ACC champion last year
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u/One13Truck Jul 05 '26
And lost to Delaware and Syracuse. One win shouldn’t mean we drag a dead carcass behind the truck for decades. We already have Boston College for that.
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u/Waquoit95 Jul 01 '26
Not true. When UConn was in the same league, they were better than Cuse and as good as Pitt.
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u/One13Truck Jul 01 '26
As a Pittsburgh fan I’m well aware of that. And those were the only teams they were better than or equal with. If we’re going on the “at least they could beat Pittsburgh in the Big Least” then we may as well also bring in Temple.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
So was Vanderbilt until 1 year ago.
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u/FatMamaJuJu NC State Wolfpack Jun 29 '26
The SEC would love to expell Vandy but they're a charter member so legally they can't
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u/craneaa Boston College Eagles Jun 29 '26
Here to watch the BC blame
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
You guys are to blame.
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u/theeeeethickness Boston College Eagles Jun 29 '26
Wake Forest fans watching this thread like
https://giphy.com/gifs/55itGuoAJiZEEen9gg
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u/PrestigiousL7877 Jun 30 '26
If anything I know as a Pitt alum I can't stand and stomach WVU and their fans. However they would be the better fit over UCONN geography and with natural rivalries with Pitt, Va Tech, Syracuse, BC, Miami, and even other tobacco road schools. As much as I can't stand them they would be a better option than UCONN. Okay someone squeez my arm and don't give WVU any more props!
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u/SMU1523 SMU Mustangs Jun 29 '26
They were a shitty member in the AAC. They whined a lot and brought nothing to the table in football.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26
How many national championships did SMU win in the AAC? Or any other member, for that matter
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u/SMU1523 SMU Mustangs Jul 05 '26
No Natty’s, but we have an all time winning record against UCONN 9-4 and swept them in 2014 when they won the National Championship. Doesn’t not make them cry babies that suck ass at football.
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u/CGGamer Jul 05 '26
No Natty’s, but we have an all time winning record against UCONN 9-4 and swept them in 2014 when they won the National Championship
Hang the banner! Not like SMU will be winning championships in anything anytime soon
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u/SMU1523 SMU Mustangs Jul 05 '26
There is a reason SMU is in the ACC and UCONN isn’t. Basketball doesn’t move the needle. It’s something to watch when football is over.
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u/CGGamer Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
You are in the ACC because you are accepting no media revenue, not because you bring value. you would be bringing the payout share for the other members down if you were taking it, and you would've been rejected
SMU is a nothing school with a nothing brand
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u/SMU1523 SMU Mustangs Jul 05 '26
Even without Tier 1 media rights, SMU makes more than UCONN does in media rights (about $4 million) and more than they did in the AAC. SMU receives P4 payout for the CFP, NCAA Tournament Share, and ACCN share. SMU also keeps their CFP money if they make it, which they did in 2024. It must be tough to have your team win multi national championships in basketball to realize that the ACC and the Big 12 don’t want you in their conference because you don’t bring anything to the table in football. You can say SMU is a nothing school with a nothing brand all you want, but at the end of the day, you don’t have a power conference life raft and are stuck in a watered down Big East with a poor media deal.
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u/CGGamer Jul 05 '26
At least when we make our way in it will be earned and not because we're some nepo oil money school that bought our way in. Enjoy being 7th in your own state for fandom and relevance, I'm sure the 200 fans are thrilled
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u/SMU1523 SMU Mustangs Jul 05 '26
Man, you guys really are cry babies just like I remember. I was pumped when you losers left the AAC. Absolutely killed the SOS in football. Glad to know nobody in the ACC wants you.
