B12 Commish: Openly states they will look at adding institutions

[superjohn]

Geography shouldn't matter, newsflash the only place where the geography is ideal is the old old Big East and that league and way of thinking no longer exists. Conferences are a mish mosh of schools from all over the country these days. It used to matter when your only option was a bus trip, now they have these giant things that fly in the sky and can move a large # of people in a short amount of time. As for our football program sucking, yes it does right now but before the Pasqualoni hire we were a good up and coming program. Syracuse and Pitt football have sucked for a couple of decades and they had no problem getting snatched up right away, there are several programs in the P5's that have blown since they started playing football. This sort of thing builds on itself, if you are in a horrid conference your recruiting is going to be bad, your product will be bad, turnout will be bad etc. I have zero doubt in my mind we would turn it around very quickly once we get in a P5 conference. We became a good team very quickly after going D1 and we went from being good to bad very quickly because of an awful hire and the conference shake up, we can go back to being good and better than we've ever been before once we have firm footing in a legit conference. Despite the downturn in football, UConn is still a sleeping giant. I get why people are negative at the moment, we've been kicked in the nuts repeatedly during realignment and football has taken an awful turn but you're mistaken if you don't think we offer a lot to a P5 conference. We have no idea when Big 10 will ever think about another round of expansion and we simply can't play around hoping and waiting for Big 10 or ACC to offer us, we must do everything in our power right now to sell ourselves to the Big12.

 

[Husky999]

Would love to be in the Big 12… Just don't see them snatching us up. Would be awesome to play Kansas twice a year in hoops.

 

[Gurleyman]

This is an utter disaster. This AAC is just plain putrid. If we want to be successful in the long run in all sports doesn't it make sense to try to get in the Big East if there are no other takers out there and just go Ind in football? It's not like being in the AAC is helping our football team.

The Big East is a non-starter. It's almost a completely homogenous league now of small, urban, private Catholic schools (just Butler isn't Catholic). They all have similar issues (urban space constraints, private school resources constraints) that a flagship state school like us doesn't.

If the BE expands, they'll surely look at similar schools in new markets (St. Louis and Dayton probably first in line). Or they'd probably even reach for a Siena or Detroit before they took us and disrupt their balance of power. They don't need us for market penetration.

The BE would clearly have some temporary benefit for us with hoops, but long term we don't really want to align ourselves with a group of colleges we have so little in common with. Any time there was a vote over something we wanted that the rest of them didn't, we'd lose.

Where we end up by dropping into FCS football is probably eventually to some sort of a league of UMass, URI, Buffalo, Albany, Delaware, George Mason, VCU, and other reaches after the A-10 fragments and the state schools form their own league.

 

[Inyatkin]

Where we end up by dropping into FCS football is probably eventually to some sort of a league of UMass, URI, Buffalo, Albany, Delaware, George Mason, VCU, and other reaches after the A-10 fragments and the state schools form their own league.

In other words, never believe it can't get worse. It can always get worse.

 

[huskymagic]

Geography shouldn't matter, newsflash the only place where the geography is ideal is the old old Big East and that league and way of thinking no longer exists. Conferences are a mish mosh of schools from all over the country these days. It used to matter when your only option was a bus trip, now they have these giant things that fly in the sky and can move a large # of people in a short amount of time. As for our football program sucking, yes it does right now but before the Pasqualoni hire we were a good up and coming program. Syracuse and Pitt football have sucked for a couple of decades and they had no problem getting snatched up right away, there are several programs in the P5's that have blown since they started playing football. This sort of thing builds on itself, if you are in a horrid conference your recruiting is going to be bad, your product will be bad, turnout will be bad etc. I have zero doubt in my mind we would turn it around very quickly once we get in a P5 conference. We became a good team very quickly after going D1 and we went from being good to bad very quickly because of an awful hire and the conference shake up, we can go back to being good and better than we've ever been before once we have firm footing in a legit conference. Despite the downturn in football, UConn is still a sleeping giant. I get why people are negative at the moment, we've been kicked in the nuts repeatedly during realignment and football has taken an awful turn but you're mistaken if you don't think we offer a lot to a P5 conference. We have no idea when Big 10 will ever think about another round of expansion and we simply can't play around hoping and waiting for Big 10 or ACC to offer us, we must do everything in our power right now to sell ourselves to the Big12.

precisely john. Ward and Susan need to be e-mailing, calling, texting B12 and its schools while on their flight to headquarters. West Virginia did it, Rutgers did it, Pitt did it, we need to find a way there is no excuses. They need to make it happen because we are a recognizable national brand that is a plus to any conference. Take the devil's deal if you have to get it done.

