EAST HARTFORD, Conn. -- Rentschler Field, the University of Connecticut's football facility, served as a temporary home for the New York Sentinels on Thursday night. There is a chance it could house a UFL team of its own next season. In a story first reported by FanHouse on Oct. 30, the four-team UFL announced that it will be adding two more teams and debuting a 10-game schedule in 2010.
Commissioner Michael Huyghue (pictured), speaking with reporters during Thursday's 24-6 victory by the undefeated Florida Tuskers over the winless Sentinels, suggested that Hartford -- a city within a state without professional sports -- is definitely a front-runner to land one of the new franchises.
"There are a lot of things that make us feel good about (Hartford) as a prospect," said Huyghue, a native of nearby Windsor, Conn. "It's a market that can draw from New York and Boston, and it's easier for football than for a sport like, say, soccer because football is naturally in people's blood."
Hartford's has a passionate base of fans, most of whom pledge allegiance to the New York Giants, New York Jets or New England Patriots. Thanks to its location in the corridor between New York and Boston, Hartford -- and most of Connecticut, for that matter -- has its choice in "local" teams that are not quite local enough.
As a result, the one constant in Connecticut sports is UConn, whose men's and women's basketball programs have brought numerous national championships to the state. That success has helped propel the university's visibility and lift its football program from the FCS to a competitive Big East team with a sparkling new stadium.
It's something that is not lost on the commissioner.
"You see (the passion toward athletics) with UConn and the support it has gotten," he said of Connecticut's fans. "I know that after having lived here."
What does this have to do with the UFL? Everything. Connecticut and the start-up league are a perfect match -- an area without a professional football team but with passionate football fans and a viable venue, and a league looking to put teams in markets that are underserved by pro sports but can support them.
Huyghue admitted that the league has purposely held back on marketing and promotions this season, instead pouring its money into the on-field product. The commissioner said that the league will use more of its cash toward publicity next season, but that's not the only thing it will work on at the campaign's end.
"We have to pick the right night to play on and continue to develop a plan for season tickets," said Huyghue, who also added the league is financially sound because it is secure in its ownership and sources of funding. "Sponsorship and television revenue will be how teams make money."
For the record, the UFL plays its game on VERSUS and HDNet mostly on Wednesday and Thursday nights. A few Saturday contests have been sprinkled in, as well as games that have gone head-to-head with the World Series in New York.
"We'd be foolish to think we compete with the NFL. ... The NFL sees a benefit in having us around."
- Michael Huyghue,
UFL commissioner Not ideal scheduling for Huyghue, who also defended the league's decision to play during the fall, one of the most crowded times on the sporting schedule. He pointed out that the UFL is not in competition with the NFL, but instead is a complement.
The UFL's fall slate also gives players an opportunity to latch on with NFL clubs for their stretch drives and fans a chance to watch football during, well, football season, when he said they have proven that they are most likely to do so.
"We'd be foolish to think we compete with the NFL," the commissioner said. " All (UFL people) have had pro careers in the NFL. We know each other, we know (NFL commissioner Roger Goodell). ... The NFL sees a benefit in having us around."
In fact, Huyghue thinks the UFL's niche will be created in direct relation to the actions of NFL teams. He explained in detail how salaries for fourth- or fifth-year NFL players can become expensive, as compared to those of first-year performers.
NFL teams do not want to pay players hefty salaries to "run down on kicks," as Huyghue put it. This presents such a player with a decision: to get playing time in the UFL or try to stick in the NFL, where they may become a financial casualty.
Ironically, fiscal responsibility has been the hallmark so far for the UFL, which has pinched pennies anywhere possible. Teams train at central locations instead of doing so in their respective cities. There is one general manager, Rick Mueller, for all four clubs.
Those clubs, in fact, do not even put a full financial burden on their four owners, who fund 50 percent of their teams, while the league owns the other halves. That being said, Huyghue admitted that the UFL has some work to do in the offseason.
"There is not one single thing that we have to do (to improve)," he said. "We just have to review our notes, see what we did this year and find out how we can get better."
