aresco starting to look like a sheep in wolves clothing...

[Marty Jackson]

the big east is now such a hodge-podge of schools, it's hard for even die-hard fans to keep up with fb only vs all sport schools.

as the big east names becomes even more dilluted with ECU and Tulane, Aresco is still out there peddling fb only membership.

does this guy realize he's selling fool's gold at this point. at this point, just dissolve the league.

 

[Jarhead_1775]

I admit I actually have no idea who's in or out at this point. Zero identity whatsoever. F it just call it the UConn conference.

 

[Hoophound]

Forces outside the Big East are trying to kill the conference, he is trying to keep it together.

It is best that he remain quiet and stay on the phone with the western schools to keep them in the fold as he recruits new ones.

It was only a matter of time before the MWC reworked their tv deal. Aresco needs to put together a tentative tv deal consisting of his proposed membership that beats the MWC deal then sell it to all schools. It's a big job to do during the holidays--- while some of the networks and MWC work against him. I think the best sign in all of this is that Espn is talking to Aresco about a deal again. They have the cache to keep Boise etc in the stable.

 

[Srqhusky]

I give the man an a for effort

 

[Fishy]

I honestly can't think of one thing that Aresco has done that has not been a complete disaster. It's like he borrowed the Big East's car and now all we have is a dinged-up steering wheel and some vague memory of a horrific accident.

A lot of this would have happened anyway, but television negotiations never went well, a good number of schools think he's been negotiating more for his next job than for them and Tulane was his idea - that, btw, was one of those 'unanimous' votes that wasn't unanimous.

Given that he was at the wheel when the Big East died and that he might be the man who ultimately saved the MWC, I'd give him an Incomplete that will eventually be changed to an F.

 

[Hoophound]

I honestly can't think of one thing that Aresco has done that has not been a complete disaster. It's like he borrowed the Big East's car and now all we have is a dinged-up steering wheel and some vague memory of a horrific accident.

A lot of this would have happened anyway, but television negotiations never went well, a good number of schools think he's been negotiating more for his next job than for them and Tulane was his idea - that, btw, was one of those 'unanimous' votes that wasn't unanimous.

Given that he was at the wheel when the Big East died and that he might be the man who ultimately saved the MWC, I'd give him an Incomplete that will eventually be changed to an F.

I have concerns that everything you have said will prove to be true. That said, this is a bit of an overreaction given what we know. The guy has had no legitimate opportunity to lock down the membership.

 

[Fishy]

I have concerns that everything you have said will prove to be true. That said, this is a bit of an overreaction given what we know. The guy has had no legitimate opportunity to lock down the membership.

I disagree.

At some point, you are what your record says you are.

I won't even pretend that he has an easy job or that anyone could have been successful, but he doesn't have a single check in the win column.

Whether it was trying to get Navy to join earlier, making multiple runs at BYU and Air Force, making the tiniest bit of progress on the television front or securing that 'seventh bowl game' concept (that he claimed was alive when it was quite dead), he's outright failed.

And he has to own the Tulane decision - Tulane was his baby and that burned the house down.

 

[uconnfan68]

I honestly can't think of one thing that Aresco has done that has not been a complete disaster. It's like he borrowed the Big East's car and now all we have is a dinged-up steering wheel and some vague memory of a horrific accident.

A lot of this would have happened anyway, but television negotiations never went well, a good number of schools think he's been negotiating more for his next job than for them and Tulane was his idea - that, btw, was one of those 'unanimous' votes that wasn't unanimous.

Given that he was at the wheel when the Big East died and that he might be the man who ultimately saved the MWC, I'd give him an Incomplete that will eventually be changed to an F.

He doesn't need a "next" job. He could have stayed at CBS and retired in about 3 more years. He'd already been passed over and wasn't going to be anything more than a SVP (poor baby). If his ego drove him to take this job to write his legacy, then shame on him. If he manages to get something out of it for the BE/whatever, then that will be his legacy.

