Big 12

[RSTuthill]

So...don't explore the ACC option because DiMauro hurts your feelings?

I think that most here would say that the ACC shows no sign of being an option yet. I am sure that UConn, in doing its due diligence, would explore every avenue forward if you will. But like someone said, they have had more than a decade ....

 

[noeynox]

I think that most here would say that the ACC shows no sign of being an option yet. I am sure that UConn, in doing its due diligence, would explore every avenue forward if you will. But like someone said, they have had more than a decade ....

Decade+

 

[RSTuthill]

I am convinced having heard the discussion. If an invite comes take it. Hurley resurrected MBB. Full stop. The BE was a secondary effect. Correlation does not mean causation. Take the offer if it comes.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Are you insane?

What’s the distribution now in the Big 10, last I remember it was around $42 million per year.

 

[gopher2]

I guess we can't say no if an offer comes. The increased revenue and P5 affiliation will allow us to pay for good coaching staffs, which, as we have recently seen, mean everything. That said, this conference realignment stuff gives me heartburn and I can't get excited about it.

 

[huskymedic]

What’s the distribution now in the Big 10, last I remember it was around $42 million per year.

 

[Stinger92860]

LOL, we are happy at $8 Million, thanks for the $42 Million offer tho, we would rather play Providence.

 

[John]

Plus you WILL have lower engagement from the fanbase.

Not sure about that. The loss of the BE tournament would suck but there's some pretty unexciting schools in the conference and the institutional fit is poor to say the least.

 

[uconnyankee]

The entire athletic department is not going to thrive in the current environment. Basketball ( really only mens basketball) had a great great season. Baseball is playing a little league conference schedule that likely cost it a chance to host and sooner or later will cost it a bid! Football independence is not a long term solution.

I agree. Something has to happen if UConn wants to be competing at the highest level.

3 years ago, this move was a no brained. But now with the right coaches and the right investments, we’ve seen an upward trajectory that wasn’t there previously (past 5-10 seasons, mostly in football)…

You really have to think through the next couple moves in realignment. With ACC possibly losing teams, does that not become a better spot? And what is that timing?

I think Benedict has it right. There are lots of angles to consider and it doesn’t matter until an actual decision is needed. Until then everything else is speculation, albeit fun to think about

 

[gtcam]

I am convinced having heard the discussion. If an invite comes take it. Hurley resurrected MBB. Full stop. The BE was a secondary effect. Correlation does not mean causation. Take the offer if it comes.

DH would not have recruited Hawk, AS, AJax , Castle, Clingan, etc without the NBE. The NBE was and is 80% of the success - without the talent DH is not winning a NC and would be still in RI. Do you think DH came here to coach in the AAC? If anyone thinks DH came to Storrs not knowing the NBE was a definite is just plain looney.

 

[RSTuthill]

I guess we can't say no if an offer comes. The increased revenue and P5 affiliation will allow us to pay for good coaching staffs, which, as we have recently seen, mean everything. That said, this conference realignment stuff gives me heartburn and I can't get excited about it.

I guess I am with you in a sense. Taking the offer if it comes gets the topic off the table. This thorn in UConn's side for the past decade+. I am tired of reading and talking about it.

 

[Guru13]

A lot of money to be made here, plus resources to upgrade and be competitive. I don’t get why people are wanting to not be part of the big 12 if they come calling, West Virgina will finally be happy to play against an East Coast team .

 

[uconnyankee]

I'd be interested to know why you and others think this is so. Mostly, I've stayed out of these discussions as I have no firm opinion as yet. Right now, I am on the fence. As I said in my only other post on the subject, conference realignment is a conundrum for me:

Pros - More money to fund the athletic dept.;​

Cons - Pretty much everything else.​

I think there is so (too?) much discussion on the money part of the equation and not enough about the product and fan experience. I guess my question is, money aside, will the fanbase see the B12 (as another poster referred to it) as the AAC+? We would have no real rivalries which might result in decreased fan interest, lower ticket sales, smaller crowds, lower viewership.

