Fenway Park once again played host to UConn football Monday night, as head coach Jason Candle threw out the ceremonial first pitch as Boston hosted Baltimore in a divisional bout. 

Candle threw on a custom Red Sox jersey over his Huskies polo, which featured the 46-year-old coach's last name and the number 26, before taking the mound at Fenway Park. 

It's Candle's latest stop on his New England summer sports tour before fall camp begins for UConn football next month. He competed in the Travelers Championship Pro-Am last month at TPC River Highlands, using the opportunity to embrace the Connecticut fanbase and reconnect with his first love of golf. Candle teed off as a part of the final foursome at the Pro-Am, a star-studded group that included ESPN's Chris Berman, NFL great Doug Flutie and Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett.

Hired as the 33rd coach of the Huskies football program, Candle came on to replace Jim Mora, who left Storrs in sudden, controversial fashion last November after leading UConn to consecutive nine-win seasons for the first time as an FBS program. Candle leaves Ohio for the first time in his coaching career after a successful 10-year stint at Toledo, finishing at least .500 in each season while making two separate appearances in the AP Poll. 

Candle wasn't the only new head coach at Fenway Park Monday evening, as Chad Tracy was appointed interim manager of the Red Sox last month, and the Huskies will hope their new hire provides a similar boon. Boston entered Monday's game on a 13-game winning streak after slumping to 32-46 by the end of last month, now unthinkably in the hunt for the AL East title on the opposite side of the All-Star break. 

As one of two FBS independents, UConn's athletic program has missed out on a significant chunk of media rights and other revenue-sharing money due to its lack of football conference affiliation in recent years. 

Still, on the heels of a 9-4 football season and Final Four runs in both men's and women's basketball, the Huskies have managed to close the financial gap, thanks in part to sponsorship and licensing revenue. This type of income comes from appearances in video games, chiefly EA Sports College Football, along with merchandise sales with team logos. 

According to reporting from Matt Brown in his Extra Points newsletter, UConn earned just shy of $11 million from sponsorship and licensing in Fiscal Year 2025, a figure that ranks No. 34 nationally among public universities and outpaces several historic college sports powerhouses. Florida, LSU, Auburn and Kentucky are among the schools that fall short of UConn's $11 million total. 

this is a month old but i didn't even realize this. We got Cooper Newman announcing his commitment to UConn with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden,

I like everything about him and what he says in the video.

I've been watching a lot of the Toledo games from last year. They were 8-5 overall , 6-2 in conference play, 6-0 at home and 2-4 away. They played Louisville at the Boca Raton bowl and lost in a closely contested game ,27-22.

The team had grit and fought for every possession in every game of the season.

We are getting 20 transfers from that Toledo Team *ALONG with our 34 returning UConn Huskies -who played with heart and grit throughout the last two winning seasons. I don't see the winning culture that has been instilled here being diminished at all.

We're also getting great transfers from mostly P4 schools and our high school recruits seem to be excellent.

Coach Candle is really putting in great work at building the foundation for the program to succeed in future years.

This is why i don't think we will regress much at all this year. Some are predicting we will go as low as 4-8* to as high as 8-4. nobody really knows how UConn will perform this year, since we do have a tougher schedule than last year.

heres the schedule :

Sept. 5 Lafayette - East Hartford, CT - W

Sept. 12 Maryland - East Hartford, CT - W

Sept. 19@ Southern Miss - Hattiesburg, MS - W

Sept. 26@ Miami (OH) - Oxford, OH - W

Oct. 3vs. Syracuse - East Hartford, CT - W

Oct. 10@ Temple - Philadelphia, PA - W

Oct. 17BYE WEEK

**Oct. 23 (Fri)**vs. UMass - East Hartford, CT - W

Oct. 31@ Air Force - USAF Academy, CO - ?

Nov. 7vs. North Carolina - East Hartford, CT - W

Nov. 14vs. James Madison - East Hartford, CT - ?

