B1G

[WestHartHusk]

So Cinci to the MWC and this thread gets unpinned. Have we given up?

That sounds like treason talk!

 

[Adios]

More on the B1G wanting to get into Connecticut.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...pansion-could-mean-120-million-in-next-decade

"Adding some portion of the New York and D.C. markets cannot be seen as a bad thing. For now, it's all about BTN. It is a profit center, printing found money -- $100 million for member schools per year. There has been much consternation about how the Big Ten Network is going to convince cable carriers in Connecticut to buy Rutgers, or northern Virginia viewers to buy Maryland."

We all know Connecticut customers won't buy Rutgers. More proof we've been on the B1G's radar:

http://thegazette.com/2010/06/11/big-ten-expansion-candidate-connecticut/

 

[Adios]

The whole list of potential candidates is here. Scroll down. Excluded were UNC and UVA. We're going to the ACC or B1G in a matter of time. Writing is on the wall.

http://thegazette.com/2012/11/30/whats-next-for-b1g-expansion-football-realignment/

 

[Vuce]

There is no way CT cable carriers will be convinced to carry the BTN unless Uconn is involved. Rutgers does nothing in CT. Uconn would bring all of CT - Fairfield county included. Why wouldn't Dobbs take the next step after writing that part? Just say it - Uconn is the only way into CT. If there is no Uconn, there is no BTN in CT.

 

[Adios]

The powers that be are very well aware of that.

 

[huskymedic]

There is no way CT cable carriers will be convinced to carry the BTN unless Uconn is involved. Rutgers does nothing in CT. Uconn would bring all of CT - Fairfield county included. Why wouldn't Dobbs take the next step after writing that part? Just say it - Uconn is the only way into CT. If there is no Uconn, there is no BTN in CT.

I have BTN on Comcast (channel #1730) in Southern CT now?

 

[Adios]

I have BTN on Comcast (channel #1730) in Southern CT now?

Does that mean you'd watch? Ratings do matter.

 

[huskymedic]

Does that mean you'd watch? Ratings do matter.

I'm not watching the repeat of the tOSU-Wisconsin game that is on now but I do watch if it's the most interesting game on @ that time slot (and not up against an away UConn game).

 

[noeynox]

I think the key is for them to charge a premium price on the cable providers basic tier. If I hear uverse is looking to charge premium for THE BTN, thus raising my prices, with Ni UConn involved, I'd call and cancel. I did it to Dish when they dropped SNY.

I don't play around when it comes to my teams. I'd Assume most UConn fans would stand up for UConn as well.

 

[Husky25]

There is no way CT cable carriers will be convinced to carry the BTN unless Uconn is involved. Rutgers does nothing in CT. Uconn would bring all of CT - Fairfield county included. Why wouldn't Dobbs take the next step after writing that part? Just say it - Uconn is the only way into CT. If there is no Uconn, there is no BTN in CT.

BTN is available in HD the Middletown area on Comcast. However it is included in the paid Sports Package add-on. Do you mean that BTN will not be on basic cable until UConn is in the B1G?

 

[coachcap]

BTN is available in HD the Middletown area on Comcast. However it is included in the paid Sports Package add-on. Do you mean that BTN will not be on basic cable until UConn is in the B1G?

What he means is that BTN can only charge a nominal fee to Comcast for coverage (10 cents per subscriber) until UConn is added to the B1G. If UConn is extended an invitation to B1G membership (& accepts-of course) that fee increases (90 cents per subscriber in some B1G member areas. This will put pressure on COX & other entities that don't currently carry BTN to add it to their in state viewing areas at the higher rate. (a.k.a. corporate arm twisting)

 

[Husky25]

What he means is that BTN can only charge a nominal fee to Comcast for coverage (10 cents per subscriber) until UConn is added to the B1G. If UConn is extended an invitation to B1G membership (& accepts-of course) that fee increases (90 cents per subscriber in some B1G member areas. This will put pressure on COX & other entities that don't currently carry BTN to add it to their in state viewing areas at the higher rate. (a.k.a. corporate arm twisting)

I know how it works, given what happened with ESPN a few years back (wanting an exhorbinent amt. of $$ / subscriber) as well as the YES Network/MSG and Cablevision and Time Warner...As I said Comcast out of Middletown offers BTN. My question was in regard to going from a paid add-on status to basic cable. I assume that is what he meant.

