Big 12

[Rico444]

Thing is, if there is a P4 tourney, they only have to do it once. After that, no top recruit will come to a non-P4 as there is no chance of playing for the NC. After that, coaches will leave, TV money will evaporate, and that will be that for competitive hoops in non-P4 conferences. You'll essentially have ~80 teams playing one game and everyone else playing basically Ivy League level hoops.

Personally, I don't think it happens. Or, if it does, the BE is still included.

It would be minor league baseball at that point, or the G-League. What kind of ratings do either of those get?

 

[pj]

They aren't going to create a tournament and leave out the best basketball brands and they aren't going to leave out the Cinderellas.

I don't know. For decades basketball had two prestigious tourneys, the NCAA and NIT, and it wasn't a problem for either the best basketball brands or the Cinderellas. If the P4 split off to their own tourney it would just revive that situation - we would have the P4 Invitational Tourney (PIT) and a shrunken NCAA.

The question is more whether the PIT could successfully hog all the money and starve out the NCAA schools. Maybe, but far from certain, especially if they leave major brands like UConn, Villanova, Gonzaga in the NCAA grouping.

 

[TyroneShoo]

Typical Rutgers- Rutgers finally got good at recruiting HS kids when they are less valuable than ever. The real prize is current Freshmen or Sophs. They get one transfer

 

[JMick]

Maybe TV execs or the conference commissioners will think otherwise, or will plow ahead in spite of it,

This is exactly what's going to happen. It's not a good idea. Neither are these mega conferences. They do it anyway because they care about their next check, not the one 20 years from now.

 

[aburks41]

The only problem there is Title IX. That's why the big football programs can't just create their own league.

What does Title IX have to do with football programs breaking off into their own conferences?

 

[upstater]

UConn basketball will always have the budget to compete at the highest level. Every other sport will see a reduced budget well before basketball. Basketball is self supporting with the revenue they bring in anyways

But one wonders about the plans to include TV money in player NILs. All is lost at that point anyway.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't think you're suggesting it, but we should never join any conference for basketball only.

We are in one now. When the words "basketball only" are thrown out, they mean "everything but football". I know it's an inaccurate phrase, but that's what it means.

If either the ACC or Big XII offers a non-football membership that pays $10M+ (far more than Big East) and comes with a football scheduling deal, UConn needs to take it. Regular P5 games will improve our image and our football TV rights would increase significantly.

 

[aburks41]

But one wonders about the plans to include TV money in player NILs. All is lost at that point anyway.

That's the other looming issue. Once that happens, it might be game over for us. Or else we'd literally have to shutter every single sport except for mens and womens basketball so we could afford to pay the players

 

[AZHuskiePop]

UConn basketball will always have the budget to compete at the highest level. Every other sport will see a reduced budget well before basketball. Basketball is self supporting with the revenue they bring in anyways

Hypothetically Revenue from Basketball might be $10,000,000 expenses $8,000,000 so you make a profit on Men’s basketball of $2,000,000 . Nice but it’s no program carrier .Although it’s solvent. it’s only 10% of the Athletic budget which is losing $40-50 million a year an amount that is subsidized by state taxpayers .
You’re one economic downturn away from Draconian budget cut demands from the state legislature.
In that scenario half your sports are dropped and you adopt the financial structure of our Big East conference mates . for example Nova last budget was $39,000,000 and I suspect that’s on the high side for our conference mates
Getting into a league that pays significant money takes that pressure off . If you can keep the deficits in the $10-20million range and your football teams successful everyone is happy.
If you’re successful in a league where football is valued , those fans travel which increases tax revenue to the state . Coming to Connecticut in Autumn and staying a few days means millions to the state
I read somewhere that the State of Alabama makes an estimated $1billion. a year in additional revenue on college football. Even if the Connecticut’s is a fraction of that it’s enough to offset the subsidy. As a visitor to CT the car rental tax alone is mind boggling.

 

[superjohn]

That's the other looming issue. Once that happens, it might be game over for us. Or else we'd literally have to shutter every single sport except for mens and womens basketball so we could afford to pay the players

Maybe that's what should happen. If these schools completely stop funding women's sports/non-revenue sports it could finally wake people up as to what's going on and gov't and lawyers will step in.

 

[uconnfan68]

The only problem there is Title IX. That's why the big football programs can't just create their own league.

How hard would it be to get rid of that?

 

[August_West]

This is simply not true. The best players are going to go where the money is, and that will be to the power conferences. Those teams will be able to offer more NIL money, better facilities, they will be on tv more. It will be a gradual decline for the non Power conference schools, but it will happen.

How has that worked out for Syracuse or Pitt or BC?

 

[HooperScooper]

Although it’s solvent. it’s only 10% of the Athletic budget which is losing $40-50 million a year an amount that is subsidized by state taxpayers .

I don't believe that is where the money comes from, but someone tell us what the term "institutional support" means. That is the term they used in the articles when the budget deficit was revealed. I thought it meant from student tuitions and fees.

 

[CL82]

UConn basketball will always have the budget to compete at the highest level. Every other sport will see a reduced budget well before basketball. Basketball is self supporting with the revenue they bring in anyways

Actually I don't think there was a single Connecticut sport that was self supporting last year including men's and women's basketball. Everyone ran a deficit.

 

[CL82]

How has that worked out for Syracuse or Pitt or BC?

None of them had to endure the bucket of suck that was the American, so pretty good I guess.

