Big 12 Pushing For UConn Part Deux!

[nelsonmuntz]

You call the AAC a "conference desert" but fail to acknowledge that three of UConn's former AAC cohorts stayed and prospered in that environment. None at the time enjoyed what many here perceive to be UConn's seeming advantages -- state flagship status, a Land Grant institution, a higher USN&WR rating, elite basketball, little in-state competition, etc. Now that their perseverance has paid off and they've moved on to bigger and better things, you aspire to rejoin them.

Who knows what might have happened If UConn had stayed in the AAC and made the most of its circumstances? What if UConn had resolved back then to bloom where it was planted?

Defending the AAC is just trolling.

 

[hank970]

Defending the AAC is just trolling.

Missing the point is just stupid.

 

[jostar1]

You call the AAC a "conference desert" but fail to acknowledge that three of UConn's former AAC cohorts stayed and prospered in that environment. None at the time enjoyed what many here perceive to be UConn's seeming advantages -- state flagship status, a Land Grant institution, a higher USN&WR rating, elite basketball, little in-state competition, etc. Now that their perseverance has paid off and they've moved on to bigger and better things, you aspire to rejoin them.

Who knows what might have happened If UConn had stayed in the AAC and made the most of its circumstances? What if UConn had resolved back then to bloom where it was planted?

Curious as to what school you are a fan of?

 

[CL82]

ou call the AAC a "conference desert" but fail to acknowledge that three of UConn's former AAC cohorts stayed and prospered in that environment

... by "prospered" you mean they left the American. I'm not sure you are making the point you are trying to make.

 

[CL82]

Can someone rebut the dumb that is Dana O'Neil?

She's never been a friend to the program, even when she was assigned to cover us.

 

[Sea Goat]

Correct but BC is much worse than Cuse, who is at least respectable in major sports (not relevant, but respectable)

They have only one BB title won two decades ago and last won a football title during the Eisenhower administration...

 

[Chin Diesel]

Can someone rebut the dumb that is Dana O'Neil?

I don't think there is a path forward for this.

 

[hank970]

... by "prospered" you mean they left the American. I'm not sure you are making the point you are trying to make.

... by "prospered" you mean they left the American. I'm not sure you are making the point you are trying to make.

By "prospered," I mean that those schools enjoyed enough success, after eight years in the AAC, to garner invitations to the B12. Then they stuck it out for another two years to avoid paying a larger exit fee. So yes, they're moving to greener pastures, but only after ten years of membership in the AAC.

I'm not defending the AAC, I'm just saying that it afforded the same opportunity to UConn as it did every other school in the conference. Some made the most of that opportunity, and, for whatever reason, UConn opted out and moved to the NBE. That move was not coerced. It was UConn's choice.

If you're not happy with the choices that UConn has made, then assign blame where it's warranted.

 

[greenday61892]

This was from Dana O'Neil and Brian Hamilton's weekly NCAA hoops mailbag on The Athletic. Unfortunately it is behind a pay wall but the leading questions were surrounding UConn (potentially leaving the Big East) and the Big East (replacing UConn if they left). They are not fans of a move for the Huskies...

Happy summer, friends and fellow college hoops obsessives, and welcome to another edition of the Shot Takers Mailbag.

Been a minute since Dana O’Neil and I took your questions about this glorious and ridiculous sport. And it’s never a dead period for us.

So let’s get to it.

If UConn were to leave the Big East, who should the Big East try to bring in for a new school? – Zach G.

Wouldn’t Coach Hurley and Coach Auriemma want UConn to stay in the Big East? If they want to stay, how much influence would they have on the university’s decision? – Jack D.

Dana: Let me preface this by saying I find the whole idea of UConn leaving the Big East maddeningly, infuriatingly stupid. When the school last tried to go all in on football, riding the huge tidal wave of that one Fiesta Bowl experience, it nearly cost the Huskies their identity. The school was lucky to get back into the Big East. What’s the saying? First time, shame on you?

I would love to think that Dan Hurley, hot off a national title, and Geno Auriemma, who is personally responsible for most of the trophies in the UConn cases, would have a say. But coaches’ opinions are rarely sought when it comes to conference realignment. I would think it would behoove university administrators to listen to their coaches in the trenches, and think real hard about doubling down on a sport in which they have a financially-draining relationship with the state for use of a stadium, and no discernible track record in winning. Alas.

