Paul Doyle of the Hartford Courant reports that the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) will invite Louisville, not UConn, to join the conference. UConn, who has been passed over for ACC membership at least twice, has publicly lobbied for a spot in the ACC (through Governor Dannel Malloy, no less).
Doyle writes that UConn was viewed as the favorite to be added to the ACC:
UConn was a candidate for the ACC when the conference voted to add Syracuse and Louisville 14 months ago, but the Boston College reportedly led a resistance against the school based on geography and a lingering animosity over a lawsuit brought by the state of Connecticut that attempted to block BC’s 2003 move from the Big East. But BC has a new athletic director and administrations from both schools are cordial, leading to UConn being viewed as a favorite this time around.
The Hartford/New Haven TV market is No. 30 in the country, reaching more home than the Louisville market (No. 48). In the latest U.S. News & World Report University Rankings, UConn was No. 63 whole Louisville was No. 160.
- Only 1 other school has moved from Division I-AA to Division I and earned an AP ranking faster
- UConn is 1 of 5 teams to move from Division I-AA to Division I and have a .500 or better record in each of its first 3 years in Division I
- UConn has producted legitimate NFL players (Alfred Fincher, Deon Anderson, Tyvon Branch, Donald Thomas, Darius Butler, William Beatty, Anthony Sherman, etc.) in recent years.
[…] I asked Dan Canavan to weigh in on my post regarding the ACC’s snub of UConn. My basic argument was that UConn, and in particular UConn football, is undervalued by the ACC. […]