Big 12 expansion - maybe not.

[Dooley]

Pure and utter poppycock. The more "we're content at 10 / there is nobody that adds value" garbage that Bowlsby and other B12 mouths spurt out, the more I think this is a dead man walking conference. Texas throwing around some muscle to keep their short-term revenue as lucrative as possible until their eventual move.

 

[Dooley]

UCONN gets $8M/yr for its T3 rights (signed in 2010). That falls right in line with most other P5 schools before most of the CR movement that has crushed UCONN. Point is, UCONN has the same value as many P5 schools: http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/...-Recently-Signed-Multimedia-Rights-Deals.aspx

Also, our Nike deal falls in line with most P5 schools. We make about $1.4M/yr in cash; $1.5M/yr in product from Nike: http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/01/how_much_do_colleges_get_for_s.html

If UCONN had zero value, like everyone claims, why has it been able to sign comparable deals with other P5 schools?

Again, Bowlsby and any B12 rhetoric saying nobody out there adds value is full of poppycock.

 

[UConn Dan]

Bowlsby will end up just as much of a patsy as Beebe at Texas's behest.

We add value to any league. But our biggest obstacles are that we are 1) geographically challenged in the big 12's eyes and 2) the big 12 does not and will not have a tv network so our market really doesn't help us.

They are most likely going to ride out their current TV contract or Texas will figure out a way out of GOR.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

ESPN could fix this in a nanosecond. We believe we are worth $20MM, and we are probably worth a lot more than that. ESPN doesn't care, and that is all that matters.

 

[zls44]

The deal would be a minimal participation of UCONN in the national cable deal but allow UConn to market it's an agreed number tier 3 games (most of them) to a channel like SNY. The state then makes the channel and the fee a requirement for a cable TV license in the State and funnel the money to UConn. Done.

....no.

Putting aside the fact that it would never even make a DPUC proposal...and the fact that every cable operator would resist it...and the fact that it's tortious interference...let's put all of those realities on the side and break it down from another basic level.

There aren't any Tier 3 rights to sell.

The Tier 3 rights are part of the AAC contract. For everything except men's/women's ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse, the AAC owns them lock stock & barrel. The move that's coming soon is for the AAC to do what the MAC, Big West, MAAC, ACC and pretty much every other conference that has a deal with ESPN- developing the infrastructure for transmission facilities on campus and school-productions of all AAC home sporting events. These end up distributed through ESPN3/Watch ESPN. The AAC is already doing this from a conference level (every non-UConn WBB game is streamed online, plus conference tournaments in the other sports) and the Big East is ramping this up through the Fox app. It's protection against cord-cutting.

This is from the recent MAC-ESPN deal and explains how most of these contracts will work going forward: http://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/8/19/6045303/explaining-the-new-mac-espn-tv-deal

-----------

The simple reality is that UConn doesn't add enough value to the overall contract to make them worth expanding. It doesn't matter that it's an excellent school, it doesn't matter that it wins a lot of titles, it doesn't matter that it's between New York and Boston. If it was worth it, it wouldn't have been passed over by the ACC...and the Big Ten...and the Big XII...the only people who found them to have any value are Hockey East and they're looking like geniuses for doing so.

Here's a couple of articles on the top rated markets for college football & college basketball. Hartford isn't in either.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...ootball-coverage-garners-millions-of-viewers/

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...viewed-and-highest-rated-regular-season-ever/

"For the 12th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham finished tied for second with a 2.8 rating. It marks the third straight year Greensboro has ended the season in the second spot. The remaining top 10 is Memphis (2.6), Columbus (2.0), Cincinnati (1.9), Knoxville (1.9), Dayton (1.9) and Indianapolis (1.8). "

Think Memphis going from conference games against UAB & Rice to UConn & Louisville had an impact?

"Memphis made the biggest year-to-year jump in the standings, moving from 14th to fifth by doubling its rating from a 1.3 to a 2.6."

 

[zls44]

After those comments, I'm curious to see if Bowlsby's days are numbered as a commissioner. It seems like he's refusing to change with the times and won't look outside of his narrow telescope. He's not very creative.

It's amazing how they went from one idiot commissioner to another one. Breathtaking.

 

[XOVERX]

That's a great article, short and concise. The point of the article is that the Big 10 needs to invite Texas and Oklahoma. The last sentence:

"The last wave of Big Ten expansion helped bring the conference to the East Coast and those major television markets. Now it’s time for the Big Ten to strengthen the league on the gridiron."

I think the formula, if the B1G ever decides to utilize it, is: Kansas > Oklahoma > Texas > UConn.

Pick off Kansas and Oklahoma, and then Texas will have no choice except to migrate out of the B12; there being no other anchor school left. To keep its most important association alive, Texas follows Oklahoma into a very nice, prestigious league. Then here comes UConn to get the B1G to 18.