As for Big East expansion, Val Ackerman is on record about being very cautious about movement, and rightly so. While everyone else chases their tails and reinvents their identities on the fly, the Big East’s success is based on selectivity and knowing what it is. The league does not need to expand just to expand; it needs to expand only if it’s going to help the conference. Loyola Chicago’s stutter move to the Atlantic 10, I’d imagine, gives everyone pause. The jump up in competition isn’t easy. Dayton and Saint Louis are viable options, for example, but which can be immediately Big East ready? I’d argue Dayton more, but how does Xavier feel about that? Gonzaga remains a really tricky, if not geographically impossible, pipe dream.

Short answer: Just because UConn might make a rash decision, that doesn’t mean the Big East ought to follow.

Brian, feel free to argue against.

Brian: There is no argument against. UConn belongs in the Big East, full stop. Money has a way of getting presidents and administrators to twist logic beyond all recognition, so I also have zero confidence UConn stays where it belongs. Just hope I’m wrong.

If UConn bolts, I don’t know that there’s a brilliant fit out there. The league would prioritize programs that make the NCAA Tournament regularly, because it doesn’t want to bring in fewer tournament units — and thereby less money — and split the pot with the same number of members or more. Dayton says it operates like a power conference program, but it also hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2017 (Pour another one out for the 2019-2020 Flyers). Harder to manage out of the Atlantic 10, of course … but that’s still a glaring absence.

The gangster move is Syracuse. Whether UConn leaves or not. Probably not likely to convince a place with a former television executive as athletic director to deprioritize football, and the grant-of-rights legal entanglements likely make this a non-starter. But this is conference realignment. Never think something can’t be done. A revitalized Syracuse men’s hoops program, playing where it belongs, could lift a lot of boats — much like it has for UConn.

"and Geno Auriemma, who is personally responsible for most of the trophies in the UConn cases"

They couldn't even get that right. Like, yeah he has the most, but he doesn't even have half of them at this point. Feels like just another way to diminish UConn's accomplishments as a whole athletic department

 

[JMick]

"and Geno Auriemma, who is personally responsible for most of the trophies in the UConn cases"

They couldn't even get that right. Like, yeah he has the most, but he doesn't even have half of them at this point. Feels like just another way to diminish UConn's accomplishments as a whole athletic department

No one actually cares about the truth. It's all about narratives.

 

[NE Football]

The ACC got Boston & NY. The problem the ACC had/has is having 4 schools in North Carolina and two in Virginia. Their footprint expanded significantly by adding BC, SU & Pitt. They needed those markets in order to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

 

[upstater]

The ACC got Boston & NY. The problem the ACC had/has is having 4 schools in North Carolina and two in Virginia. Their footprint expanded significantly by adding BC, SU & Pitt. They needed those markets in order to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

Whether they're carried or not in the markets is irrelevant. What is relevant is the charge per subscriber. ESPN takes half the revenue from ACCN anyway

 

[CTBballfan243]

You call the AAC a "conference desert" but fail to acknowledge that three of UConn's former AAC cohorts stayed and prospered in that environment. None at the time enjoyed what many here perceive to be UConn's seeming advantages -- state flagship status, a Land Grant institution, a higher USN&WR rating, elite basketball, little in-state competition, etc. Now that their perseverance has paid off and they've moved on to bigger and better things, you aspire to rejoin them.

Who knows what might have happened If UConn had stayed in the AAC and made the most of its circumstances? What if UConn had resolved back then to bloom where it was planted?

The AAC was and is a dumpster fire.

 

[Sea Goat]

The ACC got Boston & NY. The problem the ACC had/has is having 4 schools in North Carolina and two in Virginia. Their footprint expanded significantly by adding BC, SU & Pitt. They needed those markets in order to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

BC has added guano to the ACC. Further, Boston is not a college town except for hockey. And BC's performance in conference has been subpar at best. SU has not performed much better... It's just the inconvenient truth.

 

[NE Football]

The ACCN has been a huge success for both ESPN and the ACC. Pitt brought the PA market, SU the NY market and BC the New England market. Miami brought the south Florida market. Those additions enabled the ACC to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

The B12 not having a network is a huge disadvantage. The ACC, PAC 12 and the B12 really need to figure out how to work together to benefit all 3 conferences. Of course we will jump at a B12 invite as we should. That gets us back in P5. With BC not investing in their programs, we can easily and quickly overtake them. We should move some of our home games to Gillette Stadium to enhance our dominance as “THE” team in New England.

 

[WestHartHusk]

The ACCN has been a huge success for both ESPN and the ACC. Pitt brought the PA market, SU the NY market and BC the New England market. Miami brought the south Florida market. Those additions enabled the ACC to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

The B12 not having a network is a huge disadvantage. The ACC, PAC 12 and the B12 really need to figure out how to work together to benefit all 3 conferences. Of course we will jump at a B12 invite as we should. That gets us back in P5. With BC not investing in their programs, we can easily and quickly overtake them. We should move some of our home games to Gillette Stadium to enhance our dominance as “THE” team in New England.

