Connecticut #1 in all of college sports?

April 9, 2014 / Rich Sports Talk / Leave a comment

The Champs are here!

In a span of 24 hours the melting pot of college basketball wasn’t Dallas or Nashville, but Storrs Connecticut. For the second time in history the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams are the National Champions at the same time. The school is now an incredible 13-0 in National Title games with four men’s championships and a record best nine National Championships for the women. 2014 will be remembered for the historic run of the men’s team after going through the ringer the previous season and the sheer dominance the women’s program which once again ran the table with 40 wins. After this week the main question shouldn’t be about UConn’s dominance, but the state’s dominance as a whole. Is Connecticut becoming one of if not the best state in the nation for college sports?

Hockey is on the rise in the Nutmeg state

I can already hear the yelling and screaming already. What are you nuts? Connecticut the best state for college sports? Blasphemous! But is it? In the span of twelve months the state has won 4 National Championships. Last year, Yale won the hockey National Championship to go with the three championships the Huskies added, two in basketball one in field hockey. We all know about basketball. The UConn men remain one of the best programs in the country, and the women are in a league of their own. However, the nutmeg state has become a hotbed for college hockey. Last year both Yale and Quinnipiac made it to the finals in hockey and both have been perennial powers for years with consistent top 15 rankings in the country. With UConn hockey moving into Hockey East and steadily improving, the question is becoming when not if another team from the Constitution state will win the National Championship.

Yeah, but what about football? True Connecticut is not a football state, this isn’t Alabama with the Crimson Tide and Auburn. I think that is pretty obvious, but across the board the other sports in this state prove that Connecticut is the cream of the crop in college sports. Field Hockey? UConn won the National Championship in 2013. Baseball? UConn reached the regionals for the first time in 2013. Along with these national appearances the Connecticut schools have won numerous conference championships across the board.

Connecticut could soon be the place to be.

With already established powerhouses, and strong up and comers, the Nutmeg state could soon be more than just the center of college basketball, but the NCAA universe as well. With some of the greatest underrated fan bases in the country, it’s not hard to see why Connecticut loves it’s college teams. With dominance in basketball and hockey, if Connecticut can establish another team or teams that become perennial powers, it will be hard to argue that Connecticut is not a great home for college sports, but “the home” for college sports.

U Conn Do it! Why UCONN needs to build a new hockey arena

October 12, 2013January 14, 2014 / Rich Sports Talk / 1 Comment

If UCONN hockey wants to make it to the big time, they need a new arena

In 2014-2015 the Connecticut Huskies will enter new territory. Starting next year, the UCONN hockey team will be joining one of the better leagues in college hockey, Hockey East. At this point many people may even be asking “wait, UCONN has a hockey team”? It’s easy to be forgotten at a school known for its powerhouse basketball programs, and its recent dominance in soccer and baseball. Not to mention a school whose effort to build a national football program has gone off the rails in the past few years. By joining Hockey East, the hockey team will now be entering the big time. It’s been a program that’s been heading in the right direction. With more scholarships and an impressive 19-14-4 2012-2013 season, the program is ready to make some noise on the Storrs campus. There’s just one problem.

Let me see scholarships? Check. New uniforms? Check. A new coach with National Championship credentials? Check. A suitable arena to house the team? Oh there’s the problem. The Huskies do not have a suitable home which could be the final piece to the hockey puzzle. The solution? Give them the home they deserve. After years of pouring millions of dollars into the other athletic programs, it’s time for UCONN to invest in their hockey program’s future. Despite being built-in 1998, the Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum is not a suitable home. This arena was built for a second-rate college hockey program, which UCONN was at the time, but now it’s a joke that a Hockey East team calls this home. While the hockey program has announced that the Hockey East games will be played at the XL Center in Hartford, this is just another problem. The massive 15,000 seat arena can barely be filled for a UCONN basketball game and will look empty even if 5,000 fans show up to a hockey game. On top of that the arena is outdated, 30 minutes from campus, and will cost the school about 25,000$ to play a game there. What’s the solution to all of this? Build this team a new arena.

The Huskies need to build a facility that will not only house this team for the future, but to use as a tool to recruit top prospects. Let’s face it, despite the direction of the program, the arena situation is a major turnoff. If I’m a recruit do I want to play in two arenas that are terrible, or go to a beautiful arena of a Hockey East rival? Sounds like an easy decision easy to me. If UCONN wants to be successful in hockey just look 40 minutes south at Quinnipiac University.