 

[Deleted at users request]

I don’t think there’s any way they cut teams out of the tournament. It would defeat the whole purpose.

Football can get away with that kind of thing because it’s pretty much like that already anyways. It’s not built for cinderellas to win. So nobody would care.

If they did break off, they’d probably find a way to keep the tournament in tact I would assume.

 

[businesslawyer]

My worry about the NCAA Tournament is that the P4 (or whatever it is now) don't need to find a TV partner to pay the $1.1B that Turner pays right now. Conferences only get a small portion of that pie, like roughly ~30%. So around $330M split between all the conferences with tournament credits.

What happens if FOX and ESPN say hey wait a minute, we'll pay you guys $350M/year to broadcast our own tournament, with half the games on FOX and half on ESPN, and then a rotating Championship game like CBS/FOX/NBC do for the Super Bowl.

That is my biggest fear. Would the Big East be included in that? I think we will get our answer to that when the new CFP format comes out. If the P4 squeeze out the G5 conferences from getting auto-bids, we are in serious danger because that means the NCAA Tournament is likely where they turn their attention to next.

That is one of two realistic fears. The other is that as the financial gap between a P-4 school and the Big East continues to grow, eventually more of that money will filter into P-4 hoops in a manner that will make it impossible for Big East schools to keep up.

Neither of these harms will happen overnight. But are they realistic fears going forward? heck yes.

 

[August_West]

None of them had to endure the bucket of suck that was the American, so pretty good I guess.

Would you trade places with them for their decade plus of ACC money?

 

[CTBballfan243]

How has that worked out for Syracuse or Pitt or BC?

The NIL and paying players is just starting to come to fruition. Just wait, you will see

 

[CL82]

Would you trade places with them for their decade plus of ACC money?

Absolutely. Do you think Jim Calhoun couldn't win in the ACC? Do you think it Bazz and Boat somehow wouldn't dominate other guards if they were in the ACC? Would last year's team not have destroyed the field in the tournament if they had the letters ACC on their jersey? I think not. So would I rather have hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into the University of Connecticut while we were winning those championships? Yeah, I would.

 

[BGesus4]

See. Here’s the thing. You don’t actually know this. It is just more CR puffery. No one knows anything. I don’t know how many times one has to get T-bagged in the CR carousel to finally realize that no one ever knows anything.
It’s flippin amazing reading all this crap all the time .
I will grant that your opening sentence seems inevitable. But you don’t KNOW this and even if it is fact ( and it’s not) you still have no idea of when.

This is all getting to be pretty sad, but I find it so amusing because of posts like this ( (and threads like this) I have a hard time shedding tears .

Isn’t getting tea-bagged a good thing though?

 

[ElGreco]

I don't think you're suggesting it, but we should never join any conference for basketball only.

Your assumption is correct. All sports with the possible exception of hockey.

 

[Rico444]

That is one of two realistic fears. The other is that as the financial gap between a P-4 school and the Big East continues to grow, eventually more of that money will filter into P-4 hoops in a manner that will make it impossible for Big East schools to keep up.

Neither of these harms will happen overnight. But are they realistic fears going forward? heck yes.

I think some money will, but it won't be substantial. All we keep hearing over and over and OVER again is that basketball doesn't matter in conference realignment. How can basketball not matter and not move the needle on one hand, but matter enough for all the schools to pour tens of millions of dollars into on the other? If it truly matters that much, then it will begin to show in the media deals these conferences are signing.

 

[aburks41]

I think some money will, but it won't be substantial. All we keep hearing over and over and OVER again is that basketball doesn't matter in conference realignment. How can basketball not matter and not move the needle on one hand, but matter enough for all the schools to pour tens of millions of dollars into on the other? If it truly matters that much, then it will begin to show in the media deals these conferences are signing.

Basketball matters, just not UConn basketball, evidently. Nothing we do is ever good enough for these power conferences

 

[businesslawyer]

I think some money will, but it won't be substantial. All we keep hearing over and over and OVER again is that basketball doesn't matter in conference realignment. How can basketball not matter and not move the needle on one hand, but matter enough for all the schools to pour tens of millions of dollars into on the other? If it truly matters that much, then it will begin to show in the media deals these conferences are signing.

That is a possibility. I hope that is the future. But it is just as possible that P-4 schools will raise more money more quickly than they can spend it on pigskin and divert more of it to hoops.

 

[Jbirdp5]

The NIL and paying players is just starting to come to fruition. Just wait, you will see

Your making an unsubstantiated claim here. Teams aren’t “allowed” to discuss nil money with recruits and now they are going to be giving players the tv money? Unlikely…if anything there are going to be stricter rules on NIL than schools actually cutting these kids checks

 

[ElGreco]

Rutgers is about to have the number 1 class for 2024

 

[KembaStepback]

Why is the ACC not an option? BC still being a bunch of clowns? It's decent football even if Clemson and FSU leave and basketball is very good with some good rivalries.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Your making an unsubstantiated claim here. Teams aren’t “allowed” to discuss nil money with recruits and now they are going to be giving players the tv money? Unlikely…if anything there are going to be stricter rules on NIL than schools actually cutting these kids checks

Ok, no discussing NIL money “wink wink”.
Got it LOL. By the way, I have a bridge I would like to sell you.

 

[UconnU]

Florida State and Clemson made a huge mistake signing that deal that made it impossible for them to leave the ACC. They honestly should just say screw it pay the billion dollar exit fee so that they’re not funding a dying conference for the next 15 years.