UConn Football

Poor, poor, UConn. What else is there to say about the Huskies' 33-18 season-opening loss to Towson? 

Yes, you read that correctly.

The Huskies opened the season with a 15-point loss on their home turf to FCS member Towson, a team that finished 2012 7-4. But, hey, they went 6-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association, so that has to count for something, right?

Eric Crawford, a sports columnist for WDRB in Louisville, said it best when talking about the AAC's first loss in the conference's history:

If you listen very closely, you can hear the nails being hammered into the coffin of Paul Pasqualoni's head coaching career at UConn. Entering the season, he was already on extremely thin ice. The Huskies enjoyed the best years in the program's history prior to his arrival in 2011.

His 10-14 record in his first two seasons placed him in hot water, and by the looks of it, the pot is set to boil over. It's never a good thing when your team is trending on Twitter after a loss, and UConn is slowly making its way up the ranks.

In the four seasons before he took over, the Huskies averaged eight wins. That all seems like a distant memory after Thursday night's performance. The program has progressively gotten worse in those two years, going from 82nd in total offense to 118th in 2012.

Saying the Huskies offense has been anemic under Pasqualoni would be a vast understatement. The offense managed just 17.8 points per game (118th NCAA) last year. They had six games where they scored less than 20 points, four of which they couldn't manage more than 10. 

The run game was non-existent at 87.9 yards per game (117th). With no threat on the ground, teams were able to lock in on quarterback Chandler Whitmer and the receivers. If you can't run the ball, you're going to have a bad time. They couldn't have run the ball if the other team was sitting on the sideline. 

In desperation to get the ball moving, Pasqualoni brought in Cincinnati Bearcats wide receivers coach T.J. Weist as offensive coordinator. Though it's been just one game, the move appears to not have helped much. The Huskies managed just 290 yards of total offense against Towson and 18 points, not to mention only 84 rushing yards, which is right on par with their 2012 average.

Mediocre and boring is a bad combination, and the Huskies have become just that.

Fans are becoming disinterested, and as a result, attendance numbers have steadily declined since Pasqualoni took over in 2011. Average attendance was at 38,248 in former head coach Randy Edsall's last year in 2010 before he left for the Maryland job. That number fell to 36,668 in 2011, and then to 34,672 in 2012. 

Pasqualoni tweeted a few hours before the game that his team was loading up on the bus to head to the stadium:

It appears they never got off. 

This is not say he will be fired next week. Perhaps the Huskies turn around the season and finish with a respectable record. Maybe, just maybe, the offense finally begins to move the ball. But, a loss to Towson sure doesn't make that seem very likely. The program that was on the upward swing under Edsall is regressing and fan unrest grows by the day.

After the deflating loss Thursday night, the hourglass on Pasqualoni's tenure at Connecticut has been turned.  

The 2013 NFL draft will surely contain its fair share of hidden gems, and former Connecticut cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson may prove to be one of the most valuable.  

Given the recent success of tall, strong NFL corners such as Seattle's Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner, Wreh-Wilson's build has to be attractive to pro scouts. 

The top tier of cornerbacks in this year's draft includes Alabama's Dee Milliner, Florida State's Xavier Rhodes, Mississippi State's Johnthan Banks and Washington's Desmond Trufant. 

Each of these players exceeds either six feet in height or 200 pounds, reflecting the emphasis on size at cornerback at the next level. 

However, this entire first tier will likely be off the board by the middle of the second round. 

Wreh-Wilson, standing in at 6'1" and 190 pounds, is projected to go in the middle rounds, providing elite size at an excellent bargain. 

The former Husky's most impressive feature is perhaps his long arms. His 32" arm length eclipses that of many offensive tackles, allowing him to press receivers at the line of scrimmage and go up to attack the ball at the highest point. 

Wreh-Wilson's outstanding length should allow him to match up well against some of the NFL's larger receivers, though he could afford to add some bulk. 

