Gov. Ned Lamont visits UConn practice, weighs in on Power Five, Huskies hopes
STORRS – As UConn’s latest hopes of joining a Power Five conference appear to be slipping away, the football team got a visit Tuesday from Gov. Ned Lamont, who came to say he had the Huskies’ back.
“I’m going to follow (AD) Dave Benedict’s lead,” Lamont said, as practice was wrapping up. “It’s like three-dimensional chess. Look, everybody wants to be aligned with UConn. UConn is a university of winners. Men’s basketball, men’s hockey, football, across the board. I think it’s all going to settle out. … There is always a lot of maneuvering, we’ll see where it ends up.”
The Big 12 Conference, or at least its commissioner, Brett Yormark, was widely reported to be eying UConn as part of its expansion plans. But an unsatisfactory TV deal caused a rapid crumbling of the Pac 12 last week, with Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joining the Big 12, filling it to 16 teams, then Oregon and Washington moved to the Big Ten.
The ACC, which is the best geographic fit for UConn, could lose teams, break up or possibly expand, but could turn to the remaining Pac 12 teams, such as Stanford and Cal. Maybe further Big 12 expansion to 18 could include UConn, but any path to the Power Five is shrouded at the moment.
As a member of the Big East, UConn has a top-echelon affiliation for its men’s and women’s basketball programs, but must play as an independent in FBS football. The Big East TV deal sends a little more than $3 million annually to its members, and UConn’s football TV deal with CBS brings in another $500,000 or so. A move to the Big 12 would eventually have brought UConn ten times that amount.
“I want us to be in a Power Five conference because I think it helps,” coach Jim Mora said. “I said on Day One, I think it helps our athletic department, I think it helps every student athlete. It certainly helps this football program and I think we’re building something that is earning the right to be in a Power Five. This team will compete with Power Five football teams, we have the facilities, we have the people, we do more with less than any athletic department in the country, if you look at all the sports.”
With the athletic department running a $53-million deficit last year, a number that could improve slightly with past contractual obligations to former men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie off the books and revenue gained from the men’s basketball national championship, it’s still daunting red ink that is covered by a state subsidy.
Lamont said there is no pressure on UConn athletics with regard to its budget.
“We’re here to support UConn,” he said. “They don’t have to worry about that (the athletic deficit). If they get into a conference and it brings in more revenue, God bless ’em.”
“… We have women’s professional basketball, we don’t really have big professional teams like other states, UConn is our team. That’s our state team. We cheer for our state team, that’s important. They did us proud in basketball last year, they’ll do us proud in football. I love what’s going on here.”
Mora said, “Whatever your political affiliation, it doesn’t matter, I mean, the Governor is here supporting the state’s football team and that means a lot to us. I know it meant a lot to our players.”
After UConn finished practice, Lamont, 69, a Democrat in his second term, spoke to the team as it huddled around him and shared a brief chat with Mora, 61, who he met during the hiring process in 2021. Lamont said he plans to be at the season opener, Aug. 31, at Rentschler Field against NC State. After several years of winning three games or less, UConn was 6-7 last season, losing to Marshall in a bowl game at Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“They’ve got a great coach that has the team believing in themselves,” Lamont said. “They’ve got almost the whole team back from last year. Last year they surprised the heck out of their opponents. Nobody’s taking UConn for granted this year, so they’re going to have to be ready to go. And they are ready to go.”