After building their 52 million dollar TD Bank North Sports Center basketball and hockey complex in 2007, the Quinnipiac Bobcats program blossomed. Coach Rand Pecknold has even said that the arena is one of the biggest recruiting tools and why they have been able to become on of college hockey’s premiere programs. Six years after opening their new arena, the Quinnipiac Bobcats were playing for a National Championship, in large part because they used their arena as a major recruitment tool. UCONN has the resources and space to build a new arena. A 3000-4500 seat arena would be an adequate sized arena for this team. Bigger then their current arena but not as colossal as the XL Center. Plus, they can add all the bells and whistles to make it a state of the art home that will make Hockey East rivals envious. With Connecticut now becoming one of the better locations in the country for college hockey, thanks to Quinnipiac and the National Champion Yale Bulldogs, the state of Connecticut is becoming a major player in college hockey. We’ve seen how quickly the Yale and Quinnipiac programs have emerged onto the national stage, with nowhere near the resources that UCONN possesses. If UCONN builds a new arena and uses that as a great recruiting tool, I predict within 5 years after the arena’s completion UCONN will be a nationally ranked program. Hockey has always been a staple in New England culture, shouldn’t one of New England’s best schools share in the tradition of great hockey? I’m not saying that UCONN can’t be great in hockey without a new arena, but it would defiantly speed up the process. Remember what they always said in Field of Dreams? If you build it they will come! If UCONN builds it, great hockey will come. Who knows. Maybe one UCONN hockey and basketball teams will be fighting over who can win the most National Championships and who is truly Connecticut’s team.

Identity crisis: UConn Huskies update look

April 30, 2013 / Rich Sports Talk / Leave a comment

Umm this looks like a wolf and a generic one. Does Minnesota know about this?

Out with the old and in with the new! The Connecticut Huskies athletic department just got an overhaul. The department felt it had an identity problem, most of the teams had their own individual logos and colors. Uconn felt that it’s teams were too different and that it was causing confusion. In an attempt to bring it all together the Huskies decided to have all their teams have the same colors and a new banner to fight under. However, this may not have been the best idea. Just look at the new so-called “Husky” logo. Tell me that doesn’t look like a wolf? What husky looks like this? Personally, I think they should have stuck with the football block “C” logo instead of this. This is a sad attempt to make Jonathan the Husky “fiercer looking”. Unfortunately, this logo is terrible and appears stolen from either the Timberwolves or some high school. I guess the only good to come out of this extreme makeover college edition is that at least the teams look relatively the same. What do I mean by this? UConn’s problem was that almost all of their teams had their own identity. They each had different logos, some had a husky others didn’t, and different color palates that were all varying. While blue and white remained a constant, some teams had red or silver as part of their uniforms. No more! Now all the teams will rock red, white, and blue for 2013. One problem, where the heck did the red come from. Personally I preferred just the blue and white, maybe a little silver but I think the red is alt tile much. While most of the uniforms

Here’s looking at you punk!

have turned out to be improvements, the two premier teams suffered in the makeover. Basketball’s new uniforms are not much to write home about and was a missed opportunity, but the football team’s are a train wreck. At first glance it looks like a sleek uniform but then you get to the helmet. Enter laughter, dread, or fist palm what ever action suits your need. So the classic C is gone, ok so the new husky will be on the side right? Um no Plain sides, Uconn in script along the back, and the infamous cujo stare on the front. I can just imagine when opponents line up against the Huskies next year what must they be thinking. Thank god I don’t have to interview the football players. Who do I look in the eyes the players or the husky?

Despite now having the teams now matching, Uconn’s new mascot and overuse of red has left something to be desired

Uconn has at least done one thing right. At least now their teams all match and they didn’t create absolutely ridiculous looking uniforms, I’m talking to you Maryland. While the uniformity is great, I still believe the boat was missed with the new Husky, overuse of the red accent color, and laughable football helmets. To see all of the team’s new looks click the (link). I just hope for two things. This mascot won’t last too long and for the love of god don’t make some crazy red alternate uniform. We’re still recovering from those silver atrocities from a few years ago. What do you think of Uconn’s new looks? Did they hit a home run or strike out? Comment below and let me here your opinions and ideas.