His height also allows for a long stride, giving the cornerback good 4.49 speed. While he does not have elite straight-line wheels, he certainly has enough to keep up with outside receivers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ko5KCYFxA

His frame does present a few challenges, however. Wreh-Wilson needs to improve his balance, as some shorter receivers are able to get leverage off of the ball. He is also not the smoothest, most fluid athlete when backpedaling or turning his hips. 

The former Connecticut stud must learn to tackle with his body rather than his arms as well. 

However, this does not mean that he shies away from supporting the run defense. On the contrary, Wreh-Wilson is both willing and capable of shedding blocks and stepping up to meet the ball-carrier, often showing exceptional toughness when diving at the legs of pulling blockers to clog running lanes.

The long cornerback also has solid ball skills, making a habit of looking back for the pigskin and playing it in the air. 

Overall, Wreh-Wilson may not blow anyone away during his rookie season, but his long arms and tall frame make him an extremely valuable weapon. With some increased bulk and a bit more practice in his backpedal, it is scary to think about what he could accomplish on the outside.

For these reasons, Wreh-Wilson should provide great value in the middle rounds, especially with the increased emphasis on size at cornerback in the NFL.  

The Big East's Seven Catholic schools have announced an intention to leave the Big East on June 30th, 2015...rather than following up with their initial plan to blow the conference up under the feet of the incoming football playing members. 

The Gunpowder Plot of 2012

It was thought that the Big East bylaws clearly allowed the basketball schools to pull the plug on the conference via a seven to three voting edge on the Big East Board of Directors. (The incoming football schools will not be considered "Directors"—voting members—until July 1, 2013.)

This was disputed by reports that Temple's vote was being overlooked. Temple will be a full member next year, but this year is a football-only member.  In theory, counting the Owl's vote, the vote would be 7-4, giving the Catholic schools less than the two-thirds majority required. 

That idea that Temple was an 11th vote on a dissolution election does not seem to be supported in the bylaws and reports quickly surfaced rejecting the idea.

On the 14th ESPN wrote that a source advised "that the league may not be dissolved without at least two FBS and two non-FBS members each voting to do so."  (Others have described the source as "a Big East source.")

The ESPN article went on to suggest the Catholic schools might simply take advantage of the legacy "schism clause" (implemented when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College went to the ACC) to leave as a group with no exit fees due, instead of trying to terminate the conference. 

The article noted that in order leave without penalty, the Catholic schools would have to give at least 27 months notice.

While (as far as one can see) this "two plus two" interpretation does not appear to be supported by the bylaws,  it does look like the Catholic schools have followed through with the plan from the ESPN article and are simply departing the conference with the mandated advanced notice.

It seems likely that either the Catholic schools were convinced that dissolution would require an action by the Athletic Director's Executive Committee (requiring two football directors to vote), or the football schools empowered Aresco to cut a deal with the Catholic Universities to end the threat...Perhaps surrendering the Big East name in 2015 (or other assets)?

Sadly, at this point the national media have not asked those questions, so we don't know which is the case.

Regardless, it does appear that the Gun Powder Plot of 2012 is over.

Aftermath of a failed coup

Effectively, it appears that barring further raids by contract conferences, the "new Big East" will be together for the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons after all.

By hanging around for 30 months, the basketball schools not only get time to build their conference at a leisurely pace, they get to pull shares of the the NCAA "money units" left behind by Louisville, Pitt, and Syracuse (money units are paid out over a multi-year period) for an extra two years. 

The Catholic schools naming a departure date does suggest the Catholic schools have turned in their withdrawal notices (per bylaw 11.02).  As soon as a Big East school turns in their withdrawal notice they are no longer eligible to vote as a "Director" (per bylaw 5.01 b) on issues like membership.

This suggests that now Cincinnati, UConn, and USF may have total voting control...until the new football members join on July 1, 2013.