Nov. 21vs. Old Dominion - East Hartford, CT - W

Nov. 28@ Wyoming - Laramie, WY - W

Coach Candle will have more resources at UConn than he ever did at Toledo... with better recruits. This team will show up to the big games at home - (PACK THE RENT, BTW) and we will most likely go undefeated at home or at worst, go 5-2.

the Key games :

Maryland - WE WILL BEAT MARYLAND AT HOME. Maryland lost to Rutgers and UCLA last year. they're in the big10 but they're not a big10 team. we will have our revenge for that 50-7 loss we suffered in 2024.

Syracuse - We're playing at home. we will beat them 105-3

North Carolina - We saw how disastrous BB was last year. Coach candle will run circles around BB. UConn wins 53-10

the Air Force away game and James Madison is a question mark. Coach Candle doesn't do well in Away games - but Southern Miss, Temple, Miami (OH), Wyoming should be games we win. Air force is iffy.

I'm predicting we go 10-2 this season.. at best .., 7-5 at worst if what Toledo fans say about Coach candle losing games we should win comes to fruition. Either way, i say we still go Bowling this season

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Stadium

guess this is when we had national prominence or did Michigan always hate us?

If the NFL locks in a $160–$200 billion deal, the next round of college football media deals (roughly 2030–2031 for most Power conferences) will be affected in three main ways: inventory pressure, valuation pressure, and structural pressure on how rights are sold and delivered.

1. Inventory and bandwidth pressure on networks

A $160–200 billion NFL deal means the league is almost certainly moving more games to streaming, reweighting linear windows, and demanding higher guaranteed subscribers and ad inventory from partners. That has direct consequences for college football: essentially

• Fewer slots for non-NFL content: Broadcasters will have less guaranteed linear bandwidth for college windows, especially on Sunday afternoons and primetime slots where NFL interest is highest. This could compress the number of college games per network or push more to streaming-only windows.
• Streaming prioritization: If the NFL deal is heavily streaming-centric (as many $200B scenarios assume), ESPN, CBS, Fox, and NBC will want their top streaming growth properties to be NFL-first, then college. That could mean college gets more “second-tier” streaming windows or hybrid linear/streaming packages rather than pure premium linear exposure.

For the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC, this means their number of guaranteed linear games per partner may shrink, even if total deal value stays high. Conferences may shift more games to their own streaming platforms or conference-specific packages to preserve visibility.

2. Valuation pressure: “NFL as benchmark” but also “NFL as ceiling”

The NFL deal will become the reference point for what sports media rights can command, but it also creates a ceiling problem:

• Upside: If the NFL deal is $160–200B over, say, 10–11 years, that’s roughly $15–$20B/year. That resets the entire sports rights market and makes it harder for broadcasters to argue that college football is “only worth” what it was in the 2020s cycle. Conferences can argue: “If NFL is $X , college football (the next most valuable live sport) should be a meaningful fraction of that.”
• Downside: The NFL deal will also consume so much of the sports budget that networks may be less willing or able to pay huge multiples for college. ESPN, in particular, is already shown to be cautious about 50–60% increases on NFL, worried about paying $4B+ for one package. If ESPN is pulling back on NFL growth, it’s likely to be even more cautious on college, especially for conferences that aren’t clearly top-2 or top-4 in revenue.

Current baseline context:

• Big Ten: ~$7B over 7 years (~$1B/year) with Fox, CBS, NBC, Peacock.foxsports+1
• SEC: 10-year $3B with ESPN, now expanded with ABC exposure.
• Big 12: ~$2.3B through 2030–31 with ESPN/Fox, ramping to ~$380M/year.
• ACC: recently around $72M/year in revenue from its media partner (Atlantic Coast Conference–ESPN deal).

If the NFL deal is truly $160–200B, you could see:

• SEC and Big Ten pushing for $1.5–2.5B/year in the next cycle, depending on how much linear exposure they can guarantee.
• Big 12 aiming for $500–700M/year, but with more risk if networks stretch NFL budgets.
• ACC trying to jump from ~$70M/year to maybe $100–150M/year, after 2036, but likely facing the toughest constraints if ESPN is NFL-first.

