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UConn Basketball: Are Huskies a “Blue Blood” program after winning 5th title?

By Bryan Mauro

Apr 3, 2023; Houston, TX, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley cuts down the net after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs in the national championship game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2023; Houston, TX, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley cuts down the net after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs in the national championship game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /
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UConn Basketball
UConn Basketball guard Jordan Hawkins Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

What is a Blue Blood?

Blue Blood status is a subjective thing that every media market and fan bases are going to view differently. The only team who is an undisputed Blue Blood is Kansas. They will likely be on everyone’s list and Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, UCLA, and Indiana will be on most people’s lists. UConn is going to be a controversial one, especially in a lot of the Big East fan bases. I live in Nebraska, and Creighton fans are not likely going to recognize UConn as a Blue Blood because they are 6-1 against them since the Huskies have returned to the Big East.

The Big East is one of the premier conferences in the country and they proved that this season when they placed three teams in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, and one thing that is not going to be disputable is that the Huskies have been the most successful team in that conference over the last 25 years. Now that Connecticut has that fifth title and can put itself in the conversation the school should be able to enjoy some distinct advantages that all Blue Bloods get.

As was mentioned the “Blue Bloods” are a media-created title, but the distinction does come with some perks. One thing is that the marketability for the school and its merchandise sales are going to drastically improve. The Huskies are now going to be a national brand and that is going to carry weight with Fox Sports, ESPN, CBS, and any other network that carries the sport. Their exposure is going to be extremely attractive to recruits as well. UConn already didn’t have a lot of trouble getting players to come play for them but now, just like every Blue Blood they are going to have the benefit of the doubt with every recruit.

These teams carry weight with every team in the country. When a Blue Blood offers a player a scholarship every other team soon follows there is something to be said about the best of the best offering a player a chance to play at that school. If they are good enough to play for a Blue Blood, they are good enough to play anywhere. To be honest, as weird as it is to say the Blue Bloods control college basketball and they are the teams we all tune in to watch every weekend.