Why this may be important —the TV implications first

A couple days ago, CBS reported that Commissioner Mike Aresco had to cut off a trip to negotiate with potential broadcast partners in order to deal with the impending departure of the basketball schools.

"...Aresco's plans to visit New York for television negotiations were derailed this week by the imminent basketball defections, and resuming talks don't sound promising."

“I think the television negotiations are over,” one industry source said. “What are you going to negotiate?” ..."

Now if this exit date represents a firm agreement (ie. either both parties have agreed to it or the football schools intend to hold the Catholic schools to it) , it appears that Aresco and the Big East's negotiation team can now go back to those meetings offering a two year run featuring the same schools that had pulled in 6 interested bidders in the first place.

The TV payout ballpark numbers mentioned by CBS's Dennis Dodds on December 6 (after Louisville left and Tulane and ECU came in) were $60-80 million range per year. 

Now there are a couple things to keep in mind.  First, that was early in the negotiation process.  With 6 bidders, those numbers were likely to go up a bit.

Secondly TV payouts are usually structured to go up a bit each year.  So a seven year deal worth $70 million per year might pay the Big East $70 million in year four and $80 million in year seven, but only $60 million in year one.

The Big East has a commissioner in Mike Aresco and hired negotiating firm in Bevilacqua Helfant Ventures who understand broadcasters and have experience closing media deals for sports products. 

If the Catholic schools are in for two more years, Chris Bevilacqua and company can continue selling the same content they have been selling the last few weeks. 

Oddly enough, the six potential broadcast partners could be a lot more confident than they were three weeks ago about signing a deal with the Big East that will hold its value for the length of the deal.

I have been quite critical of going into TV negotiations with only this assortment of schools, but if they can land a deal (or deals) that pays $70 million or $80 million for 2014 and 2015, following this strategy might be a decent move.  (If you think about it, this could be similar to what a 10 year deal at $80-90 million might pay in year one and two.  It could be enough for schools like SDSU and Boise State to hang around for the next deal).

I certainly understand if Aresco is more comfortable looking for salvation from his ability to negotiate with a broadcaster, rather than any other strategies like expansion.

A two year deal would give the football Big East some broadcast numbers—something concrete—to sell in negotiating their next deal. 

It would also quickly put money in SDSU and Boise State's hands that exceed the Mountain West Conference's schools' individual earnings. It would give the maximum time to let envy work on the MWC's newly found solidarity.

The opposing case is that if you can pay the privates to leave now, the Big East can can use their slots to land more compliant replacement schools and then secure a long term deal.  (The downside is that totally restarts negotiations from scratch, which may be why this does not seem to be the direction the conference is taking.)

With the MWC stuck in a longer deal with poor payouts, one can argue that signing a fairly big money long term deal as soon as possible is the best chisel to pry schools from that conference.

A short term deal could allow the MWC to sell their schools on the idea that any gains by the Big East are strictly short term gains.

But, it is at least leveraging one of the conference's best assets (its negotiating crew) is a strategy that has merits that can be argued.

Regardless, the Bearcats and Huskies' leaderships should vote for Immediate basketball expansion

Cincinnati's and Uconn's leaderships appear bitter, indignant, and feeling geographically isolated today.  Both schools seem to feel they are better athletically and academically than the new Big East. And they care about basketball more than most of their new incoming members.

Either would love to trick their way into the ACC.

Both would be wise to take advantage of their current leverage to build a more comfortable temporary home... in case that invite does not come for a few years.

Today, the northern duo appears to suddenly have a two to one voting advantage over USF.

Think about the opportunity that represents.

In July, UConn and Cincinnati will be a minority voice in the conference.   Conferences usually are inclined to vote their geography to a large degree in expansion decisions, especially if remote schools are making noise about leaving. 

It is very unlikely a northern expansion takes place after July 1st, 2013. 

It is far more likely Cincinnati and UConn will be playing Boise State and East Carolina in basketball if the northern schools do not take action soon.

