$17m early buyout agreement per Blauds | Page 2 | The Boneyard

$17m early buyout agreement per Blauds

metsfan2323 said:
The school needs to explain why it makes financial sense to pay an extra 7 million so we can leave with one year notice instead of two. Paying 17 million I would almost expect Big East basketball for the 2019/2020 season.
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Its a great question. One element to consider, UConn cannot truly negotiate with Fox and SNY regarding any media deals until we have a definitive exit. Yes, we could have sought to stick around for that extra year, but that might have put us at risk that SNY in particular might not be as excited about UConn BB and Football if it means waiting around to 2021 to start broadcasting. While the Fox and SNY media deals might not make up for the 7m delta for the one year acceleration, it reduces the chances of catastrophe if Fox and SNY have a change of heart a year or two from now.

Got to strike while the iron is hot. Extended transitions are also a killer for recruiting and our renewed momentum.
 
Pudge said:
whaler11 was right ... it all was about Tulane & Tulsa
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Yep, if this was a 10 team conf without Tulsa and Tulane watering it down and had Aresco let us retain our WBB broadcasting rights we would still be in the AAC. I bet the AAC media contract with ESPN is valued the same in aggregate with and without Tulsa and Tulane, but if the same, that is more per school.
 
$6 million of the Exit Fee is payable over 6 years. That makes this very manageable. Getting starting on earning Big East Tournament Credits a year earlier will offset that within about 3 years.

We are only looking for 5-6 home football games a season, so 2-for-1's with P5's will be big, especially if we can draw 25-30K or more again vs. the $12-15k we are getting for AAC games.
 
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Gonna miss my once every two year trip up to see Temple play at the Rent. Maybe the series continues in the future, idk. The picture has become a little clearer now and since Temple has been in this position, I figured i'd give my perspective. None of this is earth shattering or probably a new discussion point for you guys.


1. No bowl game or access bowl game affiliation. What are they going to sell recruits on? UConn has had a hard enough time as it is recruiting during the rebuilding of the program. My first thought was maybe UConn could get access to the ESPN pool, but that won't happen with ESPN unhappy with UConn. So the only hope is getting an at large and being 6-6.

2. Scheduling - Yes, UConn has some advantages compared to Umass, but not ND or BYU. 2020 we all know is a problem, but going further the power conferences are all trending to 9 game conference schedules. Most P5s want to maximize home games as well for revenue purposes and getting them to come to The Rent will be tough. If you can get 1 P5 a year, that would be a "win". So will a mostly G5?independent schedule get fans to come out? They didn't for an AAC schedule. Even if you get two p5 games a year, if you are losing 40-10, will it even matter?

3. Fans- Will fans still come to games if UConn is still losing, even with a strong home schedule like BYU (best case scenario)? BYU has advantages built in with money flow from the church and playing older players after missions, even they have struggled to be competitive as an independent.

4. Recruiting - Again, not a great recruiting area and now what is the selling point? TV on SNY would help I guess but I doubt that will be a game changer. The recent commits have mostly been FCS level correct? So can UConn put a product on the field to be competitive even with a schedule on Umass level? Facilities? Pretty much all the schools have great facilities now.


I just don't see how this works out for football at all in the future and the move only makes sense overall if the football expenses are cut drastically to justify the move (FCS/cutting program). The fear I see from the UConn football fan perspective is another really bad year in 2019. The talk will grow to kill the program. Then a bad schedule in 2020 with a possible underwhelming team will lead to worse fan support and more talk to kill the program.

I'd say it is a 70-30 chance UConn is not playing FBS football by 2021...I hope it works out because I have a few friends that are UConn alums and support the football program. They just don't see how this works out.
 
templefan1 said:
Gonna miss my once every two year trip up to see Temple play at the Rent. Maybe the series continues in the future, idk. The picture has become a little clearer now and since Temple has been in this position, I figured i'd give my perspective. None of this is earth shattering or probably a new discussion point for you guys.


1. No bowl game or access bowl game affiliation. What are they going to sell recruits on? UConn has had a hard enough time as it is recruiting during the rebuilding of the program. My first thought was maybe UConn could get access to the ESPN pool, but that won't happen with ESPN unhappy with UConn. So the only hope is getting an at large and being 6-6.