 

[Jimdish255]

Calhoun would turn around the FB program in 2 years. Some coaches are just winners. They figure it out. We need that to happen before Football sinks all our student-athletes.

 

[B1GEast]

if the 12 expands, the aac is done, I also agree that ND will soon realize their best path to a playoff spot is to win a conference champ, which is doable in the acc

 

[Gringo]

Calhoun would turn around the FB program in 2 years. Some coaches are just winners. They figure it out. We need that to happen before Football sinks all our student-athletes.

Are you really saying we need Calhoun to turn around the football program?

 

[UconnU]

if the 12 expands, the aac is done

If they do expand and the AAC is done. Where does that leave us? C-USA? The Mac? Some assemblance of whats left of the AAC and the better schools in C-USA/Mac? This would be laughable.

 

[nycscooby]

Fishy's got it right, IMO. Our best chance is likely ND feeling slighted after going 11-1 with no championship game. They are the next key cog that can impact us in a positive way, because the Big 12 is not it.

If we are relying on ND in any way we are f#cked. Just ask yourself this question, if Baylor/TCU were ND is there any doubt that ND would have claimed one of those four playoff spots? ND doesn't need a conference affiliation for football. I think they remain the only team (pro or college) that has every game televised nationwide on network TV. I'm not saying they deserve it .

 

[upstater]

Lets protect the assets that we have. Go back into the Big East, brand ourselves as a Big East/Hockey East Program. Go independent in football try to get a Navy/Army type schedule going.

How're you going to compete against BC in basketball? BC will make $25m more than you a year. Over many years.

 

[nycscooby]

If they do expand and the AAC is done. Where does that leave us? C-USA? The Mac? Some assemblance of whats left of the AAC and the better schools in C-USA/Mac? This would be laughable.

Independent. Frankly it's probably better than the AAC. At least the hoops teams could schedule anyone they wanted. Football? Not so much.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

How're you going to compete against BC in basketball? BC will make $25m more than you a year. Over many years.

As opposed to the mountains of money we make in the AAC.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The Big East is a non-starter. It's almost a completely homogenous league now of small, urban, private Catholic schools (just Butler isn't Catholic). They all have similar issues (urban space constraints, private school resources constraints) that a flagship state school like us doesn't.

If the BE expands, they'll surely look at similar schools in new markets (St. Louis and Dayton probably first in line). Or they'd probably even reach for a Siena or Detroit before they took us and disrupt their balance of power. They don't need us for market penetration.

The BE would clearly have some temporary benefit for us with hoops, but long term we don't really want to align ourselves with a group of colleges we have so little in common with. Any time there was a vote over something we wanted that the rest of them didn't, we'd lose.

Where we end up by dropping into FCS football is probably eventually to some sort of a league of UMass, URI, Buffalo, Albany, Delaware, George Mason, VCU, and other reaches after the A-10 fragments and the state schools form their own league.

If the Big 12 expands, and we are not part of it, I suspect the University will look long and hard at the value of continuing the football program at all. This AAC experiment has been a complete and utter disaster, and it is taking the whole athletic department down with it. If Cincinnati and Memphis or some other school leaves, I would hope and expect that we would dump the AAC ourselves.

 

[UConNick]

If we are relying on ND in any way we are f#cked. Just ask yourself this question, if Baylor/TCU were ND is there any doubt that ND would have claimed one of those four playoff spots? ND doesn't need a conference affiliation for football. I think they remain the only team (pro or college) that has every game televised nationwide on network TV. I'm not saying they deserve it .

Fair point. I never said that it would happen or that it was likely, just that logistically it makes a lot of sense when viewing with my tinted blue glasses.