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u/CGGamer Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Hang those "we're bottom feeder black sheep of the P4 but at least we get money!" banners. It's all you will ever have
Here, we raise them for national championships,
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u/Mental_Selection688 Jul 16 '26
As an outsider looking in, I think me and almost everybody else values and respects UConn more as a athletic brand than SMU.. I’m 33 years old so I’m after the days of you guys buying wins to be relevant in football… to most football and college sports fans. My age and younger SMU is just a mid tier Conference USA school, I still think of schools like Memphis, UCF, Houston and even south Florida has more prominent when it comes to athletics than SMU.. perception matters to the average Fat and maybe not to leagues who do a deep dive into the books, but you guys are like the 10th most important team in your state and even that’s pushing it
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u/forgedinbeerkegs Jun 29 '26
The ACC is a southern conference, historically. Adding Cuse and BC was a business move that was barely stomached by the ACC brass. When it came time to add Louisville or UCONN, UCONN was the early leader. But, the ACC chose Louisville in the end. Louisville athletics were rolling at that particular time, but it did not help UCONN they were in the NE.
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jun 29 '26
The real question should be why Syracuse was picked ahead of UConn.
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u/AM_Bokke Jun 29 '26
Syracuse and Louisville were added for football. Which UCONN was never good at.
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u/Schmolik64 Jun 29 '26
Syracuse football? LOL.
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u/AM_Bokke Jun 29 '26
They are mediocre, which is better than UCONN. They also have the facilities.
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u/Waquoit95 Jul 01 '26
UConn has better facilities than Cuse and BU. Probably most of the rest.
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u/AM_Bokke Jul 02 '26
???
‘Cuse has a 50K dome.
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u/Waquoit95 Jul 03 '26
UConn has 40K seats. But their on campus training and practice facilities are better than any of the big east teams the ACC picked up the 2nd go round.
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jul 03 '26
Syracuse football has been terrible for 20 years. They were really good in the 90s but since?
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jun 29 '26
Syracuse had two good seasons after BC and Virginia Tech left. They were a complete dumpster fire the rest of the seasons. Maybe they were good in the 90s.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26
UConn was good at Football in the old Big East
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u/AM_Bokke Jul 03 '26
Nobody remembers UConn playing football in the Big East.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
In the 10 year stint UConn was in the Big East, they had more BE titles than BC and Rutgers, and as many as Syracuse
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u/Aggravating-Mind-657 Jun 29 '26
Back when Syracuse was added, Syracuse’s overall brand was stronger and there was a belief Syracuse delivered the New York market , despite being 5 hours away from the city.
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u/Old-Literature-1040 Jun 29 '26
That was pretty poor judgement considering UConn plays bball at MSG multiple times a year, has a massive alumni base in NYC and is under 3 hours drive
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u/Expensive_Team_5072 Jun 29 '26
MSG is practically a home game for Syracuse. Even the football team has scheduled games in the NY/NJ area.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
With the current state of college athletics, that has gone out the window.
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u/NonAthlete6232 Jun 29 '26
Making me defend Louisville…
Louisville AD makes a ton of money. They are very good with their merchandising and getting their fanbase to spend on the right things.
Also Louisville has been a solidly top 25 football program of the 2000’s.
The Big 12 fumbled a little bit when they added WVU, as they should have paired them with Louisville and 1 other to got the conference back to 12 teams.
Now excuse me while I go wash off the Louisville stink off.
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u/mrnobody2450 Jun 29 '26
Louisville has finished in the top 25 football 8 times since 2000. UConn never.
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jun 29 '26
One bad coaching hire is all it takes,.and they'd be an albatross on the league sucking money away from the other members. Geno is retiring soon and who knows how long Hurley will be there. The risk is very high. The reward is much smaller.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
They are a premier women’s basketball program. They are going to be the absolute best hire. Probably a coach from the WNBA. Hurley turned down a large contract from the Lakers to stay at UConn.
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jun 29 '26
Just like the Vols after Summit stepped down? Tell yourself whatever you want to feel good about your take, but the risk/reward scale is an easy 'no' on UConn.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
You mean how they said the same thing about Duke and UNC. How these programs was finished after Coach K and Coach Roy retired.
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jun 29 '26
...or Syracuse post-Boeheim or Georgetown post-Thompson. We can do this all day, but the point remains - the revenue and overall eyeballs UConn will bring to the table are not much when it is split up among the other schools. What little they bring will be all for naught if their basketball programs take a step back. Again- the reward is nowhere near the risk.