 

[UConnDan97]

If anyone thinks that Mike Aresco was actually left to negotiate a tv contract in earnest, which is what he was brought in to do, then you are kidding yourselves.

He was brought in primarily to negotiate the contract; a contract which cannot be locked down because we seemingly lose another member every month since the exclusive negotiating window began with ESPN. Can you imagine how difficult it is to sell a product that lowers itself in value every 60 f#$king days??? He doesn't even have the opportunity to leverage one tv outlet against another, because right now, everyone is running for the hills. They don't even trust that UConn, Cincy, Boise, or SDSU will still be here next month, much less three years from now!

Having said that, his one critical mistake to me was Tulane. There was no reason. ECU is fine as an addition, since they bring a decent football product, but we needed to see the next addition as a Mountain West team. It would have served to benefit us doubly; as a football add (Fresno most likely), and as yet another loss to the Mountain West so they couldn't strike us back.

Mike Aresco Grade: B.

Let's hope he can make some magic happen now, and bring that up to an A...

 

[Marty Jackson]

I honestly can't think of one thing that Aresco has done that has not been a complete disaster. It's like he borrowed the Big East's car and now all we have is a dinged-up steering wheel and some vague memory of a horrific accident.

A lot of this would have happened anyway, but television negotiations never went well, a good number of schools think he's been negotiating more for his next job than for them and Tulane was his idea - that, btw, was one of those 'unanimous' votes that wasn't unanimous.

Given that he was at the wheel when the Big East died and that he might be the man who ultimately saved the MWC, I'd give him an Incomplete that will eventually be changed to an F.

admittedly, he was handed the steering wheel after the car crashed through the guardrail and went over the cliff.
I don't think we'll know how much or how little impact he had until all the dust settles. but it does seem as though he is set on a path and isn't going to deviate from that.
that may be his downfall.

 

[RS9999X]

What was the last successful "spans both coasts" football conference? And all Sports "spans both coasts" ?

At best the MWC and BE come to an East West arrangement. Boise rumors will be in the air every year in the NBE.

Cincy
UConn
Memphis
Temple
USF
UCF
Tulane
ECU

8 teams. All Sports. The MTN East Network.

 

[UConnDan97]

What was the last successful "spans both coasts" football conference? And all Sports "spans both coasts" ?

At best the MWC and BE come to an East West arrangement. Boise rumors will be in the air every year in the NBE.

Cincy
UConn
Memphis
Temple
USF
UCF
Tulane
ECU

8 teams. All Sports. The MTN East Network.

When was the last NECESSARY "spans both coasts" conference??? It's a silly question. We only have C-USA to look at as a comparator, but that league did not contain any programs resembling UConn, Boise, or a 2012 Cincy.

For any of you that don't see how and why Boise State joining us is crucial to our ability to replace.....not beat, but replace.....our current tv contract dollars, then I feel sorry for you...

 

[Marty Jackson]

If anyone thinks that Mike Aresco was actually left to negotiate a tv contract in earnest, which is what he was brought in to do, then you are kidding yourselves.

He was brought in primarily to negotiate the contract; a contract which cannot be locked down because we seemingly lose another member every month since the exclusive negotiating window began with ESPN. Can you imagine how difficult it is to sell a product that lowers itself in value every 60 f#$king days??? He doesn't even have the opportunity to leverage one tv outlet against another, because right now, everyone is running for the hills. They don't even trust that UConn, Cincy, Boise, or SDSU will still be here next month, much less three years from now!

Having said that, his one critical mistake to me was Tulane. There was no reason. ECU is fine as an addition, since they bring a decent football product, but we needed to see the next addition as a Mountain West team. It would have served to benefit us doubly; as a football add (Fresno most likely), and as yet another loss to the Mountain West so they couldn't strike us back.

Mike Aresco Grade: B.

Let's hope he can make some magic happen now, and bring that up to an A...

someone mentioned this in anothe post i think... but it is amazing how slow things move. until louisville leaves and within 4 minutes, ecu and tulane are added.
I can understand ecu. but tulane has made zero effort athletically, and in fact could be argued to have gone the way of the ivy's in de-emphasizing it's sports.

 

[UConnDan97]

someone mentioned this in anothe post i think... but it is amazing how slow things move. until louisville leaves and within 4 minutes, ecu and tulane are added.
I can understand ecu. but tulane has made zero effort athletically, and in fact could be argued to have gone the way of the ivy's in de-emphasizing it's sports.

Tulane was a horrible move. Absolutely horrible. I hope in time, they make me eat my words, but unlikely. It was a panicked move, seemingly done rapidly in order to get back to the business of negotiating a tv contract. Mike Areso has to own that move, and unfortunately, so do we...

 

[metsfan2323]

- Tulane was his baby and that burned the house down.

Crazy talk. ESPN, the ACC, the B1G, and everyone's desire to join them burned down the house. Scapegoating the Tulane move is ridiculous.

 

[cohenzone]

Maybe Fishy understands this a lot better than I do, but that isn't saying a lot. It seems to me that the guy was hired pretty much after the train had left the station. His options seemed to be pretty reduced. My question for Fishy is what would you have done with what he had to work with when he came in that would have kept the teams that have since departed and get better new teams in? I would add, what do you think he messed up with on the TV side given the amount of time he has been on the job. That isn't meant to be sarcastic, I'd really like to understand better.

Of course purely from a UConn fan's viewpoint, at this point, as much as I don't appreciate it, I'd be much happier if we got into the ACC. At least we'd be in a league with a few traditional rivals and maybe even more geographic sense then the shape of the Big East after the mid-West schools were added. Being in a our new league (I call it The Big Blob) where every game seems like it ought to be OOC, doesn't float my boat. The old YanConn was more appetizing from a rivalry sense.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I disagree.

At some point, you are what your record says you are.

I won't even pretend that he has an easy job or that anyone could have been successful, but he doesn't have a single check in the win column.

Whether it was trying to get Navy to join earlier, making multiple runs at BYU and Air Force, making the tiniest bit of progress on the television front or securing that 'seventh bowl game' concept (that he claimed was alive when it was quite dead), he's outright failed.

And he has to own the Tulane decision - Tulane was his baby and that burned the house down.

he does... uconn and cincy haven't left yet...
BE win? check.

 

[TRest]

he does... uconn and cincy haven't left yet...
BE win? check.

Who has been on the job longer, Warde or Aresco? Seems to me Warde is open to the same scrutiny...

And announcing Tulane before the Acc officially added another team was "look at me" lunacy.

 

[cohenzone]

Who has been on the job longer, Warde or Aresco? Seems to me Warde is open to the same scrutiny...

And announcing Tulane before the Acc officially added another team was "look at me" lunacy.

Give credit where credit is due. The guy is a genius. He's just given a lot of people the chance to spend some time on Bourbon Street.

 

[Bootsthemonkey]

I don't see Aresco or Manuel having a whole lot of leverage. Manuel/Herbst cannot force their way into another conference without an invite. Aresco knows there are better teams to add but you can't force a team to join if they don't want to. The TV money is up in the air and the bowl situation isn't great. What exactly does either have to work with.
We all know what the more preferable situations are. Making it happen is another story. Guys like Delaney and Slive have the leverage. They can be selective.

 

[RioDog]

I don't see Aresco or Manuel having a whole lot of leverage. Manuel/Herbst cannot force their way into another conference without an invite. Aresco knows there are better teams to add but you can't force a team to join if they don't want to. The TV money is up in the air and the bowl situation isn't great. What exactly does either have to work with.
We all know what the more preferable situations are. Making it happen is another story. Guys like Delaney and Slive have the leverage. They can be selective.

While your post may be true, this degree of calmly reasoned rationality is anathema to this board.

 

[freescooter]

Crazy talk. ESPN, the ACC, the B1G, and everyone's desire to join them burned down the house. Scapegoating the Tulane move is ridiculous.