 

[Gurleyman]

If the Big 12 expands, and we are not part of it, I suspect the University will look long and hard at the value of continuing the football program at all. This AAC experiment has been a complete and utter disaster, and it is taking the whole athletic department down with it. If Cincinnati and Memphis or some other school leaves, I would hope and expect that we would dump the AAC ourselves.

Dropping football means we could be linked in a group with all of the other flagship state universities that don't sponsor football: Vermont and Alaska-Anchorage.

I joke, but I suppose we could decide the UVM model works for us if football isn't worth it - try to be a very good academic state school that's good in hockey, does ok in the occasional niche sport, and upsets a big basketball team once in a while. That's basically what dropping football would do. No shame in that. UVM is a great school, and they love their hockey. UNH, URI and Maine might even follow our lead.

We would have a very expensive football training complex that we'd have to decide what to do with.

 

[FriarJ]

The problem UConn has getting in a conference will only expand if OSU is left out. The only way the Buckeyes get left out is with a strength of schedule argument. If this happens there is no way in hell the B1G ever degrades its FB product further. BTW, short of dropping to FCS, there is now way the BE is an option. And that's not happening I don't think.

Although I do think there is some value to a Nationwide FB conference made up of the good schools that are left out, then these schools put there other sports in geographically desirable conferences that don't play FBS football.

 

[noeynox]

We're almost 2,000 miles from Austin, Texas - probably 1,800 miles from Norman, Oklahoma. And our football team is the worst in the country right now.

As per usual, timing and geography are the two white whales of UConn realignment.

I'm not buying Memphis at all, but I can see Cincy, UCF or BYU.

More importantly to us...maybe Notre Dame starts to wonder if they can make a playoff without a conference championship.

I'm sorry, I thought you were noting the mileagae distance to onference mates Houston and Tulsa. But yeah, somehow we managed to lose sheet show bowl Saturday at home while being up 2tds at half time, and the coach is telling reporters it happened exactly as we planned.

 

[djct1999]

The Big 12 is a pipe dream. In fact, I'd argue there is a better chance of the Big12 imploding than there is UConn joining. Second, ND will not change anything until it happens to them. I am fairly certain that they believe if they go 11-1, they won't get excluded. What happened to Baylor and TCU won't move the needle with them. I still contend that our best chance is the Big 10. My hope is that this new dialogue splinters the Big12 further and UConn finds a partner!

 

[upstater]

As opposed to the mountains of money we make in the AAC.

So, you want to decrease the deficit to BC to $25m in the BE instead of $23m in the AAC (ignoring the fact of course that UConn is taking an extra $6m a year from the AAC over the next 6 years)? You want to do that and absolutely seal that reality in perpetuity?

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Here's what I foresee (stop reading now if you want realistic scenarios). The big 12 invites uc and Memphis after Texas and Oklahoma vote against it but cede to the majority. The B1G uses this as an opportunity to woo Texas Oklahoma Kansas and.....UConn.

18 is a hard to split schedule wise either in half or by 4 pods. Thus, any expansion will likely yield 16 or 20 members.

 

[specialisthusky]

18 is a hard to split schedule wise either in half or by 4 pods. Thus, any expansion will likely yield 16 or 20 members.

two 9 team divisions - play all 8 with a rotating cross over in other divison or go to ten game conf schedule with 2 rotating.

Or add WVU and Tulane or Rice or god knows who else and go to 20.

Big East: Uconn/RU/UMD/PSU/WVU/OSU/UM/MSU/IND/Pur
Big West:
Ill/NW/WI/MN/IA/NEB/KU/OU/UT/Tulane

Desparate times call for desparate slashing.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

If the Big 12 expands, and we are not part of it, I suspect the University will look long and hard at the value of continuing the football program at all. This AAC experiment has been a complete and utter disaster, and it is taking the whole athletic department down with it. If Cincinnati and Memphis or some other school leaves, I would hope and expect that we would dump the AAC ourselves.

There is only one outcome that would make anybody feel confident in the long-term future (financial/on-field, etc.) of the athletic department - entry into a P5 conference. It likely isn't happening anytime soon and it's not even a guarantee that it happens when the current TV contracts and GORs expire. But at least it's currently a possibility.