2. Scheduling - Yes, UConn has some advantages compared to Umass, but not ND or BYU. 2020 we all know is a problem, but going further the power conferences are all trending to 9 game conference schedules. Most P5s want to maximize home games as well for revenue purposes and getting them to come to The Rent will be tough. If you can get 1 P5 a year, that would be a "win". So will a mostly G5?independent schedule get fans to come out? They didn't for an AAC schedule. Even if you get two p5 games a year, if you are losing 40-10, will it even matter?

3. Fans- Will fans still come to games if UConn is still losing, even with a strong home schedule like BYU (best case scenario)? BYU has advantages built in with money flow from the church and playing older players after missions, even they have struggled to be competitive as an independent.

4. Recruiting - Again, not a great recruiting area and now what is the selling point? TV on SNY would help I guess but I doubt that will be a game changer. The recent commits have mostly been FCS level correct? So can UConn put a product on the field to be competitive even with a schedule on Umass level? Facilities? Pretty much all the schools have great facilities now.


I just don't see how this works out for football at all in the future and the move only makes sense overall if the football expenses are cut drastically to justify the move (FCS/cutting program). The fear I see from the UConn football fan perspective is another really bad year in 2019. The talk will grow to kill the program. Then a bad schedule in 2020 with a possible underwhelming team will lead to worse fan support and more talk to kill the program.

I'd say it is a 70-30 chance UConn is not playing FBS football by 2021...I hope it works out because I have a few friends that are UConn alums and support the football program. They just don't see how this works out.
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I have a short response for you. We can't sink lower, we've had an FCS roster for two years. Recruits didn't love the AAC story. We can sell independence better - as long as we have the right coaching.
 
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templefan1 said:
Gonna miss my once every two year trip up to see Temple play at the Rent. Maybe the series continues in the future, idk. The picture has become a little clearer now and since Temple has been in this position, I figured i'd give my perspective. None of this is earth shattering or probably a new discussion point for you guys.


1. No bowl game or access bowl game affiliation. What are they going to sell recruits on? UConn has had a hard enough time as it is recruiting during the rebuilding of the program. My first thought was maybe UConn could get access to the ESPN pool, but that won't happen with ESPN unhappy with UConn. So the only hope is getting an at large and being 6-6.

2. Scheduling - Yes, UConn has some advantages compared to Umass, but not ND or BYU. 2020 we all know is a problem, but going further the power conferences are all trending to 9 game conference schedules. Most P5s want to maximize home games as well for revenue purposes and getting them to come to The Rent will be tough. If you can get 1 P5 a year, that would be a "win". So will a mostly G5?independent schedule get fans to come out? They didn't for an AAC schedule. Even if you get two p5 games a year, if you are losing 40-10, will it even matter?

3. Fans- Will fans still come to games if UConn is still losing, even with a strong home schedule like BYU (best case scenario)? BYU has advantages built in with money flow from the church and playing older players after missions, even they have struggled to be competitive as an independent.

4. Recruiting - Again, not a great recruiting area and now what is the selling point? TV on SNY would help I guess but I doubt that will be a game changer. The recent commits have mostly been FCS level correct? So can UConn put a product on the field to be competitive even with a schedule on Umass level? Facilities? Pretty much all the schools have great facilities now.


I just don't see how this works out for football at all in the future and the move only makes sense overall if the football expenses are cut drastically to justify the move (FCS/cutting program). The fear I see from the UConn football fan perspective is another really bad year in 2019. The talk will grow to kill the program. Then a bad schedule in 2020 with a possible underwhelming team will lead to worse fan support and more talk to kill the program.

I'd say it is a 70-30 chance UConn is not playing FBS football by 2021...I hope it works out because I have a few friends that are UConn alums and support the football program. They just don't see how this works out.
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Out comes the anchor.
 
templefan1 said:
Gonna miss my once every two year trip up to see Temple play at the Rent. Maybe the series continues in the future, idk. The picture has become a little clearer now and since Temple has been in this position, I figured i'd give my perspective. None of this is earth shattering or probably a new discussion point for you guys.


