12 Reasons why The Big East is UConn's home | The Boneyard

12 Reasons why The Big East is UConn's home

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1. Basketball is UConn's identity with a rebuilding Blue Blood Men's program and a Dynasty Women's program. The Big East is a better basketball conference than the American.
2. Football in the American was a bust. The shotgun footprint without real rivalries was a recruiting disadvantage.
3. Football in the American was a bust. The TV coverage proved to be low exposure and low profile.
4. Football in the American was a bust. The first TV contract was a bust. UConn stuck around on the promise of a "P6" second TV contract to give the conference a chance, but the second contract was also a bust.
5. As a Big East member and a football independent, UConn will have a better basketball schedule AND a better football schedule.
6. History, Tradition, Home. UConn is a founding member of the Big East and its best history is with the Big East.
7. East Carolina, Tulsa, and Tulane. Comparatively the Big East added Xavier, Butler, and Creighton, three higher level basketball programs with great home courts and basketball traditions.
8. Providence, St. Johns, Seton Hall and Villanova are as close or closer than UConn's closest American mate.
9. Olympic / non-revenue sports. Credible rivals in a reasonable geographic footprint.
10. Big Fox, FS1, FS2. All of our games are on cable TV. Streaming may be the future, but it is still not an equal in the present.
11. Madison Square Garden, the world's greatest conference tournament in the world's greatest arena. UConn adds to the Big East claim to its NYC home, and the NYC conference home strengthens UConn's community.
12. Villanova. In the Big East, UConn has another Blue Blood program as a conference mate and rival. Both programs have won 3 National Championships as Big East members. The Big East is a real brand with identity, history, tradition, and titles.
 

SubbaBub

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We will make more money be on TV more often without the terrible AAC contract.

MBB recruiting will matter again in NYC.

Those are the only reasons. Everything else can be traced to the bad job Ollie did over his last few years. The fact that we didn't dominate the league in MBB is on him.
 
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Then, one day, another conference will pluck us and invite us to a P5 conference that sponsors football. It's a matter of time.

We benefit the northern schools of the ACC and the eastern end of the Big Ten. It's a matter of time. Had the Big Ten taken us instead of Rutgers, they probably would have been well-positioned to gain priority to MSG for the conference tournament after the Big East's contract expired.
 

CL82

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Then, one day, another conference will pluck us and invite us to a P5 conference that sponsors football. It's a matter of time.

We benefit the northern schools of the ACC and the eastern end of the Big Ten. It's a matter of time. Had the Big Ten taken us instead of Rutgers, they probably would have been well-positioned to gain priority to MSG for the conference tournament after the Big East's contract expired.
I wonder Butch. Where is the money for our share of the profits going to come from? We need to expand revenues to justify a seat at the table and the TV contract bubble seems to have to have burst.

Regarding RU, as I've posted before, it's addition to the B1G gave them access to first tier premium cable pricing in the NYC DMA, including in Fairfield County; it was AAU and contiguous; and NJ has 9M total population vs CT's 3M. From a financial prospective they were the right call. From a competition basis, not so much, but that's not what the B1G hierarchy was trying to achieve in that particular expansion.

Being in the NBE makes us more money, significantly so, on a net revenue basis. It lets us play against teams that are familiar to us and gives us driveable road games, which appears to be re-energizing our fan base. Perhaps, more importantly, it allows us to shine again and do so outside of the ESPN family. Some may think that that is a disadvantage, and it is in many ways, but ESPN had no incentive to support our move to another conference when it own owned our rights for next to nothing in the AAC. If, and that's a big if, we can show value in the NBE, I suppose there is a chance that they might decide that it is worth paying market value for our media rights. I don't see the numbers justifying it, but it is, at least, a possibility.
 
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The Big Ten will only hold it's conference basketball championship in NYC about once every 8 years. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think the location of that tournament one time every eight years will matter too much. It's already on record that the Big Ten wants the tournament to be held in its traditional locations of Chicago and Indianapolis most years, and once in NYC and once in DC every now and then.
 
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The Big Ten got access to Madison Square Garden in other ways........

