I think we're in, but if not ...

[Redding Husky]

Let's say political correctness knocks out BYU because of their position against gays. Then Houston doesn't get invited because most Big 12 schools don't want to expand in Texas. So the Big 12 then takes Cincinnati & UConn. Cincinnati is very competent and we are the crown jewel of the G5.

But if that doesn't happen, and Cincinnati and Houston are taken, what do we do? I don't think shrinking to 10 is a valid option. Rice would be an acceptable replacement for Houston. They are a top 20 school and somewhat decent athletically. They're the Northwestern of the South, in a top 5 TV market.

But what about replacing Cincinnati? I have no good answers for that loss. Marshall? UMass? Northern Illinois? Toledo? Buffalo? I can't support any of them for inclusion. Do we go with another Southern school? Old Dominion? Do we try to pick off Colorado State? They won't go without Air Force.

I'm stumped. Someone smarter than me must have an answer for a 12th school.

Please, let's have no posts about just giving up and getting the old Yankee Conference back together.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Academics don't matter. I really wish we would all realize this. If we get left behind, I hope we are being more creative than this. Personally, I'd lead a best of the rest conference push.

 

[TRest]

We no longer need 12 for a championship game so don't bother adding 2. That's how we ended up with Tulane and Tulsa.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Any school can apply but needs to present a two hour video.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Let's say political correctness knocks out BYU because of their position against gays. Then Houston doesn't get invited because most Big 12 schools don't want to expand in Texas. So the Big 12 then takes Cincinnati & UConn. Cincinnati is very competent and we are the crown jewel of the G5.

But if that doesn't happen, and Cincinnati and Houston are taken, what do we do? I don't think shrinking to 10 is a valid option. Rice would be an acceptable replacement for Houston. They are a top 20 school and somewhat decent athletically. They're the Northwestern of the South, in a top 5 TV market.

But what about replacing Cincinnati? I have no good answers for that loss. Marshall? UMass? Northern Illinois? Toledo? Buffalo? I can't support any of them for inclusion. Do we go with another Southern school? Old Dominion? Do we try to pick off Colorado State? They won't go without Air Force.

I'm stumped. Someone smarter than me must have an answer for a 12th school.

Please, let's have no posts about just giving up and getting the old Yankee Conference back together.

I disagree I think we should stay at 10 for football unless you could pry One of the better Mountain West schools loose. I don't think you can unless the next contract is a substantial increase. UConn's continued success will drive the conference media contract.
Ten enables an upwardly mobile school like UConn to add additional P5 teams to its schedule.
We have the Athletic Dept with connections. We could have a better football schedule than we currently have.
I think the real problem is Basketball , in the G5 world NCAA credits take on a much more important roll.
Getting four teams in yearly
Equals $1.2million annually for each of six years .If you do that every year by the fourth year your receiving a minimum of about $5million a year per conference
That's without winning a game . That increases with every game won.
UConn last year earned about $3million over six years.
Money does not have to be divided equally
Two BB onlies would help keep the league creditable (VCU,WSU,Dayton )
The motto for us or any G5 school is
survive and thrive until 25

 

[Dooley]

Houston is a 100% lock. First, Texas wants them in. Well, they don't care about the University of Houston. They care about Houston...building a campus there. Second, the TX politicians are applying huge pressure to Tech and the TX privates to vote with UT. They will. Third, the B12 rhetoric of late is that the conference is losing recruits to the SEC after A&M's move. To me, that is more on each individual program than the conference as a whole. But they seem to think that adding UH will bring back some exposure and level the recruiting battleground. Fourth, they had the best 2015 football record. The Big 12 seems about as short-sighted and small potatoes as any dead conference ever did and, for that reason, I think 2015 football record will be a metric used.

From there, who knows. Every candidate has its warts. BYU has its honor code and no Sunday play issues. Cincinnati doesn't own its home market. UConn is far away. UCF is 0-12 as a "football school". Memphis has very little fan support and history of success. I guess whichever candidate puts together the best 5 minute YouTube video to sell itself will win.

