AAC & Grant-of-Rights

[HuskyHawk]

The AAC’s current deal with ESPN is worth $126 million. The next deal will be around $441 million (3.5x the current deal with no GOR) at best

the current FOX-Big East deal is $500 million

No matter what, the AAC as presently constituted isn't going anywhere for at least 4 years, so no one should be arguing about whether the big east is better than the aac right now.

the issue is what happens in 4-6 years when half the AAC teams leave???

Then uconn will be left with only 2 choices:

1. stay in the future AAC with temple, tulsa, tulane, smu, ecu and navy/wichita
or
2. join the big east

$500 million over a different period of time. It's about $5m per school per year I believe.
Half the AAC teams are not leaving unless there is a massive shakeup. It's ridiculous that so many people are acting like it is a given, especially the scenario where we get left behind.

If that happens then we have the Chaos scenario, which will lead to a feeding frenzy. UConn might be viewed as the top property in the league 4-5 years from now. UCF had a terrible football team 3 years ago. None of this static.

What UConn does is position itself the best it can to win in that chaos scenario. It invests in football, restoring it to respectability. It makes sure that basketball is what it should be at UConn. It invests in ancillary facilities valued by these leagues to show that it has a whole portfolio in the AD. So what have we done?

1. Fired a bad football coach and brought in one who, while not exciting, is known for making his teams tough and competitive.
2. Fired a bad basketball coach and brought in the best available coach on the market. Play level is already improved, as has recruiting.
3. Build a new soccer stadium for our NCAA tournament caliber program.
4. Build a new baseball stadium for our NCAA tournament caliber program.

We are doing the things we should be doing to prepare for this situation.

 

[UConn Dan]

The AAC’s current deal with ESPN is worth $126 million. The next deal will be around $441 million (3.5x the current deal with no GOR) at best

the current FOX-Big East deal is $500 million

No matter what, the AAC as presently constituted isn't going anywhere for at least 4 years, so no one should be arguing about whether the big east is better than the aac right now.

the issue is what happens in 4-6 years when half the AAC teams leave???

Then uconn will be left with only 2 choices:

1. stay in the future AAC with temple, tulsa, tulane, smu, ecu and navy/wichita
or
2. join the big east

First of all, your $441million number is pure speculation.
Second, you're comparing different terms. The Fox-Big East Deal was for 12 years, and the current ESPN-AAC deal was for 6-7 years (depending on the sport).

I say this with peace and love, where are all these AAC teams going? No matter how bad our football is, they don't move the needle more than UConn.

UConn needs to worry about UConn, and winning, and supporting it's programs. If/when the split of major college athletics happens, the Big East is not going to be in the haves, they will be the have-nots. So those mourning or souring on the "UConn football dream", you'll also be mourning the loss of playing major college basketball.

We'll see where this all shakes out in 10 years, but the Big East is not currently our solution.

 

[yukonfan4]

let's just all agree that hurley can/will win chip #5 before the next conference realignment, and be done with it.

 

[kansashusky]

So are we still in the AAC?

 

[Chief00]

How did UCF do it without a 5 year plan? Just curious.

 

[UConn Dan]

The last thing I will mention. Would you rather be paid $5million a year in the Big East and buried on FS1 and FS2 where absolutely no one is watching, or (currrently) be paid less in the AAC and be on ESPN/2/U 15 times a year and get much needed exposure (maybe even more when we're consistently back in the top 25).

These are all things that need to be matrixed and accounted for. More exposure = more Nike money/ more IMG money, etc.

 

[superjohn]

$500 million over a different period of time. It's about $5m per school per year I believe.
Half the AAC teams are not leaving unless there is a massive shakeup. It's ridiculous that so many people are acting like it is a given, especially the scenario where we get left behind.

If that happens then we have the Chaos scenario, which will lead to a feeding frenzy. UConn might be viewed as the top property in the league 4-5 years from now. UCF had a terrible football team 3 years ago. None of this static.

What UConn does is position itself the best it can to win in that chaos scenario. It invests in football, restoring it to respectability. It makes sure that basketball is what it should be at UConn. It invests in ancillary facilities valued by these leagues to show that it has a whole portfolio in the AD. So what have we done?

1. Fired a bad football coach and brought in one who, while not exciting, is known for making his teams tough and competitive.
2. Fired a bad basketball coach and brought in the best available coach on the market. Play level is already improved, as has recruiting.
3. Build a new soccer stadium for our NCAA tournament caliber program.
4. Build a new baseball stadium for our NCAA tournament caliber program.

