Aresco Interview The Daily Reflector

[Drew]

https://www.reflector.com/sports/aresco-expects-young-conference-excel-2516053

Love how he refers to them as "that other five"

 

[Doggie Style]

So all I get from this article is that Aresco has gotten off of L'ville's nutz and jumped on ECU's!! I really believe this guys knows what hes doing from a contract negotiation and branding standpoint, but we have very limited options for our conference at this point so setting moderate expectations for the near future is the correct course of action even though it sucks. HOWEVER, would it kill the guy to maybe show up to Storrs and acknowledge the dual NC's or mention Uconn ONCE? We brought this League an infinite amount of press in March and really nothing comes out of his mouth. I'm still not sure why he treats us as we don't exist or are not they keystone to this league from a national brand perspective? The only logical answer is that were are gone and he knows it, and thats where my misguided thought process is at this point. Otherwise I dont get this guy.........

 

[Drew]

So all I get from this article is that Aresco has gotten off of L'ville's nutz and jumped on ECU's!! I really believe this guys knows what hes doing from a contract negotiation and branding standpoint, but we have very limited options for our conference at this point so setting moderate expectations for the near future is the correct course of action even though it sucks. HOWEVER, would it kill the guy to maybe show up to Storrs and acknowledge the dual NC's or mention Uconn ONCE? We brought this League an infinite amount of press in March and really nothing comes out of his mouth. I'm still not sure why he treats us as we don't exist or are not they keystone to this league from a national brand perspective? The only logical answer is that were are gone and he knows it, and thats where my misguided thought process is at this point. Otherwise I dont get this guy....

he was on the ecu campus and this is a greenville, nc newspaper. but i agree he should make it up to storrs soon

 

[Sea Goat]

he was on the ecu campus and this is a greenville, nc newspaper. but i agree he should make it up to storrs soon

He's probably not coming to Storrs anytime soon. He knows or should know that UConn is working every possible angle to get out of his conference. He doesn't want to tout UConn any more than absolutely necessary because he and the conference will look silly when UConn leaves. In a weird way, the farther he stays away from us the better. If he really starts embracing us, then it would be because he feels that it is likely that UConn wants to stay in the gulag and that ain't happening.

 

[NickyNewark]

So all I get from this article is that Aresco has gotten off of L'ville's nutz and jumped on ECU's!! I really believe this guys knows what hes doing from a contract negotiation and branding standpoint, but we have very limited options for our conference at this point so setting moderate expectations for the near future is the correct course of action even though it sucks. HOWEVER, would it kill the guy to maybe show up to Storrs and acknowledge the dual NC's or mention Uconn ONCE? We brought this League an infinite amount of press in March and really nothing comes out of his mouth. I'm still not sure why he treats us as we don't exist or are not they keystone to this league from a national brand perspective? The only logical answer is that were are gone and he knows it, and thats where my misguided thought process is at this point. Otherwise I dont get this guy....

Im pretty sure he knows UConns gone like in KF's 1st yr when RU was 6-0 and ranked in FB a couple weeks I think before anyone knew yet about the move the fans were dumbfounded why he mentioned everyone but them in touting AAC's FB promise!?! Some suggested he must know something and L'villes Jurich started taking shots at RU and why ville should be foremost in CR talk!! WTF?? who knocks publicly fellow conference schools? They already tried to displace WVU in the Big12 but the B1G would NEVER consider a L'ville!! Then you're turn came and he finally got his way with old Metro mates I guess!?! The point is if Aresco's not touting the premier market and program in his conference.....somethings afoot!!It just don't make good business sense unless he knows somethings going down soon here IMO!

 

[Ldandy]

So all I get from this article is that Aresco has gotten off of L'ville's nutz and jumped on ECU's!! I really believe this guys knows what hes doing from a contract negotiation and branding standpoint, but we have very limited options for our conference at this point so setting moderate expectations for the near future is the correct course of action even though it sucks. HOWEVER, would it kill the guy to maybe show up to Storrs and acknowledge the dual NC's or mention Uconn ONCE? We brought this League an infinite amount of press in March and really nothing comes out of his mouth. I'm still not sure why he treats us as we don't exist or are not they keystone to this league from a national brand perspective? The only logical answer is that were are gone and he knows it, and thats where my misguided thought process is at this point. Otherwise I dont get this guy....

I think the answer is that he doesn't really need to pump UCONN up. UCONN just won two national titles in basketball. The performance speaks for itself. If the AAC is going to have any kind of future(with or w/o UCONN) it needs to build up the rest of the brands in the conference. Perception is reality. If they were to talk 24-7 about ECU as some sort of sleeping football giant, eventually the public might start buying in. If the conference is going to have any kind of long term future, it will hinge on building up the brands of the lesser known programs of the conference i.e. Tulsa, Tulane, ECU, Temple.

 

[dayooper]

I think the answer is that he doesn't really need to pump UCONN up. UCONN just won two national titles in basketball. The performance speaks for itself. If the AAC is going to have any kind of future(with or w/o UCONN) it needs to build up the rest of the brands in the conference. Perception is reality. If they were to talk 24-7 about ECU as some sort of sleeping football giant, eventually the public might start buying in. If the conference is going to have any kind of long term future, it will hinge on building up the brands of the lesser known programs of the conference i.e. Tulsa, Tulane, ECU, Temple.

Completely disagree. Conferences need a couple of "iconic" brands to be successful. SEC has Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and Florida to go along with Kentucky BB. The Big10 has OSU, Michigan, PSU, and Nebraska to go along with Indiana BB. The ACC has UNC and Duke to compliment FSU FB. The Big12 has Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas BB. The PAC has USC and Stanford among others. Other programs come and go within the conference, but those icons will always be there. The AAC needs those iconic programs and right now, there really is only one with any possibility of being iconic, and that's UConn. Sure, Aresco needs to pump up the ECU's and Tulane's of the conference, but UConn needs to be the face of the AAC and promoted like they are.

 

[whaler11]

He's probably not coming to Storrs anytime soon. He knows or should know that UConn is working every possible angle to get out of his conference. He doesn't want to tout UConn any more than absolutely necessary because he and the conference will look silly when UConn leaves. In a weird way, the farther he stays away from us the better. If he really starts embracing us, then it would be because he feels that it is likely that UConn wants to stay in the gulag and that ain't happening.

He wouldn't shut up about Louisville after they were already gone.

 

[Doggie Style]

He wouldn't shut up about Louisville after they were already gone.

This is my point! There is a reason why we are not discussed on ANY level. We can speculate all day as to why but who knows what the hell is really going on.... The whole L'ville thing is just puzzling to me.

 

[Kolumbo]

He's probably not coming to Storrs anytime soon. He knows or should know that UConn is working every possible angle to get out of his conference. He doesn't want to tout UConn any more than absolutely necessary because he and the conference will look silly when UConn leaves. In a weird way, the farther he stays away from us the better. If he really starts embracing us, then it would be because he feels that it is likely that UConn wants to stay in the gulag and that ain't happening.

Gulag....classic.
What do you guys mean, he isn't talking about UCONN. Did you miss this sentence?
"Aresco is touting his league’s big first year and saying the AAC’s success should be a stepping stone toward greater inclusion with the big five in the future."

 

[HuskyJ]

This is my point! There is a reason why we are not discussed on ANY level. We can speculate all day as to why but who knows what the hell is really going on.... The whole L'ville thing is just puzzling to me.

He’s just not that into us.

 

[minidarren]

He’s just not that into us.

Is anyone "into us?"

 

[Ldandy]

Completely disagree. Conferences need a couple of "iconic" brands to be successful. SEC has Alabama, LSU, Auburn, and Florida to go along with Kentucky BB. The Big10 has OSU, Michigan, PSU, and Nebraska to go along with Indiana BB. The ACC has UNC and Duke to compliment FSU FB. The Big12 has Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas BB. The PAC has USC and Stanford among others. Other programs come and go within the conference, but those icons will always be there. The AAC needs those iconic programs and right now, there really is only one with any possibility of being iconic, and that's UConn. Sure, Aresco needs to pump up the ECU's and Tulane's of the conference, but UConn needs to be the face of the AAC and promoted like they are.

The AAC should promote UCONN, I was never implying that they shouldn't. That said Aresco needs to build some additional brands around them if the conference is going to have any chance for long term survival. UCONN and 11 other teams nobody cares about is not a formula for TV success.

 

[pj]

The AAC should promote UCONN, I was never implying that they shouldn't. That said Aresco needs to build some additional brands around them if the conference is going to have any chance for long term survival. UCONN and 11 other teams nobody cares about is not a formula for TV success.

Yes, for the conference to be successful you need attractive games, which means multiple strong teams playing each other. You do need a few elite contenders who can show in the national championships, but it's important to have a top group.

That said, Aresco touting ECU, Tulane, Tulsa, and Temple doesn't make them strong. It just reminds everybody that the AAC has ECU, Tulane, Tulsa and Temple.

 

[whaler11]

Can anyone let me know what brands were built in CUSA in 20 years?

 

[Ldandy]

Yes, for the conference to be successful you need attractive games, which means multiple strong teams playing each other. You do need a few elite contenders who can show in the national championships, but it's important to have a top group.

That said, Aresco touting ECU, Tulane, Tulsa, and Temple doesn't make them strong. It just reminds everybody that the AAC has ECU, Tulane, Tulsa and Temple.

There are no football brand names currently in the AAC. No one team can carry the banner for the conference. The AAC needs to find a way to sell weekly competition and parity among all members, until a name brand or two can emerge.