So...Do Cincinnati and UConn want to be the only northern schools in the conference? 

Do they want to continue to play in an elite basketball conference?

OK, so which schools make sense to add?

At the end of my last article I rattled off a few schools that could have done a lot to replace the Catholic schools in the instance that they left immediately. 

As the Catholic schools do not appear to be going anywhere until 2015, a more measured response makes sense today.

Even though the case against Tulane basketball was extremely overstated, the Catholic schools did make a valid point. 

At some point a conference has so many bad basketball programs that it drags down its conference strength of schedule. 

Get enough schools doing that, and a conference has a situation like Conference USA v. 2.0 where annual bubble caliber teams UTEP, Tulsa, UAB and others usually miss the NCAA tourney, rather than make it.

If the Big East isn't one of what will be the 6-8 basketball power conferences, their tourney money units will decrease and the Big East's athletic offerings will become easy for a network to pass over.

For the record, I maintain the case against Tulane basketball was taken to a statistically dishonest point in order to deflect any blame for the Catholic schools' departures.

It absolutely ignored that RPI-wise, if Tulane played a Big East schedule they would effectively be another DePaul—due to the Big East SOS. 

Just joining the conference probably adds four or more points onto Tulane's RPI.  That would make the addition of Tulane basketball appear far more tolerable.

Now Tulane athletics needs a lot of work. There is no denying that, but Tulane is unfairly taking the hit for a number of middling basketball programs coming in.  The Green Wave basketball team is not horrifically bad...Certainly not bad enough to kill a conference on their own.

While I may react with utter disbelief to the panicked, misplaced, and short-sighted protests of embarrassed Tulane Greenbackers President Mike Johnston (he suggested the move to the Big East was senseless), Green Wave fans do have every right to be miffed about the Catholic schools using Tulane as a scapegoat to cover the basketball schools' malfeasance. 

One can only hope the Greenbackers push a little more money into Tulane basketball. Improved basketball play on the on as grand of a stage as the Big East can do a lot to quickly erase this unfair, national public relations wedgie given to Tulane basketball.

Adding northern travel partners

It would be a smart strategic move for basketball powers Cincinnati and UConn to add a few top basketball-only schools (and nearby ones) to offset the RPI hit caused by the addition of schools like Tulane (as well as the coming departure of the Catholic schools). 

If the added schools were strong enough programs, this "abuse of power" by Cincinnati and UConn would probably be tolerable to the incoming football schools as it could create sensible northern travel partners and have a positive affect on the TV negotiations.

Cincinnati

Butler would be a good travel partner for Cincinnati. Brad Stevens is an exceptional coach and would help the Big East coaching brain-drain. Looking at the last five years, they are the second strongest basketball program potentially available to the Big East and would enter the conference as the third best program outside of the Catholic ranks.

They are academically strong. 

Butler is also not a Catholic school, so they would probably take a Big East offer today rather than waiting a couple years for an invite from the Catholic seven which might not come...simply because Butler is not a Catholic school.

Should Cincinnati leave, the football schools can eliminate a football trip to the Midwest by adding an Olympic-only member as Butler's travel partner. 

(Dayton might be a very smart pick.  The Catholic schools might very well decide to pass on the Flyers in favor of Xavier over proximity concerns. Dayton was 27th in attendance in the nation last year, averaging 12,567 per game and they usually merit a tourney invite. Oakland University (near Detroit), Cleveland State, and Valparaiso offer strong basketball and better native Designated Market Areas.  The University of Illinois at Chicago is a weaker program, but is another option.  The latter schools draw about 3000-4000 fans per game in their current conferences and the public are not especially academically prestigious.)

UConn

UMass would be a great travel partner for UConn.  They would take an Olympic sports-only membership to get their foot in the Big East door.  They are a state flagship university with strong academics. 