We are doing the things we should be doing to prepare for this situation.

We are doing the things we should be doing to prepare for this situation?

Not investing in football? Instead of having respectability, having the worst team in D1 football? Not firing the guy who says it will take like 5 years from now to even be competitive?

How exactly have we made ourselves more attractive than we were when we went to the Fiesta Bowl and were winning basketball championships?

 

[HawkHusky]

The last thing I will mention. Would you rather be paid $5million a year in the Big East and buried on FS1 and FS2 where absolutely no one is watching, or (currrently) be paid less in the AAC and be on ESPN/2/U 15 times a year and get much needed exposure (maybe even more when we're consistently back in the top 25).

These are all things that need to be matrixed and accounted for. More expsoure = more Nike money/ more IMG money, etc.

We would have a bunch of games on Fox.

 

[Walker11]

I don't really follow conference alignment so excuse my ignorance. Isn't the presumed long term plan of the P5 schools to go to 16 each and possibly separate themselves from the rest of the schools, keeping all that money to themselves? In that case, it would be ACC or bust and while our chances would be slim, the only hope we have is to get our football program to be just mediocre enough to be their most viable option. We have by far the best brand remaining, albeit with the worst football program.

I have a hard time imagining an NCAA tournament without allowing schools like UConn and Nova being eligible but isn't this the long term worry?

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Everyone here is acting like UConn football has never won a damn thing in it's history.

It wasn't that long ago that we won 33 games over a 4 year period and including two conference titles against programs that we supposedly can't or won't be able to ever compete against again.

The last handful of seasons have been brutal in losing our league, going through multiple coaches, but this idea we can never compete is a defeatist attitude.

Someday we may need to kill the program for financial reasons, but I'll be damned if it's to play Creighton, Butler and St. John's twice a year.

 

[Towney007]

I get it but a lot of posters here have been pretending the two leagues are on equal footing in basketball or the AAC is even better than the Big East. I don't understand the point of pretending.

There has been a lot of crazy stuff said in this thread. Yes.

 

[gampelcrazies]

Everyone here is acting like UConn football has never won a damn thing in it's history.

It wasn't that long ago that we won 33 games over a 4 year period and including two conference titles against programs that we supposedly can't or won't be able to ever compete against again.

The last handful of seasons have been brutal in losing our league, going through multiple coaches, but this idea we can never compete is a defeatist attitude.

Someday we may need to kill the program for financial reasons, but I'll be damned if it's to play Creighton, Butler and St. John's twice a year.

So it’s ok to play Tulane, Tulsa and ecu twice a year because our football team blows?

 

[Towney007]

So it’s ok to play lose to Tulane, Tulsa and ecu twice a year in front of nobody, at a loss because our football team blows?

fixed it.

 

[JMick]

How did UCF do it without a 5 year plan? Just curious.

They put the school in Florida

 

[UConn Dan]

So it’s ok to play Tulane, Tulsa and ecu twice a year because our football team blows?

the ends justify the means

we're not at our final destination, and I say this driving behind a giant truck carrying giants logs

 

[CL82]

Yeah, maybe it is better to just answer each post, because that's not what we were talking about at all.

 

[yukonfan4]

i would like nothing more than to be proven wrong by getting a P5 invite, and i will get no satisfaction out of saying "i told you so" when we don't.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Listen I lost 5 years of my limited life expectancy on Conference Realignment that amounted to endless and usually almost groundless speculation. I refused to be sucked in.
Let’s talk basketball.

 

[superjohn]

Everyone here is acting like UConn football has never won a damn thing in it's history.

It wasn't that long ago that we won 33 games over a 4 year period and including two conference titles against programs that we supposedly can't or won't be able to ever compete against again.

The last handful of seasons have been brutal in losing our league, going through multiple coaches, but this idea we can never compete is a defeatist attitude.

Someday we may need to kill the program for financial reasons, but I'll be damned if it's to play Creighton, Butler and St. John's twice a year.

That was 9 years ago when UConn played in the Fiesta Bowl and the coach sold out his own players. It's been such a disaster since that UConn crawled back with their tail tucked between their legs because they couldn't come up with or aren't willing to spend the money it takes to hire a real football coach to run a real football program. That coach has rewarded us with a historically bad football team in return and has said it will take 5 years to field a competitive football team.

