Jim Mora calls for financial commitment to UConn football in world of NIL

Jim Mora didn’t mince words about UConn’s situation this season compared to the 2022 campaign. At 2-9, the Huskies have had a rough fall.

But Mora put the blame on funds, or lack thereof. Basically, it came down to the NIL discrepancy compared to other big time football programs.

With just a game remaining, Mora made quite the claim about his team in 2023 amid the new era of college athletics.

“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,” Mora said. “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. 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.

“Because if you’re not going to help us get the players to beat them, then you are not entitled to bitch when we don’t beat them.”

Mora led UConn to a 6-7 record last season, losing the Myrtle Beach Bowl. It was his first year at the helm of the Huskies, who were largely seen as the doormat of FBS college football.

Prior to UConn, Mora coached at UCLA from 2012-17, sporting a 46-30 record before being fired just prior to the end of the 2017 season.

UConn’s only wins this season are over Rice, 38-31 on October 7, and Sacred Heart, 31-3 this past Saturday. As far as the nine losses, UConn lost those games by an average score of 34-14.

To be fair to Mora in this situation, four of the nine losses were by one score, so you can argue this team had the potential to be bowl eligible.

That’s if, you want to go that route. More is aware of UConn’s history, joining the program in 2021 as an offensive analyst before becoming the head coach the following fall.

Before he took over as head coach, the Huskies did not get to the postseason since 2015, a 6-7 season under Bob Diaco. That’s when UConn played in the AAC, before claiming Independence in 2021.

Long gone are the good ‘ole days of the Big East from 2004-12. During that time, UConn actually won a share of two conference titles.

But once UConn joined the AAC in 2013, prior to Mora’s arrival, the Huskies have a combined 29-92 record.

Maybe money won’t be the only thing needed to fix UConn. But it could be a start, according to Mora.