In the end, college sports is entertainment. I don't think any of us wants to be Syracuse all over again -- stuck in a conference where you don't care much about your opponents and they don't care about you. We'll be better funded, but if there is little fan interest, what's the point?

I'm glad I don't have to make this decision! The facts are few, the future is murky and everything is happening faster than I dreamed it could. We're all for getting more money, but do you think this is the right move? (Wow! Longer post than I thought it would be.)

I do think UConn and Kansas would be pretty strong rivalry right from the start as the alpha dog in basketball.

I like getting WVU back on the schedule too for BB and FB.

Basketball wouldn’t be a problem if UConn is competing. Too many good teams with meaningful games. FB is the fair question. Bottom line, mid UConn is winning, or at least competitive, people will show up for meaningful games.

Watching a 1-9 UConn team battle a 2-8 Kansas or Iowas St team isn’t filling seats.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

DH would not have recruited Hawk, AS, AJax , Castle, Clingan, etc without the NBE. The NBE was and is 80% of the success - without the talent DH is not winning a NC and would be still in RI. Do you think DH came here to coach in the AAC? If anyone thinks DH came to Storrs not knowing the NBE was a definite is just plain looney.

Do you really believe that we told Hurley, while he was still an employee of URI that we were moving to the BE down the road? We didn't tell any of our coaches that were in our employ until after the agreement was reached (Edsall lost his kind when he found out).

The decision to look into the BE was made when tha AAC renewed its contract with ESPN. While the conference announced it as some great deal, it would have cost us as the initial contract did not include tier three rights while the renewal did. Our increase in the new deal was less than what we were receiving for non-conference women's home basketball games (from SNY) which if we remained in the AAC, would be part of what ESPN bought. Add to this the cost to self produce tier three product, the new contract would have crippled us.

That is what led us to look at the BE.

 

[metsfan2323]

Do you think DH came here to coach in the AAC?

Thankfully nobody is proposing we move back to the AAC,

It would be interesting to see which conference has put more players in the NBA the past 10 years. I know the B12 has been higher ranked than the Big East in Kenpom.

I just looked it up for the 2022/2023 NBA season:

B12: 53 players in the NBA

Big East: a lame 24

That should pretty much end the recruiting discussion.

 

[RSTuthill]

DH would not have recruited Hawk, AS, AJax , Castle, Clingan, etc without the NBE. The NBE was and is 80% of the success - without the talent DH is not winning a NC and would be still in RI. Do you think DH came here to coach in the AAC? If anyone thinks DH came to Storrs not knowing the NBE was a definite is just plain looney.

Well, I would challenge that. The portal and DH himself had more to do with that. The NBE by itself is not a huge draw. The recent post about numbers from conferences in the NBA playoffs is indicative of that. And Clingan was a local kid always pointing to UConn once he heard DH. The NBE has a few old rivals but also a lot of teams that do not excite. And UConn can still play those old rivals in their OOC schedule as they can do with the old rivals in the ACC.

 

[kibblesnbits]

Of the 30 Big 12 football championship winners (including co-champs), only 8 have been won by schools that will still be in the league after the upcoming season. Without the six schools that abandoned the league over the last decade plus (Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma) I really don't see it as an incredibly attractive set of competitors. I think UConn would probably have no choice but to accept an offer just for the $$$, but I think the Big 12 is nuts if it's looking at us right now. It should be falling over backward trying to get the 4 best remaining schools from the Pac-12 to sign on and reinforce its football reputation going forward. Sure, we'd help seal the deal as the #1 basketball conference, but is that really priority 1 (over strengthening football) for the league right now?

 

[Bongo Fury]

DH would not have recruited Hawk, AS, AJax , Castle, Clingan, etc without the NBE. The NBE was and is 80% of the success - without the talent DH is not winning a NC and would be still in RI. Do you think DH came here to coach in the AAC? If anyone thinks DH came to Storrs not knowing the NBE was a definite is just plain looney.