1. No bowl game or access bowl game affiliation. What are they going to sell recruits on? UConn has had a hard enough time as it is recruiting during the rebuilding of the program. My first thought was maybe UConn could get access to the ESPN pool, but that won't happen with ESPN unhappy with UConn. So the only hope is getting an at large and being 6-6.

2. Scheduling - Yes, UConn has some advantages compared to Umass, but not ND or BYU. 2020 we all know is a problem, but going further the power conferences are all trending to 9 game conference schedules. Most P5s want to maximize home games as well for revenue purposes and getting them to come to The Rent will be tough. If you can get 1 P5 a year, that would be a "win". So will a mostly G5?independent schedule get fans to come out? They didn't for an AAC schedule. Even if you get two p5 games a year, if you are losing 40-10, will it even matter?

3. Fans- Will fans still come to games if UConn is still losing, even with a strong home schedule like BYU (best case scenario)? BYU has advantages built in with money flow from the church and playing older players after missions, even they have struggled to be competitive as an independent.

4. Recruiting - Again, not a great recruiting area and now what is the selling point? TV on SNY would help I guess but I doubt that will be a game changer. The recent commits have mostly been FCS level correct? So can UConn put a product on the field to be competitive even with a schedule on Umass level? Facilities? Pretty much all the schools have great facilities now.


I just don't see how this works out for football at all in the future and the move only makes sense overall if the football expenses are cut drastically to justify the move (FCS/cutting program). The fear I see from the UConn football fan perspective is another really bad year in 2019. The talk will grow to kill the program. Then a bad schedule in 2020 with a possible underwhelming team will lead to worse fan support and more talk to kill the program.

I'd say it is a 70-30 chance UConn is not playing FBS football by 2021...I hope it works out because I have a few friends that are UConn alums and support the football program. They just don't see how this works out.
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Maybe you haven’t toured our Football Complex; I have toured yours East of Broad Street.

You’re kidding yourself. You’re a long way from the next tier of CFB elite. And the gap is widening with that strange 13 year stretch of Flat revenue.

We don’t know about Rod Carey. I bet he fails. Jetting Ed Foley is a sign. But we would love to continue playing Temple. Philadelphia or Connecticut.

We care about Hoop. I thought Temple did as well; and that’s a faint heart from Liacouras. We get MSG. Semi & Final of BET; that’s our Rose Bowl. If we get to 6-6 etc ... I think we will be fine.

Have fun in Tulsa.
 
CL82 said:
Agree but of that $17M, $7.5M ($2.5M exit fee + $5M withheld distributions) has already been paid, and another @$3.5 of withheld distributions is apparently anticipated. So on an out of pocket basis, we are looking at $2.5 down + $6M over basically 7 years. That seems like a very good deal.

@Chief00 is right that the $withheld distributions is real money that is otherwise owed to us, but on a cash out of pocket basis, this isn't bad.
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I agree, with the caveat that I believe we need to pay an entry fee and then our share of various Big East payouts will be less than a full share for I believe a few years. So we will be going effectively without about 5 years of normal distributions between the AAC and Big East. There is a lag in actually receiving funds. I also don’t fully understand the impact of missing football conference bowl distributions going forward - I assume that’s not an insignificant slice of these $5 million payouts.
We were running a $40 million deficit and there’s no reason to believe total income will be higher anytime during the next 5 years absent shady accounting assumptions - so the AD
Department needs to tighten their belts.
We will see how many of these OBE fans, who haven’t been to a game in years, will actually show up?
If you believe recently published demographic migration trends, many of these OBE fans have moved south or plan to do so in the next 5 years. And gee that’s the growth area we are leaving.
 
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templefan1 said:
Gonna miss my once every two year trip up to see Temple play at the Rent. Maybe the series continues in the future, idk. The picture has become a little clearer now and since Temple has been in this position, I figured i'd give my perspective. None of this is earth shattering or probably a new discussion point for you guys.


1. No bowl game or access bowl game affiliation. What are they going to sell recruits on? UConn has had a hard enough time as it is recruiting during the rebuilding of the program. My first thought was maybe UConn could get access to the ESPN pool, but that won't happen with ESPN unhappy with UConn. So the only hope is getting an at large and being 6-6.

