AAC revenue in Black although way behind P5 conferences

[Confident Carl]

Check out our article on comparing revenues and expenses in the AQ conferences.
This really shows the reality of the situation and the importance of the AAC gaining stature
and Aresco, renegotiating a better TV deal. Although I believe the AAC conference has potential,
unless they take in a lot more money, going to B1G or ACC is an economic necessity. UCONN takes in
over 60 million per year, not including the Big East money.

http://winthropintelligence.com/2013/09/30/comparing-revenues-expenses-aq-conferences/

This illustrates the revenues of the top 5 conferences and the AAC

Conferences – By highest total average revenue
ConferenceAverage Total RevenueAverage Total ExpenseAverage Football Expense
Big 10 Conference$86,423,474$78,717,221$20,630,720
Big 12 Conference$82,727,759$75,680,959$19,765,214
SEC Conference$80,859,162$76,362,188$18,982,916
Pac 12 Conference$67,793,292$66,286,549$18,934,897
Atlantic Coast Conference$65,437,575$68,434,818$19,447,062
American Athletic Conference$39,845,559$39,675,640$12,062,451

Also the coaches pay at UCONN ranks 5th in the Country in head coaches pay. Gino adds a dimension to that.

http://www.raisinghale.com/2013/04/11/uconn-ranks-nationally-head-coach-pay/

 

[bobbyinaz]

So your saying that the AAC makes less than the P5 conferences?

 

[upstater]

In black? Huh? The article is meaningless since it doesn't break down revenues and expenses.

 

[Dooley]

UCONN really needs to look into creating its own TV network deal. SNY is a very good partnership and are dying for Mets offseason content. And let's be honest, the Mets' offseason usually begins in May!

 

[Point6]

The maps really show a hole for the acc around NYC. From a pure geography standpoint, the ACC and B1G should really be trying to snag us. Didn't any of these conference folks play Risk as a kid - or am I the only nerd?

 

[Fishy]

UCONN really needs to look into creating its own TV network deal. SNY is a very good partnership and are dying for Mets offseason content. And let's be honest, the Mets' offseason usually begins in May!

No, they shouldn't.

 

[Confident Carl]

In black? Huh? The article is meaningless since it doesn't break down revenues and expenses.

Chances are that all AAC teams were NOT in the Black. Temple had to cut a number of Olympic sports. They may be factoring the money that UCONN, USF and Cincy made from the Big East, thus stating the entire league took in more than it paid out. In politics, people can get creative with numbers. Image is important in the TV business. I believe the commissioner
was willing to help some of the teams with travel costs.

The TV deal that Mike Aresco negotiated with ESPN and CBS was weak and everyone knew it (including Aresco) It was important for the AAC to gain National Exposure via TV programming for the conference which has occurred. The second was for the conference to do well in the polls and RPI. UCF helped by winning the final BCS bowl and finishing 10th in the polls. No question UCONN and USF were big disappointments in football last year. Now the AAC needs to get 5 teams in football to stand out in the National polls and beat up on some high RPI teams. The AAC needs to get 3 or 4 teams to be significant each year. Then and only then will the AAC TV contract be of any value. Aresco knows there is a time element and the P5 races to continue on with the Cartel. They want to control who shares the big TV bucks.

In Basketball with Cincy, SMU, UCONN, Memphis and Louisville there is a good chance that 5 teams will go to the NCAA tournament.

The only way the AAC can be viable is if they can prove to the viewing audience that the American can match
up with the ACC and the Big 12. If they can upgrade Football (This football recruiting season appeared to be a success for the league) and Basketball can continue to have 5 or more teams go to the NCAA's, then there is a chance they can garner more TV bucks. The MWC and the AAC need to become very creative to get out from the Arm Bar that the P5 has them in.

If the conference can continue to progress before more realignment then there is a possibility. If and when UCONN, Cincy and possibly the Florida and Texas schools from the AAC get plucked, then it's a different ball game and all bets are off.

 

[Fishy]

I don't think there's any merit in that article.

It's dealing with life in 2012 which is very, very different than what it is now - the Big East schools now under the AAC umbrella were making more money then than they are now or will be moving forward. (Lesser television deal, worse bowls, no BCS.)

Revenue will be driving off a cliff.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I don't think there's any merit in that article.

It's dealing with life in 2012 which is very, very different than what it is now - the Big East schools now under the AAC umbrella were making more money then than they are now or will be moving forward. (Lesser television deal, worse bowls, no BCS.)

Revenue will be driving off a cliff.

If we're still stuck in the AAC in 5 or 6 years ( likely at this point) the new tv rights deal will seemingly have to be significantly higher than the current deal which was doomed as soon as NBC made the low ball offer and all espn had to do was match.

Not saying it'll be anywhere close to the P5 deals but for Christ sake the Big East gets more for hoops only content.

AAC is a death sentence long term, but between the big east buy out money and a better tv deal, it could buy us a few more years to try and get out of here.

 

[Fishy]

The high water mark for the AAC is probably a contract equal to the old Big East's standing - I would say that's a long shot, though.

The most realistic hope is that the conference becomes more relevant in football and continues its current relevance in basketball prior to the next contract. (There are road blocks, of course - a great year in the AAC will likely end in a bowl game no one has ever heard of....that will be a limiting factor in terms of public perception.)

Second, we've all been rooting against Fox Sports...we shouldn't. If they can grow into a viable competitor to ESPN, we have a chance of doing better the next time we have to negotiate a deal.

 

[ZooCougar]

The high water mark for the AAC is probably a contract equal to the old Big East's standing - I would say that's a long shot, though.

The most realistic hope is that the conference becomes more relevant in football and continues its current relevance in basketball prior to the next contract. (There are road blocks, of course - a great year in the AAC will likely end in a bowl game no one has ever heard of....that will be a limiting factor in terms of public perception.)

Second, we've all been rooting against Fox Sports...we shouldn't. If they can grow into a viable competitor to ESPN, we have a chance of doing better the next time we have to negotiate a deal.

Same with NBC Sports, or any other competitor to ESPN.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

One thing that could potentially help the conference is kind of what we're seeing this year in basketball - ranked teams at the top of the league, with a bottom half that sucks.

Point being, people in general only care about ranked teams and UConn, Memphis, Cinci should feast on the bottom half of the league and put up gaudy W/L records most seasons.

I expect a couple of lead dogs to emerge in football as well with UCF in the drivers seat. AAC Football will likely be more balanced but still with some awful teams to pad the W/L.

So, overall if we plan on having a 4 bid hoop league and get into the access bowl the majority of the time I think we could see a nice bump in maybe a split deal between ESPN and Fox, etc.

Could we see $5-$8M a year? Who knows? As conference networks become more prominent it leaves a lot of slots open for ESPN2/U and the other networks.

 

[UConnDan97]

I realize that we are in a spread out conference, so I don't want to sound like that guy in a glass house, but looking at WVU in the Big12 on the map is amazingly odd! Not only is my mind still not trained to see them there, but you have a conference that is essentially in a geographic straight line, and then....WVU. Friggin' conference realignment...

 

[The Viking]

Someone please tell me that when we eventually hit the open market again, ESPN doesn't simply have the right to match whatever deal is out there...

 

[UCHuskies08]

Revenue is always "in the black"..... Not a strong Accounting background for that writer.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Upstater is slipping. It took him 2 hours to respond to a post that talks about athletic departments in the black.

The argument for independence for football and forming a new league or joining the Big East for basketball is stronger than it has ever been. We are knowingly sentencing ourselves to financial death in this league.

 

[billybud]

I find the conference averages to be not as useful when looking at some leagues....

When you aggregate the Big 12, as an example, you factor in Texas who (at $120+ million revenue) has almost twice the revenue of some conference members. Texas and Oklahoma with their huge revenues, in a ten team conference, skew the average upward.

 

[Sea Goat]

If we're still stuck in the AAC in 5 or 6 years ( likely at this point) the new tv rights deal will seemingly have to be significantly higher than the current deal which was doomed as soon as NBC made the low ball offer and all espn had to do was match.

Not saying it'll be anywhere close to the P5 deals but for Christ sake the Big East gets more for hoops only content.

AAC is a death sentence long term, but between the big east buy out money and a better tv deal, it could buy us a few more years to try and get out of here.

Let this sink in... Providence, with no football or baseball or any notable recent success in any sport has surpassed UConn in media payout. This is an unmitigated travesty. The AAC and Monty Python's Black Knight, Aresco, may propagandize all they want, but the AAC is a joke. As I have noted, UConn can survive a couple of years in this purgatory, but after that it's "Katie bar the door..."

I expect that there is a distinct sense of urgency in Storrs to get our dreadful conference situation rectified. I believe SH and WM are all over this. Question for all of you - Is the BOT capable of helping and do we have the right members on the BOT to do so?

 

[Confident Carl]

If we're still stuck in the AAC in 5 or 6 years ( likely at this point) the new tv rights deal will seemingly have to be significantly higher than the current deal which was doomed as soon as NBC made the low ball offer and all espn had to do was match.

Not saying it'll be anywhere close to the P5 deals but for Christ sake the Big East gets more for hoops only content.

AAC is a death sentence long term, but between the big east buy out money and a better tv deal, it could buy us a few more years to try and get out of here.

The Big East money gave UCONN and Cincy some cushion to get through this. The three points are: 1. the AAC money should get better through a renegotiated ESPN TV deal 2. Conference realignment is not over. 3. When realignment starts up again, UCONN will be well positioned. We just have to keep winning and playing good teams. At the same time don't take the AAC teams for granted. As it is truly the best of the rest from top to bottom.

 

[epark88]

I wish that there were a creative enough mind or minds amongst the UConn leadership that was actually formulating a plan that would blow up the current paradigm of school/athletic success and profitability being tied to conference affiliation/media contracts. There has to be another way for the school to make its bones without having to rely on the AAC or ESPN/CBS.

Why? Because frankly the University of Connecticut has few, if any, allies right now in the world of conference realignment. Help is NOT coming from Providence, Greensboro, Chicago or Bristol - imho our Fairest White and Blue will have to break the mold BYU-style to have a fighting chance to stay relevant.

We have a small window to make something happen. I hope and pray Susan, Warde, Larry, Dannell & co. aren't just putting on makeup to get Delany's attention and/or cold-calling Swofford's office. They have a chance to pull off something unique here at UConn. Can they?...

 

[metsfan2323]

The Big East money gave UCONN and Cincy some cushion to get through this. The three points are: 1. the AAC money should get better through a renegotiated ESPN TV deal 2. Conference realignment is not over. 3. When realignment starts up again, UCONN will be well positioned. We just have to keep winning and playing good teams. At the same time don't take the AAC teams for granted. As it is truly the best of the rest from top to bottom.

Well said.

I believe the new TV contract also called for a year two review with a chance for a bump up in revenue at that time. Based on the early success of the AAC it seems we should be meeting the criteria for an increase.

It should also be noted that the reason the AAC payout it so small (along with likely collusion) is that more defections are anticipated. If each AAC member agreed to GOR deal we would be getting more money, but obviously that is not what we want to do at this point. Down the road maybe that becomes an option, if we ever reached that point hopefully the AAC would be able to expand by grabbing the top 6 MWC teams. That combined league would be very good in both sports.