B12 Commish: Openly states they will look at adding institutions

[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.

 

[upstater]

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.

No one will schedule you in season. You can't have an independent football team in this environment.

So you join a conference with UConn and Temple. Great. Play each other 6 times a year.

 

[huskiesouth]

No one will schedule you in season. You can't have an independent football team in this environment.

So you join a conference with UConn and Temple. Great. Play each other 6 times a year.

But if by chance we are better than Temple we go undefeated

 

[HuskyBballFan]

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.

You still have never submitted a realistic alternative to our current situation.

We're not going independent. P5 conferences are already conspiring not to play BYU (heck, some are conspiring not to play anyone but each other) - who the heck is going to play us?

I'd love to see what this new league of "northern schools" would look like. The AAC is going to destroy the football program but your new league headlined by Umass and Temple will keep it humming along? And who is broadcasting those games? CPTV?

So it all comes down to whether or not we believe we'll have a seat at the table whenever the next round of realignment happens. We're not dropping the football program unless we're 100% certain that we're locked out forever.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The AAC is destroying our athletic program and your preference is to do nothing. If an Apocalypse is behind one door, you pick another door. It basically doesn't matter what is behind it.

 

[zls44]

The AAC is destroying our athletic program and your preference is to do nothing. If an Apocalypse is behind one door, you pick another door. It basically doesn't matter what is behind it.

"The AAC is destroying our athletic program" Explain. With proof.

 

[Waquoit]

"The AAC is destroying our athletic program" Explain. With proof.

MBB recruiting?

But I just don't see any scenario that puts us in the P5 besides being ND's plus one.

 

[zls44]

MBB recruiting? But I just don't see any scenario that puts us in the P5 besides being ND's plus one.

If you think our recruiting is bad now, wait until it's from the A10 or Big East.

 

[CL82]

Fox and ESPN share the Big XII contract.

Yes they do, yet your bosses have not shown themselves to be willing to pony up for UConn like they did for other institutions when they were funding the dismantling of our prior conference. I have zero confidence that they would offer to 23 million for content they are getting for $1 million. Fox on the other hand does have an incentive to pony up as it expands their reach. I'd pitch to guy who'd benefit from our presence not the guy who funded the evisceration of the greatest basketball conference ever to our detriment.

 

[auror]

If you think our recruiting is bad now, wait until it's from the A10 or Big East.

If Cincy and Memphis leave, the conference will be much worse than the Big East.

 

[WestHartHusk]

If Cincy and Memphis leave, the conference will be much worse than the Big East.

Ignore ZLS. If it doesn't have the ESPN stamp of approval it is worthless to him.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

The AAC is destroying our athletic program and your preference is to do nothing. If an Apocalypse is behind one door, you pick another door. It basically doesn't matter what is behind it.

If door number 1 is the current apocalypse and door number 2 is something even worse than the current apocalypse (e.g. all of your suggestions), you don't pick door number 2.

 

[huskiesnyc]

The New Big East makes 4 mill a year vs. 30-40+ mill that P5 schools bring home. Think about it, Rutgers is making 10 times more money than Georgetown. The only big time basketball schools 5-10 years from now will all have football and be in one of the 5 conferences. The NBE ratings are also terrible so their contract is likely to go down to AAC level next go around. We are due for a break in the whole CR shuffle that's screwed us. Those of you that want to drop football and find a short term band-aid in the NBE don't have a clue.

 

[Yonick]

Yeah, but if we give up FB and join the NBE, we end up as having no shot at a P-5 conference. Who knows what will happen to non P-5 conferences 10-15 years down the road.
UConn has no choice but to keep FB and hope for the best. Besides, the state invested 50Mil on the Burton/Shenkman training/practice facility. Plus nearly 100Mil on the Rent. CT legislators would call for heads to roll if we gave up FB.