BC brought New England. Sure dude.

 

[greenday61892]

We should move some of our home games to Gillette Stadium to enhance our dominance as “THE” team in New England.

With people complaining about the distance from Campus to The Rent?! LOL

 

[jostar1]

The ACCN has been a huge success for both ESPN and the ACC. Pitt brought the PA market, SU the NY market and BC the New England market. Miami brought the south Florida market. Those additions enabled the ACC to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

The B12 not having a network is a huge disadvantage. The ACC, PAC 12 and the B12 really need to figure out how to work together to benefit all 3 conferences. Of course we will jump at a B12 invite as we should. That gets us back in P5. With BC not investing in their programs, we can easily and quickly overtake them. We should move some of our home games to Gillette Stadium to enhance our dominance as “THE” team in New England.

Thank you for the information about the ACC.

I read a post where someone said that ESPN will help the Big 12 get into the Northeast so that when the ACC collapses, the Big 12 can take over the ACCN.

 

[CL82]

By "prospered," I mean that those schools enjoyed enough success, after eight years in the AAC, to garner invitations to the B12. Then they stuck it out for another two years to avoid paying a larger exit fee. So yes, they're moving to greener pastures, but only after ten years of membership in the AAC.

I'm not defending the AAC, I'm just saying that it afforded the same opportunity to UConn as it did every other school in the conference. Some made the most of that opportunity, and, for whatever reason, UConn opted out and moved to the NBE. That move was not coerced. It was UConn's choice.

If you're not happy with the choices that UConn has made, then assign blame where it's warranted.

Well, that was an odd post.

Again, it's really hard to make your definition for prospering in the American being that they left the American. If they were prospering, why would they leave?

Fully agree that the American offer the same opportunity to everyone, the opportunity to leave as soon as realistic choices materialized.

 

[CL82]

The ACCN has been a huge success for both ESPN and the ACC. Pitt brought the PA market, SU the NY market and BC the New England market. Miami brought the south Florida market. Those additions enabled the ACC to get ESPN to build the ACCN.

The B12 not having a network is a huge disadvantage. The ACC, PAC 12 and the B12 really need to figure out how to work together to benefit all 3 conferences. Of course we will jump at a B12 invite as we should. That gets us back in P5. With BC not investing in their programs, we can easily and quickly overtake them. We should move some of our home games to Gillette Stadium to enhance our dominance as “THE” team in New England.

Lol BCU brought the New England market? They got preempted, for rodeo, in Boston. They don't even bring the Boston market.

Syracuse brought the New York market? How does a Canadian school bring the New York market? You do realize that stores is closer to New York City them Syracuse is, correct?

 

[hank970]

Well, that was an odd post.

Again, it's really hard to make your definition for prospering in the American being that they left the American. If they were prospering, why would they leave?

Fully agree that the American offer the same opportunity to everyone, the opportunity to leave as soon as realistic choices materialized.

Probably for the same reason that a kid who prospers in high school might aspire to attend college. It's one thing to excel and leave on a high note for something more challenging and another to give up and leave with your tail between your legs.

 

[jostar1]

Probably for the same reason that a kid who prospers in high school might aspire to attend college. It's one thing to excel and leave on a high note for something more challenging and another to give up and leave with your tail between your legs.

I would like to know what school you are a fan of. I asked you before but did not get an answer. Thank you.

 

[hank970]

I would like to know what school you are a fan of. I asked you before but did not get an answer. Thank you.

Not UConn. I'm interested in realignment and am following these threads only because UConn is in the conversation now re: a possible move. Otherwise, an impartial observer, though it's fun to gauge the angst. If UConn gets an invitation, more power to it. If not, then that's fine too. What school am I a fan of? Well, thus far I've been accused of being a UMass fan, a BC fan, and a Cincy fan. Anonymity is a virtue.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I would like to know what school you are a fan of. I asked you before but did not get an answer. Thank you.

It doesn't matter.

 

[CL82]

Probably for the same reason that a kid who prospers in high school might aspire to attend college. It's one thing to excel and leave on a high note for something more challenging and another to give up and leave with your tail between your legs.

No, no, I get it. The American is great because everyone wants to leave it. It's prosperity is defined by the people who get a ticket out. You should reach out to them with their new slogan.

The American:
We are the high school of college football.​