12 Reasons Why UConn Will Regret the New Big East

[The Viking]

I preface this comment by saying that I wouldn't have minded seeing us wait for another 4-5 years before making this move because I do like hoping for miracles and I do pull for the football program....

But for the people who are jumping off cliffs, what % chance do you think we would be getting an invite to the ACC or B1G in the next 4-5 years? Because if its anything more than 5-10%, I suggest you walk to the end of your driveway. I'll meet you there so I can drive you to the nearest insane asylum.

UConn chose not to lose another 175 million over the next 4 years with the current setup. I'm not going to go apeSht because of their decision making as they know numbers more than I do.

AND because I wouldn't be surprised if while backchanneling to the BE AD's or prez's, they were also backchanneling to the ACC and B1G AD's or prez's to get a feel for a potential miracle invite and were quite possibly laughed it in the most sincere way possible.

 

[Zissou]

I wish all of you the best going forward and hope this move will be a success. My biggest fear for you is that the move will push you to be more of a regional school than a national one like I believe you to are striving to be. Maybe (hopefully) I’m wrong and FSN will be a marketing boon for you, but I don’t see how this helps you become a more national school. Maybe I’m underestimating the reach of the Big East (most people here in Michigan didn’t even know what conference Villanova was in) or that UConn wants to be more regional/New England’s flagship. Who knows?

Who gets shafted the most is the football players. They signed on to a UConn thinking they would be playing in a pretty good football conference and are now left out wandering the desert of independence. I hope they have a plan in place for them.

As part of the Michigan team that was the runner-up in the 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament, Moritz Wagner earned a ring. That ring did not impress his teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers, Josh Hart.

Hart got a hold of the ring and gave it a solid roasting.

“This weak-ash ring! … Thing weak as hell!” Hart said in a video posted on TMZ Sports. He specifically took aim at the diamonds, saying “They fake as hell! This is what happens when you a runner-up. This what you get!”

 

[LoyalFanCT]

I preface this comment by saying that I wouldn't have minded seeing us wait for another 4-5 years before making this move because I do like hoping for miracles and I do pull for the football program....

But for the people who are jumping off cliffs, what % chance do you think we would be getting an invite to the ACC or B1G in the next 4-5 years? Because if its anything more than 5-10%, I suggest you walk to the end of your driveway. I'll meet you there so I can drive you to the nearest insane asylum.

UConn chose not to lose another 175 million over the next 4 years with the current setup. I'm not going to go apeSht because of their decision making as they know numbers more than I do.

AND because I wouldn't be surprised if while backchanneling to the BE AD's or prez's, they were also backchanneling to the ACC and B1G AD's or prez's to get a feel for a potential miracle invite and were quite possibly laughed it in the most sincere way possible.

I suspect if the B10 or ACC ever wanted UConn it would be more of a Maryland/Rutgers thing. Come because of your demographics in CT or your TV market. Both conferences, as does the New Big East, want as much of NYC metro region as they can get. I would not be surprised if one of these conferences ask UConn to join some day. If we are sweet 16 level in mens basketball and have at least a 6-6 record in football -- can't hurt.

 

[whaler11]

LOL. Has anyone seen the program at UMass?

Yeah a few months ago. UMass 22-17 at Rentschler.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I think one of the key questions is how much money (and exposure) that UConn would lose under the new AAC ESPN agreement due to not being able to separately contact with SNY for tier 3 rights. I am hearing that SNY was a big issue. Maybe the loss of SNY is comparable to the exit fee?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I wish all of you the best going forward and hope this move will be a success. My biggest fear for you is that the move will push you to be more of a regional school than a national one like I believe you to are striving to be. Maybe (hopefully) I’m wrong and FSN will be a marketing boon for you, but I don’t see how this helps you become a more national school. Maybe I’m underestimating the reach of the Big East (most people here in Michigan didn’t even know what conference Villanova was in) or that UConn wants to be more regional/New England’s flagship. Who knows?

That is my concern, also. UConn wants to be a true national university and affiliate with such peers on the field and in the classroom. Outside one or two members (Tulane, Navy), the AAC is a not a national university affiliation and neither is the new Big East outside of Georgetown. This is an issue much lager than football and baseball.

Hopefully, someone in Storrs is looking at the big picture here. It is possible that this move, should it happen, is aimed at rehabbing the school's key athletic brand (basketball) and to address some of the budget issues within athletics overall, primarily football. That would allow for several fixes to be in place that may not have been possible within the AAC within the next 5 years when the current media deals end. At that point, I expect another wave of realignment. I resurgent basketball brand, maintaining the NYC metro exposure (SNY tier 3) and a stronger bottom line could make the school more attractive to the ACC or B1G. Of course, I could be dreaming as Connecticut as a whole is not great at long-term planning.