 

[RuffRuff]

Wow, a 1000 plus post thread optimistically perverting the chances Uconn gets into what will likely be the best overall conference in this realignment mess when all is said and done(revenue, academic and athletic). Unlikely - all that speaks to that is highly Uconn-sided perception and very little national. Read reasonable 3rd party opinions from those not affiliated with Uconn and much of that this info isn't even a spec of what is being considered. Baseline - Uconn is currently a mariginally committed(PP a testament to that) very young football program. They are 122nd ranked research school in the country. Schools like South Florida and Cinci smoke that, so not sure what all the AAU membership confidence is all about. Any chance Uconn gets that is years down the road if it does come. Very unlikely a Big Ten takes a Uconn on top of a risk like Rutgers in believing it helps them with the NYC market. They'll see what comes of Rutgers in seeing that through before adding a Uconn. Rutgers was a risk as an investment to the future/market grasp, but they do satisfy the integrity points as to what Delany has spoken to. Uconn does not.

Uconn ONLY gets into the Big Ten way down the road with an AAU membership, a few whiffs by the Big Ten on first line of targets and seeing some momentum built with football. As much as Uconn is a flagship school to CT, it plays it's hoops in a mall , it's football in an old airport off campus and in a pro sports culture. That's small beans, that's not real collegiate culture. That is not the Big Ten way.

Bottom line, there are much more attractive options out there once the ACC gets further busted up - schools with both better football tradition/programs in college football hotbeds and with more market appeal with appropriate facilities/infrastructure. And there is no reason for the Big Ten to start taking second pickings at this point when they are absolutely in the drivers seat, along with the SEC. They can wait all they want for a Uconn type school because they can have them whenever the hell they want. If we want to use Rutgers as the counter to that, they were a free of charge partner(with a better overall resume) to Maryland in taking the one school they knew would be game to challenge the ACC exit fee.

If Uconn wants to end up in greener pastures, it needs to start picking up it's game. PR/Marketing, a FB coach with a buzz, getting creative/progressive on venues. Start playing games in Foxborough/NYC if asked. It's not like the Rent brings ambience/drawing card. If Uconn wants a trump card to play, it needs to find a way to play itself into becoming THE D1 college football program of the Northeast. Time for the administration to step up - now is your chance to man up at a juncture when real impact can be made.

Uconn has one move and one move only anytime in the near future - that's sliding in as a filler in the ACC, a conference where the hoops value has heavier stock and a conference sitting in insecurity. For Uconn, that is a huge upgrade over it's current situation - it's something to work with. If it gets stuck for any extended time in this new BE hot mess, it will be an uphill battle. 5-7 years down the road in that conference, we may be asking to ditch FB to see if we can salvage our hoops back in the Catholic School league. Let's put the Big Ten stuff to bed - fun to talk about, fun to scour the dredges of optimistic menusche to keep hope alive/drive the pro Uconn rumor mill, but the evidence pointing in opposite direction is ridiculously heavy.

 

[Dann]

 

[ffg53]

Wow, a 1000 plus post thread optimistically perverting the chances Uconn gets into what will likely be the best overall conference in this realignment mess when all is said and done(revenue, academic and athletic). Unlikely ...fun to talk about, fun to scour the dredges of optimistic menusche to keep hope alive/drive the pro Uconn rumor mill, but the evidence pointing in opposite direction is ridiculously heavy.

No soup for you!

 

[Adios]

The mall was taken down long ago. Not sure which decade you are in.

 

[UConnDan97]

The USS Connecticut has just told RuffRuff to shove it up his Big Lebowski ...

 

[RuffRuff]

Gentlemen, I'd love to be as hopeful and give you credit for diving deep, but logic does not support. Let's just hope the ACC gets ripped off just enough to let us slide in and maintain a semi decent conference long enough whereas Herbst/Manuel can make something of it, buy some time. The university isn't quite ready for Big Ten football anyway - the ACC is about right for now.

I don't care if the CC doesn't have an Old Navy anymore, it's still an old mall. Look throughout the Big Ten and let me know if you see one school that plays both it's hoops and football a considerable distance off campus.