The question is really will they expand by 2 or 4. Flugs/BTM (whoever he/they are) did raise a good question last night. The Big12's relationship with ESPN is over. It was over the second ESPN finalized plans to launch an ACC Network. ESPN made its choice - they chose to invest in the ACC. That means the B12 needs to look to other outlets. FOX wants in the game as we all know and FOX wants east, not west. Most TV networks do. To me, that would mean UConn is at the top of FOX's list given our market reach. The B12 is talking a lot about "in the air" footprints too - something that UConn dominates amongst the G5. If live sports streaming is in the B12's "2024 and beyond" plans, then UConn is at the top of that list too.

But this thread is about what happens if the B12 expands with the 2016 football season as its top metric. The B12 is romper room and it would not surprise me if they just pick the 2 top 2015 football records and be done with it.

If UConn is passed over, the first thing we have to do is re-open the AAC TV deal. There are 4 "Type A" schools in the old Big East contract that said if any of them left (UConn, Cinci, Houston, UCF) that the contract would be re-opened. If the B12 expands with UH + UC/UCF, then that's grounds for UConn to go back and demand our Tier 3 media rights be returned to us. Right there, that's $9.14M/yr. That payout actually might be more money than what the B12 will pay its new members in a "phase in" period. I highly doubt that B12 Presidents or ADs will want to pay Houston or Cincinnati or Memphis or UCF full load for quite some time, given where their AD budgets are currently sitting. You have to spend money to make money and none of those choices have run an acceptable Power Conference AD budget whatsoever. So, UConn gets its Tier 3 media rights returned, puts over $9M/yr in the bank through the end of the IMG and SNY contracts are complete, and socks away some negotiated exit fee money from the departing AAC schools to support another year or two of P5 AD budget expense. But yes, we will need to subsidize to continue investing in our sports at a power conference level.

Second, Nike apparel contract expires after 2017. This contract negotiation is in David Benedict's wheelhouse. The current deal signed in 2010 pays $2.775M/yr. If we can double that - we have had a BCS bowl and 2 MBB national championships in our current Nike deal - then that will help in the interim.

Third, UConn fans and alumni donor support will be pivotal. I've read a lot of "if we get into the Big 12, I'll donate". Nobody can tell anyone what to do with their money so far be it from me to do the same...but I will anyway. If you have the money at your disposal now, *now* is the time UConn needs it. Donor support is a very important metric and it is a shame it has taken UConn so long to unite the alumni into one huge donor pool, but alumni is united now. Fans are united now. If we truly want out of this garbage AAC conference, we will be asked to help fund the AD so it can continue to spend on a power conference level and compete for national championships. Does that suck? Sure does. Especially when you consider that fans/alumni from the other candidates don't support their schools and, if they do, their AD budgets are about half the amount of UConn's. But I guess it is what it is.

Fourth, I hope our trio of ADs camp out in South Bend every weekend. Become drinking buddies. Sit together at the same poker table. Spend a few Saturdays together. Schedule some basketball home and homes. Schedule a hoops game at TD Garden or Madison Square. Schedule a football game in New York or Boston or South Bend. Schedule a hockey game at Madison Square Garden or Barclay's. Continue to build a relationship and show ND how much UConn would help enhance their northeast presence. After seeing that, maybe they decide to join the ACC when the time comes. Then we slide in at 16 and never have to worry about CR again in in our lifetimes.

 

[History Geek]

Houston is a 100% lock. First, Texas wants them in. Well, they don't care about the University of Houston. They care about Houston...building a campus there. Second, the TX politicians are applying huge pressure to Tech and the TX privates to vote with UT. They will. Third, the B12 rhetoric of late is that the conference is losing recruits to the SEC after A&M's move. To me, that is more on each individual program than the conference as a whole. But they seem to think that adding UH will bring back some exposure and level the recruiting battleground. Fourth, they had the best 2015 football record. The Big 12 seems about as short-sighted and small potatoes as any dead conference ever did and, for that reason, I think 2015 football record will be a metric used.