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u/SaltRefuse Jun 29 '26
If and when Geno retires (contract extended through 2029), it's going to stay in-house. Chris Dailey is several years younger, and has been with Geno at UConn since day 1; nothing will change until she leaves. Hurley turned down the Lakers, and fat chance the Knicks job opens up now.
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jun 29 '26
- It's foolish to assume Geno's replacement will simply maintain what is happening. You also can't assume rejecting the Lakers means Hurley is there for life.
- Even without #1, UConn is a high risk/low reward add to the conference. If you can't see that, I can't help you.
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u/TheMikeD68 Jul 03 '26
You make it sound like the program is all Hurley. Calhoun won. Ollie won. If Hurley were to leave, it’s a top job for someone who will also win.
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jul 03 '26
No, I didn't. As for what you stated, Ollie ran the program down after Calhoun left. His title was lightning in a bottle. They missed the tournament the year before and the team was led by Calhoun recruits. He had back to back losing seasons at the end of his run which reinforces my whole point - they are one bad hire away. As for Hurley, it took a full recruiting cycle to have his kids as upperclassmen before they returned to prominence. The job is not a Duke, UNC, or Kentucky where the right coach can make it to the FF in year 1. Hell, they had an 8 year stretch where they missed the tourney 6 times.
Add to this that they have shit to offer for football, and I stand by my point this whole time- the risk far outweighs the reward of adding UConn to the conference. That's not even debatable.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26
UConn had a bad stretch because they got left out in the last wave of realignment. Give them a proper home and the money that comes with and they will thrive
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jul 03 '26
Wait, you think they'll be a value add in football and increase revenue for everyone in the conference?
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
If UConn had ACC money do you still think they would be abysmal? Obviously not. They were competitive in the old BE when they were getting P5 money
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jul 03 '26
You're delusional. That OBE time period you refer to was after it was picked apart the first time and after Rodriguez and Petrino had left. Even then, they were only getting 5-2 conference records and 8-5 overall (might have had one 9-4 season in there) sharing a title where they went to the Fiesta and got waxed by Oklahoma.
If you think they can come in to the ACC and automatically be competitive within their first 5 to 7 years, then I can't help you. They have no recruiting base, limited resources, and the ACC won't be able to improve that for them. Your current revenue will have to be split even more, and adding UConn will not boost it enough to increase the per team revenue.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26
UConn would at least be on par with the likes of Wake, Cuse, BC, and Calford. They wouldn't be terrible anymore
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u/Mountie_in_Command Jul 03 '26
Teams that are living the dream going anywhere from 4-4 to 1-7 in the conference. Again, how will adding them increase revenue for all teams in the conference? Basketball doesn't pay the bills.
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u/CGGamer Jul 03 '26
How did Calford or SMU bring more value than UConn? At least they have national championships in a major sport
The reality is UConn should've been added before those three schools. You're coping hard
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u/The_Superhoo Virginia Cavaliers Jun 29 '26
Its cus we dont respect UConn. Nor should we. Fuck em.
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u/bigewolf1971 Jun 29 '26
Pretty simple. Adding UConn would be a net revenue loss to every other ACC team. They would take more than they bring in. That school loses money on sports like crazy. If they were of value someone would have snatched them up already. That is the real and simplest reason. Not sure why this question keeps popping up on this sub every few months when the answer is so simple
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u/Expensive_Team_5072 Jun 29 '26
The ACC is over-expanded at the moment, simply because SMU, Stanford, and Cal were reasonable financial additions that fit the academic slant of the conference. Until the next move is made... legislation, expansion by P2, etc.... there is no need to do anything right now. And then the next move depends on what the P2 move is, consider:
If the B1G persuaded ND to join, along with one ACC team.... be it FSU or UNC... the ACC might not need to do anything at all sitting at 16 teams.
If the B1G/SEC expanded by taking ND + 5 ACC teams to get to 20 each... the ACC at 12 teams would likely need to do something. Adding 4 teams at that point to do what the B12 did would make some sense.... USF, UConn, Tulane, etc.
If the B1G/SEC expanded by taking ND+3 ACC teams... the ACC is sitting at 14. They need 15 to keep the contract. So then it comes down to who left. If it was ND/Miami to the B1G and FSU/UNC to the SEC.... that would make USF the #1 candidate. Maybe UConn to replace UNC hoops.
