A forgotten option.

[John]

New Big East for everything but football...and Mountain West for football. I think it's a decent plan. I believe us and Cincy could get football-only spots in the MW as they would probably allow us the Hawaii rule due to geography. We would help their conference brand-wise and with eastern TV. They would help us by allowing us to keep our football at basically the same level while upgrading our basketball while we wait for a better offer (which we would make clear with them). We would have to give travel subsidies, but we would make much more with the NBE so that would be ok.

The divisions would look like this:
Mountain: UConn, Cincy, Boise State, Wyoming, Air Force, New Mexico, Colorado St.
West: San Jose St., Utah St., UNLV, Fresno St., Nevada, SDSU, Hawaii

Possible schedule down the road in this alignment: NC State, @BC, Illinois, @Indiana, Cincy, @ Boise State, Air Force, @Wyoming, New Mexico, @Colorado St, @UNLV, Nevada

This would pave the way for NBE basketball, which hopefully would still be a massive double round robin with Cincy (22 games), which would leave us with 9 OOC games (3 tournament, Syracuse @MSG, 2 decent h/h, 3 pay games).

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen's off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head

 

[Bobol]

UConn's men's basketball has been devalued in the American.

The dreamers who preach patience in the American while hoping for an invite from the ACC should realize that the longer UConn remains in the American the more trivialized it becomes.

UConn basketball needs the Big East as much as the Big East needs UConn.

7 wins and 10 losses ain't what we use to be.

 

[Stainmaster]

UConn's men's basketball has been devalued in the American.

The dreamers who preach patience in the American while hoping for an invite from the ACC should realize that the longer UConn remains in the American the more trivialized it becomes.

UConn basketball needs the Big East as much as the Big East needs UConn.

7 wins and 10 losses ain't what we use to be.

Yeah, UConn needs to be in a conference that will ensure no P5 league ever looks at us again. That way, when the P5 cartel breaks off and kicks the rest of DI out of the tournament, we can at least be clinging onto warm and fuzzy memories while ACC and B1G schools compete for national championships.

 

[storrsroars]

Yeah, UConn needs to be in a conference that will ensure no P5 league ever looks at us again. That way, when the P5 cartel breaks off and kicks the rest of DI out of the tournament, we can at least be clinging onto warm and fuzzy memories while ACC and B1G schools compete for national championships.

There's pretty much no hope as it is, and that's simple math.

Most predictions of the final power play result in a P4 of 64 teams. There are currently 65 teams (including ND) comfortably ensconced in a big money conference. The only way UConn gets in is if some of them get the boot. Probably only candidates for that are Baylor and Wake. Both would have to get booted and UConn would need to be the top choice among all schools under consideration.

It's a tall order.

 

[Stainmaster]

There's pretty much no hope as it is, and that's simple math.

Most predictions of the final power play result in a P4 of 64 teams. There are currently 65 teams (including ND) comfortably ensconced in a big money conference. The only way UConn gets in is if some of them get the boot. Probably only candidates for that are Baylor and Wake. Both would have to get booted and UConn would need to be the top choice among all schools under consideration.

It's a tall order.

Better than throwing our tails beneath our legs and being content with spending the 2040s playing Georgetown and Villanova in high school gyms.

 

[Point6]

The P5 could very easily create their own tournament and as long as it generated more than $200 million they'd be in the black. BTW if and when the P5 does that, the non P5 basketball programs just got demoted to FBS levels. Good luck recruiting at Villanova if there is no opportunity to play in the P5 tournament. The P5 would then monopolize the money while at the same time killing the non P5 competition.

But hey, lets go back to the new Big East cause there is no way the P5 would ruin a conference for money and control....

Since we are discussing hypothetical scenarios, in the above scenario, AAC hoops is dead as well.

The way I see it is that, right now, the non-P5 hoops powers are in separate conferences. If that power can be consolidated in the Big East by adding UConn (and, for sh&ts and giggles, Cincy), maybe the Big East becomes a viable competitor to P5 hoops, making it harder to ignore/leave behind. The threat/barrier to the P5 would be about optics not contracts. For example, this might be the case if the (honest) pundits start calling the BE the best basketball conference. I think the P5 is taking it slow because they are sensitive to optics.

If the Big East is able to improve its stature to P5 (or better) level, naturally the P5 would want to destroy it. The P5's/ACC's modus operandi in such a case has been to raid. If it gets to that, we should be the top target (or at least a top 2 choice) to be poached given the rest of the BE does not play FB. After such a raid, the optics of a P5 hoops split might be palatable.