Dropping football and joining the Big East would be better for basketball in the short term, but it also guarantees that we never have a seat at the adults' table. Does you really believe that the P5 won't continue to ask for, and receive, more and more autonomy that will make it more difficult for those on the outside to compete? Do you know with certainty that there won't be a P5-only basketball tournament 20 years from now? Or that the P5 won't break away completely? I don't hear too many ADs talking about the importance of protecting Georgetown basketball.

 

[NotADimeBack]

Big 12 is open for business. Thats where we need to be

 

[Horatio]

Coach Diaco is probably under more pressure to succeed than any other
College coach in Div. 1 . The football team he coaches has the weight/ fate of the Legendary basketball programs on its back. It's insane pressure.

 

[CL82]

precisely john. Ward and Susan need to be e-mailing, calling, texting B12 and its schools while on their flight to headquarters. West Virginia did it, Rutgers did it, Pitt did it, we need to find a way there is no excuses. They need to make it happen because we are a recognizable national brand that is a plus to any conference. Take the devil's deal if you have to get it done.

They need to reach out to the Big 12, but the first presentation they should is to Fox to explain why we bring the biggest value to them out of any candidates, including entry to the NYC, Hartford/New Haven DMAs and reach into all of New England. When you are trying to negotiate a deal versus competitor, you want to move the focus away from the competitor's strength to the place where you have relative strenght. If Cinci is explaining how being the #2 in Ohio should disqualify them from consideration, we've already won. The Big 12 doesn't need someone to come in to save improve their football, they need 2 more teams that don't excessively dilute their per school earnings. Now we've got to make sure that they realize that. That would be my pitch.

 

[zls44]

They need to reach out to the Big 12, but the first presentation they should is to Fox to explain why we bring the biggest value to them out of any candidates, including entry to the NYC, Hartford/New Haven DMAs and reach into all of New England. When you are trying to negotiate a deal versus competitor, you want to move the focus away from the competitor's strength to the place where you have relative strenght. If Cinci is explaining how being the #2 in Ohio should disqualify them from consideration, we've already won. The Big 12 doesn't need someone to come in to save improve their football, they need 2 more teams that don't excessively dilute their per school earnings. Now we've got to make sure that they realize that. That would be my pitch.

Fox and ESPN share the Big XII contract.

 

[amory]

Did anyone not see this coming? I mean seriously.

We're not going to the Big 12, we're not anywhere near their footprint and we're maybe the worst team in D1. So let's just brace ourselves.

 

[partyATkemba]

We're almost 2,000 miles from Austin, Texas - probably 1,800 miles from Norman, Oklahoma. And our football team is the worst in the country right now.

As per usual, timing and geography are the two white whales of UConn realignment.

I'm not buying Memphis at all, but I can see Cincy, UCF or BYU.

More importantly to us...maybe Notre Dame starts to wonder if they can make a playoff without a conference championship.

Why can't we be a bottom feeder for football for a few years and help build the Big12's basketball recognition nationally?

Let's not forget the only reason for expansion is so they can play a conference championship game, everything else is about the $$$ and exposure.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

There is only one outcome that would make anybody feel confident in the long-term future (financial/on-field, etc.) of the athletic department - entry into a P5 conference. It likely isn't happening anytime soon and it's not even a guarantee that it happens when the current TV contracts and GORs expire. But at least it's currently a possibility.

Dropping football and joining the Big East would be better for basketball in the short term, but it also guarantees that we never have a seat at the adults' table. Does you really believe that the P5 won't continue to ask for, and receive, more and more autonomy that will make it more difficult for those on the outside to compete? Do you know with certainty that there won't be a P5-only basketball tournament 20 years from now? Or that the P5 won't break away completely? I don't hear too many ADs talking about the importance of protecting Georgetown basketball.

If you want to save the football program, we need to get out of this conference and either go independent or join up with some northern schools that have better basketball like UMass and Temple. The AAC will destroy the football program. If you think the P5 will never happen, then we need to terminate the football program and find a real basketball league.

There is not a single objective I can think of that is helped by our current conference affiliation.