Whit Babcock on with Mo Egger at 5:00 pm today

[longtimefan]

Whit Babcock will be on with Mo discussing the situation. Very interested to hear what he says related to expansion, facilities, recruiting, coaching etc.

[longtimefan]

I also noted that the President and AD of UConn put out statements today, I wish Santa would do the same.

[dbernie41]

It looks like 5:33 according to Mo's website. But... I don't want to be the guy responsible for everyone missing it if it really is at 5.

[bearcatsam]

Whit have anything interesting to say? I missed it!

[RedRocker]

Whit have anything interesting to say? I missed it!

Not really. Nothing earth shattering.

[bearcatgary]

Not really. Nothing earth shattering.

Not even a glimmer of hope?

--Gary

[RedRocker]

Not even a glimmer of hope?

--Gary

SOS. They are working hard at it, etc. I think he knows that the next shoe (MD/ACC lawsuit and potential poaching of more ACC teams (FSU and Clemson) after/if the lawsuit favors MD) needs to drop.

Here's the link to Mo's page with the podcasts today with Whit and McMurphy.

http://www.espn1530.com/pages/mo.html

[longtimefan]

He basically said its back to the drawing board on facility upgrades. They were planning to use money from the new TV contract, but now nobody knows what that will be.

I don't think that is an acceptable attitude right now. They need to make the financial commitment now if they want the fans to make a real commitment. If they have to sell bonds or whatever they need to get it done. Long term landing in a good conference will more than offset the initial expense. It is time to act NOW. If UC finally makes a big commitment, then the fans will buy in as well, that's what Louisville did, and now it is paying off for them.

[longtimefan]

Whit will also be on with Lance McAlister at 7:40.

[Levittation]

Just being honest, Whit sounded pretty dejected in his tone and was pretty honest about the situation. He definitely did not in anyway sound upbeat about the situation but at least did give th BS we heard last year from leadership about how UC is committed to the big east. Mo asked him basic but great questions. Unfortunately his answers were the same as we have heard in the past - need upgraded facilities, greater attendance. The discouraging thing is these are issues we all know but concrete solutions are never put into action.

[bobestes]

So, at what point do we have to cut sports bc of the POS tv contract we will end up with?

Also, was it a strategic error to build Varsity Village instead of a real football stadium? Football is driving expansion, not baseball or track and field.

[dbernie41]

So, at what point do we have to cut sports bc of the POS tv contract we will end up with?

Also, was it a strategic error to build Varsity Village instead of a real football stadium? Football is driving expansion, not baseball or track and field.

I think Varsity Village was to provide a broader appeal to potential students. So it wasn't a bad move... just bad location/layout... especially putting the Lindner center RIGHT BEHIND the home side of the field. Maybe it's time UC buys a chunk of Burnett Woods. There are buildings going up all around UC and our national profile is rising... a big/new stadium would really take us to the next level.

My friend caught Whit earlier today on Mo Egger and he said Whit "sounded like a beaten man".

At least it sounds like he cares! And that he put a lot of effort into it.

[1977 BearCat]

I think Varsity Village was to provide a broader appeal to potential students.....

Yet we continue to hear our athletic director talk about the debt the athletic department owes on Varsity Village. Those facilities, which were necessary due to decades of neglect, are part and parcel of the university's infrastructure and should be treated as such.

Taking responsibility for the outstanding Varsity Village debt is the first thing the UC Board should do to help improve our future conference prospects.

[AeroCat]

So, at what point do we have to cut sports bc of the POS tv contract we will end up with?

Also, was it a strategic error to build Varsity Village instead of a real football stadium? Football is driving expansion, not baseball or track and field.

While as a reasonably recent graduate of the university I agree that a 'real' football stadium (or at least a vastly upgraded Nippert) should be at the forefront of the university's athletic expansion plan, Varsity Village has been a fantastic addition to campus. I used those fields and facilities many, many times. Without them, campus wouldn't be nearly as livable for students. It'd be nice to quantify the total "recruiting" a nicer campus does for regular students.

I assume that some of the design decisions of Varsity Village were made well before UC football became such a hot commodity for the university -- had we have had the success we did in 2005-2009 before ground was broken on the Lindner Center, it's certain that the university would have modified plans to accommodate Nippert expansion.

[Binturong05]

I'm just curious if any of you might be willing to lay out a few bullet points of what exactly you would do if you were the AD or university president and specifically detail how you would pay for whatever proposals you're suggesting.

I've reviewed the university's finances on several occassions over the last two or three years and I can't see how they pay for all the wish list items that are being casually suggested on these boards but I'm all ears if someone can explain otherwise.

As for Whit, I listened to the 7 o'clock interview and he did sound dejected. He was positive on the university and didn't go so far as to bash the Big East, since he does need to remain diplomatic after all, but it was clear he wanted to join the ACC. He was positive on UC as a total package and the coaches - primarily men's basketball and football and women's basketball - and he thanked all the supporters for the opportunity to work hard and move UC toward its goals. Other than that not a lot of detail.