3. Structural shifts: single-seller vs. network-by-network

The NFL’s massive deal will accentuate the debate over how college football should be sold:

• Single-seller model: An article in Sports Business Journal argues that with financial challenges growing, a single-seller approach for college football is wise, because you can’t build big TV advertising without sports, and nothing except the NFL is as big as college football. If the NFL deal is $200B, networks will be more interested in a consolidated, national college package that gives them a clear “second sport” to pair with NFL, rather than negotiating separately with six Power conferences.
• Conference-by-conference: Currently, the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, and ACC all negotiate separately. If the NFL deal squeezes budgets, networks may prefer one big “Power college” package (or even a unified playoff-style national package) to reduce complexity and guarantee scale.

For your specific conferences:

• Big Ten: With its current $7B, NFL-style deal, it’s already positioned as the most “NFL-like” conference in structure and national reach. In a post–$200B NFL world, the Big Ten could be the anchor conference in a single-seller or national college package, but it may also resist if it thinks it can still command top-tier standalone money.
• SEC: ESPN’s dominance in SEC rights (and its new NFL ownership stake) means the SEC is likely to be deeply tied to ESPN’s strategy. If ESPN is stretching itself on NFL, the SEC might get a strong deal but with more streaming emphasis and fewer guaranteed top ABC windows.
• Big 12: The Big 12’s current deal is already smaller and more dependent on ESPN/Fox. In a high-NFL-cost environment, it could be at risk of being bundled into a national college package or facing slower growth unless it adds more marquee programs.
• ACC: The ACC is the most vulnerable in budget-constrained scenarios. Its current ~$72M/year is far below the SEC/Big Ten. If networks are prioritizing NFL + SEC + Big Ten, the ACC might need to rely on expansion, playoff positioning, or a national college package to improve its value rather than standalone negotiations

4. ESPN specifically: NFL equity stake + college portfolio

ESPN’s new 10% NFL equity stake and control of NFL Network/RedZone changes its calculus for college football:espn+2

• ESPN is now partially “owned” by the NFL, making it more aligned with NFL-first strategy. That could mean:More scheduling flexibility for NFL at the expense of college windows. A stronger push to bundle college into a broader ESPN Sports ecosystem rather than treating each conference as a standalone premium product.
  
• ESPN still wants college football as its second-largest sports asset, so it will likely:Keep the SEC as a core property. Target the Big Ten as a national complement. Possibly seek a role in a unified Power college package that includes Big 12 and ACC if separate deals become too expensive relative to NFL.
  

5. Practical implications for the next college media cycle

If the NFL hits $160–200B:

1. Deal values will rise, but not linearly with NFL: SEC and Big Ten could see 50–100% increases over current deals; Big 12 and ACC likely 30–60%, but with more streaming and less guaranteed linear exposure.
2. Windows and platforms will shift: More college games on streaming, fewer guaranteed prime linear slots, and more reliance on conference-branded streaming or national college packages.
3. Conference power dynamics:Big Ten & SEC: Strongest leverage; likely to remain top-tier standalone or core of a national package. Big 12: May need to blend with other conferences or accept slower growth. ACC: Most at risk; needs expansion or a national college deal to avoid being squeezed.
   

In short: a $160–200B NFL deal doesn’t automatically make college football deals explode in value; it raises the ceiling but also tightens the budget, pushing the Big Ten and SEC toward the top of the market while putting more pressure on the Big 12 and ACC to adapt through structure, not just price.

The UConn Huskies wrapped up the Jim Mora era in 2025. After back-to-back 9-3 seasons and two appearances in the Fenway Bowl, Mora has left UConn to coach Colorado State.

Mora’s tenure should have a profound impact on the program as he started to steer the Huskies back into football relevance. In his final year he led to nine wins, two of which coming against tough Power 4 opponents Duke and Boston College.

A look back at UConn's 2025 season

The Huskies were led on the field by quarterback Joe Fagnano, who threw for 3,448 yards, 28 touchdowns and just one interception. Fagnano’s number option last year was wide receiver Skyler Bell.

The two connected over 100 times for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. In the backfield, the Huskies could depend on running back Camryn Edwards who tore loose for 1,240 yards and 15 touchdowns.

For the Huskies, 2025 meant proof of concept, that a team could work as an independent smaller market football school. The onus is now on incoming head coach Jason Candle to carry the momentum and build on two great seasons.

