AAC Expansion

[HuskyHawk]

Now I wonder if it's time for Wichita State and Temple to bite the bullet and pay up $10M to join the Big East (for Wichita State) and A-10 (for Temple).

And for those who are hating on Wichita State joining the Big East, they've been a top-30 KenPom team for eight of the last ten years and a top-70 season for those other two years.

As someone who likes Wichita State, and who has relatives who went there (cousin played football there before they killed the program)....no. There's no upside to this for the Big East. Not to add Temple either (and Nova would block them anyway). Keep the round robin and pay attention to what is going on.

Lots of scenarios could happen in coming years. B1G could add two, ACC could add 1 plus ND. Football could split entirely from the non-football conference structure. The NCAA hasn't allowed that yet, but it could and would open up shuffling of the Olympic sports leagues.

 

[Rocktheworld]

interesting question, so i dusted off the 'billing software' (haven't looked at that since summer '20 for for a question aboot 'what percentage of office workers in the nyc market will not be returning?' that sum realty group wanted to know the answer to. they waved a pantload of cash in my mug.
heck, i wanted to know myself, so why not do the same effort and get paid for it?), and counted aboot 11 minutes for this effort.
i won't bill you for the two frozen burritos ( 'los campanas' brand, 'red hot beef burritos,' $4 a bag of 8! and 2:09 in the microbox, power level 8 -highly rec'd.) that i ate while doing that.
i bet that i could figger out a way to cut my lawns, and charge u for it. ur a pal, so i'd prolly just charge you t+e, and not a flat fee, tho im kinda out of the 'billing for time' bitness. too many cartoons to watch. u see the new archer? edgy. lol.

This is your brain on crack

 

[AZHuskiePop]

some on this board want it to be called Big East

Im not sure what you mean but these are the facts.
The AAC is the direct decedent of the Dave Gavitt‘s Big East chartered in 1979 .
The C7 broke away from that conference in 2013 and attempted to destroy it and make off with the war chest of $70,000,000 .acquired through earned NCAA credits mostly earned by non C7 , schools and exit fees from football schools that joined P5 conferences.
They were stopped cold by the three remaining members
UConn, Cinncy, and USF by a loophole in the bylaws.
By the way the majority of that money was divided between the three remaining schools and distritubuted over a 5 year period in addition to the media and football playoff money. From 2014-2019 UConn was the benefactor of approx $8,000,000 per year in part from old Big East money. When the new contract failed to meet our minimum threshold of $10,000,000 we decided to part ways from the conference we founded in 1979.
Aresco who was the president of the Big East
had a grandiose dream of a national conference which needed a national name, he granted the C7 the use of the name which he had no use for , which was a mistake , in order to forfeit all claim to the conference assets.
The headquarters and all employees of the big East respectively became the property and employees of the AAC. The current Big East started from zero.
The charter for the conference now known as the Big East dates to around 2013. All collective history it claims prior to that is mythical.
I understand the desire to play with your old rivals and to be in a local conference. I understand many respected (there are a few )posters See the C7 as blameless. However I don’t cut them slack they had the votes to control who was accepted and who was rejected and leaving over an addition is bizarre Excuse . No they were negotiating there own deal even as they charged their chosen commissioner to find new football members.With the intent to destroy the old conference.
They also voted to exclude UConn from the final Big East tourney which is hilarious as we were the only founding member staying in conference.
It sad to see any conference destroyed especially one with a history. I was appalled when I looked at the WAC . But seeing the AAC destroyed is particularly difficult.
Partly because we were a co - founder and partly because of the key role it played in the resurrection of Eastern Basketball and later football.
I suspect I could take solace in the fact that The Big East/ AAC had been the only conference that have had teams elevated to power conferences
Even TCU was a member of the AAC when they were picked by the Big 12. I think they even paid an exit fee but never played a game.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Because C-USA was synonymous with a group of second and third rate schools with no geographic unity. Now however, the American is synonymous with...

... no geographic unity with 3 first rate schools and mostly a group of 2nd and not so selective 3rd rate schools.
Memphis, UTSA & ECU accept > 80% of applicants. UAB accepts > 90% undergrad applicants, yet its' well respected med school and research helps the school's broader reputation.