2. Scheduling - Yes, UConn has some advantages compared to Umass, but not ND or BYU. 2020 we all know is a problem, but going further the power conferences are all trending to 9 game conference schedules. Most P5s want to maximize home games as well for revenue purposes and getting them to come to The Rent will be tough. If you can get 1 P5 a year, that would be a "win". So will a mostly G5?independent schedule get fans to come out? They didn't for an AAC schedule. Even if you get two p5 games a year, if you are losing 40-10, will it even matter?

3. Fans- Will fans still come to games if UConn is still losing, even with a strong home schedule like BYU (best case scenario)? BYU has advantages built in with money flow from the church and playing older players after missions, even they have struggled to be competitive as an independent.

4. Recruiting - Again, not a great recruiting area and now what is the selling point? TV on SNY would help I guess but I doubt that will be a game changer. The recent commits have mostly been FCS level correct? So can UConn put a product on the field to be competitive even with a schedule on Umass level? Facilities? Pretty much all the schools have great facilities now.


I just don't see how this works out for football at all in the future and the move only makes sense overall if the football expenses are cut drastically to justify the move (FCS/cutting program). The fear I see from the UConn football fan perspective is another really bad year in 2019. The talk will grow to kill the program. Then a bad schedule in 2020 with a possible underwhelming team will lead to worse fan support and more talk to kill the program.

I'd say it is a 70-30 chance UConn is not playing FBS football by 2021...I hope it works out because I have a few friends that are UConn alums and support the football program. They just don't see how this works out.
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I've gotta say. This is a quality post.

Bottom line is that UConn will hold a FBS program together with spit and baling wire until at least mid next decade, when some of the P5 media rights contracts expire/renew. Honestly though, nothing you bring up has not been bandied about yet. This move was based on money pure and simple. Not the sport of basketball, and certainly not football. The deal that Aresco agreed to was untenable for UConn. Just like that.

1. Bowl games, to me, are the biggest loss so far. UConn will still be the pick for a bowl over a 5-7 program. 80-something slots are a lot to fill, but 5-7 teams aren't invited every year. Be that as it may, money.

2. UConn is not claiming ND status, and is closer to BYU than UMass. UConn has a following and they have a regional network willing to maximize the UConn brand. Above that, the network will presumably not make UConn foot the bill or provide their own production behind a $4.99/month/fan paywall.

2A-3. Football games and many basketball games were lightly attended as is. Winning brings out the fans. Fans spend the money, which in UConn's case doesn't matter much, as Football and half of basketball are played in rented facilities.

4. UConn has never been respected on a national basis as far as football recruiting.

As equally a football fan as basketball, I was with you when I heard the news, but this move was not done for football (clearly). It was done for the athletic department. I don't think UConn makes this move if not for the AAC-ESPN renewal in the manner in which it was done. I doubt they make the move if there's not a wink and a nudge agreement for control of their tier 3 media, which Aresco ceded to ESPN and for which SNY has been paying 7 figures/year for since 2014.

The Big East media deal pays about $4 mil, as I understand it. SNY will gobble up Women's basketball and home football. Plus UConn will spend a fraction of what they were paying for team travel and they won't have to cover the yet-to-be-determined production nut. Revenues + Cost Savings = healthier bottom line.
 
Chief00 said:
I agree, with the caveat that I believe we need to pay an entry fee and then our share of various Big East payouts will be less than a full share for I believe a few years. So we will be going effectively without about 5 years of normal distributions between the AAC and Big East. There is a lag in actually receiving funds. I also don’t fully understand the impact of missing football conference bowl distributions going forward - I assume that’s a not insignificant slice of these $5 million payouts.
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I don't think we take a reduced share for the NBE. Contract just states we aren't entitled to a share of earnings accrued prior to our joining.

I agree that the $10M, give or take, in lost earnings that are being used to partially pay off the $17M is real money, it just isn't out of pocket cash.
 