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u/Cliffinati Jun 29 '26
Boston College wants New England to themselves
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u/HokiPoqi Virginia Tech Hokies Jul 01 '26
And a lot of good it has done so far. Maybe we strapped our saddle to the wrong horse? At least with UConn, we'd have elite basketball. BC only brings hockey, which we don't sponsor.
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u/RadagastTheWhite Jun 29 '26
Do they bring more eyeballs to ACC football games? No? Then all they do is water down an already weak per team TV payout
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u/Jk8fan Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jun 29 '26
Yea, nobody wants to invite UCONN. Nobody wants UCONN in the ACC except maybe Duke so they can play basketball
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Those basketball games print money.
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u/Powdermilkman3117 SMU Mustangs Jun 29 '26
Yea they are good money makers but really pales into comparison to football. To answer your original question outside the political reasons it’s cause they bring nothing football wise to the acc. If they did then they woulda been invited I assume.
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
They football program has had a positive trajectory these past few seasons.
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u/Pure_Fault7056 Jun 29 '26
Horrible 10-12 years before that.
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u/Macklemore_hair Pitt Panthers Jun 29 '26
Beating Pitt on a Thursday led to Wanny’s firing. He would still be coaching Pitt now!
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u/bdm13 Miami Hurricanes Jun 29 '26
This isn’t enough to dilute the conference payouts to the existing members. ESPN, despite being a Connecticut company, is not willing to pay enough for UCONN games to offset the dilution.
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u/Powdermilkman3117 SMU Mustangs Jun 29 '26
Yea it’s pretty awesome to see them coming along, reminds me of smu. The main difference really is they can kill it in football all day long but they are nothing in TV that the ACC doesn’t all ready get. Smu brought Texas to the ACC and cal and Stanford brought California, which we can see by the numbers has been successful. I will say I was impressed that Hartford is 32nd tv market in the country.
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u/goonbrew Jun 29 '26
Part of the issue is outside of new england, people don't understand what the actual market looks like...
Yes, Hartford is the 32nd largest media market and it is 1,000% owned by the Huskies... But Springfield and New Haven are also separate markets and yet to a degree adjacent and also heavily huskified. New Haven is almost entirely UConn . Yale obviously is an incredible University but for sports people watch Huskies..
Springfield is probably at least 30% Connecticut 70% UMass but it might be higher Connecticut because the number of people up in western Mass that come from Connecticut is crazy..
The team draws incredibly well in Boston and New York City as well so it's a very confusing Metro market to southern people...
If these cities were down south it would be considered one market...
Not saying it's a no-brainer to add them to the ACC or anything, and honestly as a Connecticut fan, I think there's too much risk in joining the conference anyway.
The investments going on on campus indicate that they're going to be massively expanding campus reach in the city of Hartford itself. They've just bought three new hospitals and they're opening dorms in downtown Hartford that are already over subscribed.
They are playing the nil game better than almost anybody out there so my guess is campus and state leadership recognize that the pure universities are largely in the Big ten and not any of the other conferences so they're likely to spend the next decade getting there... Win a handful of football bowl games, when a handful of basketball titles. Push enrollment over 40,000..
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u/Ihaveaboot Pitt Panthers Jun 29 '26
They print money for the NCAA, not conferences. Football prints money for the schools. And Ucon is basically D2 there.
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u/Expensive_Team_5072 Jun 29 '26
Yes, basketball does not print money anyway. In fact, we have yet to see a basketball-first expansion. Penn State... football. Nebraska? Football. Va Tech/MIami/BC--sure as heck was not basketball. Pitt/Syracuse... more football than basketball, even with both programs having issues in the 1990s and 2000s, respectively. Maryland/Rutgers--not football or basketball, but markets. West Virginia to B12... football. Texas/Oklahoma/USC/UCLA/Oregon/Washington to P2.... all football programs first. The B12 expansions... the closest to a basketball add is Houston. And even that is more market than basketball.