From there, who knows. Every candidate has its warts. BYU has its honor code and no Sunday play issues. Cincinnati doesn't own its home market. UConn is far away. UCF is 0-12 as a "football school". Memphis has very little fan support and history of success. I guess whichever candidate puts together the best 5 minute YouTube video to sell itself will win.

The question is really will they expand by 2 or 4. Flugs/BTM (whoever he/they are) did raise a good question last night. The Big12's relationship with ESPN is over. It was over the second ESPN finalized plans to launch an ACC Network. ESPN made its choice - they chose to invest in the ACC. That means the B12 needs to look to other outlets. FOX wants in the game as we all know and FOX wants east, not west. Most TV networks do. To me, that would mean UConn is at the top of FOX's list given our market reach. The B12 is talking a lot about "in the air" footprints too - something that UConn dominates amongst the G5. If live sports streaming is in the B12's "2024 and beyond" plans, then UConn is at the top of that list too.

But this thread is about what happens if the B12 expands with the 2016 football season as its top metric. The B12 is romper room and it would not surprise me if they just pick the 2 top 2015 football records and be done with it.

If UConn is passed over, the first thing we have to do is re-open the AAC TV deal. There are 4 "Type A" schools in the old Big East contract that said if any of them left (UConn, Cinci, Houston, UCF) that the contract would be re-opened. If the B12 expands with UH + UC/UCF, then that's grounds for UConn to go back and demand our Tier 3 media rights be returned to us. Right there, that's $9.14M/yr. That payout actually might be more money than what the B12 will pay its new members in a "phase in" period. I highly doubt that B12 Presidents or ADs will want to pay Houston or Cincinnati or Memphis or UCF full load for quite some time, given where their AD budgets are currently sitting. You have to spend money to make money and none of those choices have run an acceptable Power Conference AD budget whatsoever. So, UConn gets its Tier 3 media rights returned, puts over $9M/yr in the bank through the end of the IMG and SNY contracts are complete, and socks away some negotiated exit fee money from the departing AAC schools to support another year or two of P5 AD budget expense. But yes, we will need to subsidize to continue investing in our sports at a power conference level.

Second, Nike apparel contract expires after 2017. This contract negotiation is in David Benedict's wheelhouse. The current deal signed in 2010 pays $2.775M/yr. If we can double that - we have had a BCS bowl and 2 MBB national championships in our current Nike deal - then that will help in the interim.

Third, UConn fans and alumni donor support will be pivotal. I've read a lot of "if we get into the Big 12, I'll donate". Nobody can tell anyone what to do with their money so far be it from me to do the same...but I will anyway. If you have the money at your disposal now, *now* is the time UConn needs it. Donor support is a very important metric and it is a shame it has taken UConn so long to unite the alumni into one huge donor pool, but alumni is united now. Fans are united now. If we truly want out of this garbage AAC conference, we will be asked to help fund the AD so it can continue to spend on a power conference level and compete for national championships. Does that suck? Sure does. Especially when you consider that fans/alumni from the other candidates don't support their schools and, if they do, their AD budgets are about half the amount of UConn's. But I guess it is what it is.

Fourth, I hope our trio of ADs camp out in South Bend every weekend. Become drinking buddies. Sit together at the same poker table. Spend a few Saturdays together. Schedule some basketball home and homes. Schedule a hoops game at TD Garden or Madison Square. Schedule a football game in New York or Boston or South Bend. Schedule a hockey game at Madison Square Garden or Barclay's. Continue to build a relationship and show ND how much UConn would help enhance their northeast presence. After seeing that, maybe they decide to join the ACC when the time comes. Then we slide in at 16 and never have to worry about CR again in in our lifetimes.

