Donors Gone Wild: What Can $3 Million Buy You In Connecticut?

UConn has a disgruntled donor on it's hands after hiring former Syracuse head coach, Paul Pasqualoni, to replace the now-departed Randy Edsall.

Robert Burton, a big-time donor to the UConn football program, was reportedly upset after AD Jeff Hathaway failed to consult with "knowledgeable" people about who Edsall's replacement should be—for the record—Steve Adazzio was the man Burton felt was best for the job (guess he didn't see the Gators offense last season). Burton even went so far as to request his name be removed from one of the buildings, and that the $3 million check he recently wrote be returned (don't hold your breath, Mr. Burton).

While a demanding donor is nothing new in the game of football, it seems dangerous for UConn to continue coddling this man. The last thing college football needs is a return to the days of rogue boosters gone wild—remember SMU?

If Burton's a business man with any true sense, he should know that he's in a lose-lose situation right now because UConn is not going to fire Pasqualoni. If anything they will throw their support behind him even more, as they should, because they don't want any further negativity as he begins his tenure in Storrs. 

Mr. Burton's best bet is to keep his mouth closed and let the hire run its course. Why continue making useless waves?

Sooner or later, particularly if Pasqualoni turns out to be a success, Burton might regret his ill-advised behavior. In the meantime, he should try another sport if he doesn't like the state of football in Connecticut—I hear their basketball team is pretty good.

Related articles

• Major UConn Football Donor Pulls Support in Scathing Letter (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• UConn Football Donor Wants His $3 Million Back (businessinsider.com)
• UConn, unhappy donor keep talking (cbssports.com)
• Irate UConn booster blasts AD, demands refund (cbssports.com)

College Football: Why Paul Pasqualoni REALLY Got The UConn Job

Photo Credit: KEVIN COLTON

The news that Paul Pasqualoni was hired as the head football coach at UConn—over perceived favorite, Mark Whipple—came as a surprise to some.

Not that the hire, at least on the surface, is a horrible one. Pasqualoni had a lot of success at Syracuse during his 14-year tenure—including multiple Big East Championships in the 1990's—but it's just curious given the fact that many were expecting Mark Whipple to get the nod.

So, what gives?

Well, according to at least one publication, the hiring of Pasqualoni had less to do with his mass appeal to the student body than it did with his ability to recruit the heck out of the northeast region—particularly the state of Connecticut.

A little less than a week ago, the football committee for the Connecticut High School Coaches Association sent a letter to the University of Connecticut imploring them to hire the former Syracuse coach as their next head coach.

Steve Filippone, the head coach at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, CT, had this to say at that time, "...we’re not trying to impose any kind of pressure or anything like that. We understand that’s not the way you pick a coach for a major college football team. They have a lot bigger issues to consider. We simply felt that this is an opportunity for us to say, in a pretty clear way, that we feel this man has the type of skill set, the type of reputation, that could clearly work with us … for whatever value that is."

Well, the value must have been pretty high as the Huskies definitely will be looking to lock down the talent in-state as well as reach deeper into the talent pools of both New Jersey and New York.

What better man to do so than Pasqualoni? A known commodity on the recruiting trail.

So, while the hire may not be turning heads, it makes plenty of sense and, in the end, UConn could end up having the last laugh in the Big East—if the gamble pays off.

Oh, and that whole Syracuse/UConn rivalry just got a lot more interesting. 

Related articles

• Report: UConn, Mark Whipple in final negotiations (sports.espn.go.com)

ATS Bowl Predictions 2010: Can UConn Upend Oklahoma In The Orange Bowl?

It's another week of bowling and some of the biggest of the big boys are on the slate to make their appearance on an E$PN network near you.

No matter your opinion on the Connecticut Huskies' (UConn) "worthiness" to be a participant in the Orange Bowl you have to respect what Randy Edsall has done at UConn.

His teams have consistently proven themselves to be both competitive and resilient and, despite how this game looks, you cannot give the win to either team based solely on what the stats on a piece of paper shows.

Oklahoma is the obvious pick for most, but they always have been. Unfortunately, they have often failed to live up to expectations where BCS bowls are concerned—suffering disappointing and embarrassing losses to teams that were considered underdogs—and while UConn doesn't tout a Landry Jones at quarterback, Bob Stoops unflattering reputation for blowing it in BCS games could become an unspoken factor.

Don't count Connecticut out of this game—despite what you hear—they have every bit the opportunity and talent to pull the upset if the Sooners come out flat, undisciplined, or minus the appropriate focus.

The picks that follow are for all games played from December 27th through December 30th. All lines are courtesy of VegasInsider.com.

(The 'Lady's bowl record thus far: 6-2).


December 27th:


Georgia Tech at Air Force, Advocare V100 Indepence Bowl: Air Force (-2.5)

The Jackets are short-handed in this one and Air Force sports a better-than-average pass defense (6th in the nation). If the Falcons can get on the board early and force Tech to go to their passing game, there is no reason they shouldn't win this game.

On the other hand, if Tech manages to make mince meat of that Falcons run defense early, forget about it, this game will be over long before halftime.