UMass is a large enrollment public who with UConn would offer the Big East solid media coverage in Boston and the Massachusetts DMAs. They have had two very good basketball seasons in the last five years.  UMass only averaged 3300 per game last year, but their numbers could quickly ramp up in two years in the large Big East.

From UConn's perspective, while they may not want to invite nearby UMass—even with a lesser Olympic Sports-only membership—inviting the Minutemen could be the smart play for the Huskies. 

UMass coming in could make UConn's media support appear bigger (helping the Huskies' case for ACC admission).

If UConn leaves, Stony Brook, Hofstra, or Fordham each have cases for inclusion as UMass's travel partner.  (Today Stony Brook has the best basketball program.) All three offer a native presence in the extremely valuable NYC DMA.  (The New York City DMA is the size of the No. 4 Philadelphia, No. 5 Dallas/Fort Worth and No. 10 Houston DMAs combined.)

With the Catholic privates around for three more seasons, the football schools can spend some time shopping for their NYC member.  The conference can afford to wait and see if any of these three emerge as solid basketball programs. 

If not, Rhode Island and Siena are better supported programs and solid on the court, but have weaker media appeal.

Temple

Getting Temple a Virginia travel partner would create an unbalanced number of basketball schools, but would dramatically reduce the chances of the incoming football schools admitting basketball dead weight East Carolina at some point in the next two years.  It also potentially could help shorten UConn and Cincinnati's travel burden.

Large Virginia public universities Virginia Commonwealth or George Mason would both represent a good travel partner for Temple. VCU averaged 6,645 per game last year and is the better Big East candidate today due to the coaching of Shaka Smart. If Smart should leave after the season, George Mason will be the better candidate at that point. George Mason averaged 5,896 per game and is in the Washington DC DMA.

Other basketball help

Offering San Diego State a pathway to transition from a football-only member to an all-sports member also makes great basketball sense.  SDSU is the third strongest basketball program available to the Big East. They averaged 11,668 per game last season.

Adding Steve Fisher's program would do a lot to legitimize the conference in the west.  Playing in the Big East could take Fisher's recruiting in Southern California up to Louisville or Syracuse levels.

UTEP could be secured with an all-sports invite as SDSU's distant, but tolerable travel partner.  They averaged 8,959 per game last year and even in a much lesser conference, are usually a bubble caliber team. 

They would take the invite for the money and a chance to play Houston and SMU in conference again. UTEP offers strong basketball and strong fan viewership in south Texas as well as the large Texas DMAs.  That should help the Big East in negotiations.  UTEP also helps position the conference to pick off MWC schools in the future.

As finances dictate that only an all-sports offer would land UTEP, Larry Coker's UTSA football program should get a football-only offer to balance the divisions and help with Texas relevance.

The Roadrunner football program has a large number of alumni in both Austin and San Antonio, the two large neighboring DMAs in south central Texas.  (The two DMAs combined would rank No. 17 in the nation.  That will help with the TV numbers.)  The Roadrunners also draw pretty well in football.

Strategic sense

It makes a lot of sense for UConn and Cincy to get this done immediately before any party can take action to try to stop it.

How great would it be for the future of the Huskies and Bearcat's athletic programs in this football conference if SDSU, Memphis, VCU, UConn, Temple, Cincy, Butler, and UMass happened to dominate the Catholic schools in the 2014 and 2015 conference tournaments?  When you consider the teams on each side (and the team count), it is not a far-fetched scenario at all.

That could have long-term, positive NYC implications for the football side of the Big East.

The total cost of this expansion is one football-only slot, one all-sports slot, and four Olympic-only slots.  Most of the targeted schools are in large population states and have good cases for media relevance. 

Based on the "low" projected numbers, that would only cost about $11 million out of the conference's (low number) $60 million total.

There is every reason to think these schools combined would create $11 million of new TV revenue for the Big East—and it only burns two football slots.

It should seem pretty acceptable (after the fact) to the rest of the football Big East.

Membership totals

This would lay out fairly well for the next two years, although the Big East wouldn't have an even number in basketball, screwing up setting up travel partners.

Football
SW Division: SDSU, Boise State, UTEP, UTSA, SMU, Houston, Tulane
NE Division: Memphis, Cincinnati, USF, UCF, ECU, Temple, UConn

Basketball
SW Division: SDSU, UTEP, SMU, Houston, Tulane, Memphis, UCF
Central Division: Butler, Cincinnati, USF, VCU, Temple, UConn, UMass
Big East Division: Marquette, DePaul, Georgetown, Villanova, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Providence

(This was setup with the idea that Aresco may have promised to have the privates playing each other in a division.)

The Conference would have solid to good media penetration in Texas, Southern Cal, Florida, the Midwest and the Northeast to sell in this two year contract period.  While this membership wouldn't generate the revenue having the Big East's pipe dream targets—BYU and all three academies—would deliver, it might deliver enough income to intrigue Air Force and Army in 2015.

The conference would be able to leverage strong basketball showings on the biggest collegiate tournament stage of them all to show its schools still play elite level basketball.

In the next two years, the Big East could try to coax their preferred targets (BYU, Air Force, and Army) in for 2015, when Navy is scheduled to join.  That, any additional expansion, and the departure of the Catholic schools would probably allow an easing of the gross violations of geography (Tulane and UCF in the basketball SW division) in this two year setup.

Opportunity is knocking for UConn and Cincinnati

And it won't knock forever...

The leaders at Cincinnati and Connecticut should ask each other, what happens if one of them gets what amounts to a final spot in the ACC?  (Perhaps as an Olympic member for now...?)

What happens to the other school?

It makes a lot of sense to guarantee the Big East will always be at least tolerable for them by adding schools now when they have the power to pick and choose.

There was a time when Connecticut and Massachusetts made for a competitive rivalry in the northeast, but if Thursday night's action was any indication, it could be a while until we see the two old rivals on the same field.

Connecticut's defense was dominant in Thursday night's season opener, as the Huskies handed the Minutemen a 37-0 loss in UMass's first FBS game.

Connecticut scored touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams, making this a total team effort.

Quarterback Chandler Whitmer passed for 219 yards but was intercepted two times. The junior college transfer was named the starting quarterback heading into preseason camp, and while he was far from perfect, he gave Huskies fans a glimpse as to why Paul Pasqualoni named him the starter after instability at the position last fall.

It is only one game of course, and there is still some work to be done for the Huskies quarterback and offense.

Fortunately for Connecticut, the defense was the story of the night, allowing just 59 yards of offense to UMass. The FBS newcomers were just 3-for-15 on third down, while the Huskies were 8-for-16.

The Massachusetts pass attack accounted for 56 of the 59 offensive yards, as the running game just never found any room to wiggle through in the trenches. Connecticut's defense looked stout, but nobody should get too carried away with the win over a program making the jump up in classification and not anywhere close to fielding an FBS roster.

It will take some time for Massachusetts to get on a more level playing field with Connecticut.

UConn kicker Chad Christen kicked three field goals, including a 47-yard and 37-yard field goal in the second quarter to help Connecticut create some early separation before really pulling away for a victory.

Perhaps by the next time these two schools meet in football, things will be different.

There are no future dates currently on the schedule for UConn and UMass, and the non-conference schedule for UMass is booked for the next two seasons including games against Boston College, Maine, Penn State, Vanderbilt and more.

In time, these two will play again, and by then, UMass should have a roster better equipped to handle the FBS competition.

As for UConn, playing in a conference that always seems to be wide open, this was a good first step to establishing a tone for the season. Sure, it was against an inferior opponent but things should get tougher next week with a home game against North Carolina State and the following week against former coach Randy Edsall and Maryland.

A 3-0 start is not out of the question.

