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Message: [QUOTE="HuskyHawk, post: 2138453, member: 1414"] This is really all about leverage. Who has it, and when. UConn will certainly be talking to Fox, and Aresco, and ESPN, and the Big East. I don't know what will happen, but I don't think our leadership is going to allow the new American Conf. contract to be negotiated unless UConn has options. If ESPN wants to lowball UConn and the AAC, and UConn can't get special treatment, we need to be able to walk. Whether that means BE plus Independent or something else, I don't know. But the threat has to be there. We can't survive in this league with the money it brings in. I think Fox would love to steal UConn away from ESPN. As Fishy and others have pointed out, even in a bad year, UConn had far more ESPN, CBS and ESPN2 games than even most P5 programs. We are a cash cow for ESPN. Now, what would Fox do to make that happen? I don't know. What would ESPN do to keep it from happening? I don't know that either. But it's the scenario UConn has to rely upon. Three scenarios I think are at least possible [LIST] [*]UConn stays in AAC, bigger payout and keeps tier 3 rights including perhaps a separate amount for WBB. [*]UConn Olympics to ACC, football independent (with ACC scheduling deal) or AAC (ESPN tells AAC they want us there). [*]UConn Olympics to Big East, football independent (with B1G scheduling deal). Hockey to B1G. [/LIST] What I don't see is Big East plus AAC for football, unless Fox outbids ESPN for the next AAC deal. ESPN isn't going to do our football any favors if they lose basketball to Fox. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach