The UConn Huskies will close out a disappointing season when they travel to UMass this weekend. Even if the Huskies manage to win on Saturday, the team will finish with a losing record for 2023.
Second-year coach Jim Mora said the lack of contributions to name, image, and likeness directly impacted the football team's chances for success this season.
Mora seemed to place the blame on fans who decided not to make a financial commitment to the football program. He proceeded to rip those who expressed displeasure about the 2-9 football team but also did not put their money where their respective mouths are.
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"Because if you're not going to help us get the players to beat them, then you are not entitled to b---- when we don't beat them," Mora said.
He also argued that UConn's strength of schedule measures up to other major college football programs across the country, but the Huskies are not given the opportunity to compete on an even playing field.
"We're a better football team with a worse record and that's extremely frustrating, you know, because you see where the world is going. And we play like I said, go look at the top Group of Five teams in the country and look at their schedule and compare it to our schedule," Mora said.
Mora then suggested that next season's results would be similar unless the NIL budget increased.
"So if we're going to play those teams and people want us to beat Duke and North Carolina State and Syracuse and Maryland next year, and Wake Forest next year, then there needs to be a commitment monetarily to helping us get the players that can beat them."
UConn finished the 2022 season with a 6-7 record. The team qualified for a bowl game. Despite suffering a loss to Marshall in the Myrtle Beach Bowl, the season was likely viewed as something that could be built on going forward.
Prior to last season, the Huskies had not appeared in a bowl game since 2015. UConn is an independent program, but competes at the FBS level.
UConn has largely been viewed as a basketball powerhouse, with the Huskies defeating the San Diego State Aztecs NCAA Division I men’s basketball championship game earlier this year. The win marked UConn's fifth men's basketball championship in the past 24 years.
The UConn women's basketball program has dominated over the years, winning 11 national championships.
