Athletic limbo: University of Houston pouring cash into sports, but will its 'Power 5' push pay off? | The Boneyard

Athletic limbo: University of Houston pouring cash into sports, but will its 'Power 5' push pay off?

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Athletic limbo: University of Houston pouring cash into sports, but will its 'Power Five' push pay off?

>>"It's like, 'OK, if we want to play with the big boys, we've got to look like a big boy with our coaches and our facilities, and maybe we need to overspend for a little while and fake it until we make it,'" said Windy Dees, an associate professor at Miami who specializes in sports marketing and sponsorship. "But that's a scary financial area to put yourself in."<<

>>"The problem that Houston has is simple," said Chuck Neinas, the former Big 12 commissioner and retired consultant. "Right now, they gotta wait until somebody wants to expand so Houston will get another chance to show what they've done."<<
 
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My old friend was a businessman/developer....I once asked him why he wore an $18,000 watch.

He said..."when I am talking to a banker about a loan or someone to partner a property, I want to look successful. You have to project the image of someone who makes money. Someone who has money to wear a bauble on their wrist."

Houston is projecting the image hoping that it sells.
 
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The problem with Houston in the Big 12 is that:

....It puts five teams in Texas and makes an already Texas centered conference even more so....I expect resistance from non Texas programs.

....Houston really adds little to the footprint of the conference that has the smallest of P5's footprints. They have Texas covered already.

There has been some concern among some Big 12 programs that the Longhorns and their Texas planets already have a strong a gravitational pull that leaves the northernmost programs in the outer rings.
 

TJT

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Houston is more likely to be in a P5 league before UConn. It's facilities and the fact it is located is a top 10 metro population area will make them attractive.
 
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Big 12 after Texas and Oklahoma leave, and the P5 is reduced to the P4.
 

SubbaBub

Your stupidity is ruining my country.
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Houston needs a league that wants a 4th tier Texas team. That could be the B12 if they lose one but not likely anyone else.

The odds are slightly better they we end up P5 and our odds are not that good at the moment.
 
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Houston is more likely to be in a P5 league before UConn. It's facilities and the fact it is located is a top 10 metro population area will make them attractive.
Have you seen the differences in population within a 150 mile radius? Temple is #1 in the AAC, UConn is #2.
 
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Have you seen the differences in population within a 150 mile radius? Temple is #1 in the AAC, UConn is #2.

The population, with Storrs as center, and a radius of 150 miles.......
is 34,426,038 (about three times that of Houston's 150 mile radius).

It is heavily NYC....almost all is New York..with 1.6 million in Boston.

This is a neat tool...

Big Radius Tool: StatsAmerica
 

CL82

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The population, with Storrs as center, and a radius of 150 miles..
is 34,426,038 (about three times that of Houston's 150 mile radius).

It is heavily NYC....almost all is New York..with 1.6 million in Boston.

This is a neat tool...

Big Radius Tool: StatsAmerica
Drop it to 125 and you are still over 30M.

... and yeah, that is a great tool.
 
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And the kicker is Altice, covering the NYC tri state area, has the SECN and ACCN in its contract with ESPN.

Never saw that coming...but ESPN is playing hardball with bundling.

If ESPN shows the same attention to their AAC property....and we will know soon as the contract renegotiates, they seem to have the ability to get carriage. It will take a partner like ESPN to make the P6 really happen.
 
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The population, with Storrs as center, and a radius of 150 miles..
is 34,426,038 (about three times that of Houston's 150 mile radius).

It is heavily NYC....almost all is New York..with 1.6 million in Boston.

This is a neat tool...

Big Radius Tool: StatsAmerica
I get it, the way in which we sell CT is to sell the area around CT. But why stop there? Think of what our population would be if we used the radius of the earth! We'd have to be in top 1, no? When your radius takes you in to several states, well your radius might be a tad large.
 

CL82

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I get it, the way in which we sell CT is to sell the area around CT. But why stop there? Think of what our population would be if we used the radius of the earth! We'd have to be in top 1, no? When your radius takes you in to several states, well your radius might be a tad large.
Apples to apples. Why not have the radius around the two universities be the same? Doesn't that make the most sense?
 
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Apples to apples. Why not have the radius around the two universities be the same? Doesn't that make the most sense?

My only point is those are some big apples. What other school says let me draw a 150 mile radius and use that as their population?
 
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Big 12 after Texas and Oklahoma leave, and the P5 is reduced to the P4.

When and where would you have us believe Texas and Oklahoma are headed ?
 

CL82

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My only point is those are some big apples. What other school says let me draw a 150 mile radius and use that as their population?

And my counter point is make the comparisons apples to apples. If school x says it draws from an area 150 miles around it, then it is fair to use the same circumference in a comparison for UConn. I don't care what the number is. Want to make it 120 miles, effectively two hours highway drive time, that's fine. The "greater Houston metro area" is a 10,000 square mile region. That's bigger than New Jersey. Plunk down the same size circle around UConn and you are looking at a population of over 30M.
 
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What is important is the number of viewers who will watch a game...nationally and in the regional market.

Yep...Temple is in a big market...but does that move any needles for them?

It is, I don't think, the number of cable boxes any more, but whether the product "sells".

Houston is attempting to make the play that they have a product that will sell.
 

CL82

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What is important is the number of viewers who will watch a game...nationally and in the regional market.

Yep...Temple is in a big market...but does that move any needles for them?

It is, I don't think, the number of cable boxes any more, but whether the product "sells".

Houston is attempting to make the play that they have a product that will sell.
Sort of agree. RU probably caught the last "cable box boat" to the P5. I do think (hope) that viewers is next metric key. When UConn WBB was being carried by SNY, the Mets network not then offered in state, it took only matter months to get them on cable systems across the state. That's a powerful result. In the new internet access world Connecticut probably has interesting numbers, based on # fans, and intensity of support and regional demographics. Is it enough to add value under the current network deals, probably not, but it may be after the existing deals run out.
 
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When and where would you have us believe Texas and Oklahoma are headed ?
Pretty much wherever they would like. I don't think Texas goes SEC though because A&M went SEC. I'd guess Big10 or PAC. I'd bet OK to the B1G and Texas to the PAC. I'd expect the moves to be worked out in 5 years, effected when the GOR expires in 7.
 
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In an internet world, the "casual fans" (trademarked by Chief) may play in more.

Lots of folks who are not a fan of either program tune in to watch Duke-UNC...

I, who am not a program fan, watch UConn women play BB...just to see if someone will challenge....same reason that I watch Alabama football.

There must be some metric of sports fans who will watch compelling matches between teams of which they are not fans.
 
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I like this scenario.

SNDJly9.png
 
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Left out UConn...and Kansas and Kansas State.
Well then, I guess we'll have to add them to the Big Ten, just to get Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Head bang
 

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