I was generalizing to make a point, and you’ll shame yourself if you try and deny a couple of things. Both Bristol and Storrs are part of Greater Hartford - and there was no doubt that both the Hartford Whalers and Connecticut were sort of the “hometown teams” of the early ESPN staff. The culture of UCONN and ESPN are intertwined. That’s undeniable.
As far as the 50’s, nobody outside of the area knew about the moniker UCONN until ESPN made it famous in the 80s. To say otherwise is absurd.
So what exactly is your point?
That ESPN assisted in the recruiting? OK. So what?
Lots of schools have recruiting edges that they use. It still has to get done on the court, doncha think?
In 1959 I lived 10 miles from UCONN as it was known then. Don’t speak about things you know nothing about. The fact that you were unaware that it was known as UCONN says more about your awareness than it does about the university. Conflating an NHL team with a university 30 miles from Hartford is more than odd.