With FBS schools across the country like Houston, Cincinnati, Texas and Oklahoma planning to switch conferences recently, the sports writers at the Daily Campus decided to do a fun experiment by answering this question: Which conference should UConn football move to? The program previously had ties to a Conference USA move but is now leaning toward staying independent. However, we are picking which conference would be right for the program’s future, assuming every conference would accept the lowly program with open arms and the team didn’t want to remain independent. Our team of writers have their takes:
Northeast Conference
Stratton Stave
stratton.stave@uconn.edu
he/him
Campus Correspondent
Let’s be real here. UConn is plain and simply going to have trouble winning in most conferences that aren’t the Northeast Conference. As many of you might imagine, I’m hungry for wins and it would be reasonable to assume that many of the players are too. In this bottom-tier FCS conference environment, the Huskies would be well-positioned to get some victories and win the conference. This is supported by the Sagarin Computer rankings, which place UConn in first place in the conference if they were to join. Better yet, this conference makes more sense geographically than any other potential conference. The footprint is securely in the Mid-Atlantic and New England area and even features two Connecticut opponents in Sacred Heart University and Central Connecticut State University. Given their current level of football and location, the Northeast Conference feels like a clear option for the Huskies.
Atlantic Coastal Conference
Cole Stefan
cole.stefan@uconn.edu
he/him
Campus Correspondent
I want to focus on the University of Connecticut Huskies as a whole. Right now, football is being represented mainly by No. 10 Wake Forest (the team that also fields fellow high school football member Matt Gulbin). By adding us, ACC football could have more than one ranked team at this point in the season, whether that goes to someone like Boston College or Clemson, who we play on November 13. The main reason the Huskies should go to the ACC is because of basketball. Historically, this has been the conference for college hoops, whether it is Duke or UNC running the table just about every season. By adding the Huskies, UConn hoops would have outstanding rivalries against schools like UNC and Duke (Men’s basketball) as well as Louisville and Notre Dame (women’s basketball). Also, don’t forget about the memories we could make in both soccer and baseball as well. If Syracuse, Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami moved from the Big East to the ACC, then why shouldn’t we?
Mountain West
Taylor Coonan
taylor.coonan@uconn.edu
she/her
Campus Correspondent
Full disclosure: my original choice was the ACC and I’m fully aware that we are not west of the mountains, but I got thinking and honestly, UConn Football could really have a place out west. University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors’ depth isn’t very far off from UConn’s, and that was my one wish when the team went independent–to play on the islands. That dream has yet to be fulfilled, but I’ll always believe that it would be a great matchup. I know we already played Fresno State and it was, by definition, a nightmare game. However, I do believe that the Huskies have come a long way since the beginning of the season under the direction of interim head coach Lou Spanos. Would UConn win if there was a rematch? Or if it was played at The Rent? Truthfully, I don’t know, but what I do know is that UConn would not leave the game scoreless. A more positive memory took place at The Rent when UConn hosted the Wyoming Cowboys and led the entire game, only to lose by two points. Not two touchdowns, but two individual points. The final 2-point conversion was no good, and failed to tie the game and force an overtime. Nonetheless, Huskies fans were proud of the team’s performance and that loss was heartbreaking solely because of how well UConn played. Should UConn join the Mountain West Conference, we would be in for more close games like that and UConn Football would revive itself as a spectator sport. The Huskies would really hold their own and perhaps get a chance to warm up from the cold, Storrs winds.
It’s called the Atlantic Coast Conference*** Guys and girls, there is no shot that UConn gets into the ACC and they won’t be getting an invitation to the Mountain West either. There have been talks about UConn joining Conference USA as a football only member, which recently lost all but three of its members, as they were poached by other conferences. This seems to be there only conference option at the moment, within FBS, or they will stay Independent. The problem with C-USA is that the conference has very weak teams spread out all the way to El Paso to Miami. However, with the state of UConn’s football team, maybe they need some weaker (equal) competition to rebuild their program and get some confidence. Their other sports will most certainly remain in the Big East which is the best choice for the student athletes and fans.
Your nutty! The ACC won’t take them and look how great BC did, not a winner since joining. The conference that makes sense with rivalries is the Colonial maybe they get U Mass to go along. Basketball should remain in Big East.
UCONN MUST GET IN C-USA NOW !!!… FOR FOOTBALL ONLY !!!…. 10 ..C-USA GETS 17M A YEAR FROM CFP,AND ITS GOING UP..INDYS GET 300T FROM CFP…2)…C-USA HAS BOWL CONTACTS…3)…C-USA HAS A TV CONTRACT ….4)…HARD TO SCHEDULE GAMES IN OCT. AND NOV. BECAUSE OTHER CONFERENCE ARE PLAYING THEIR CONFERENCE GAMES….5)…CAN’T BE GETING 1 HOME GAME FOR 2 AWAY GAMES…….UCONN AND UMASS HAVE TO GET IN C-USA NOW !!!….THE LAST HELICOPTER IS LIVING VIETNAM !!!
UConn and UMass must work together to from a new eastern centric football only conference. FEC: football east conference. UConn, UMass, Army, Navy, Temple and Buffalo. Army and Navy can stay in their persoective conferences for olympic while Buffalo should get a big east invite and Temple moves back to A10. Thats six schools, maybe Delaware and Toronto might be enticed in joining in football. They wont have to move their entire sports programs up to div1a. Only concentrating solely on football upgrade is manageable
UConn struggled to beat Wagner a couple years ago. Wagner is a mediocre team in the Northeast Conference so saying they would have trouble winning in any conference that ISNT the NEC needs to be reevaluated.
I have read your article. Such a good and informative. Sports is my passion. I have loved sports since childhood. Love to play I also like to watch sports
I also enjoy working with sports. Awareness among people increases through sports.