Every January, there is a "Super Saturday" in which one Big Ten basketball game and one Big Ten ice hockey game will be played in a day/night double header at Madison Square Garden.

Thanks to the Gavitt Tipoff Games each November, the Big Ten will showcase teams at Madison Square Garden in years when St. Johns is one of the home teams in the annual series and the game is played at MSG instead of Carnesecca Arena.
 
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Then, one day, another conference will pluck us and invite us to a P5 conference that sponsors football. It's a matter of time.

We benefit the northern schools of the ACC and the eastern end of the Big Ten. It's a matter of time. Had the Big Ten taken us instead of Rutgers, they probably would have been well-positioned to gain priority to MSG for the conference tournament after the Big East's contract expired.
The return of the Big/ACC bidding war over us
 
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I suspect MSG had inside knowledge of the likely UConn move when they re-signed the Big East contract.
 
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SubbaBub

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Right now, they do need FB. That might change in the next round of CR. Currently Clemson is the only relevant power and they would bolt if the conferences contracted to 4 for FB. In a battle to the death for that 4th spot between the B12 and the ACC, I bet on neither and a 4th CFP conference forming around Texas, Oklahoma, Clemson, and FSU plus whatever little brothers might join them Miami, OkSt, Ttech, Baylor, etc... if you care about BB more than FB, you're out.
 

CL82

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Does the ACC need another basketball power?

Or...would they be more desirous of beefing up football?

One of the best coverages of the ACC's expansion and the various roles played....

I don't see how anyone, well anyone they could get, moves the needle right now. If Texas and/or Okla decided to move, maybe. Who do you think they could get (and actually want) for football?
 
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I don't see how anyone, well anyone they could get, moves the needle right now. If Texas and/or Okla decided to move, maybe. Who do you think they could get (and actually want) for football?

Only someone to make it 16....if the Irish come in....

Maybe a Memphis, Cincinnati.....UCF..

A program capable of playing in the upper half of the conference now and then.
 

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Only someone to make it 16....if the Irish come in....

Maybe a Memphis, Cincinnati.....UCF..

A program capable of playing in the upper half of the conference now and then.
Yeah none of those really move the needle in terms of what they generating dollars, do they? I agree that Notre Dame going all in is the most likely scenario for ACC expansion, however, that’s really very unlikely, isn’t it?
 
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I think it is unlikely in the next few years that the Irish give up independence...

There are few eastern teams that might be available that "move the needle"...what would be wanted is a good mid pack program that might provide football competition.

As with all adds everywhere, it will be increasingly difficult to cut the pie another slice unless the media ups the contract so as to not negatively impact individual program payouts.
 
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The ACC football brand isn’t very good. It is Clemson at the SEC level and everyone else at G5 level.

The ACC did what it could on football expansion by taking the best Big East football brands. It did strengthen their position. It does add security and cash. In the end though, the basketball is less interesting to the fans. It is too diluted.

On the football side the ACC’s moves, and specifically the moves by Pitt and Cuse to jump ship, set-up a P5 instead of a P6. A common theme is the old Big East was destined to fall apart with basketball powers that didn’t play football. The oBE could have continued, but it would have taken better leadership and better character from the member Presidents at the time. The demise of the old structure was not a manifest of destiny, it was rather a failure of leadership. The money was there to be had by the oBE as a power conference, and the power share was available to transition from BCS to P6.

In the end it worked out well for the new Big East. For UConn I don’t pretend the outcome is ideal, but coming home is the best available option.

The ACC has the stability of cash and P5 status. That is their positive. The football has Clemson as a power school, but the rest of the ACC is not well regarded, so overall the football is weak. The basketball brand is diluted. Finally, the prestige of the oldACC has been lost in the newACC. Part of it is lower academic profiles of the members, and part of it is the behavior of the member institutions and the conference. It’s easy to point at Louisville, but UNC’s star has also fallen.

Finally, the puff piece on the ACC characterized them as the best basketball conference that needed to find their way to survive in a new landscape. Most of us know they were the 2nd best basketball conference.
 