Once again,Dooley, you are the THE person (or man or woman, idk)! Well thought out, well said. You have finally given me a little hope if we get passed over. We absolutely must get our Tier 3 rights back if the ESPN contract is opened up again. That could keep the life raft afloat when we finally get the P5 call. I also like your strategy re: Notre Dame.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Houston is a 100% lock. First, Texas wants them in. Well, they don't care about the University of Houston. They care about Houston...building a campus there. Second, the TX politicians are applying huge pressure to Tech and the TX privates to vote with UT. They will. Third, the B12 rhetoric of late is that the conference is losing recruits to the SEC after A&M's move. To me, that is more on each individual program than the conference as a whole. But they seem to think that adding UH will bring back some exposure and level the recruiting battleground. Fourth, they had the best 2015 football record. The Big 12 seems about as short-sighted and small potatoes as any dead conference ever did and, for that reason, I think 2015 football record will be a metric used.

From there, who knows. Every candidate has its warts. BYU has its honor code and no Sunday play issues. Cincinnati doesn't own its home market. UConn is far away. UCF is 0-12 as a "football school". Memphis has very little fan support and history of success. I guess whichever candidate puts together the best 5 minute YouTube video to sell itself will win.

The question is really will they expand by 2 or 4. Flugs/BTM (whoever he/they are) did raise a good question last night. The Big12's relationship with ESPN is over. It was over the second ESPN finalized plans to launch an ACC Network. ESPN made its choice - they chose to invest in the ACC. That means the B12 needs to look to other outlets. FOX wants in the game as we all know and FOX wants east, not west. Most TV networks do. To me, that would mean UConn is at the top of FOX's list given our market reach. The B12 is talking a lot about "in the air" footprints too - something that UConn dominates amongst the G5. If live sports streaming is in the B12's "2024 and beyond" plans, then UConn is at the top of that list too.

But this thread is about what happens if the B12 expands with the 2016 football season as its top metric. The B12 is romper room and it would not surprise me if they just pick the 2 top 2015 football records and be done with it.

If UConn is passed over, the first thing we have to do is re-open the AAC TV deal. There are 4 "Type A" schools in the old Big East contract that said if any of them left (UConn, Cinci, Houston, UCF) that the contract would be re-opened. If the B12 expands with UH + UC/UCF, then that's grounds for UConn to go back and demand our Tier 3 media rights be returned to us. Right there, that's $9.14M/yr. That payout actually might be more money than what the B12 will pay its new members in a "phase in" period. I highly doubt that B12 Presidents or ADs will want to pay Houston or Cincinnati or Memphis or UCF full load for quite some time, given where their AD budgets are currently sitting. You have to spend money to make money and none of those choices have run an acceptable Power Conference AD budget whatsoever. So, UConn gets its Tier 3 media rights returned, puts over $9M/yr in the bank through the end of the IMG and SNY contracts are complete, and socks away some negotiated exit fee money from the departing AAC schools to support another year or two of P5 AD budget expense. But yes, we will need to subsidize to continue investing in our sports at a power conference level.

Second, Nike apparel contract expires after 2017. This contract negotiation is in David Benedict's wheelhouse. The current deal signed in 2010 pays $2.775M/yr. If we can double that - we have had a BCS bowl and 2 MBB national championships in our current Nike deal - then that will help in the interim.

Third, UConn fans and alumni donor support will be pivotal. I've read a lot of "if we get into the Big 12, I'll donate". Nobody can tell anyone what to do with their money so far be it from me to do the same...but I will anyway. If you have the money at your disposal now, *now* is the time UConn needs it. Donor support is a very important metric and it is a shame it has taken UConn so long to unite the alumni into one huge donor pool, but alumni is united now. Fans are united now. If we truly want out of this garbage AAC conference, we will be asked to help fund the AD so it can continue to spend on a power conference level and compete for national championships. Does that suck? Sure does. Especially when you consider that fans/alumni from the other candidates don't support their schools and, if they do, their AD budgets are about half the amount of UConn's. But I guess it is what it is.