The Lady's Pick: Air Force to cover

December 28th:


North Carolina State at West Virginia, Champs Sports Bowl: West Virginia (-2.5)

The Wolfpack were one win away from an ACC Championship and they frittered it all away with bad play. West Virginia was inconsistent early and it cost them the Big East—UConn sits where they might have been—has either team recovered from their mishap?

The Mountaineers have shown that they can beat teams if they have everything clicking, but Russell Wilson—of NC State—is every bit as capable of leading his team to victory if he decides to show up and play. That said, it's hard to see the Wolfpack having enough offense to keep up with the sizzling hot Mountaineers.

The Lady's Pick: West Virginia to cover

Missouri Tigers at Iowa, Insight Bowl: Missouri (-2.5)

Iowa isn't looking like a team with much cohesiveness at the moment and that won't serve them well against a Missouri team that, despite their record, was once considered a BCS contender.

The Lady's Pick: Missouri to cover

December 29th:


Maryland vs. East Carolina, Military Bowl: Maryland (-7.5)

These Pirates aren't the same ones that beat Virginia Tech and went on an early tear a mere two seasons ago. No, these are Ruffin McNeill's Pirates and they know how to do one thing very well—score.

Maryland will be looking to send Ralph Friedgen out on a winning note and the emotion of that could propel them to play big in this game. That said, McNeill will be playing for some respect of his own, and could have just enough in place—on both sides of the ball—to pull the minor upset.

The Lady's Pick: East Carolina to cover


Baylor vs. Illinois, Texas Bowl: Baylor (-1)

They do it big in Texas and Robert Griffin III (Baylor) will be looking to do big things in Baylor's first bowl game in a very long time.

Illinois was hoping for better than 6-6, but the fact that they looked markedly better on offense and slightly better on defense this past season is a start—if you're looking for a silver lining—however, the edge has to go to the Bears in this game.

The Lady's Pick: Baylor to cover

Arizona Wildcats at Oklahoma State, Valero Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State (-5.5)

The Cowboys are just going to be too much for the Wildcats. Love their defense and love what they have been able to do minus initial starter, Foles, but this Cowboys team is too potent to be stopped for four quarters.

The Lady's Pick: Oklahoma State to cover


Army at Southern Methodist, Armed Forces Bowl: Southern Methodist (-7)

June Jones knows how to engineer an offense and Kyle Padron will be far too much for the Knights to contain.

The Lady's Pick: SMU to cover

Kansas State at Syracuse, New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse (-1)

Kansas State relies heavily on the run and that will serve them well against the Orange—who give up a lot of yards on the ground—but their lack of balance here could be there downfall. Syracuse has one of the best pass defenses in the nation (3rd) and if they can shut down Daniel Thomas, they stand a good chance of running away in this contest.

The Lady's Pick: Syracuse to cover

North Carolina at Tennessee, Music City Bowl: North Carolina (-2)

The Tarheels are a scrappy bunch but Tennessee has found their stride late with Tyler Bray at the helm. If he can get the offense going, and the Vols can play football for 60 minutes, they win this game—no question.

The Lady's Pick: Tennessee to cover

Washington at Nebraska, Holiday Bowl: Nebraska (-14)

Washington's problem lay in their lack of a competent defense. By contrast, Nebraska has plenty of that to spare, and then some. Look for Jake Locker to try his best to keep this game close but, in the end, Nebraska just has too much talent to be overtaken.

The Lady's Pick: Nebraska to cover

Randy Edsall Imploring UCONN Fans To Buy Tickets to Fiesta Bowl

It's safe to say that no one figured on UCONN making a trip to a BCS bowl game this year. They slid in by the hairs of their chinny-chin-chin and will now reap the benefit of a nice little payout.

Unfortunately for UCONN, their fans aren't as excited about their trip to Arizona as the players and coaches. So far, according to Darren Rovell's Twitter feed, the Huskies have only sold 4,700 of their allotted 17,500 tickets.

That puts them well shy of where they'd like to be at this point in the bowl season—financially—and makes the possibility of them taking a loss on this trip a major probability.

In response to the slow-going sales, UCONN head coach, Randy Edsall, has asked that fans and supporters of the program consider the magnitude of this opportunity to see their football program play on the national stage.

Said Edsall, "If you have the opportunity and the wherewithal to make it happen, (you) should make it happen, because this is a once in a lifetime experience for the most part,” Edsall said. “There’s (other) BCS (games), but this might be the only Fiesta Bowl we go to. We hope it’s not, but if you have the opportunity to go, (you) should spend the money and go."

You would hope that fans wouldn't need such prompting but, the truth is, times are tough for many, and UCONN football doesn't have the following of an SEC or a Big Ten school—convincing people to spend upwards of $700 (tickets are $111 minimally) is going to be a much tougher proposition.

Edsall isn't naive to the fact that the school could lose more than it gains, from a financial standpoint, but he wouldn't trade it for anything—the recruiting benefits alone could speak volumes for his program's future.

That said, there are still those who wider if it's worth the cost. If maybe the BCS shouldn't have been bait more cognizant of the locales before making their decision to allow UCONN to play in the Orange Bowl—they stand to lose just as much if no one is watching.

It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out but, right now, it doesn't look like anyone is winning.

Related articles

• UConn coach confident heading into Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oklahoma (nypost.com)