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Current conference Rpi's. Dead heat with the Pac12:

Rank
Conference (Teams)
All
Non-Conf
Index
Sos
Sos Rk
1​
Southeastern 14
97-71 (58%)​
41-15 (73%)​
31.50​
55.19​
1​
2​
Big Ten 14
97-71 (58%)​
34-8 (81%)​
31.07​
53.85​
4​
3​
Big 12 10
69-51 (57%)​
24-6 (80%)​
29.65​
54.69​
2​
4​
Pacific-12 12
78-66 (54%)​
24-12 (67%)​
28.12​
53.79​
5​
5​
American Athletic 12
82-63 (57%)​
33-14 (70%)​
27.57​
53.77​
6​
6​
Atlantic Coast 14
92-76 (55%)​
35-19 (65%)​
26.51​
54.21​
3​
7​
Mountain West 12
79-66 (54%)​
31-18 (63%)​
25.30​
51.58​
8​
8​
Sun Belt 10
62-58 (52%)​
22-18 (55%)​
23.82​
51.62​
7​
9​
Independents 6
32-40 (44%)​
26-34 (43%)​
23.46​
49.06​
12​
10​
Mid-American 12
66-78 (46%)​
18-30 (38%)​
21.37​
49.91​
10​
 
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Current conference Rpi's. Dead heat with the Pac12:

Rank
Conference (Teams)
All
Non-Conf
Index
Sos
Sos Rk
1​
Southeastern 14
97-71 (58%)​
41-15 (73%)​
31.50​
55.19​
1​
2​
Big Ten 14
97-71 (58%)​
34-8 (81%)​
31.07​
53.85​
4​
3​
Big 12 10
69-51 (57%)​
24-6 (80%)​
29.65​
54.69​
2​
4​
Pacific-12 12
78-66 (54%)​
24-12 (67%)​
28.12​
53.79​
5​
5​
American Athletic 12
82-63 (57%)​
33-14 (70%)​
27.57​
53.77​
6​
6​
Atlantic Coast 14
92-76 (55%)​
35-19 (65%)​
26.51​
54.21​
3​
7​
Mountain West 12
79-66 (54%)​
31-18 (63%)​
25.30​
51.58​
8​
8​
Sun Belt 10
62-58 (52%)​
22-18 (55%)​
23.82​
51.62​
7​
9​
Independents 6
32-40 (44%)​
26-34 (43%)​
23.46​
49.06​
12​
10​
Mid-American 12
66-78 (46%)​
18-30 (38%)​
21.37​
49.91​
10​
I look at this and I still come to the same conclusion. They really don't like it on the AAC forum but it's true. With the exception of one university none of the institutions in the American are the number 1 football playing school in their state. The best would be Cincinnati and Tulane at #2. Memphis 3rd at best. The directional schools come in no better than #4 and Texas, well say no more. They all may have a good RPI but there's no way they'll ever become a "power" conference.
 
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If the ACC could have pods and go to 18....

OBE Pod
Cincinnati, UConn, VT, Boston, Syracuse, Pitt

Tobacco Road Pod
UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia, Clemson

Retro Metro Pod
Miami, FSU, GT, Notre Dame, Louisville, Memphis
 
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If the ACC could have pods and go to 18....

OBE Pod
Cincinnati, UConn, VT, Boston, Syracuse, Pitt

Tobacco Road Pod
UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia, Clemson

Retro Metro Pod
Miami, FSU, GT, Notre Dame, Louisville, Memphis
Basketball or Football

The greater South Bend metropolitan area...
 
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Eastern Nomads
VT, BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville

Tobacco Road
UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia

Misfit Toys
Miami, FSU, GT, Notre Dame, Clemson
 
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Eastern Nomads
VT, BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville

Tobacco Road
UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State, Virginia

Misfit Toys
Miami, FSU, GT, Notre Dame, Clemson


Misfit Toys? or Football Champs League?

With at least 15 football national championships among them.

Maybe Tobacco Road could be the Basketball Champs League.

With 14 men's NC's between four of the the teams.
 
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Basketball or Football

The greater South Bend metropolitan area...

Metro was the Metro Conference...FSU, GT, Louisville, and Memphis are old Metro Conference teams.
 

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