The question to me is whether the AAC will ever get to a level that it could be viewed as a threat/barrier to the P5 splitting away in either FB or hoops. If the answer is no, aren't we dead in the AAC? The P5 can just let the AAC and UConn die on the vine - no reason to poach teams. If the answer is yes - i.e., the AAC is the biggest threat/barrier to a P5 split, then we should stay in the AAC. Either way, I agree the other piece is that FB must improve.

Can any of this be done (i.e., agreements with MW and BE)? That is a different question and it beats me. If it could be done, would the threat be enough for the P5 to care? Maybe not.

 

[Point6]

Crazy train alternative 3:

AAC merges with the Big East and renames itself: "Power 22"

Discuss amongst yourselves.

 

[pick6s]

There's pretty much no hope as it is, and that's simple math.

Most predictions of the final power play result in a P4 of 64 teams. There are currently 65 teams (including ND) comfortably ensconced in a big money conference. The only way UConn gets in is if some of them get the boot. Probably only candidates for that are Baylor and Wake. Both would have to get booted and UConn would need to be the top choice among all schools under consideration.

It's a tall order.

If the Big 12 falls apart when its GOR expires in about eight years, UConn will have a legitimate shot at getting into the ACC with a smaller shot at the Big Ten. Baylor and TCU are screwed because they're private and religious. Iowa St probably is too because they simply have no conference to join- I doubt the Big Ten takes a second school from Iowa and no other conference fits geographically. That takes those 65 power members down to 62, creating two openings for us.

My best guess is the Pac 12 adds Texas, TX Tech, OU, and OKST. The Big Ten adds Kansas and someone else- it could be us but I wouldn't be surprised if they poached Colorado from the Pac 12, in which case Colorado St would take Colorado's place in the Pac 12. The SEC is basically left with WVU and Kansas ST, and the ACC picks up ND and one other school- we're probably the leading candidate though I could see Notre Dame pushing for Temple; Cincy could have an outside chance.

 

[Adios]

We have an excellent chance at the Big Ten. Edsall just needs to right the ship and beat Indiana and Illinois when we play them. Even if we lose, we'd still have an excellent chance.

 

[pick6s]

We have an excellent chance at the Big Ten. Edsall just needs to right the ship and beat Indiana and Illinois when we play them. Even if we lose, we'd still have an excellent chance.

?? I'm assuming you're being sarcastic but I'd be curious to hear your take on my post.

 

[31GuardTrap]

The Mountain West must be absolutely foaming at the mouth to send their teams across the country to Hartford CT to play a program without a winning season since 2011.

Ahem....East Hartford.

 

[Ldandy]

If the Big 12 falls apart when its GOR expires in about eight years, UConn will have a legitimate shot at getting into the ACC with a smaller shot at the Big Ten. Baylor and TCU are screwed because they're private and religious. Iowa St probably is too because they simply have no conference to join- I doubt the Big Ten takes a second school from Iowa and no other conference fits geographically. That takes those 65 power members down to 62, creating two openings for us.

My best guess is the Pac 12 adds Texas, TX Tech, OU, and OKST. The Big Ten adds Kansas and someone else- it could be us but I wouldn't be surprised if they poached Colorado from the Pac 12, in which case Colorado St would take Colorado's place in the Pac 12. The SEC is basically left with WVU and Kansas ST, and the ACC picks up ND and one other school- we're probably the leading candidate though I could see Notre Dame pushing for Temple; Cincy could have an outside chance.

I used to be on The Big 12 Apocalypse Train like quite a few, but over time I've sort of come around to the reality that because so many teams could potentially be screwed in a dissolution it is far less likely to happen. I think the conference will hold and eventually even expand. Texas is already getting what they want, and will get no better deal elsewhere. OU basically wants to be paid at the same level of equivalent football powers, and likely will be for their next contract. Everybody else in the league is just happy to be there. As for ND? They need to s*** or get off the pot. Just join The ACC already and get it over with. This isn't the 60's. Everybody is on TV all the time. Its not special anymore. Taking Uconn as #16 would atone for the mistakes made in the past, and get BC of the ridiculous island it has been placed on.

 

[storrsroars]

I used to be on The Big 12 Apocalypse Train like quite a few, but over time I've sort of come around to the reality that because so many teams could potentially be screwed in a dissolution it is far less likely to happen. I think the conference will hold and eventually even expand. Texas is already getting what they want, and will get no better deal elsewhere. OU basically wants to be paid at the same level of equivalent football powers, and likely will be for their next contract. Everybody else in the league is just happy to be there. As for ND? They need to s*** or get off the pot. Just join The ACC already and get it over with. This isn't the 60's. Everybody is on TV all the time. Its not special anymore. Taking Uconn as #16 would atone for the mistakes made in the past, and get BC of the ridiculous island it has been placed on.