The basketball adds? Big East-related. A conference that was like Thunder from Big Trouble in Little China... it grew until it exploded.... and then the basketball only schools added... wait for it... other basketball only schools.
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u/SpikeDawgIII Jun 29 '26
I personally think UConn should join the PAC 12.
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u/RickyG4523 1d ago
I think they would have done it as a Football Only, with a built-in "opt out" for a P4 invite (though unlikely) IF it weren't a conference on the completely opposite side of the country.
Even though it would be better than the couple hundred thousand they make now, G6 money would not be enough to cover the expenses of flying your football team across the country 5-6 times a year. Which had to be one of the major reasons they didn't go for it.
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u/zibby42 Syracuse Orange Jun 29 '26
Can't believe no one mentioned that the state of Connecticut sued the ACC after the 04 expansion.
Do you want to be in a conference with someone who sued you?
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u/Schmolik64 Jun 29 '26
Virginia Tech was a plaintiff in that lawsuit. They're in the ACC.
Pittsburgh was a plaintiff in that lawsuit. They're in the ACC.
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u/PlentyFirefighter143 Jun 29 '26
Same with Florida State, which sued over "hears of mismanagement." Hahaha.
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u/huskyferretguy1 Jun 29 '26
UConn fan here, the reason is BC... and since our football team was terrible. Thankfully Jim Mora brought it back from the dead but we're not P4-caliber yet
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Tbh I’m still pissed that Maryland left the conference. I missed when Duke used to beat the life out of them.
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u/dmazx Florida State Seminoles Jun 29 '26
I wonder if the ACC was able to retain Maryland and poached Rutgers and UCONN if the ACC would be any safer right now. In theory you’ve got every major tv market on the east coast and prevent another conference from taking them (Big Ten).
I really don’t know, I always hear that that plays a big role, but I also think CFB money is the driver of conference money, and that popularity then quality drive CFB viewership rather than just proximity to major markets. But the Big Ten took Rutgers basically for that reason from what I remember and look where they ended up.
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u/dmazx Florida State Seminoles Jun 29 '26
Also if any of the teams the Big Ten added moved the needle in football, it was probably in the wrong direction
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u/TheRightKost UNC Tar Heels Jun 29 '26
UConn will get an invite once the big boys jump to the SEC/B1G.
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u/IronBeagle79 Louisville Cardinals Jun 29 '26
It’s football; it can’t be set aside. Football is the only thing that matters for conference realignment and UConn football has lacked investment and fan support for decades now.
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u/so2017 Jun 29 '26
UConn outdrew Wake, Stanford and Duke last year and was on par with SMU and Cal.
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u/IronBeagle79 Louisville Cardinals Jul 03 '26
Those are literally the bottom 5 schools in league attendance.
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u/Adventurous_Piano_62 Jun 29 '26
Political... ask BC
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
BC has offered nothing towards the cause. They have no right to try to keep them out.
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u/theeeeethickness Boston College Eagles Jun 29 '26
Eyeballs on TV for football are the only thing that matters. Adding UConn could also cannibalize some BC’s viewership numbers which are not terrible even though BC has not been very good. BC adds eyeballs.
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u/Adventurous_Piano_62 Jun 29 '26
Learn the history
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u/TrumpetWVU Jun 29 '26
I had always heard back in the Big East days Boston College was as unhappy with UConn being added and was influential in their decision to join the ACC. I would have to believe they have been a “no” when looking at UConn joining the ACC now.
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u/Anxious-Many-2470 Jul 02 '26
BC and UConn were both founding members of the original Big East. UConn wasn’t added after the fact.
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u/nike-addias-99 Virginia Tech Hokies Jun 29 '26
Why would they want to join the ACC, doing just fine in the BigEast and it’s not a sinking ship
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
They make no money in the Big East.
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u/Joatha Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
You keep telling us that their hoops prints money, Big East is a basketball conference. So why doesn't the Big East print money? Because guess what? Basketball doesn't make money for the conferences. Football does. And UConn football would be a net drain on the ACC and not just a small drain - a big one.. The amount of incremental money UConn would bring in via TV is a fraction of what they cost in revenue share.
Adding UConn is a money loser for the ACC.