I have to agree with this. The Tulane move was pretty inexplicable, but things were already heading south long before that.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I don't see Aresco or Manuel having a whole lot of leverage. Manuel/Herbst cannot force their way into another conference without an invite. Aresco knows there are better teams to add but you can't force a team to join if they don't want to. The TV money is up in the air and the bowl situation isn't great. What exactly does either have to work with.
We all know what the more preferable situations are. Making it happen is another story. Guys like Delaney and Slive have the leverage. They can be selective.

this is the most pathetic position...
woe is me... boo hoo...

warde manual should resign. thats what he can do. it is clear his experience and skill set are not what is needed. he seems to have the same 'woe is me' attitude that you are exhibiting. nothing i can do but monitor the situation.

there are four solid anchor schools: cincy, uconn, byu, and boise.
wm should be reaching out to get these other 3 schools to see what it would take to form a new conference with those schools as anchors...

lets assume a 16 team league of the best remaining markets/programs (ie maximize tv contract)... if byu is in $100M is possible.
if the top 4 schools secure $10M/year each, that's $60M for the other 12 (approx. $5M for the rest)... maybe the tv contract is more or less, or maybe the split is more or less. those can be negotiated. but you get the gist.

if uconn could get $10-13M in a best of the rest, and keep tier 3 rights, that's on par with acc. and could be more stable.

aresco is loyal to the nbe, which he should be. my issue with him is the failure to see the shortcomings of the hybid model. reaching out to fresno and unlv as fb only is a failure.

unlv and sdsu are good bb programs. his continued push for fb only out west is pathetic. you accept tulane but not unlv or sdsu. now the west realizes it has some leverage. unfortunately, where tulane and ecu are added, then horse is out of the barn.

a 16 team, east/west league is what will work. all sports.

too late for the big east. it's a mess. but that's where aresco is focused.

and that's why wm is a failure as well. a good ad would create opportunities. not just wait.

there are 4 good schools with value. and none of them are working together to maximize their value.

 

[UConnDan97]

aresco is loyal to the nbe, which he should be. my issue with him is the failure to see the failure of the hybid model. reaching out to fresno and unlv as fb only is a failure.

I just want to make sure that I have this right: Your issue with Aresco essentially is that he failed to get rid of one half of the teams that had hired him to negotiate a tv contract?!? Are you serious???

Just to refresh everyone's memory, Aresco was hired on or around August 14th of this year. This is what the league looked like:

Football Members: UConn, Rutgers, Temple, USF, Cincinnati, Louisville
Basketball Members: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, Marquette, DePaul

Football Members not yet here: SMU, Houston, Boise, SDSU, Memphis, Navy, UCF (with no voting rights)

So your major issue with the man is that he didn't jettison eight of the thirteen teams that hired him so that the other six teams could thrive. Good call, Marty...

 

[Marty Jackson]

I just want to make sure that I have this right: Your issue with Aresco essentially is that he failed to get rid of one half of the teams that had hired him to negotiate a tv contract?!? Are you serious???

Just to refresh everyone's memory, Aresco was hired on or around August 14th of this year. This is what the league looked like:

Football Members: UConn, Rutgers, Temple, USF, Cincinnati, Louisville
Basketball Members: Georgetown, Notre Dame, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence, St. John's, Marquette, DePaul

Football Members not yet here: SMU, Houston, Boise, SDSU, Memphis, Navy, UCF (with no voting rights)
you dont have it right... where did i suggest aresco jettison any cuurent members? if anything, i thought thats why i said wm should reach out to cincy, boise, and byu. aresco cant. its not in arescos interest as head of be if boise, cincy, and uconn bolt to form a new 16 member league.

aresco brought in tulane and ecu... nothing has been a rush, so why bring in those dead weights. that is issue number one with aresco.

my second issue is that he is still going after bb only despite the seismic shift that just happened with the mwc. the be model is dead. to a fault, aresco is focused on the hybrid model which wont work long term, and right now, doesn't look good short term for the western schools.

about the only thing you got right was your last statement... it was a good call.


So your major issue with the man is that he didn't jettison eight of the thirteen teams that hired him so that the other six teams could thrive. Good call, Marty...