This will be tough as Candle will not be retaining any of the players mentioned above with Fagnano and Bell joining NFL teams and Edwards transferring to Michigan State, the offense demands a retooling. 

Previewing UConn's 2026 season

Candle was active this spring trying to find replacements for their offensive stars and other transfers who left with Mora’s departure. Candle attracted 61 new Huskies, with many new players he has brought over from Toledo, where he last coached.

This sets 2026 up to be a step back year to settle in.

The quarterback situation is yet to be resolved with an ongoing duel between redshirt freshman and Tennessee transfer, Jake Merklinger, and returning junior, Tucker McDonald. Merklinger is coming in as a 3-star transfer, and McDonald is coming off a season where he saw garbage time action in two games. 

Of the team's deep receiving core from last season, only one receiver is returning. Shamar Porter tested the portal as a 4-star but ended up withdrawing.

Porter should see an elevated role in 2026 as the lead receiver. Candle hired former SU quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile to be OC. Also joining the Huskies from Syracuse is WR Emmanuel Ross who was a big 4-star pickup for the Orange out of high school.

Prediction

Syracuse has won both of its matchups against the Huskies in the Fran Brown era.

With all of the retooling and a coaching change on the Huskies side, I see Syracuse going to Connecticut and winning, 30-10.

- Nate Tramdaks-

We recently sat down with Adam Giardino, Broadcaster for UConn Huskies Athletics, to preview the 2026 UConn Huskies Football Team. Here is a link to the video if you are interested in hearing more! 2026 UConn Huskies Football Team Preview

If you are looking for MORE G6 College Football Content Check Out our YouTube Page and follow us on X/Twitter! Episodes are also available on  Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts and Spotify if you rather listen in audio form.

A Message from Director of Athletics David Benedict

Dear UConn Nation,

The past five years have arguably been the most transformational in the history of collegiate athletics. From the introduction of NIL opportunities to the transfer portal to revenue sharing, the metamorphosis has been staggering. On one hand, it is heartening to see how student-athletes have been able to drive personal branding and enjoy financial benefits associated with their name, image and likeness. Yet, the sudden, seismic shifts in our industry have also shaken many athletic departments across the country, resulting in an assortment of outcomes, including some familiar schools suffering competitively. 

Fortunately, the intense determination and charitable spirit of all those who bleed blue have allowed us to navigate the somewhat turbulent waters of change and maintain the winning tradition that has been such a source of pride for the Husky faithful. We feel truly blessed to have such passionate supporters who are dedicated to our greatness and understand the teamwork required to stay on top.

The 2025-26 academic year has reflected the excellence that is synonymous with UConn Athletics:

• 8 Husky teams won a total of 10 conference regular season and/or tournament championships
• Football advanced to its 2nd straight bowl game after a 2nd consecutive 9-win season
• Men's and Women's Basketball both advanced to their respective Final Four in the same year for the 6th time
• UConn was the only Division I school in the nation to have its men's and women's basketball teams and men's and women's ice hockey teams advance to NCAA Tournament play
• 11 student-athletes across 9 sports earned All-America honors
• 2 student-athletes earned prestigious national awards: Sarah Strong from Women's Basketball was named the national player of the year and Tia Chan from Women's Ice Hockey was named the national goalie of the year

Our prideful achievements extended to the classroom as well. The cumulative student-athlete grade point average following the Spring 2026 semester is an impressive 3.38. In the semester just completed, 18 teams and 75% of our total student-athlete population achieved over a 3.0 grade point average with 69 Huskies earning a perfect 4.0 semester GPA. It takes a village, and we are grateful to our coaches and staff, especially our academic counselors, for promoting and encouraging academic achievement.

When the fiscal year closes, we expect it to be another milestone mark in terms of fundraising. Over the past five years, nearly $200 million in gifts have helped us create an exceptional and memorable journey for our nearly 600 student-athletes. In that same time period, the number of Husky Athletic Fund members has grown by 56%, and today, we have more than 9,300 benefactors. If you haven't yet joined our UConn family as a donor, please consider a gift of any size to help us be the best we can be.

