Mike DiMauro: The most important football season in UConn history
Aug. 15—Among the great frustrations tethered to being a UConn fan at this moment of expansion and realignment in college sports: The counterintuitive idea that a 16-time national college basketball champion remains out of the money.
Indeed, it feels nonsensical to suggest that the school commanding the brightest lights in the billion dollar brand called March Madness has no place at the adult table.
But then comes reality:
If college basketball success were relevant to conference expansion and realignment, UConn would be the first school chosen in this avaricious game of musical chairs.
Of course, if the term "student-athlete" were relevant to conference expansion and realignment, Stanford and the University of California wouldn't be vagabonds.
And so when all the romanticism about what college sports ought to be disappears, we're left with the warped reality: Football not only drives the metaphorical bus, but uses the bus to steamroll everything else. Specifically: Does your football program contribute enough "added value" to a Power Five (soon to be Power Four) conference to merit serious consideration?
"Added value" is becoming a bit of a buzz phrase, incorporating many factors, among them success, brand, market and fan interest. This is UConn's albatross. While this fan base sees appreciable value in 16 national basketball championships, athletic directors in the Big 12 — the people who were lukewarm about UConn during this most recent gluttony — see a pedestrian football program playing in a half-empty stadium 20 miles from campus in an area of the country where passions for college football run about as deep as a roadside puddle. No real "added value."
And this is why UConn is about to embark on the most important football season in its history. Nothing that Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma accomplish in the upcoming season — even with a legitimate chance at two more titles — is nearly as significant as whether Jim Mora can continue the football program's ascent.
Mora turned 1-11 into 6-7 and a bowl game last season. Arguably the best coaching job in the country. Yet now the momentum must persist and progress for three reasons: 1) Expansion and realignment don't appear to be done; 2) People are watching; and 3) recency bias is a real thing.
UConn plays four games this year that will move the needle nationally to varying degrees: home against NC State and Duke; on the road at Boston College and Tennessee. NC State and Duke both figure to finish in the top half of the ACC. UConn can make it two straight against BC. And glory hallelujah, can you imagine the residual effect of a win in Knoxville? That's really where UConn can parlay last year's momentum into better contention for the Power Four.
This isn't all on the players and coaches either. The fans need to begin showing up. TV cameras panning mere friends and relatives at Rentschler is what they call a "bad optic" now, every bit as damaging to the program's reputation as losing games. Put it this way: If you are complaining about UConn's perch in the economic landscape, you need to schlep it out to The Rent this year for a game (or two).
Even with the encouraging season of 2022, UConn's last two home games drew 23,430 and 15,107. That cannot persist, particularly in light of the way it used to be. Per UConn's media notes back in the day, "the Huskies sold out 25 of their first 41 games at Rentschler, playing to 96-percent of capacity, drawing 1,581,291 fans, or an average of 38,568 per game."
And while I do believe UConn inflates its attendance numbers, so does everybody else. The point: Perception (read: butts in the seats) has never, ever been more important.
I just got my tickets for the NC State game. Stub Hub has lower level tickets (got mine on the 20-yard line) for $21 apiece, plus the Gross National Product of Argentina in surcharges. Still, a very reasonable number.
I'm going. Should be a fun night. How about you? It's never been more important.
This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro