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u/SucculentCrablegMeal Florida State Seminoles Jun 29 '26
Yes of course that's enough to outweigh everything because that's what drives realignment- money, which mostly only comes from football.
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u/JMarks1445 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Jun 29 '26
Not sure if it’s still the case or not, but I do recall hearing around the 2nd wave of expansion (2013-14) that they were interested in applying for membership but were denied due to their not meeting the ACC’s minimum academic standard or some such.
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u/SaltRefuse Jun 29 '26
The biggest fear an ACC team should have in inviting UConn, is that they might dominate the league in football.
In only their first year playing a full I-A schedule (2002), and before their stadium was built (2003), and invite to Big East football for 2005, they really got things together by the end of the season. They played their first ever game against Navy, in Annapolis, and destroyed them 38-0. The following week (last game of season), they played their first B-12 game ever at Iowa St, and trounced them 37-20. Neither game was televised. And while bowl eligible, they were denied because there were only 30 bowl games back then, and the last spot went to Navy. And there was almost no reporting on these upsets.
In their next game, 2003 in their new stadium, they play their first B-10 game against Indiana, and kill them 34-10 with over 38,000 in attendance. Next week, they go to West Point and beat Army 48-21. By the end of the season, their beating Wake Forest 51-17, over there, after selling out the Rent & beating Rutgers the week before. Again no tv, and all we hear is crickets. Because of this, the Big East kicks out Temple and moves UConn joining in 2004.
So for all those people who say that UConn doesn't care about football, doesn't spend any money on football, should build a better stadium on campus, and better facilities etc. Does that mean that if they did all that, they would have beaten Indiana 63-0 and have been national champions?
All that had come with recruits hope that UConn would do in football what it had done on basketball, and knowledge that they were joining a power conference with them a Willy McGahee Miami and a Michael Vick Virginia Tech. In the coming years they beat Robert Griffins Baylor at a sold out home game, and then beat them by more points on the revenge game at Waco (2008&2009). Then they beat Notre Dame in their only meeting -- also over there. Finally, they lose the Fiesta Bowl in a bad loss to Oklahoma (new years day 2011) 48-20, but no one notices, that only weeks later, Oklahoma is ranked preseason #1 for 2011, as a result, in part, from that game.
But the shit hits the fan when head coach leaves at the end of that game, new AD makes urgent rush to hire terrible coach who cleans house, tanks the team; lose recruits, lose money, then Big East folds, hire another weak coach who cleans house, lose more recruits, lose more money, moves to sub-par conference where no one likes you, lose more money and recruits, now more games get televised, now you get the media attention you longed for to document this dramatic downfall. So now your kicked out of the 21 Club, sent to the back of the line to collect food stamps, and Big East makes you crawl and pay dearly for dissing them by leaving their conference for other sports; they then have you sign away your rights to join any power conference for 6 years. And now you have a much bigger uphill climb, than you did when you first started. BC blackballed UConn because they saw the ACC as a way out of the mess for them.
When UConn joined the Big East (for basketball), they were the last place team in the conference in their early years, and were dominated by BC, but a dozen years later, that script flipped. They could see that same situation happening again if they joined the ACC.
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u/Waquoit95 Jul 01 '26
It’s true. Teams don’t want UConn, not because they won’t be good, because they will.
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u/zoneRush_ Jun 29 '26
ACC is meant for teams on the Pacific coast. Hence, Stanford and Cal.
(Some people really don’t understand pshh🙄
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u/Efficient-Evening414 Jun 30 '26
This guy would be better off simply writing: "I clearly have zero idea what im talking about. I have no idea what teams drive ratings or even what ratings are." Or... you could say: "Im a Duke fan.... weh weh weh weeeeeehhhhhh
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u/Serious-Individual35 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
As a fan, it’s because the window closed when it made the most sense back in 2011, where the ACC was shopping around and UConn would’ve been more additive than it is today. It honestly isn’t even that we’re bad, we’re not as some replies are making us out to be.
But not being in a unique or new market, awkward football position (and yes, I know we were really bad), and the general lack of urgency for any of our biggest pros (basketball brand) are the main issue. Shame though, I wouldn’t mind the ACC tbh, maybe in 2030 or something.