Over $400 million in capital investments over the last 10 years have resulted in state-of-the-art training and competition venues, which elevate the experience for student-athletes and fans alike. As many of you are aware, we are in the midst of a significant renovation of Gampel Pavilion. The current project includes upgraded team locker rooms and meeting spaces, roof modernization and grab-and-go concession areas which are expected to be completed for the upcoming basketball season. Late in 2027, we will unveil new donor hospitality spaces and a student-athlete training table. 

The Bailey Student-Athlete Success Center, which will house the Nayden Center for Academic Excellence, will open in early 2027. This facility will include dedicated areas to enhance the holistic development and overall well-being of our student-athletes, such as sports medicine, nutrition and mental health. The Bailey Center will also include coaches' offices, locker rooms and training spaces for many of our Olympic sports. We also recently completed construction of a new on-site locker room at the UConn Tennis Complex, broke ground on a new rowing boathouse, and, thanks to the generosity of one of our many dedicated donors, the final touches are being put on two new synthetic turf practice fields on campus for our football team.

While all of our 21 Husky teams prepare for what promises to be another outstanding year, we are eagerly anticipating the football season this fall, under the leadership of new head coach Jason Candle. The coaching staff has hit the ground running, assembling a squad that is excited to compete and maintain the upward trajectory of the program. The 2026 home schedule is the most attractive in years, with North Carolina, Syracuse and Maryland all coming to East Hartford. If you're a football season ticket holder, we truly appreciate your support. If not, please reserve your seats today. The continued success of our football program remains critically important to our future. 

The college athletics landscape continues to evolve and reshape itself. And it's not entirely clear how or where it will all land. Through any period of transition, the most successful organizations embrace change and proactively position themselves for ongoing success. At UConn, we will always keep our eyes on the prize. That is, to provide our student-athletes with the very best possible college experience here in Storrs and foster a championship culture that permeates everything we do. 

Thank you for believing in our mission and supporting the young men and women who wear the UConn uniform. We look forward to the coming academic year, cheering with you for the white-and-blue and sharing more memorable moments together.

Sincerely,

David Benedict

Director of Athletics

STORRS — It’s not often in the college football world that Ohio State and UConn are mentioned in the same breath.

They exist, after all, in different realms of the sport. The Buckeyes compete for national championships out of the dominant Big Ten Conference while the Huskies survive with a hand-picked independent schedule. 

Six years ago, the programs agreed to play in 2025 at Ohio State, with UConn set to earn a $1.9 million guarantee fee for not asking for a return home game. But 16 months before the game, the schools agreed to cancel it, with UConn still receiving $650,000 for its scheduling troubles.

The two programs have intersected once again this year, and this time, it could be much more impactful for the Huskies.

Former Ohio State player Joshua Mickens, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound defensive end who spent the last three years playing with some of the best defensive players in college football, signed with the Huskies out of the transfer portal.

Although he was buried on the Buckeyes' depth chart, Mickens was a highly touted four-star recruit coming out of Indiana.

ESPN ranked him as the 198th-best national recruit in the 2023 class, including the No. 26 edge and the No. 2 Indiana recruit. Even better, 247Sports ranked him No. 144, the 19th edge nationally and the No. 1 recruit from Indiana.

Mickens had 30 offers from Power 5 schools, including LSU, Michigan, USC and Penn State, but chose Ohio State because it had secretly been his dream school.

So, why leave his dream school for UConn?

“Not every situation lasts forever,” Mickens said. “It is about knowing what is best for you and your game and listening to the Lord and what he has planned for you. I felt as though that was the direction the Lord was leading me.”

Mickens wasn’t guided by blind faith. There were a lot of things he liked at UConn. He saw a program on the rise, an opportunity to play, and a talented coaching staff led by former Toledo coach Jason Candle, who has never had a losing season during his 16-year career as a college head coach or offensive coordinator.

“Definitely the leadership from Coach Candle and the trajectory I believe the program is going, with his vision, made me think it was a good fit,” Mickens said. “Coming from the Midwest, I have heard about Coach Candle for so long, and I know he is a great coach with a great track record. I just believe in what he has planned.

“My mom had heard about Coach Candle, as well, through a family friend. He coached a player named Jackson Barrow from Indianapolis, and my mom heard great things from his mom. She was definitely excited and trusts Coach Candle.”