 

[Rufus]

UConn could play all 12 football games on the road vs. P5 teams. That payout should fix the budget problems pretty fast. Even if they only did it one or two years.

 

[don356]

UConn could play all 12 football games on the road vs. P5 teams. That payout should fix the budget problems pretty fast. Even if they only did it one or two years.

The players would never make it thru that gauntlet.

 

[businesslawyer]

The article, substantively, was well done.

 

[#MACtion]

1. There is not one team in the AAC that I would want to play more than nova, gtown, PC, Marquette. After Cincy - there is not another team that I would want to play more than the rest of the Big East. Maybe Memphis somewhere near the bottom. It may not be the old big east, but compared to the AAC ...
2. Streaming sports is early days. Nobody wants to be an early adopter. That UT, Ohio State and Alabama are not clamoring to move their valuable content to streaming is evidence of that fact.
3. Having a conference that spans the globe is not a benefit. We were on an island in the AAC. Look at all past expansions as an indication that regional creep is a problem, only those other conferences were paid for it.

Not even Temple? Or is that just a UMass obsession?

 

[hank970]

Some of those so-called crappy schools beat the hell out of UConn in terms of research activity and endowment. Academic inferiority such as you allege doesn't attract research dollars. Oh, and the possessive form of "university" (singular) is university's, not universities.

 

[DefCONNOne]

I feel stupider for reading that.

I feel stupider for having read your post.

 

[storrsroars]

I feel stupider for having read your post.

As it was only six words, I commend your efficiency!

 

[storrsroars]

That is my concern, also. UConn wants to be a true national university and affiliate with such peers on the field and in the classroom. Outside one or two members (Tulane, Navy), the AAC is a national university affiliation and neither is the new Big East outside of Georgetown. This is an issue much lager than football and baseball.

Hopefully, someone in Storrs is looking at the big picture here. It is possible that this move, should it happen, is aimed at rehabbing the school's key athletic brand (basketball) and to address some of the budget issues within athletics overall, primarily football. That would allow for several fixes to be in place that may not have been possible within the AAC within the next 5 years when the current media deals end, which woudl in turn likely create another wave of realignment. I resurgent basketball brand, maintaining the NYC metro exposure (SNY tier 3) and a stronger bottom line could make the school more attractive to the ACC or B1G. Of course, I could be dreaming as Connecticut as a whole is not great at long-term planning.

Thank you for an actual serious, thoughtful reply instead of a knee-jerk reaction.

But yeah, forethought is not a particular strong suit in Storrs.

 

[DefCONNOne]

As it was only six words, I commend your efficiency!

Efficiency? I thought you said you were more stupid after having read that?

 

[CallMeBruce]

I feel stupider for having read your post.

You should.

 

[ZooCougar]

Shameless promotion of your own ill conceived article. Blech. It's easier just to start over with a blank slate than refute the 12 points.

It’s called the internet you dipshyt. This is just another way to draw attention to content.

 

[dayooper]

As part of the Michigan team that was the runner-up in the 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament, Moritz Wagner earned a ring. That ring did not impress his teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers, Josh Hart.

Hart got a hold of the ring and gave it a solid roasting.

And your point being?

 

[Zissou]

And your point being?

That Michigan fans know Villanova is in the Big East. Painfully, but they know.

 

[dayooper]

lol. hurley isn't trying to recruit your fair weather sports fan neighbors. but every highschool basketball player watching Nova win those chips knew exactly what conference they were in.

PS- didn't your head bball coach just run away to the NBA?

PPS- when uconn is dominating UM in the 2020 big east-big10 challenge everyone in michigan will know what conference we are in (hint- it's in the name of the challenge)

So opinions that don’t match yours aren’t welcome on the CR board anymore and will earn cheap and juvenile retorts. Understood.

OK, let me try this again: This a super great deal and I see no possible issues with this move at all.

Does that make you happy?

I will say this again, I hope this move works out for you.

 

[dayooper]

That Michigan fans know Villanova is in the Big East. Painfully, but they know.

It hurts soooooooooooo much that a Big East school beat us in NCAA Basketball tournament a year ago. There, does that make your fragile ego feel better?

 

[Zissou]

Michigan is a great school. The Michigan folks that I’ve met are smart fans and good people. We had great interactions with Michigan fans at the Final Four. They know the Big East.

I guess every fan base has its 10% outliers. It’s easiest to find them on an internet blog.

 

[Zissou]

It hurts soooooooooooo much that a Big East school beat us in NCAA Basketball tournament a year ago. There, does that make your fragile ego feel better?

It’s pretty stupid of a Michigan fan not to know Nova is in the Big East. Especially Michigan. Ask Mo. Mo Knows.