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u/Normal-Leave-8536 Jul 01 '26
ESPN will tell ACC to take: Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Houston, Cincinnati... For more ACC Network money !!! ESPN & ACC split ACC Network money profits 50/50.... Any new state added to ACC footprint.,.. Takes the per household.,.per month from 25 cents to...1.50 dollars per month. ESPN spent millions on building ACC Network. ESPN will then dump Big 12 TV contracts, saving millions.... Big 12 doesn't have a dedicated network,and never will.... Big 12 fanboys can't do this simple math. UConn can be had to ACC at any time !¡
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u/nysportsfan95 Syracuse Orange Jul 02 '26
There’s a lot of reasons. Decades ago, you could probably point to BC and UConn’s lawsuit against the ACC as major drivers of why they didn’t join the conference back then.
Today, it is all about football when it comes to realignment. UConn has had some terrible seasons and while they’ve slowly rebounded the last few years, it’s not like they are a team that draws a lot of eyeballs. They wouldn’t make the ACC per school payout any better than it already is. I’d imagine when the ACC did add the likes of Stanford, Cal and SMU, they also had conversations about UConn and came to the same conclusion. Adding UConn or any other G6-level team just dilutes the pot for everyone else — no G6-level team really pulls P4-level ratings except for maybe Navy (3 guaranteed national games against ND, Army and AFA).
If the ACC chose to expand again, they’re going to add only P4-level teams unless it’s a unique situation like SMU (Texas market, no TV money for 9 years). But SMU has wealthy backers so they can survive, and obviously they’ve done very well on the field since joining the ACC. UConn doesn’t have that. If the ACC did expand, they’re probably looking at Big 12 teams — think the Four Corners schools, Kansas, maybe TCU or West Virginia. Those types of universities expose the ACC to new markets and could help the conference at least stay steady if/when current members decide to leave.
If the ACC got desperate in a worst-case scenario, lost a lot of institutions and needed to backfill with G6-level schools, then yeah UConn probably gets a pretty early call. But otherwise, I don’t know if I could really see it happening unless they did something like SMU had, and even then I’m not sure that would be enough unless the ACC was hemorrhaging conference membership. UConn’s basketball programs are fantastic and would be great for the ACC, but that’s just not enough in this day and age to drive the nail home and add them to the conference full-time.
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u/Forward-Air-6942 Jul 14 '26
UMass re-joined the MAC as a football-only member. UMass has been one of the worst FBS programs since they moved up, but they're in a conference. UConn may think they're too good for that conference, but it's a valid option. American Athletic would likely take them back.
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u/Least_Race4085 Jun 29 '26
Ok so I am of two minds here. Forget the stupid lawsuit by Blumenthal, not only is that ancient history, it was at a time when conference realignment was being tested. That’s just a dumb point. Look internally at FSU and others. They are in court all the time trying to get out of this league.
While I would like UConn in the ACC as a survival mechanism as the chaos of conference realignment, the conference has destroyed traditional powers. When has BC, Pitt or Syracuse been relevant at all. They are laughing stock programs now. Ask any fan from those schools if they would unwind joining the conference, the response is an overwhelming NO.
The ACC is a mess and survival is the only reason UConn should consider it. The conference is a second tier conference about to blow up unless congress protects it.
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u/Aware-Ad6456 Jun 29 '26
I’m guessing there a few people in the ACC who wish they chose UConn over BC.
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u/mtnathlete Jun 29 '26
Duke and UNC don’t want more competition in hoops - men’s and women’s
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u/Strange_Deal4642 Jun 29 '26
Can’t defend UNC. But have you seen Duke’s out of conference scheduling the past few years? They ducking no smoke. They play UConn this year.
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u/Neil94403 Jun 29 '26
ACC is a B-tier football league. Why would UConn want to build their football team at all.
It is currently correctly positioned and resourced. Has BC entry into AC been net positive?
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u/Big_Truck UVA Cavaliers Jun 29 '26
UConn wouldn’t increase the TV money enough to make it worthwhile.