He and they got it right this year. Talk beginning this season was, can he get past 1st round?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

You all do realize it will be years before UConn sees real revenue? Between the $30mm BE exit fee and whatever fee the Big 12 will require...it will be awhile before UConn sees a positive financially on this. Has Rutgers actually seen a full share yet?

Not to say you don't do it....but realize you won't see the extra money for years.

I point this out because it's not as black and white as people want to make it.

 

[RSTuthill]

You all do realize it will be years before UConn sees real revenue? Between the $30mm BE exit fee and whatever fee the Big 12 will require...it will be awhile before UConn sees a positive financially on this. Has Rutgers actually seen a full share yet?

Not to say you don't do it....but realize you won't see the extra money for years.

I point this out because it's not as black and white as people want to make it.

What were the terms for Cincinnati?

 

[Bongo Fury]

You all do realize it will be years before UConn sees real revenue? Between the $30mm BE exit fee and whatever fee the Big 12 will require...it will be awhile before UConn sees a positive financially on this. Has Rutgers actually seen a full share yet?

Not to say you don't do it....but realize you won't see the extra money for years.

I point this out because it's not as black and white as people want to make it.

And likely there will still be a big deficit. Very Few schools show profit from athletics

 

[noeynox]

You all do realize it will be years before UConn sees real revenue? Between the $30mm BE exit fee and whatever fee the Big 12 will require...it will be awhile before UConn sees a positive financially on this. Has Rutgers actually seen a full share yet?

Not to say you don't do it....but realize you won't see the extra money for years.

I point this out because it's not as black and white as people want to make it.

How is that different than when they left the AAC for the Big East? They paid 17 million then to get 5 or so from the BE. Paying 30 to get 30 don't make more sense to you?

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

How is that different than when they left the AAC for the Big East? They paid 17 million then to get 5 or so from the BE. Paying 30 to get 30 don't make more sense to you?

They aren't going to get 30 at first. They will have to buy their way in. I don't know how much...or whether it matters...but it's a consideration.

From the Amore article...

"A move to the Big 12 would add roughly $30 million per year to UConn’s revenue, but costs would also rise and there would be cost to leave the Big East ($30 million) and join the Big 12. It would have to be negotiated how long before a new member becomes a full member."

 

[metsfan2323]

They aren't going to get 30 at first. They will have to buy their way in. I don't know how much...or whether it matters...but it's a consideration.

From the Amore article...

"A move to the Big 12 would add roughly $30 million per year to UConn’s revenue, but costs would also rise and there would be cost to leave the Big East ($30 million) and join the Big 12. It would have to be negotiated how long before a new member becomes a full member."

It would take just two years to recover the 30 million BE exit Fee and I don't think Amore is even factoring in increased ticket revenue and donations for football. At the end of the day the exit fee should not be an obstacle in making this decision, it's called spending money to make money otherwise known as an investment.

 

[ScottVib]

The AAC and not getting excited to play in a league where the closest thing to something UConn would've considered a peer institution was Memphis or Cincinnati (and which featured at least a third of the conference schedule against teams that never would've been on a UConn schedule after the start of conference play (or in a situation where they were getting a payday to get their ass beat) previously) is one thing... but if the basketball fan base can not get excited for a league which hosts the last three national champions and another final four team (two if UConn joins with San Diego State as its plus one); plus two other teams we played consistently for more than a decade, that's more of an indictment of the us as fans. Furthermore the added revenue could do wonders to help improve the practice facilities and keep Hurley's recruiting pipeline flowing. The women's program even adds back a top-end conference rival for the first time since Notre Dame was in-conference.

The conversation is over before Yormark even finishes the question... "Hey Dr. Maric, the Big XII would like..." "YES, we'll join"