 

[junglehusky]

To bastardize a line from the Big Lebowski... you're not wrong RuffRuff, you're just an a (for putting your mostly right post in the B1G fantasy thread). I think that Susan Herbst believes UConn will be a better candidate for B1G in ~5 years and that's what she's working towards. She has said (I'm paraphrasing) that working towards AAU is not just a piece of paper that makes everything better, but by working towards that status UConn will have improved itself in meaningful ways. Likewise for improving athletics over the same time period. I do agree that right now we would be a reach at best for the B1G and I don't think Delany makes two long shot bets (us and Rutgers, you might include Maryland and whoever the 4th school is if it's not ND / Texas) in such a short period of time as others are saying / hoping. Now let's say we do all those things and in 5 years the B1G is ready to expand, are we a shoo-in? Not quite, but we would be better off than we are right now. So I think we have to hope Delany decides to lay low for an extended period rather than making a run at UNC /GT / whoever in the next two years.

 

[RMoore1999]

Gentlemen, I'd love to be as hopeful and give you credit for diving deep, but logic does not support. Let's just hope the ACC gets ripped off just enough to let us slide in and maintain a semi decent conference long enough whereas Herbst/Manuel can make something of it, buy some time. The university isn't quite ready for Big Ten football anyway - the ACC is about right for now.

I don't care if the CC doesn't have an Old Navy anymore, it's still an old mall. Look throughout the Big Ten and let me know if you see one school that plays both it's hoops and football a considerable distance off campus.

Playing games off campus sucks; no way around that...it certainly does hurt our overall profile. But that's the only true "logical" argument you raise for B1G exclusion.

And "The university isn't quite ready for Big Ten football anyway"??? Neither are Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern, Minnesota nor Iowa at this point. Connecticut could compete for middle-level B1G bowls virtually immediately (PP/GD notwithstanding)....

 

[mikeinmanila]

To bastardize a line from the Big Lebowski... you're not wrong RuffRuff, you're just an a (for putting your mostly right post in the B1G fantasy thread). I think that Susan Herbst believes UConn will be a better candidate for B1G in ~5 years and that's what she's working towards. She has said (I'm paraphrasing) that working towards AAU is not just a piece of paper that makes everything better, but by working towards that status UConn will have improved itself in meaningful ways. Likewise for improving athletics over the same time period. I do agree that right now we would be a reach at best for the B1G and I don't think Delany makes two long shot bets (us and Rutgers, you might include Maryland and whoever the 4th school is if it's not ND / Texas) in such a short period of time as others are saying / hoping. Now let's say we do all those things and in 5 years the B1G is ready to expand, are we a shoo-in? Not quite, but we would be better off than we are right now. So I think we have to hope Delany decides to lay low for an extended period rather than making a run at UNC /GT / whoever in the next two years.

UConn needs a few years to make itself a more attractive candidate to the B1G.

However

IF UConn can get an AAU invite in 2-3 years

AND the B1G can't attract UNC or UVA (assuming they do get GT),

THEN UConn would be the next best available school on the east coast based on Nate Silver's (NYT) analysis (The 2 other available AAU schools on the east coast are: Duke - which wouldn't leave the ACC if UNC was still there and has less fan support than UConn anyway and Tulane which has significantly less fan support than UConn and terrrible athletic programs)

 

[Marty Jackson]

Wow, a 1000 plus post thread optimistically perverting the chances Uconn gets into what will likely be the best overall conference in this realignment mess when all is said and done(revenue, academic and athletic). Unlikely - all that speaks to that is highly Uconn-sided perception and very little national. Read reasonable 3rd party opinions from those not affiliated with Uconn and much of that this info isn't even a spec of what is being considered. Baseline - Uconn is currently a mariginally committed(PP a testament to that) very young football program. They are 122nd ranked research school in the country. Schools like South Florida and Cinci smoke that, so not sure what all the AAU membership confidence is all about. Any chance Uconn gets that is years down the road if it does come. Very unlikely a Big Ten takes a Uconn on top of a risk like Rutgers in believing it helps them with the NYC market. They'll see what comes of Rutgers in seeing that through before adding a Uconn. Rutgers was a risk as an investment to the future/market grasp, but they do satisfy the integrity points as to what Delany has spoken to. Uconn does not.