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Chief00 said:
I agree, with the caveat that I believe we need to pay an entry fee and then our share of various Big East payouts will be less than a full share for I believe a few years. So we will be going effectively without about 5 years of normal distributions between the AAC and Big East. There is a lag in actually receiving funds. I also don’t fully understand the impact of missing football conference bowl distributions going forward - I assume that’s not an insignificant slice of these $5 million payouts.
We were running a $40 million deficit and there’s no reason to believe total income will be higher anytime during the next 5 years absent shady accounting assumptions - so the AD
Department needs to tighten their belts.
We will see how many of these OBE fans, who haven’t been to a game in years, will actually show up?
If you believe recently published demographic migration trends, many of these OBE fans have moved south or plan to do so in the next 5 years. And gee that’s the growth area we are leaving.
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You keep saying this Chief. My understanding from the contract that UConn signed with the Big East is that they will get the full distribution as a member once they join the conference. They won't get the tournament shares that the Big East will be receiving from when UConn was in the American, which makes sense.
 
CL82 said:
I don't think we take a reduced share for the NBE. Contract just states we aren't entitle to a share of earnings accrued prior to our joining.
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BFieldHusky said:
You keep saying this Chief. My understanding from the contract that UConn signed with the Big East is that they will get the full distribution as a member once they join the conference. They won't get the tournament shares that the Big East will be receiving from when UConn was in the American, which makes sense.
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BFieldHusky said:
You keep saying this Chief. My understanding from the contract that UConn signed with the Big East is that they will get the full distribution as a member once they join the conference. They won't get the tournament shares that the Big East will be receiving from when UConn was in the American, which makes sense.
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I said conference distribution, which to me includes conference tournament revenue. So when will be the first year they actually receive Big East tournament revenue?
We have to also keep in mind when a team in MBB wins the NC as Villanova has done in 2 of the last 4 years the conference distribution likely far exceeds what it will be without that unusual accomplishment .
I am not trying to be negative, as I probably sound, but I like to get all the numbers transparently on the table and have conservative assumptions in the forecasts.
 
Bubba1957 said:
Uconn going independence is more likely to hurt UMass ability to schedule any interesting home games. Who would want to go there? This could be really good for Uconn and the end of zoo mass.
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Hmmm, interesting take.
 
Chief00 said:
I said conference distribution, which to me includes conference tournament revenue. So when will be the first year they actually receive Big East tournament revenue?
We have to also keep in mind when a team in MBB wins the NC as Villanova has done in 2 of the last 4 years the conference distribution likely far exceeds what it will be without that unusual accomplishment .
I am not trying to be negative, as I probably sound, but I like to get all the numbers transparently on the table and have conservative assumptions in the forecasts.
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Understood, but since we weren't a member when that money was earned, I'm not troubled by not getting a share of it.

You make a good point though, that we weren't really get a distribution of NCAA credit money until after we've been in the conference a year. I hadn't really thought about that timing.
 
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Its really just fantastic that this is now a done deal. I feared a long August and possibly September of speculation and wasted time.

Now its Bring on 2019 - the AAC final tour and lets build that independent schedule for 2020 and beyond.
 
Exit 4 said:
Its really just fantastic that this is now a done deal. I feared a long August and possibly September of speculation and wasted time.

Now its Bring on 2019 - the AAC final tour and lets build that independent schedule for 2020 and beyond.
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Just pass along any bowl alliance you hear about, a'kay?
 


First round projections sit out playing in the bowl games. It doesn't mean they don't make the trip or that 84-115 other players won't want to play in the game. As long as bowls exist, they will matter.
 
Husky25 said:
Just pass along any bowl alliance you hear about, a'kay?
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The whisper out there is that big bad ESPN wont lock us out of their family of bowls. They have so many and such control of the system it would be bad politics to deny a worthy season some sort of game. Nothing can be announced until we leave the AAC.

Yes, if we win 6 games we might be shut out, if we win seven, we should get something.

I dont think kids think at all about bowls. They think about P5 or not P5 first, then for many of them they are attracted to winning programs - so we see lots of kids run towards the winning programs, then the position offered (most kids play two positions, what position does the school recruiting you want you to play) and the depth at that position in that program, then the staff itself (head coach/position coach), then school environment and/or academics and then maybe they think about bowls.

None of the G5 schools have legitimate bowls. The best G5 schools typically end up playing the #6 or lower program from the P5 - if they even get a P5 opponent which is not too common.
 
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