A wise man once said that "good timing is invisible, but bad timing sticks out a mile."

Such is the case at UConn, where this confounding dichotomy between success and common sense has eclipsed sticking out the metaphorical mile, all the way into the stratosphere. Translation: Current team success occurs in direct proportion to worsening leadership.

The latest example came Monday when athletic director David Benedict's latest fiscal fiasco came in the form of increased ticket prices for upcoming basketball seasons. Example: The $2,400 men's basketball season ticket for the lower bowl at Gampel Pavilion will become $3,700 by 2024-25, rising a crisp 54 percent.

Benedict sent a 554-word missive to UConn fans wrought with cliches, run-on sentences and carefully spun data that evades the albatross — a $47 million athletic budget deficit — and instead tries to bamboozle loyal ticket holders and donors with a pathetic stab at Darwinism: how UConn must keep up with the competition.

"Whether in business or sports or life itself, there are no shortcuts to success," Benedict wrote. "Winning takes effort, diligence, perseverance and teamwork. We are very fortunate that our dedicated supporters understand the commitment and have been active participants in our mission for excellence. Our fans also realize that competing at the highest level requires ongoing resources.

"The costs associated with scholarship aid, recruiting, facilities and personnel across our 21 varsity teams continue to escalate. In examining best practices among our peers, we have seen that others, including the top programs in the Big East, are generating more funding through their scholarship seating programs than we are currently realizing. In some cases, annual fundraising efforts through tickets and/or seat donations are 20 to 30% percent (he used the percent sign and the word in the "percent" in the release) higher at schools with which we compete regionally or nationally."

This is so flawed, so ill-timed and so dishonorably insulting. Let us count the ways:

• It is a complete cop out using other schools' pricing. It hardly considers varying market sizes and arena seating capacities.

How can UConn honestly compare itself to Villanova? Nova's on-campus arena, Finneran Pavilion, has 3,626 fewer seats than Gampel Pavilion. Common sense suggests Nova would have to charge more for seats because there are fewer of them. Remember, too, that proper calculation requires the removal of all student seating, which are not earmarked for donations, giving Nova even fewer seats upon which to capitalize.

Moreover, other competing schools in the Big East (Nova, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, DePaul and Butler) come from larger media markets, giving them a larger drawing area, thus allowing for higher prices. The Hartford market (32) is on par with Cincinnati (36) and Milwaukee (37).

• UConn is passing the burden of its fiscal mismanagement onto loyal fans and donors. How has UConn arrived at its $47 million athletic budget deficit? Largely a DBP (David Benedict Production).

In his time at UConn, Benedict extended the contract of Captain Queeg Diaco, after he led UConn to a sterling 6-6 regular season in 2015, eventually losing to Marshall in the St. Petersburg Bowl. Diaco's subsequent buyout cost UConn $5.3 million.

Benedict completely miscalculated the dismissal of Kevin Ollie, which recently cost the university $11 million. His recent decision to terminate women's rowing turned into a Title IX issue that resulted in program reinstatement and more money allotted for a total upgrade.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, he's doing a swell job.

• In an era where season ticket sales are plummeting throughout college athletics — save perhaps SEC football — this decision to increase UConn basketball tickets may lead to StubHub purchases for selected games rather than the expense of season tickets and donation.

Think about it: If you are a season ticket holder and donor right now, are you going to pay more for tickets and donation or take the money you are currently spending and find StubHub seats for selected games that better fit into your calendar?

• And what of UConn women's fans, many of whom are senior citizens? Are fixed incomes an issue here? Moreover, what of the rest of us who have less disposable income now that gas, groceries, oil and every single other expense have gone through the roof and started to rain plaster on all of us below?

But this gets better. Benedict, who loves pandering to the fan base on social media, chimed in Monday night on Twitter to alert one fan that lump sums aren't required and payment plans are allowed. Swell. I'd have loved that Lexus ES 350 last year, too. But that "payment plan" the dealer offered me butted heads with gas, oil, groceries, mortgage, my son's education, etc.

I suspect I share those concerns with most of the people reading this. Except UConn's response echoes Marie Antoinette: Let them eat cake. Or in the cases of most people who shlep faithfully to Gampel and Hartford on cold winter nights: Ramen Noodles.

Maybe one of these days somebody in a leadership position at State U would care to explain all this.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro