“Since U Been Gone”: UConn, the ACC, and Conference Insanity

Kelly Clarkson? U damn right it is! For the next two weeks, her stylings will lead us through the Top 10 moments in Boston College sports since we’ve the last time you’ve heard from us here at The Shrine of the Silva Monkey. Monday starts the series with No. 10: “Since U Been Gone”

So why did I choose Ms. Clarkson you might ask? Is it because I occasionally often find my self bumping to some of her tunes alone in my apartment? Partly. But it is most likely because every other song of hers seems to be about a different wide emotional turn in a nearly always frustrating, yet sometimes uplifting relationship. In other words, the emotional roller coaster that the songwriting genius of the original American Idol takes us on is a far more perfect metaphor for being a fan of Boston College sports than I could ever come up with on my own.

“Since U Been Gone” is the perfect song to start the list, because well, so much has happened “Since [WE] Been Gone.” At the very bottom of that list comes the new ACC TV deal and the conference realignment discussions that last longer than a John Oates’ shooting slump.

Who is the proverbial “U” some might ask? It can be none other than our beloved neighbors, the Connecticut Huskies.

“Here’s the thing, we stared out friends / It was cool, but it was all pretend”

I’ll be honest and forthright from the start: I would really like to be playing UConn on a yearly basis. I miss Big East basketball — not that I never really experienced as BC Eagles, mind you — and the opportunity to reasonably drive to a halfway-decent football game just sound wonderful. You know what else I really like? Hating the Huskies and wanting to beat the living crap out of them if the Eagles ever got the chance. It’s what had me rooting for Rakim Sanders and Fairfield at the XL Center last year to the point that I was the only person screaming as Shabazz Napier shot late-game free throws.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Journal

In the Big East days, there was a friendly rivalry. Two New England schools who would support each other to a point, but deep down harbored a healthy animosity. It was all in good fun. When Boston College bolted for the greener pastures of the ACC, UConn took it personally. Jim Calhoun decided he would never play BC if he had a say in it and the hatred ran deep enough that when rumors circulated that Alex Oriakhi — a local kid from Lowell, Mass. — would be barred from transferring from the Huskies to the Eagles, very few people even blinked.

“I’m moving on, yeah, yeah / Thanks to you, now I get what I want”

The move to the ACC was for more money, plain and simple. UConn thought BC big-timed them — frankly, they probably did — and was not feeling it. Even though UConn walked away with a basketball National Title and fielded the weakest BCS bowl game team in history, BC won the money battle by taking their talents to the ACC. BC moved on, and that was exactly what the Eagles wanted.

Although the insanity that Florida State moving to the Big 12 could potentially drop on the ACC would make the BC-led Big East migration look paltry, UConn is currently on the outside of the big picture looking in. A Big East TV deal in September could maybe trend slightly higher, but the $17.1 million per school that the ACC deal brings in per season currently dwarves that of BC’s former mates. It’s the kind of deal that — while arguably already undersold compared to the ever-changing market — grabbed Syracuse and Pittsburgh and left UConn hanging out with Rutgers and the late ’90’s Conference USA. UConn now wants into the ACC too, but BC doesn’t want their neighbor anymore. Sounds like they should have pretended a little longer.

Honorable Mentions

Photo Credit: The Associated Press

• “Mr. Know It All”: This is a jointly awarded song for Frank Spaziani and Gene DeFilippo, but mostly for Gene D. The esteemed athletic director of Boston College probably thinks his head football coach knows it all. What he definitely thinks is that he himself knows it all.
• “You Can’t Win”: For new Women’s basketball coach Eric Johnson, I truly apologize. You have the fourth most popular “revenue sport” on campus, and thus nobody will will care — unless you lose. If you win, great. Maybe a few more $5 seats will be filled and there will be a sign of life somewhere in the athletic department, but largely it would go unnoticed. If you lose, you were be mercilessly put down by Mr. Know It All himself. Sorry Eric Johnson, you just can’t win.
• “I Do Not Hook Up“: This one is for backup defensive tackle (well, suspended backup defensive tackle) who may not hook up himself, but (allegedly) will record his roommate doing so. In the positive news, at least CBS noticed that BC had a football team.