Such an expansion gets the B1G that strenghened league on the gridiron while simultaneously bringing the B1G even more major television markets in the East, finishing off the north end of the NE Corridor.

But there's even more: Excellent new football recruiting ground, massive basketball upgrade with UConn and Kansas, shuts out the SEC from state flagship schools in the West, two additional AAU schools with one near-AAU (UConn). Grand slam, if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor.

Maybe the B1G is cultivating such a scenario, idk. It seems obvious enough to me, but there's a whole lot of moving parts, as they say. The most difficult moving part, from Texas' pov, is what happens to its beloved LHN? Texas folks who get it do like the LHN. So who knows?

 

[SubbaBub]

....no.

Putting aside the fact that it would never even make a DPUC proposal...and the fact that every cable operator would resist it...and the fact that it's tortious interference...let's put all of those realities on the side and break it down from another basic level.

There aren't any Tier 3 rights to sell.

The Tier 3 rights are part of the AAC contract. For everything except men's/women's ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse, the AAC owns them lock stock & barrel. The move that's coming soon is for the AAC to do what the MAC, Big West, MAAC, ACC and pretty much every other conference that has a deal with ESPN- developing the infrastructure for transmission facilities on campus and school-productions of all AAC home sporting events. These end up distributed through ESPN3/Watch ESPN. The AAC is already doing this from a conference level (every non-UConn WBB game is streamed online, plus conference tournaments in the other sports) and the Big East is ramping this up through the Fox app. It's protection against cord-cutting.

This is from the recent MAC-ESPN deal and explains how most of these contracts will work going forward: http://www.hustlebelt.com/2014/8/19/6045303/explaining-the-new-mac-espn-tv-deal

-----------

The simple reality is that UConn doesn't add enough value to the overall contract to make them worth expanding. It doesn't matter that it's an excellent school, it doesn't matter that it wins a lot of titles, it doesn't matter that it's between New York and Boston. If it was worth it, it wouldn't have been passed over by the ACC...and the Big Ten...and the Big XII...the only people who found them to have any value are Hockey East and they're looking like geniuses for doing so.

Here's a couple of articles on the top rated markets for college football & college basketball. Hartford isn't in either.

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...ootball-coverage-garners-millions-of-viewers/

http://espnmediazone.com/us/press-r...viewed-and-highest-rated-regular-season-ever/

"For the 12th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN’s regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro, Kansas City and Raleigh-Durham finished tied for second with a 2.8 rating. It marks the third straight year Greensboro has ended the season in the second spot. The remaining top 10 is Memphis (2.6), Columbus (2.0), Cincinnati (1.9), Knoxville (1.9), Dayton (1.9) and Indianapolis (1.8). "

Think Memphis going from conference games against UAB & Rice to UConn & Louisville had an impact?

"Memphis made the biggest year-to-year jump in the standings, moving from 14th to fifth by doubling its rating from a 1.3 to a 2.6."

When has a cable system not bitehed about adding a sports network. It could be done. Why is SNY in every home in CT; it's not because of the Mets. And the state can raise excise taxes on cable andP satellite bills anytime it wants to. It can discount systems that carry enough Uconn sports. It can also increase UCONN funding anytime it wants to. There is no need to connect the two things directly. DPUC answers to the legislature.

If the price of P5 admittance is a temporary self funding mechanism, it will happen.

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Lol...I love how he mentioned academics

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Z,

If UConn is worthless to ESPN, why do we keep trying to sell ourselves to ESPN? And if ESPN will never pay more than $2 mm per year for UConn, wouldn't it make sense to either find another way to sell our games, or shut down football and de-emphasize athletics? That appears to be what you are saying.

 

[zls44]

Z, If UConn is worthless to ESPN, why do we keep trying to sell ourselves to ESPN? And if ESPN will never pay more than $2 mm per year for UConn, wouldn't it make sense to either find another way to sell our games, or shut down football and de-emphasize athletics? That appears to be what you are saying.

I knew you'd seize on that as an excuse for your stupid anti football rant.

 

[Adios]

We have infiltrated ESPN. I wouldn't worry.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I knew you'd seize on that as an excuse for your stupid anti football rant.

Lame.

You are the one saying UConn is worthless, not me. Follow your post to its logical conclusion.

 

[Kolumbo]

It's good to be the king.
Texas is in a win-win-win situation. Texas can go independent, hang on in the Big 12 as long as possible, or get an invite at the drop of a 10-gallon hat. This makes the Big 12 conference very susceptible. I have to believe the lower half of that conference is clamoring for some changes because it would make no sense for them to keep the status quo which could eventually leave them in the G5 lurch. It just does not make sense.
And I am sick of coming to this board and finding nothing newsworthy. What is wrong with you people? Give me something!