Fourth, I hope our trio of ADs camp out in South Bend every weekend. Become drinking buddies. Sit together at the same poker table. Spend a few Saturdays together. Schedule some basketball home and homes. Schedule a hoops game at TD Garden or Madison Square. Schedule a football game in New York or Boston or South Bend. Schedule a hockey game at Madison Square Garden or Barclay's. Continue to build a relationship and show ND how much UConn would help enhance their northeast presence. After seeing that, maybe they decide to join the ACC when the time comes. Then we slide in at 16 and never have to worry about CR again in in our lifetimes.

I Know ESPN can void the contract but is it their option? They might decide it's cheaper for them to honor the contract as is rather than risk losing UConn.
Any AAC exspansion dilutes a pretty decent football conference ,which will even have more appeal with a successful UConn football program. Especially a program with a strong OCS. The only way we become P5 is to play our way in.

 

[thatguyed]

Can't someone just go to the car wash and get an authoritative answer? I've got 20 minutes. I'll wait.

 

[huskymedic]

If UConn is passed over, the first thing we have to do is re-open the AAC TV deal. There are 4 "Type A" schools in the old Big East contract that said if any of them left (UConn, Cinci, Houston, UCF) that the contract would be re-opened. If the B12 expands with UH + UC/UCF, then that's grounds for UConn to go back and demand our Tier 3 media rights be returned to us. .

Dooley - check language here regarding contract you are referencing (cuz I know you want to be accurate in case called out by a wannabe basement radio station analyst in eastbumfluk):

Sources: Exits could terminate Big East TV deal

>The seven-year deal included a stipulation that it could be terminated if the league lost two more schools, sources said. ESPN could only match NBC Sports Network's deal and not change the language of the contract, sources said.

NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said.

The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said. This does not include any schools that already have announced they are leaving, such as Louisville, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh or Syracuse.<

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Can't someone just go to the car wash and get an authoritative answer? I've got 20 minutes. I'll wait.

Dooley - check language here regarding contract you are referencing (cuz I know you want to be accurate in case called out by a wannabe basement radio station analyst in eastbumfluk):

Sources: Exits could terminate Big East TV deal

>The seven-year deal included a stipulation that it could be terminated if the league lost two more schools, sources said. ESPN could only match NBC Sports Network's deal and not change the language of the contract, sources said.

NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said.

The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said. This does not include any schools that already have announced they are leaving, such as Louisville, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh or Syracuse.<

Based on that language ESPN may or may not terminate the contract
I suspect it's to their benifit either to not terminate or get an an extension now.

 

[Dooley]

Dooley - check language here regarding contract you are referencing (cuz I know you want to be accurate in case called out by a wannabe basement radio station analyst in eastbumfluk):

Sources: Exits could terminate Big East TV deal

>The seven-year deal included a stipulation that it could be terminated if the league lost two more schools, sources said. ESPN could only match NBC Sports Network's deal and not change the language of the contract, sources said.

NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said.

The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said. This does not include any schools that already have announced they are leaving, such as Louisville, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh or Syracuse.<

Thanks Medic. So if UC and UH leave, the deal can be terminated. Not UCF. Which means it will be UH and UCF and we can continue to get screwed out of T3 money.

 

[Redding Husky]

There are too many moving parts.

Thanks for the info. I guess all we can do is buy tickets, donate, and hope for a resolution before we leave this planet.

 

[Ldandy]

I Know ESPN can void the contract but is it their option? They might decide it's cheaper for them to honor the contract as is rather than risk losing UConn.
Any AAC exspansion dilutes a pretty decent football conference ,which will even have more appeal with a successful UConn football program. Especially a program with a strong OCS. The only way we become P5 is to play our way in.

In many ways The AAC is the biggest steal in the history of televised sports. ESPN is getting quality live content for pennies on the dollar. Its borderline criminal that the entire league payout each year is about the same as what Wake Forest or Boston College earn by themselves. ridiculous. If I'm ESPN I shut my mouth and continue to pay out the same figure for 10 teams, or allow the conference to add whatever two schools they wish to get back to 12.

