Aresco Stepping Up With Stipends

[UConnDan97]

Mike Aresco announced that the AAC will step up with stipends to cover the full cost of attendance for the schools if the P5 move in that direction. While I'm not sure about the entirety of the ramifications, we are getting a glimpse into what Aresco is planning to do with the war chest that the conference has built up:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsport...ommitted-to-full-cost-of-attendance-stipends/

It certainly positions us ahead of other conferences like the Mountain West, etc. While the conference will never be considered a "big boy" conference (nor was the Big East), we at least see some method to the madness and the fight to keep us at the dinner table...

 

[Dooley]

This is very important just from a recruiting angle for UCONN. If our regional rivals in P5 conferences can use that as yet another recruiting angle when competing against UCONN, then we'd be even more buried.

 

[upstater]

This full cost of attendance thing is going to become a major debacle all around. Just watch. "Full cost" is actually a federally regulated term that schools are forced to monetize for all students. The federal gov't forces them to post costs on the tuition page (including fees, travel, incidentals, etc.) In other words, this is a term for all students. So, if a school really wants to jack up those "full cost" numbers so as to pay athletes more, it's going to scare regular students. Schools can't pay above their posted "full cost" numbers because then the money will not be treated as aid, but pay.

 

[metsfan2323]

Has there been anything written regarding whether paying full cost for football and basketball means the school will have to do it for all sports?

If all sports must be paid i'm wondering how that will effect conferences like the Big East and the A10. If they decided to not pay their basketball players they would no longer be able to recruit at a high level. The Big East might have the money to pay all of their athletes but I doubt the A10 does.

I anticipate that schools will try to get away with only paying their revenue producing sports.

It will also be interesting to see what the Mountain West, MAC, CUSA and Sun Belt does.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

The AAC does have significant resources that other B5 conferences don't have.
Everyone knows about the the exit money but the former Big east members left a bunch of NCAA Tourney cash also.


With 5 teams possibly in this year and with ten teams that cash flow will continue.

 

[UConnDan97]

The AAC does have significant resources that other B5 conferences don't have.
Everyone knows about the the exit money but the former Big east members left a bunch of NCAA Tourney cash also.


With 5 teams possibly in this year and with ten teams that cash flow will continue.

And that's the key.

We won't be able to last forever without better tv resources, but two things seem clear: 1) We have the resources in the short term to outlast the other non-P5 conferences like the MW, and 2) Aresco is willing to use those funds to push us into the top tier for as long as the funds last.

There's not much else we can do as a conference. Keep pushing forward to distinguish ourselves above the others, keep producing in the different sports, and hope that the next tv contract 5 years from now becomes significantly stronger as a result...

 

[metsfan2323]

And that's the key.

We won't be able to last forever without better tv resources, but two things seem clear: 1) We have the resources in the short term to outlast the other non-P5 conferences like the MW, and 2) Aresco is willing to use those funds to push us into the top tier for as long as the funds last.

There's not much else we can do as a conference. Keep pushing forward to distinguish ourselves above the others, keep producing in the different sports, and hope that the next tv contract 5 years from now becomes significantly stronger as a result...

Oddly the stipend could help the AAC short term if other conferences drop out. Longer term, conferences dropping out will help our TV contract as well since there will be less inventory on the market.

I still hope that the AAC can gobble up the best of the Mountain West and announce that there is now a P6.

 

[Limbo Land]

Oddly a split East West would have been preferable to this mess. I wonder how long the Boise St. Fresno. UNLV's and San Diego St., will enjoy their league once those at the bottom start to be out funded?