Mickens said he had no regrets going to Ohio State even if he didn’t see the field much in games other than on special teams.  

This past season alone, he played alongside seven Ohio State defensive players who were drafted, including three taken in the first 11 picks — Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles and Caleb Downs — and another, Kayden McDonald, who was selected 36th overall.

“The main thing at Ohio State was taking bits and nuggets from those guys by listening and learning from them,” Mickens said. “Even the guys that graduated before them and played in the NFL last year, like TJ Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams, I was able to learn work habits and keys to the game they showed me.”

Mickens said that playing with such great talent, he just tried to help the team in any way he could while he learned from everyone around him, including defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

“Coach Patricia is a great defensive mind, and he motivated me a lot,” Mickens said. “He taught me a lot. The knowledge I learned from him and Coach (Jim Knowles) and (defensive line) Coach (Larry) Johnson, I hope to give back by spreading it to these guys (at UConn).

“I came from a place with a lot of guys who were great vocal leaders. The volume of information I learned there is definitely something I am trying to bring to this team. I am also trying to share the work ethic that I learned there.”

Mickens said he is inspired to become a leader at UConn. He spent a lot of time listening and soaking in valuable knowledge at Ohio State. Now he is excited to teach by example, find his voice and take the next step in his own development while learning from another coaching staff that he believes can help him reach the NFL.

He is an athletic, versatile player with great size and a diverse skill set.

According to his 247Sports recruiting profile coming out of high school, Mickens “plays with his hair on fire. Unregulated motor with accompanying pursuit athleticism. Shows chase-down ability and provides dangerous back-side threat. Efficient in hand violence with little wasted activity.”

He was a three-sport athlete at Indiana’s Lawrence Central High School. He threw over 50 feet in the shot put in track and field and averaged 13 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting with great touch (53% from the field, 72% from the free throw line) in basketball.

“I came from a great basketball school, but I am a football guy at heart,” he said. “I like physicality and being tough. My dad also played football for the Colts a little bit (1996). I always knew basketball probably wasn’t going to be for me, because of the type of person I am.”

He is the type of person who values an education as well as a football career. After a brief NFL career, his father, Arnold Mickens, worked as a high school counselor before he died unexpectedly at age 49 in 2022. Micken’s mom also works in a school system, so it has been important to him to learn on and off the football field.

While at Ohio State, he was a two-time OSU and Big Ten Scholar-Athlete as a construction systems management major. He likes to build things and wanted to be an engineer, but that didn’t quite fit in with the football schedule.

Mickens may pursue engineering at UConn, but he is still figuring things out at his new school. With a new major, new coaches, new defensive system to learn and new teammates to lead, it’s a lot. Still, he believes he found the right place.

“I am trying to buy into the program, buy into the process and just work on the things daily that I need to work on,” Mickens said. “Getting around the staff and being around the guys every day now, I believe this is the best situation for me to grow as a player and a man. I’m a chill guy that is all about working hard and going with the opportunities given to me.”

UConn Huskies football shake up the recruiting landscape, outdueling programs like Michigan, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Notre Dame for top-tier talent. Has head coach Jason Candle unlocked a new era of Huskies dominance in the NIL age?

Matt Schonvisky spotlights the remarkable commitments of Vernon, Richards, Norris, and especially Alan Blackshere—UConn's highest-rated high school recruit in over a decade. Key topics include the Huskies' revamped recruiting relationships, Jason Candle’s proven player development, and how next-level talent like Mateo Kipke could anchor UConn’s defensive line for years to come. With state-of-the-art facilities, a growing national profile, and unmatched momentum, the future of UConn football has never looked brighter.

https://mshale.com/a56a0afa/4a50cbe0kVWDc4Slrbw

https://x.com/RossDellenger/status/2067355654181019897

UConn football in 1998 was there best year in FCs they went 10-3 and made the playoffs they won one and lost one I’ve looked everywhere there’s no footage of there playoff games or any games For that matter any help finding games from there time in FCs whould be appreciated

Bills fan, excited about Skyler Bell. What are your thoughts on his strengths, weaknesses, and what he'll be as a pro?