Uconn ONLY gets into the Big Ten way down the road with an AAU membership, a few whiffs by the Big Ten on first line of targets and seeing some momentum built with football. As much as Uconn is a flagship school to CT, it plays it's hoops in a mall , it's football in an old airport off campus and in a pro sports culture. That's small beans, that's not real collegiate culture. That is not the Big Ten way.

Bottom line, there are much more attractive options out there once the ACC gets further busted up - schools with both better football tradition/programs in college football hotbeds and with more market appeal with appropriate facilities/infrastructure. And there is no reason for the Big Ten to start taking second pickings at this point when they are absolutely in the drivers seat, along with the SEC. They can wait all they want for a Uconn type school because they can have them whenever the hell they want. If we want to use Rutgers as the counter to that, they were a free of charge partner(with a better overall resume) to Maryland in taking the one school they knew would be game to challenge the ACC exit fee.

If Uconn wants to end up in greener pastures, it needs to start picking up it's game. PR/Marketing, a FB coach with a buzz, getting creative/progressive on venues. Start playing games in Foxborough/NYC if asked. It's not like the Rent brings ambience/drawing card. If Uconn wants a trump card to play, it needs to find a way to play itself into becoming THE D1 college football program of the Northeast. Time for the administration to step up - now is your chance to man up at a juncture when real impact can be made.

Uconn has one move and one move only anytime in the near future - that's sliding in as a filler in the ACC, a conference where the hoops value has heavier stock and a conference sitting in insecurity. For Uconn, that is a huge upgrade over it's current situation - it's something to work with. If it gets stuck for any extended time in this new BE hot mess, it will be an uphill battle. 5-7 years down the road in that conference, we may be asking to ditch FB to see if we can salvage our hoops back in the Catholic School league. Let's put the Big Ten stuff to bed - fun to talk about, fun to scour the dredges of optimistic menusche to keep hope alive/drive the pro Uconn rumor mill, but the evidence pointing in opposite direction is ridiculously heavy.

what is 'menusche'? does that rhyme with ?

 

[RuffRuff]

Playing off campus is the only negative variable against Uconn? Um, no, plenty more. Let's start with not being an AAU school - the rest has been beaten to death, not going to get into it. I've been as bummed about this as anyone, have done the couple weeks or so waiting for any positive tweet or morsel of info in Uconn favor to come through in trying to believe. Then Louisville was pulled into the ACC and I've stopped reaching and hoping. Now it feels like politics - trying to sift through the BS arguments to substantiate or dismiss. When you hit that point, one must simplify. It is what it is - hope for the best, but after reading enough from those with educated and unbiased 3rd party stances, it's fairly telling a Big Ten invite is not coming anytime soon. Uconn does not have a compelling resume right now(possible way down the line if the Big Ten doesn't max out and Uconn has it's act together) and there are a variety of better choices in the near term. The Big Ten can take who they want or sit put - they are the hot chick everyone wants to date. Rutgers was the anchor into NYC and Maryland was a strategic move to tip the ACC into combustion. That wasn't as much taking the best options, but setting wheels in motion with two schools that fit the profile all the while knocking over a domino that will allow them to go after the real targets.

I will say this - the one school that chaps me in all of this is BC. They feel like a stubborn ex wife who is ballbusting for the good of no one. If Uconn ever resides in the same conference, the scorn of which Uconn fans should have should make for one hell of a rivalry. If any BC fans actually show up for the game.

 

[Adios]

I don't care if the CC doesn't have an Old Navy anymore, it's still an old mall.

The mall area was replaced by a building that is the tallest residential building between Boston and NYC. What the do you smoke (or inhale)?

 

[RuffRuff]

Take the micro view here - ex mall, center of downtown Hartford, where when I last checked upon heading into to go out after a concert this past summer was reminiscent of Compton. Cop suggested I go back to hotel after a beer at Black Bear given a shooting a week prior. Based on the street clientele, wasnt surprising. It's about as far from an on campus setting as it gets. Does the conversion to a residential building in a horrid city district matter?