Paying a lousy sum to a lousy coach who already burned his players and the school once before and has said it will take 5 years for them to ever be competitive is about the most deaftist thing you can possibly do and just delaying the inevitble while wasting more money we don't have.

Funny you would sneeze at playing basketball schools twice a year when we are currently playing the third best team in Oklahoma and the 6th and 7th best team in Texas every year.

 

[BY06518]

Everyone here is acting like UConn football has never won a damn thing in it's history.

It wasn't that long ago that we won 33 games over a 4 year period and including two conference titles against programs that we supposedly can't or won't be able to ever compete against again.

The last handful of seasons have been brutal in losing our league, going through multiple coaches, but this idea we can never compete is a defeatist attitude.

Someday we may need to kill the program for financial reasons, but I'll be damned if it's to play Creighton, Butler and St. John's twice a year.

They haven't won a thing. Getting blown out by Oklahoma in the Fiesta bowl was embarrassing. Kill the program and focus on what made us UConn and that's Basketball.

 

[superjohn]

I don't really follow conference alignment so excuse my ignorance. Isn't the presumed long term plan of the P5 schools to go to 16 each and possibly separate themselves from the rest of the schools, keeping all that money to themselves? In that case, it would be ACC or bust and while our chances would be slim, the only hope we have is to get our football program to be just mediocre enough to be their most viable option. We have by far the best brand remaining, albeit with the worst football program.

I have a hard time imagining an NCAA tournament without allowing schools like UConn and Nova being eligible but isn't this the long term worry?

Some people will tell you that but they're talking out of their arses.

 

[Towney007]

That was 9 years ago when UConn played in the Fiesta Bowl and the coach sold out his own players. It's been such a disaster since that UConn crawled back with their tail tucked between their legs because they couldn't come up with or aren't willing to spend the money it takes to hire a real football coach to run a real football program. That coach has rewarded us with a historically bad football team in return and has said it will take 5 years to field a competitive football team.

Paying a lousy sum to a lousy coach who already burned his players and the school once before and has said it will take 5 years for them to ever be competitive is about the most deaftist thing you can possibly do and just delaying the inevitble while wasting more money we don't have.

Funny you would sneeze at playing basketball schools twice a year when we are currently playing the third best team in Oklahoma and the 6th and 7th best team in Texas every year.

Anyone who thinks that saving football is the priority at this point isn't someone we should be listening to, tbh. The only question is what we do with it while we save the basketball program.

I was 100% on board w/ waiting for the realignment thing to shake itself out and to give them some time to figure things out and hopefully turn it around - but the dominoes are going to fall earlier than everyone thought it seems and that program isn't going to get anymore time. They're out of time, basically. Keeping football relevant really isn't or shouldn't be part of the conversation at this point. Because I don't think it's possible to keep it relevant.

 

[Pudge]

Crazed

Love how the comparable of one year - or 5 year - TV revenue (BE to AAC) ignored the Burton, Schenk, Rentschler and bucco ancillary investments this UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT has made in football. And YES ... playing in the Fiesta should be considered eye-popping considering the Yankee Conference origins. 40 Programs have risen from FCS/D1 status to FBS since 1994. This run of three stumbling bumbling Football strings points out the obvious: it is really incredibly hard construct to win and have a FBS program in New England. We knew that going in - at least Lew Perkins told us that.

Nobody walks away from Football after the Investment this University has put into it. We aren't Northeastern or Hofstra. We are in this to be good.

When stable ... we can be the Best CR candidate. Some of that is reliant on You ... our Fanbase ... and that concerns me.

Hey Folks ... Saint Joseph's just started a Hoop Program; and it's Catholic. With a Charismatic Coach. Go root for them to take the Connecticut spot in BE.

 

[Towney007]

Nobody walks away from Football after the Investment this University has put into it

First time for everything.

 

[StunningSteve]

Where do people think these schools are going? The Big 12 already passed on everyone in the AAC.

The Big 12 is a microcosm of the realignment tug-o-war wrapped in one conference.
On one side you have OU and UT, who live by their own rules (own conference network, etc), and on the other side you have the ‘others’, who live by OU/UTs rules (including voting the way they want) for fear of upsetting them to the point that they leave.
It’s the Haves and Have-nots all contained in one league. It’s not a democracy.
They will never expand. The last dog and pony expansion show was a ploy to fatten their wallets. UT/OU weren’t content with the share they were getting previously. The notion they will put two more chairs at the table is as silly as UT’s public support of Houston during the beauty pageant.