UConn Leaving the AAC for the Big East

[MT01]

I want to make a very clear and poignant statement regarding this situation, and I'm going to use the AAC Commissioner's interview with CBS to make it. Copied below is one Q/A that the leadership of this university just absolutely does not comprehend and it starts with McPhee (and you can now add the new Board of Directors to that as well). They continue fail this university and all alumni by not being able to grasp this concept below that Aresco very clearly gets and articulates. Our leadership does not understand the gravity of how important our brand (or in our case lack therof) is to our present and our future. We continue to brand athletics one way and the rest of the university another way. The greatest barrier to Kermit creating a national brand for MT basketball wasn't getting us consistently into the NCAA Tournament. It was the lack of leadership to support him and the rest of the university toward that endeavor. Everyone has to all be pulling in the same direction and we simply don't have that. We are so fractured and broken. It goes back to the piss poor culture of this university and the lack of leadership to address it, change it, and truly allow the university to realize that potential we've always heard about.

CBS Sports: Do you have a feeling on whether you stay at 11 teams or expand and go to 12?

"It's not something we have to do. Unless you can get somebody who enhances our brand and our strength, it's not worth doing. Geography is a factor but not the biggest factor. We didn't take Wichita State [in basketball] because they happen to be close to our schools. We took them because they're a tremendous basketball team. I think we'll have a serious discussion. If we can't find anyone that makes sense, we would stay at 11."

 

[FranklinRaider315]

“I got you fam. I’m on this.”

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This tweet a few days after Massaro’s “beach office” tweet was priceless.

 

[BRaiderDave]

I want to make a very clear and poignant statement regarding this situation, and I'm going to use the AAC Commissioner's interview with CBS to make it. Copied below is one Q/A that the leadership of this university just absolutely does not comprehend and it starts with McPhee (and you can now add the new Board of Directors to that as well). They continue fail this university and all alumni by not being able to grasp this concept below that Aresco very clearly gets and articulates. Our leadership does not understand the gravity of how important our brand (or in our case lack therof) is to our present and our future. We continue to brand athletics one way and the rest of the university another way. The greatest barrier to Kermit creating a national brand for MT basketball wasn't getting us consistently into the NCAA Tournament. It was the lack of leadership to support him and the rest of the university toward that endeavor. Everyone has to all be pulling in the same direction and we simply don't have that. We are so fractured and broken. It goes back to the piss poor culture of this university and the lack of leadership to address it, change it, and truly allow the university to realize that potential we've always heard about.

CBS Sports: Do you have a feeling on whether you stay at 11 teams or expand and go to 12?

"It's not something we have to do. Unless you can get somebody who enhances our brand and our strength, it's not worth doing. Geography is a factor but not the biggest factor. We didn't take Wichita State [in basketball] because they happen to be close to our schools. We took them because they're a tremendous basketball team. I think we'll have a serious discussion. If we can't find anyone that makes sense, we would stay at 11."

Wichita State is really good in baseball too. Did that move to the AAC as well? Quite frankly, I'm too lazy to look that up.

 

[RandallThomason]

Wichita State is really good in baseball too. Did that move to the AAC as well? Quite frankly, I'm too lazy to look that up.

Yes baseball went to the AAC also. Their baseball program has taken a dip in the last several seasons. Haven’t been to a regional in a quite a while. Think they just fired their coach.

 

[BlueSioux]

One of my new golfing buddies from church was sporting UT apparel one day and I asked him what years he was at UTK. He replied, “Oh, I graduated from MTSU but we’re UT fans.” I asked him why he couldn’t be a fan of both.

This has been going on for way too long. You have first-generation college students that are alums that still pull for UTK because it's always been that way.