 

[CL82]

ZLS loves to suggest that UConn has zero value because it justifies UConn being left behind. Better to promote that narrative than for people to remember that ESPN funded the dismantling of Big East. It's his shtick, probable due his cognitive dissonance over being a part of the institution that gutted the best basketball conference of all time and left Connecticut with a very difficult path toward maintaining a big time athletic program.

 

[Kolumbo]

ZLS loves to suggest that UConn has zero value because it justifies UConn being left behind. Better to promote that narrative than for people to remember that ESPN funded the dismantling of Big East. It's his shtick, probable due his cognitive dissonance over being a part of the institution that gutted the best basketball conference of all time and left Connecticut with a very difficult path toward maintaining a big time athletic program.

It's amazing that Disney continues to pour $millions into the Bristol campus with new digital buildings and satellite farms and so forth. Perhaps espn's proximity to NYC and Boston have something to do with that. Interesting. F espn.

 

[zls44]

UConn has less value because the market has determined that. By your idiotic logic, why didn't Fox demand the Big East keep UConn BB as an anchor in some capacity when they split off? Maybe because every market measurement shows that it's not nearly as big a player as you think? Why was the NBCSN offer so bad?

Rejected by the ACC, Big Ten, BigXII but go ahead and blame everyone else without looking in a mirror.

 

[Kolumbo]

UConn has less value because the market has determined that. By your idiotic logic, why didn't Fox demand the Big East keep UConn BB as an anchor in some capacity when they split off? Maybe because every market measurement shows that it's not nearly as big a player as you think? Why was the NBCSN offer so bad?

Rejected by the ACC, Big Ten, BigXII but go ahead and blame everyone else without looking in a mirror.

You do understand that the Catholic 7 split off, right? Fox had no place in demanding UCONN jump ship. And your use of the term "market" in this context really has no relation to supply and demand. This is strictly a money grab by the greedy networks. UCONN has been rejected by nobody.

 

[pj]

If the ACC had taken UConn instead of Louisville, would it be UConn that had a value of $20 mn/yr and Louisville that had a value of $2 mn/yr?

In markets with small numbers of properties and bidders, and various constraints like requirements of even numbers of members, and strategic maneuvering/games, there can easily be 10-fold discrepancies between actual value and market income.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

It's amazing that Disney continues to pour $millions into the Bristol campus with new digital buildings and satellite farms and so forth. Perhaps espn's proximity to NYC and Boston have something to do with that. Interesting. F espn.

CT also gave some serious money to NBC Sports to move/centralize it's sports campus in Stamford.

 

[huskyniner]

Guys it's simple, just give me about 20 years to move up to the top of the company and I'll fix everything for UConn. Hope we can squeeze out that Catholic 7 exit money for that long.

 

[Fishy]

UConn has less value because the market has determined that. By your idiotic logic, why didn't Fox demand the Big East keep UConn BB as an anchor in some capacity when they split off? Maybe because every market measurement shows that it's not nearly as big a player as you think? Why was the NBCSN offer so bad?

Rejected by the ACC, Big Ten, BigXII but go ahead and blame everyone else without looking in a mirror.

How much is the Syracuse market worth? Does Syracuse even have a market? I can't find it. Wait! There they are at #84.

Or Pittsburgh? They share a market with Morgantown, West Virginia - that's a must have! Louisville's market is about the size of Memphis - what could that possibly be worth? Was ESPN trying to lock up the 50th biggest market there? I was under the impression that they already had the entire state locked up already. What was Fort Worth's addition worth to the Big 12? My guess is +/- $0. Or Morgantown? Okay, so they don't even have their own market, I'm sure they are still mega-valuable.

And I think I must have missed some of those markets when I looked through the ratings you were touting. Surely, you're holding those schools in their predominantly dinky markets to the same standards that you're holding UConn? Surely, Syracuse should be able to deliver big ratings in their little pond just like Louisville. (Wait....do you think that maybe, just maybe, Kentucky is driving those ratings?!)

Anywho, if you think markets and whatever vague definition of value you're bandying about was the be all and end all, well, no. Nice try.

 

[Adios]

How much is the Syracuse market worth? Does Syracuse even have a market? I can't find it. Wait! There they are at #84.

Or Pittsburgh? They share a market with Morgantown, West Virginia - that's a must have! Louisville's market is about the size of Memphis - what could that possibly be worth? Was ESPN trying to lock up the 50th biggest market there? I was under the impression that they already had the entire state locked up already. What was Fort Worth's addition worth to the Big 12? My guess is +/- $0. Or Morgantown? Okay, so they don't even have their own market, I'm sure they are still mega-valuable.