 

[JMick]

In many ways The AAC is the biggest steal in the history of televised sports. ESPN is getting quality live content for pennies on the dollar. Its borderline criminal that the entire league payout each year is about the same as what Wake Forest or Boston College earn by themselves. ridiculous. If I'm ESPN I shut my mouth and continue to pay out the same figure for 10 teams, or allow the conference to add whatever two schools they wish to get back to 12.

It's pennies on the dollar because the teams that are in it. If those teams are gone, it's not remotely the same. The AAC without 2-4 of UConn/UC/UH/UCF/USF/Memphis is on par with the MAC

 

[djct1999]

If UConn is left out, its over. So what to do? Blow this thing up!!!! Take the NCAA, the ACC, the Big12 and ESPN to court. Subpoena them all. Expose their warts. Since its over, show the world what a fraud these non-profits really are. BLOW THIS UP!!!!!! There is really no point in playing this charade 8 more years. If we don't get in now, we surely won't get in then.

 

[JMick]

If UConn is left out, its over. So what to do? Blow this thing up!!!! Take the NCAA, the ACC, the Big12 and ESPN to court. Subpoena them all. Expose their warts. Since its over, show the world what a fraud these non-profits really are. BLOW THIS UP!!!!!! There is really no point in playing this charade 8 more years. If we don't get in now, we surely won't get in then.

Realistically we attempt to strong-arm the AAC by moving basketball and all other sports but football to the Big East. Try to stay in the AAC as football-only.

 

[djct1999]

Realistically we attempt to strong-arm the AAC by moving basketball and all other sports but football to the Big East. Try to stay in the AAC as football-only.

I calmed down. Realistically, we should go inpdendent in football and lobby either B1g or ACC for hoops and olympics only.

 

[JMick]

I calmed down. Realistically, we should go inpdendent in football and lobby either B1g or ACC for hoops and olympics only.

It's too hard to fill a schedule as an independent nowadays. When conferences were smaller it was easier, but now you have the ACC looking into 9 game conference schedules and the like. You're better off dominating a small conference (ala Boise St.) than you are trying to make it as an independent if you're not already a blue blood.

 

[djct1999]

It's too hard to fill a schedule as an independent nowadays. When conferences were smaller it was easier, but now you have the ACC looking into 9 game conference schedules and the like. You're better off dominating a small conference (ala Boise St.) than you are trying to make it as an independent if you're not already a blue blood.

Are you sure the AAC will keep us as football only? My guess is they wouldn't, especially since our hoops is the lifeline to this atrocity. I am only half serious with my suggestions. This point I am not. If is there is further expansion and UConn finds itself still in the AAC, its over. There is no way they survive 8 more years. Not just in football. UConn basketball will take a huge hit. As almuni, a state, and fanbase, we will be relegated to living in the past. And what a past it was!!!!!

 

[JMick]

Are you sure the AAC will keep us as football only? My guess is they wouldn't, especially since our hoops is the lifeline to this atrocity. I am only half serious with my suggestions. This point I am not. If is there is further expansion and UConn finds itself still in the AAC, its over. There is no way they survive 8 more years. Not just in football. UConn basketball will take a huge hit. As almuni, a state, and fanbase, we will be relegated to living in the past. And what a past it was!!!!!

We'd be the only good property left. If we can win 8 football games this year the AAC might budge and make an exception. I feel like some conference would take us football-only. I'm a football fan first but we need to protect the basketball program.

 

[Fishy]

I calmed down. Realistically, we should go inpdendent in football and lobby either B1g or ACC for hoops and olympics only.

Zero chance.

 

[Stinger92860]

Zero chance.

Would they take the golf teams?

 

[djct1999]

Zero chance.

Maybe so. But it's equally unlikely to join big east for hoops and stay in AAC for football. Now what?

 

[Fishy]

Maybe so. But it's equally unlikely to join big east for hoops and stay in AAC for football. Now what?

There's no 'what', there is only the American waiting if the Big 12 does not work out.