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Good Luck With Basketball, UConn, Maybe You’ll Catch A Break

From the Hartford Courant:

For the 2005-06 budget year, [UCONN] football won with a total of $2,279,821 in net revenue, compared to $1,210,250 for basketball. Gross revenue was $12,391,340 for football and $7,281,193 for basketball.

That's right folks. The program that has been built over the last three decades, won two National Championships, perennial conference championships and maintains national prominence brings in less profit than the one that didn't exist in Division 1-A until a few years ago and has the distinction of being the only Big East team to lose to Sy
racuse in the last two years.

And you wonder why conferences care so much more about football than they do basketball.

When I saw this story I immediately thought of the Mr. Show sketch with Bob and David's guidance counselor Moe Phelps, who can't understand why anyone would want to be an actor. I couldn't find the sketch online but I thought the transcript made for a very easy parallel to a conversation between UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma and UConn football coach Randy Edsall.

Randy Edsall:
Oh hello Jim and Geno.

Jim Calhoun: Hi Randy, we just wanted to say "thank you." You really made a difference to the university since coming aboard.

Geno Auriemma: Yeah. Hey, I-I don’t know if you remember what you said to us. When we came to you, we said we wanted to coach basketball, and-and you said--

Randy: "All basketball coaching is, is jumping up and down and yelling and screaming a lot." Yeah, I tell everyone that.

Jim: Yeah, well it really worked for us, man. Cuz, hey look at us, we got tons of National Titles and Final Fours. . .

Geno: Yeah!

Jim: . . .on TV!

Randy: Oh, good luck with it, maybe you’ll catch a break.

Geno: Well. . .No, we don’t need a break, sir. We’ve each got our own successful programs with multiple championships.

Randy: Well, maybe it will lead to something.

Jim: It already did.

Geno: Yeah, we’re successful. Much more successful than your football team.

Randy: Consider it a stepping stone to somethin’ worthwhile then.

Jim: What do you mean?!

Geno: This is what we want to be doing, what we’re doing now.

Randy: Well, maybe you should keep it as a hobby.

[Jim and Geno through a temper tantrum and stomp around.]

Jim: Ah!!

Geno: You don’t understand!

[Randy takes notices, and whips his glasses off in acknowledgment.]

Randy: Boys, that is some of the finest basketball coaching that I have ever seen. If I had anything to do with it, I’m proud.

[Jim turns to Geno and shrugs.]

And.....scene!