The not-so-arbitrary number for eventual P5 inclusion is 64, whether 4 conferences of 16 or five conferences of 12-14 each. There are currently 65. The math is not in UConn's favor, especially if UCF/USF continue to gain traction. In the end, the fact that CT is a barren land for recruiting probably negates any positive arguments regarding potential viewership revenue.

I would not be surprised to see BC bounced and the ACC take in both FL directionals or one of them plus Temple or all three.

Honestly, even small gains would be useful to offset some costs. I'd look into having women's hoops split off from the AAC and negotiate their own deal, which may as much as double media revenue. Right now it's the only leverage UConn has with ESPN.

 

[HuskyHawk]

That is fantastic.

It's far more outlandish than the usual crackpot nonsense, so I can tell you put some effort into it.

I like how you envision Cincinnati coming along on the crazy train.

A+

No way. Points off for grammar. "us and Cincy"? Serious run on sentence that is lacking in commas after that.

B-

 

[Sky ball]

New Big East for everything but football...and Mountain West for football. I think it's a decent plan. I believe us and Cincy could get football-only spots in the MW as they would probably allow us the Hawaii rule due to geography. We would help their conference brand-wise and with eastern TV. They would help us by allowing us to keep our football at basically the same level while upgrading our basketball while we wait for a better offer (which we would make clear with them). We would have to give travel subsidies, but we would make much more with the NBE so that would be ok.

The divisions would look like this:
Mountain: UConn, Cincy, Boise State, Wyoming, Air Force, New Mexico, Colorado St.
West: San Jose St., Utah St., UNLV, Fresno St., Nevada, SDSU, Hawaii

Possible schedule down the road in this alignment: NC State, @BC, Illinois, @Indiana, Cincy, @ Boise State, Air Force, @Wyoming, New Mexico, @Colorado St, @UNLV, Nevada

This would pave the way for NBE basketball, which hopefully would still be a massive double round robin with Cincy (22 games), which would leave us with 9 OOC games (3 tournament, Syracuse @MSG, 2 decent h/h, 3 pay games).

This the Best Case for UConn when/if they get thrown out of the AAC.

 

[John]

This the Best Case for UConn when/if they get thrown out of the AAC.

if this is the best case, I'll need to find a regular supplier of industrial strength horse tranquilizers that I can cut it up into a fine powder and snort with a soda straw in the McDonald's bathroom.

 

[metsfan2323]

Add Wichita State to the American and hope for a better contract next time around. If Ollie can find his eye of the tiger again hoops will be fine.

The Big 12 seems destined to lose teams so at the very least we will end up in a weakened Big 12, which will still be a decent league.

 

[don356]

From a basketball perspective the league is less relevant than finding a coach who has a system which adapts to it's surroundings. The "new" big east is going to take a haircut on it's next tv contract( it knows this and will not likely expand). We're in a down year as we've lost guys early which is happening at many of the p5 schools as well. Watching texas tunite, and they're sub 500 after the big Smart hire last year, ok same way. Syracuse and pitt, no big success there either. You look at Cincy,Memphis, Houston all trending up or steady as she goes. I think it comes back to getting 4 year guys to maintain consistency. Uconn probably needs to step back(Ollie) and maybe not go for the top kid who is a short term alternative, and focus on getting 4 and 5 year guys who will develop and provide consistency. Just my take. Not so much the league as the need to retool the program's path with players and development.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The AAC was a gamble that didn't pay off. I am not sure anything can save either program.

 

[Athlete94]

New Big East for everything but football...and Mountain West for football. I think it's a decent plan. I believe us and Cincy could get football-only spots in the MW as they would probably allow us the Hawaii rule due to geography. We would help their conference brand-wise and with eastern TV. They would help us by allowing us to keep our football at basically the same level while upgrading our basketball while we wait for a better offer (which we would make clear with them). We would have to give travel subsidies, but we would make much more with the NBE so that would be ok.

The divisions would look like this:
Mountain: UConn, Cincy, Boise State, Wyoming, Air Force, New Mexico, Colorado St.
West: San Jose St., Utah St., UNLV, Fresno St., Nevada, SDSU, Hawaii

Possible schedule down the road in this alignment: NC State, @BC, Illinois, @Indiana, Cincy, @ Boise State, Air Force, @Wyoming, New Mexico, @Colorado St, @UNLV, Nevada

This would pave the way for NBE basketball, which hopefully would still be a massive double round robin with Cincy (22 games), which would leave us with 9 OOC games (3 tournament, Syracuse @MSG, 2 decent h/h, 3 pay games).

Conference USA, AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE 2.0... I'M PSYCHED!!!!