And I think I must have missed some of those markets when I looked through the ratings you were touting. Surely, you're holding those schools in their predominantly dinky markets to the same standards that you're holding UConn? Surely, Syracuse should be able to deliver big ratings in their little pond just like Louisville. (Wait....do you think that maybe, just maybe, Kentucky is driving those ratings?!)

Anywho, if you think markets and whatever vague definition of value you're bandying about was the be all and end all, well, no. Nice try.

National markets. Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia, TCU, etc have name recognition. Louisville has more history at the top tier than we do, which also helps them in name recognition. But we're catching up very fast.

 

[Stinger92860]

How much is the Syracuse market worth? Does Syracuse even have a market? I can't find it. Wait! There they are at #84.

Or Pittsburgh? They share a market with Morgantown, West Virginia - that's a must have! Louisville's market is about the size of Memphis - what could that possibly be worth? Was ESPN trying to lock up the 50th biggest market there? I was under the impression that they already had the entire state locked up already. What was Fort Worth's addition worth to the Big 12? My guess is +/- $0. Or Morgantown? Okay, so they don't even have their own market, I'm sure they are still mega-valuable.

And I think I must have missed some of those markets when I looked through the ratings you were touting. Surely, you're holding those schools in their predominantly dinky markets to the same standards that you're holding UConn? Surely, Syracuse should be able to deliver big ratings in their little pond just like Louisville. (Wait....do you think that maybe, just maybe, Kentucky is driving those ratings?!)

Anywho, if you think markets and whatever vague definition of value you're bandying about was the be all and end all, well, no. Nice try.

Wait unti ESPN gets hacked like Sony. It will make for a fun read.

 

[upstater]

National markets. Syracuse, Pitt, West Virginia, TCU, etc have name recognition. Louisville has more history at the top tier than we do, which also helps them in name recognition. But we're catching up very fast.

I've been around the country. I think WV is known for football. But Syracuse and Pitt are an afterthought for football. They really are. I can only speak from the perspective of midwesterners on this, but they consider those two schools to be slightly above the MAC. I can imagine how underwhelmned southerners are.

Back when the BE was more formidable (Miami, VT and WV), the perception of the rest of the conference was overwhelmingly negative.

I don't think some cornball in Muskegon is going to be tuning into Syracuse-NC State on any given night.

 

[1husky]

Guys it's simple, just give me about 20 years to move up to the top of the company and I'll fix everything for UConn. Hope we can squeeze out that Catholic 7 exit money for that long.

Going to work at 2 am should help you/all of us get there quicker. Keep up the good work! Unless you are just coming in from the bars??

 

[Adios]

I've been around the country. I think WV is known for football. But Syracuse and Pitt are an afterthought for football. They really are. I can only speak from the perspective of midwesterners on this, but they consider those two schools to be slightly above the MAC. I can imagine how underwhelmned southerners are.

Back when the BE was more formidable (Miami, VT and WV), the perception of the rest of the conference was overwhelmingly negative.

I don't think some cornball in Muskegon is going to be tuning into Syracuse-NC State on any given night.

The cornball might tune into Cuse-NC State basketball. The B1G does emphasize basketball in it's portfolio.

 

[btstimpy]

Pure and utter poppycock. The more "we're content at 10 / there is nobody that adds value" garbage that Bowlsby and other B12 mouths spurt out, the more I think this is a dead man walking conference. Texas throwing around some muscle to keep their short-term revenue as lucrative as possible until their eventual move.

You have to take into account the Big XII television contracts. They are sized for 12 members now. The Big XII has 10 members and a contract for 12 members. If they add two more members, they get the exact sum that they get for 10. So these comments are not a judgement on the value of the candidates as much as the Big XII realizing that they are currently overpaid, and if they add more members they might be paid appropriately, but each member would receive less than they do now. The Big XII was told by FOX and ESPN that only Notre Dame as a full football member would increase their contract value.

The Big XII likes to claim to be a highly paid conference, but it's fool's gold. They have 10 members splitting a 12 member pot. You should not take this as judgement of UConn's value. It is more hoarding of the pot while they can because it is time limited. All of the other issues like too small a footprint, lack of population, etc. will all come home to roost as that contract nears its term.

 

[pj]

This would be worth waiting for and getting kicked in the nads time after time. If this were to ever happen, does anyone think the B1G would ever vote out Rutgers and vote in Cuse? That would be a pretty amazing Easter pod with UConn, Cuse, PSU, and UMD. I can dream can't I?

No. Rutgers >> Cuse.

 

[huskyniner]

Going to work at 2 am should help you/all of us get there quicker. Keep up the good work! Unless you are just coming in from the bars??

Nope, you were close. I usually work the night shift from 6p-4a.