 

[Rocktheworld]

We just keep reinventing the Metro Conference

Thank Christ “we” aren’t involved in that nonsense anymore

 

[MU in MKE]

Im not sure what you mean but these are the facts.
The AAC is the direct decedent of the Dave Gavitt‘s Big East chartered in 1979 .
The C7 broke away from that conference in 2013 and attempted to destroy it and make off with the war chest of $70,000,000 .acquired through earned NCAA credits mostly earned by non C7 , schools and exit fees from football schools that joined P5 conferences.
They were stopped cold by the three remaining members
UConn, Cinncy, and USF by a loophole in the bylaws.
By the way the majority of that money was divided between the three remaining schools and distritubuted over a 5 year period in addition to the media and football playoff money. From 2014-2019 UConn was the benefactor of approx $8,000,000 per year in part from old Big East money. When the new contract failed to meet our minimum threshold of $10,000,000 we decided to part ways from the conference we founded in 1979.
Aresco who was the president of the Big East
had a grandiose dream of a national conference which needed a national name, he granted the C7 the use of the name which he had no use for , which was a mistake , in order to forfeit all claim to the conference assets.
The headquarters and all employees of the big East respectively became the property and employees of the AAC. The current Big East started from zero.
The charter for the conference now known as the Big East dates to around 2013. All collective history it claims prior to that is mythical.
I understand the desire to play with your old rivals and to be in a local conference. I understand many respected (there are a few )posters See the C7 as blameless. However I don’t cut them slack they had the votes to control who was accepted and who was rejected and leaving over an addition is bizarre Excuse . No they were negotiating there own deal even as they charged their chosen commissioner to find new football members.With the intent to destroy the old conference.
They also voted to exclude UConn from the final Big East tourney which is hilarious as we were the only founding member staying in conference.
It sad to see any conference destroyed especially one with a history. I was appalled when I looked at the WAC . But seeing the AAC destroyed is particularly difficult.
Partly because we were a co - founder and partly because of the key role it played in the resurrection of Eastern Basketball and later football.
I suspect I could take solace in the fact that The Big East/ AAC had been the only conference that have had teams elevated to power conferences
Even TCU was a member of the AAC when they were picked by the Big 12. I think they even paid an exit fee but never played a game.

This was a fascinating look into the perspective of an AAC diehard. These "facts" really help me see where some people are coming from regarding the old/new BE.

Thanks for laying it out like this! I can totally see how you can spin this in the manner in which you do.

That being said, take a few minutes to google "Ship of Theseus"

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Sorta. Mostly industrial land being re-zoned for residential use. I think its good for the Bronx. Growing up in the Bronx is nice to see the boro is finally getting investment and allowing those of us that want quality rentals to stay within the boro.

Most people moving in for now into Port Morris are transplants from other areas of the BX

 

[LBird33]

This was a fascinating look into the perspective of an AAC diehard. These "facts" really help me see where some people are coming from regarding the old/new BE.

Thanks for laying it out like this! I can totally see how you can spin this in the manner in which you do.

That being said, take a few minutes to google "Ship of Theseus"

also known as Theseus’ paradox

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Bottom line? Right now, UConn is in the best situation possible: Independent in football and Big East for other sports. There is no way we could have remained in the AAC knowing what we know now and UConn was not getting a Big 12 invite. You have to give credit to Benedict for reading the conference realignment tea leaves and acting proactively.

Long term, I think UConn will end up in a top conference, but football needs to recover and become competitive.

The primary rule of conference realignment is that it is never over.

Exactly.
Finally at last, UConn, made a proactive move which was a great move. For all we criticize the administration we should also recognize good moves. This was a good one.

There was no way Uconn was gonna get that P-5 invite. We cut the chace, got our FB independence and landed our basketball programs in the best basketball-centric league in the country.

 

[superjohn]

We have no clue what college sports will look like in 20, 15, 12, 10, even 5 years from now. The only thing we know for certain is greed runs the ship...

They can break off from the NCAA and completely abandon the NCAA tournament, it would be a disaster for everyone. This could end up with just 2 power conferences where they kick out all the schools who have never really performed to their liking and it's just Ohio State always playing Michigan and Alabama always playing Auburn...

We have no clue what the country is going to look like in 20 years let alone what college sports will look like. All you can do in the meantime is best position yourself to stay relevant, UConn's only option was returning to the Big East to keep what made UConn what it is today at an elite level (basketball) and to get the football program right, that's up to Benedict and the University.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Do you even have a point here, beyond the entirely irrelevant "the sunbelt is better than the northeast?"

Temple, where alumni care more about hoops than football, is in a much worse basketball conference with literally no geographic rivals in hoops (and only Navy in football). Wichita State, which is a hoops only member, is now in a worse basketball conference. Even if you are focused on AAC football, mostly sunbelt schools are leaving and will be replaced by much lesser and less prestigious sunbelt schools.