 

[Calamitous]

HOWEVER, would it kill the guy to maybe show up to Storrs and acknowledge the dual NC's or mention Uconn ONCE?

UConn had 3 NCs with field hockey as well. Only PSU has more NCs with titles in wrestling, fencing (m), fencing (w) and volleyball. Oregon ties with 3 in men's and women's indoor and outdoor T&F. UConn had 2 NCs in "revenue generating" sports.

By conference: PAC (10), B1G (6), SEC (5), ACC (4), B12 (3), AAC (2), Big East (2), ECACHL (2), RMISA (2), MWC (1), MVC (1) and MIVA (1). Either the ACC or SEC will gain 1 more this week with baseball.

UConn has more NCs in one year than my alma mater has had in its lifetime (0).

 

[Fishy]

He wouldn't shut up about Louisville after they were already gone.

I don't think he's a bad guy, but he's basically spit out the same three paragraphs to every publication he's met in the past two years. I think he's the emptiest of empty suits and I don't want to hear his opinion of UConn ever, never, ever.

He stepped in s*** when UConn won three titles this year, (the FH title was for the Big East, but whatever), and he's understandably pushing that....but I'm hard pressed to name one thing he's done that's worked for us.

I don't count giving away the conference's content to ESPN for trinkets to be a success for anyone but ESPN. He basically gave football away for nothing and then blue-light specialed basketball.

 

[noeynox]

Hey fishy, have you seen our logo? I can't remember exactly what he was asked, but that was Aresco's answer to something. I facepalmed and knew were effed.

He does pimp the league's accomplishments, which is something the big east never seemed to do.

 

[whaler11]

I don't think he's a bad guy, but he's basically spit out the same three paragraphs to every publication he's met in the past two years. I think he's the emptiest of empty suits and I don't want to hear his opinion of UConn ever, never, ever.

He stepped in s*** when UConn won three titles this year, (the FH title was for the Big East, but whatever), and he's understandably pushing that....but I'm hard pressed to name one thing he's done that's worked for us.

I don't count giving away the conference's content to ESPN for trinkets to be a success for anyone but ESPN. He basically gave football away for nothing and then blue-light specialed basketball.

Good description. He's in an interesting spot... he clearly can't do anything to improve things, but there is a pretty good chance no one could. Yes, he makes 7 figures but he has to know he may get buried with this league.

I mock most of the conspiracy theories around here, but ignoring the fact this was an ECU function the guy never discusses UConn.

Maybe it's a clear effort on his part because he's trying to create the illusion of a football league?

I'd still like an answer on Tulane. Who are the ad wizards who came up with that one?

 

[pj]

The big mistake was thinking they would get paid for a conference championship game. Expanding to 12 teams diluted revenue, weakened the conference, and took away options. An 8 team conference would be just fine right now. UConn, Temple, USF, UCF, Houston, SMU, Cincy, Memphis. Has all the strong basketball teams, big market cities, and best football.

 

[noeynox]

The big mistake was thinking they would get paid for a conference championship game. Expanding to 12 teams diluted revenue, weakened the conference, and took away options. An 8 team conference would be just fine right now. UConn, Temple, USF, UCF, Houston, SMU, Cincy, Memphis. Has all the strong basketball teams, big market cities, and best football.

I really think that was a move to protect themselves in case of a future raid but I think you are right, they should have shopped the conference and if a network was willing to pay more for a championship game let them pick the teams.

 

[Kolumbo]

I don't get why everyone is so down on the individual members of this conference. There are program with tons of history, and there are programs on the rise. I like the idea of change. The Resource 5 don't, but that's too bad. Tulane is probably the most berated school but I don't see Northwestern winning squat. ECU will likely be better than at least two P5 schools in its own state every year. So it's got that going for it, which is nice.

 

[coachcap]

"there, but for fortune..."
If some circumstances hadn't occurred after his hiring, he'd be labelled a genius. Boise & SDSU backing out (I didn't really believe they were coming to begin with), NBC Sports lowballing their television rights bid when they clearly needed content & thus ensuring ESPN matching bid, the much too late splitting of the Big EAST-The SCHISM should have happened well before 'Cuse & Pitt carpetbagged south.

 

[itgoeslike]

I'm sure I'll take a few arrows for the following, but I give Aresco more credibility today than I did 12 months ago. If you're familiar with what it takes to turn around a distressed company you might sympathize with him a little. I also don't believe UConn fans are the intended audience for his sound bites. At least he's been vocal about accomplishments and has pushed back on the notion of separation. If our former conference and university leadership had been a more vocal, it might have impacted things for the better. If you look at things from the perspective of new and incoming members to the AAC, they are making way more money than they ever have, have upgraded their competition, and will benefit from national coverage week in and week out. For them it's an unequivocal win. For UConn, not so much. . .