If UConn can get to 3-0, a 5-0 start heading into Big East play is well within reach with Western Michigan and Buffalo rounding out the September schedule.

This article was originally posted on Examiner.com by the author, who shares owns the rights of the content.

Kevin McGuire is the host of the No 2-Minute Warning podcast. Follow Kevin McGuire on Twitter and Facebook.

Sha-ki Holines committed to the University of Massachusetts in June of this year. Tuesday, he announced that he is decommitting from UMass and will switch his commitment to the University of Connecticut.

Holines, a defensive end from High School of Commerce in Massachusetts, did not have an offer from UConn until after he committed to the Minutemen. He also had an offer from Maine and received some interest from Boston College.

Holines' football coach at Commerce told MassLive.com of the commitment switch:

He said that he prefers UConn right now. UConn was his No. 1 choice and at the time they didn't offer him. It was a hard decision, but he told me even back in sophomore year that he wanted to go to UConn.

The 6'4", 240-pound linebacker/defensive end was named the All-Western Massachusetts defensive most valuable player last year as a junior with 132 solo tackles, six sacks and four fumble recoveries. 

He also caught 25 receptions for 256 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end.

Rated as a 3-star recruit, Holines is considered the sixth-best player in his class from the state of Massachusetts, according to Rivals.com.

ESPN says of the new UConn commit:

Holines is a productive tight end and linebacker. We feel his size and athleticism are best suited for the inside linebacker position at the next level of competition. His frame appears capable of supporting additional body mass over time however it is imperative that his quickness and playing speed improve.

Head coach Paul Pasqualoni, who is in his second year at UConn, and his coaching staff have already put together a strong class for 2013.

Holines will be their 15th commit for the class and the fifth defensive commit.

Pasqualoni has worked hard since coming from the Dallas Cowboys, where he was the defensive coordinator. UConn went 5-7 last year.

Oddly enough, the UConn Huskies will start their 2012 season off Thursday, Aug. 30 against UMass in East Hartford.

Former University of Connecticut football player Greg McKee was arrested after police founds pictures and videos on his computer of boys, ages five-to-10, engaged in sexual acts.

Samaia Hernandez of The Hartford Courant reported the news and details of the arrest. McKee turned himself into Connecticut State police on Friday and was arraigned shortly thereafter. 

McKee was originally charged with multiple counts of possessing child pornography in December of 2010, and was indefinitely suspended from the football team at that time, and was later dismissed altogether. 

The original charges came after police began investigating the distribution of child pornography on the UConn campus. After the charges McKee moved back to Chicago, but—as Hernandez reports—police seized his laptop computer and other items. 

The police's forensics team reportedly found 96 still photos and 26 video files of boys involved in sexual acts, and 70 boys in those shots were identified by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

After McKee was originally charged, BlackSportsOnline, via Yardbaker, reported some of the details of this disturbing distribution process. 

McKee told police he was supposed to be paid by a man named “Feinmann” for uploading several videos of child pornography to a social network platform, but he could not contact the man after he uploaded the videos, according to the affidavit. The affidavit didn’t say who “Feinmann” was or whether authorities believe he exists.

McKee also admitted that he had downloaded child pornography from the Internet using links optained from people he contacted using his MSN messenger account, and that he may have received child pornograhy using another email address, the affidavit said.

It is hard to fathom this kind of network or a demand that requires its existence. Here is to hoping that those responsible are brought to justice, and the children involved find peace and safety. 

The Big East is going to be featured in full, as two of their biggest and most prolific schools matchup when the Connecticut Huskies square off with the Pittsburgh Panthers.

While both of these schools are undoubtedly known much more for their basketball success, there is still no question that this is going to be an intense football game.

Both programs are coming into the game at 3-4 and 1-1 in the Big East, so the winner will be playing to get back to even at .500.

The loser will continue slipping into irrelevancy, so this game has a lot riding on it.

Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PA

When: Wednesday Oct. 26. 8 p.m. EST

Watch: ESPN, ESPN3

Listen: WTIC-UConn Radio Network, Connecticut; 93.7 FM The Fan Pittsburgh

Stream: UConnHuskies,com; PittsburghPanthers.com

Betting Line (Bodog.com): Pittsburgh -10

Key Storyline:

This game is huge as far as the Big East standings are concerned. A win would propel the winner back to .500. Both teams are tied for third place in the Big East, so a win would be a huge separation.

Who Might Not Play For Connecticut:

Linebacker Martin Hyppolite probable (knee), safety Jerome Junior questionable (foot), linebacker Jerome Williams questionable (knee), cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson doubtful (knee).

Who Might Not Play For Pittsburgh:

Linebacker Todd Thomas questionable (leg), wide receiver Ed Tinker questionable (leg), offensive lineman Lucas Nix questionable (knee), defensive back Jason Hendricks out for season (shoulder), quarterback Trey Anderson out indefinitely (wrist)

BCS/Top 25 Implications:

Unfortunately, at 3-4 there are not many BCS or Top 25 implications in this game. 

What They're Saying:

John F. Silver of the Journal Inquirer writes about the Huskies problems at linebacker and how freshman Yawin Smallwood has filled in admirably this season. 

Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes about the plethora of injuries that are impacting the Panthers season. They've lost a few players for the season with injury and are undergoing a line up shuffle of sorts.

Connecticut Player to Watch:

Senior wide receiver Isiah Moore doesn't have a touchdown on the season. He's going to have to change that if the Huskies want to win this game.

Pittsburgh Player to Watch:

Running back Ray Graham is going to have to play a huge part in this game. He's got nine touchdowns on the year so far, and he's going to have to add to that total in this game.

Key Matchup:

Pittsburgh has been dealing with a ton of injuries that have really shifted their lineup. They have a ton of backups in starting positions, so if Connecticut can get physical with them, especially running the ball on offense, they should be able to throw them off.

On the Hotseat:

Pittsburgh coach Todd Graham is going to be on the hotseat during this game. The pressure is really on him to see if he can pull this team together with a patchwork lineup.

Prediction:

The Panthers have way too many injuries to overcome, even at home.

Connecticut 28, Pittsburgh 17

Player of the Week: Byron Jones, Defensive Back, Football

Jones had the critical play in the Huskies 16-10 Homecoming victory over South Florida. In the fourth quarter, with the Bulls winning 10-9, he recovered a USF fumble and ran it 10 yards to give the Huskies a lead they would not relinquish.

The Huskies' defense as a whole was also dynamic, forcing three additional turnovers en route to the win. For the second year in a row, UConn defeated South Florida without an offensive touchdown. It was this fantastic showing that earned Jones the Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

Honorable Mentions

1. Mattison Quayle, OH Women's Volleyball

Averaged 5.3 Kills per set over UConn's two victories vs. Fordham and St. John's and matched career highs in both games. Quayle was also named the Big East Player of the Week.

2. Anne Jeute, FW Field Hockey

Jeute scored two goals in a 3-1 victory over Princeton.

3. Lyle McCombs, RB, Football: McCombs totaled 130 yards on the ground in the 16-10 victory.


Team of the Week: Football 

The Huskies got the win on Homecoming and defeated the USF Bulls, 16-10. The defense was great and managed to pull it out. The Huskies obtained their first Big East Victory of the year and are now 3-4. We started slow the last few years. Let's try to change that.

Honorable Mention: Women's Volleyball

Women's Volleyball for their two wins.

The Huskies defeated Fordham on Tuesday then beat St. John's on Saturday night for their first Big East win of the season.

This is the UConn Weekly Awards featuring the top UConn players and teams across all sports. There will be three honorable mentions for Player of the Week plus possibly one honorable mention for Team of the Week. I will post these every week, so check back regularly.