So what in the world are you talking about?

'Do you even have a point here, beyond the entirely irrelevant "the sunbelt is better for football than the northeast?'
ftfy.
i did not say, ever, that the sunbelt is better than the northeast.
nor have i said, ever, that the sunbelt is worse than the northeast, cuz
anywhere can be a great place if you like it, while nowhere can be a great place if you don't.

the point is, mebbe our local culture is becoming an obstacle to a widely popular, deeply ingrained American pastime, clouding our ability to recognize that colleges with 20, 30, or 40 thousand students, fine facilities, large endowments, and world class offerings may, just may, be continuing to move smartly into the future by improving their brand.
now, which football school from where in the nation cancelled last season, hmmmmm?
now, why does the nation's largest city, population almost 9 million, have zero fbs programs, especially since that/this area was foundational to the whole 'big time pigskin' beginnings, before radio, then radio, then the b+w tv, and all the guys with hats and cigars, the whole shebang.
gone.
'friday night lights' is a big deal in the vast majority of the country. mebbe i like it, mebbe i don't -it doesn't matter, but i certainly won't hate on folks who enjoy and support it, a very normal game and culture, and i'll cheer for any school that is actively working to improve their stock, and the benefits it brings to their student and alumni bodies.
once upon a time when Fairfield U had a football team, the new york giants regularly summer camped there. here's a pic of carl 'spider' lockhart back then at the camp,

today?
The End of An Era: Fairfield University’s Forgotten Football Program – Clara Whalen (wordpress.com)

 

[CL82]

I agreed with joining the NBE but also believe we should have been able to overcome any negatives of AAC membership.
As someone else noted, if Gonzaga could become a national power in their league there was no reason UConn couldn't have maintained its previous stature which was much higher than that of Gonzaga, even today if you look at Championships won.
Hopefully we can prove how important the right coach is with the hiring of our next football coach.

 

[CL82]

some on this board want it to be called Big East

With the benefit of hindsight I wonder whether selling the name off was the right call. Certainly, abandoning one of the greatest conference brands in college sports seems questionable, but it got us paid a premium during our tenure there. I wonder if it was always Aresco’s plan to try to create a ‘national’ conference. well, he was successful. He created CUSA.

 

[navery12]

Im not sure what you mean but these are the facts.
The AAC is the direct decedent of the Dave Gavitt‘s Big East chartered in 1979 .
The C7 broke away from that conference in 2013 and attempted to destroy it and make off with the war chest of $70,000,000 .acquired through earned NCAA credits mostly earned by non C7 , schools and exit fees from football schools that joined P5 conferences.
They were stopped cold by the three remaining members
UConn, Cinncy, and USF by a loophole in the bylaws.
By the way the majority of that money was divided between the three remaining schools and distritubuted over a 5 year period in addition to the media and football playoff money. From 2014-2019 UConn was the benefactor of approx $8,000,000 per year in part from old Big East money. When the new contract failed to meet our minimum threshold of $10,000,000 we decided to part ways from the conference we founded in 1979.
Aresco who was the president of the Big East
had a grandiose dream of a national conference which needed a national name, he granted the C7 the use of the name which he had no use for , which was a mistake , in order to forfeit all claim to the conference assets.
The headquarters and all employees of the big East respectively became the property and employees of the AAC. The current Big East started from zero.
The charter for the conference now known as the Big East dates to around 2013. All collective history it claims prior to that is mythical.
I understand the desire to play with your old rivals and to be in a local conference. I understand many respected (there are a few )posters See the C7 as blameless. However I don’t cut them slack they had the votes to control who was accepted and who was rejected and leaving over an addition is bizarre Excuse . No they were negotiating there own deal even as they charged their chosen commissioner to find new football members.With the intent to destroy the old conference.
They also voted to exclude UConn from the final Big East tourney which is hilarious as we were the only founding member staying in conference.
It sad to see any conference destroyed especially one with a history. I was appalled when I looked at the WAC . But seeing the AAC destroyed is particularly difficult.
Partly because we were a co - founder and partly because of the key role it played in the resurrection of Eastern Basketball and later football.
I suspect I could take solace in the fact that The Big East/ AAC had been the only conference that have had teams elevated to power conferences
Even TCU was a member of the AAC when they were picked by the Big 12. I think they even paid an exit fee but never played a game.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

So isn't the AAC basically just C-USA under the name of the AAC now? I mean Memphis, SMU, ECU, Tulane, etc. were all C-USA schools within the last decade and now they're just adding more C-USA schools. Just drop the AAC name and call it what it is...Conference USA.

^This, especially after both Old Dominion and Southern Miss just announcing this week that they are bolting the C-USA for the Sun Belt.

As it stands, currently only six C-USA teams have not been affected by conference changes from this fall: Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, UTEP, Florida International, MTSU.

Four of those are solid basketball schools, so I'm curious where they will go and/or if the C-USA tries to expand.

 

[bendm]

Conference USA in negotiations with New Mexico State, Liberty, UConn: Source

The potential additions come as C-USA is down to six current members. Six C-USA schools are set to join the American Athletic Conference in the coming years and two more are set to join the Sun Belt, with Marshall potentially leaving C-USA to join the Sun Belt as well.

theathletic.com

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Conference USA in negotiations with New Mexico State, Liberty, UConn: Source

The potential additions come as C-USA is down to six current members. Six C-USA schools are set to join the American Athletic Conference in the coming years and two more are set to join the Sun Belt, with Marshall potentially leaving C-USA to join the Sun Belt as well.

theathletic.com

This would absolutely be a terrible move just two days after I praised the administration for getting it right two years ago. Please don't fuc this up by joining that crappy C-USA

 

[husky8273]

'Do you even have a point here, beyond the entirely irrelevant "the sunbelt is better for football than the northeast?'
ftfy.
i did not say, ever, that the sunbelt is better than the northeast.
nor have i said, ever, that the sunbelt is worse than the northeast, cuz
anywhere can be a great place if you like it, while nowhere can be a great place if you don't.

the point is, mebbe our local culture is becoming an obstacle to a widely popular, deeply ingrained American pastime, clouding our ability to recognize that colleges with 20, 30, or 40 thousand students, fine facilities, large endowments, and world class offerings may, just may, be continuing to move smartly into the future by improving their brand.
now, which football school from where in the nation cancelled last season, hmmmmm?
now, why does the nation's largest city, population almost 9 million, have zero fbs programs, especially since that/this area was foundational to the whole 'big time pigskin' beginnings, before radio, then radio, then the b+w tv, and all the guys with hats and cigars, the whole shebang.
gone.
'friday night lights' is a big deal in the vast majority of the country. mebbe i like it, mebbe i don't -it doesn't matter, but i certainly won't hate on folks who enjoy and support it, a very normal game and culture, and i'll cheer for any school that is actively working to improve their stock, and the benefits it brings to their student and alumni bodies.
once upon a time when Fairfield U had a football team, the new york giants regularly summer camped there. here's a pic of carl 'spider' lockhart back then at the camp,

today?
The End of An Era: Fairfield University’s Forgotten Football Program – Clara Whalen (wordpress.com)

Spider Lockhart??

 

[Greedo]

Conference USA in negotiations with New Mexico State, Liberty, UConn: Source

The potential additions come as C-USA is down to six current members. Six C-USA schools are set to join the American Athletic Conference in the coming years and two more are set to join the Sun Belt, with Marshall potentially leaving C-USA to join the Sun Belt as well.

theathletic.com

I may stop watching the football team if this happens. One of the things getting me through this season is the independent schedule.

 

[Austin316]

 

[Austin316]

Conference USA in negotiations with New Mexico State, Liberty, UConn: Source

The potential additions come as C-USA is down to six current members. Six C-USA schools are set to join the American Athletic Conference in the coming years and two more are set to join the Sun Belt, with Marshall potentially leaving C-USA to join the Sun Belt as well.

theathletic.com

We told them to kick rocks

 

[huskymedic]

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Spider Lockhart??

for some unknown reason to me, carl lockhart and his teammate homer jones, register in the minds of longtime giant fans as codewords for the 60s/early 70s teams, which were pretty bad. apparently, each had a season or two when they were 'all-stars' or had all-starlike performances, so i guess some fans remember that. seemingly similar to the yankees thing of that era, where you can hear 'the horace clark' years as a codeword for those 60s/early 70s teams which also were pretty bad.
u'd think bad teams from half a century ago would fade in the fans memories but somehow these names still hang around in the memory of some oldtimers, prolly cuz that was also the time when the mets, jets, and knicks had their moment in the sun, drawing a strong contrast.
i wonder if there are similar 'names' for a sox, pats, or c's lousy era?

 

[Austin316]

In other words…. The evaluation of C-USA does not equate to UConn’s long term scope of success. A harsh reality. There is no shame in holding out as an FB-independent

 

[Waquoit]

Honestly, doesn't that sound accurate? UConn will (and should) always take a call.