(02-13-2014 06:01 PM)Eagle78 Wrote:  

(02-13-2014 04:41 PM)HartfordHusky Wrote:  

(02-13-2014 03:17 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(02-13-2014 02:44 PM)HartfordHusky Wrote:  The Turf issues thing as it relates to BC and CT is so comical to me. To even suggest that a private university in Boston should have any sort of market protection over CT because it happens to be a New England state is so galling. It is bad enough as it pertains to NY and Boston claiming dominion over CT as far as pro-sports are concerned but for BC trying to claim some kind of market presence in CT, that's all kinds of ridiculous. New England is not a state.

Just curious: Does UConn market itself outside of Connecticut at all, or just in-state?

UConn obviously markets itself nationally and internationally and views itself as a national and global institution. USNWR ranks it the 19th public university in the US. That is not really my point though. My point is about protected markets as it pertains to marketing athletic programs. It just makes no sense for one school to try to claim all of New England, a region that spans 6 states. Maybe that's just the way I'm looking at it though. I can understand Ohio St. vs Cincy and Florida vs FSU to the SEC as those institutions represent the same state. BC doesn't represent anything about the state of CT so them blocking UConn due to turf simply makes no sense. Not that that is the major factor keeping UConn from gaining an ACC invite.

With all due respect, I think you are looking at this rather simplistically. BC views New England as a region it wants to be competitive and have a strong presence in. That does not stop at the Massachusetts borders any more than Uconn believes its presence stops at the CT state borders (unless I am mistaken and Uconn is not trying to expand its presence in NYC (or should that be left to SU?).

BC and the ACC are currently on NESN, which is the NEW ENGLAND Cable News Network and is televised throughout New England. Naturally, BC wants to protect that exclusivity in New England. So what? You don't think that UF, USC, and UG don't protect their "SEC exlcusivity" in Florida, SC, and Georgia respectively? Why should BC be any different? BC and Uconn are 90 miles apart. Closer than either UF/FSU (148 miles) or Clemson/USC (139 miles). The notion that BC and Uconn are not geographic competitors is ridiculous, IMO.

To expect BC to act any differently than any of these other schools is not fair to BC. IMO, If the roles were reversed, Uconn would be doing nothing different than what BC is doing. To infer otherwise is naive, IMO.

BTW, in reference to your other post, I agree with you that people in New England tend to root for New England teams depending on the situation...that holds true for Uconn...it also holds true for BC...which again supports my point that New England is one region for college sports.

Like I said, I understand the intrastate examples. I just don't get it when it comes to BC and New England. New England is a large area and BC will never be considered New England's representative in the college sports world, at least not Connecticut's. Maybe BC does de facto represent MA, RI, NH, VT, and ME, but all of those states are much smaller than CT and are much more culturally aligned with Boston. I personally feel that people in CT might actually pay attention to BC if it was in a conference with UConn. At this point, BC sports are not something that gets mentioned by Connecticut media. However, I often see UConn related articles in the Boston Globe and Herald, which may explain some of BC's position regarding "turf".