You Can Spell Conference USA Without UConn
The Story: It seems like UConn has turned down Conference USA’s advances as athletic director Dave Benedict went on the offensive Friday (as we predicted) and said the discussions between the two sides had been mischaracterized.
FRIGHTENING THOUGHTS: That news was the scariest thing we encountered throughout Halloween weekend. We know there was no reason why the Huskies would ever entertain joining what’s left of Conference USA, which lost Marshall to the Sun Belt on Friday afternoon.
• Benedict told Hearst Connecticut Media on Friday that the discussion was more about being diligent. “We feel great to be in the position we’re in because we took control of what we could and positioned ourselves in a way that makes sense for UConn,” Benedict said.
• From the start, this seemed like one of those old-school coaching rumors: A school calls a big-name coach, then lets it leak that it has spoken to that coach, even if the initial question of “Are you interested?” is met with maniacal laughter and a “hell no!”.
BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE: While being a part of a conference has its benefits, it seems unlikely that UConn would turn its back so soon on independence.
• The Huskies, as we wrote on Friday, would essentially be trading games against Syracuse, Army, Temple, Buffalo and UMass for games against Louisiana Tech and UTEP — not to mention any other potential members, including New Mexico State and Sam Houston State.
• UConn noticed that interest waned when its teams were playing East Carolina and Tulsa each week, so keeping fans’ support high is important. “Part of that is obviously being able to schedule games that are geographically relevant,” Benedict said. “That helps you recruit. If you can recruit well, you can be competitive. If you recruit well and you’re competitive, then your fans come — especially if they recognize the opponents you are playing.”
OUR TAKE: Remaining independent in football is the right move for a million reasons, which we wrote on Friday. Look, why would the Huskies sign up to join another zombie conference after all the effort that it took to leave the AAC — and why would it do so when it doesn’t know who it would be playing each week? We give Benedict credit for listening to all offers, just like we’d credit a GM for the most ludicrous trade proposals. But there’s no non-Power 5 conference that has enough shine for UConn to consider joining it. It should forge ahead as an independent, try to nail the coaching search and pick up a few wins and some momentum and then take stock of what’s happening in a few years.
Morning Reads
• Tyrese Martin could have scored 20 points or zero points last season. Neither surprised us. Dan Hurley thinks he can be more of the former rather than the latter this year. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
• Claire Jandewerth and Erica Solomen scored as the No. 20-ranked field hockey team knocked off No. 21 Delaware 2-1 in the regular season finale yesterday. Up next? Old Dominion in the Big East tournament on Friday. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The women’s soccer team fell to Butler in brutal fashion in the Big East quarterfinals by losing 1-0 in double overtime. The winner was scored in the 107th minute. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The men’s hockey team beat Dartmouth on Saturday, with every goal in a 4-1 victory scored in the third period. (The UConn Blog)
• Summer Rae Dobson scored her fourth goal of the season less than a minute into overtime to help the women’s hockey team move past the sting of its first defeat and beat Vermont 2-1 on Saturday night. (UConnHuskies.com)
•The volleyball team swept Butler 3-0 yesterday after it beat Xavier in five games on Friday. It’s now 17-7 and 9-3 in the Big East. (UConnHuskies.com)
