Big Ten payout in '17/'18....$44.5M

[ConnHuskBask]

Random question regarding the upcoming revenue gap. If we have brand new football facilities, brand new basketball facilities, a new football stadium and a 25 year old campus hoops facility, and an XL Center with plans for an upgrade with state money, is it essentially the coaching staff and full cost of attendance where the money will be hard to compete?

We all know Diaco will be gone if he does well, but even before this huge gap that was likely.

With KO it's UConn or the NBA - which we couldn't compete with anyways.

I think we have more time to survive due to the facilities being built or near completion, but down the road.... well... hopefully were in a better position.

 

[BlueHen]

Like many of you, I too am concerned by UConn's current situation. The uncertainty/unpredictability of CR, and the lack of logic as to how we got here can be disheartening. On the other hand, there are a few things that give me reason for optimism.

The school seems be acting very proactively to better the situation. It may be late, but better late than never.

It is in nobody's best interest to see UConn wither on the vine. If UConn becomes a 'have-not' and can't keep up with the 'haves' then a big part of the northeast college sports market will go away. We (UConn fans) aren't going to throw our support behind another team. Die hard UConn fans will watch the team no matter what, but many casual fans will stop watching if the team can't compete. ESPN may have us for a bargain right now, but it's only a bargain if people are watching.

 

[Fishy]

The downside to the Big Ten projections is that they really, really have no need to expand further. They think they have $45M coming in just four years - at that rate, there is really no one they can add that will bring in an additional $45M just to keep pace. At that point, you've limited your expansion possibilities to the Chicago Bears.

The only Hail Mary is if Fox goes all in on the next contract and wants/needs more inventory than the Big Ten can provide. But even then, there's UConn and.....who?

The upside, if there is one, to the Big Ten projections, is that the ACC and Big 12 feel some kind of pressure based on the revenue gap they'll be facing with the Big Ten and SEC. At this rate, the Big Ten will almost be doubling up the ACC - they may feel they have to do something to change the game.

 

[upstater]

If I read this correctly, the B1G is ahead of the ACC $14m in TV revenue alone in a few years and quite possibly more if more B1G teams are getting into good bowls, NCAA tourney.

Would any of these ACC teams think of jumping ship for a $15m+ yearly bump?

 

[itgoeslike]

I almost think the the FOI request was at the behest of a B1G staffer. If the B1G is trying to shake someone lose in the ACC, those projections can only help. I'm sure Bubba at UNC is firing off more emails.

 

[Dooley]

If I read this correctly, the B1G is ahead of the ACC $14m in TV revenue alone in a few years and quite possibly more if more B1G teams are getting into good bowls, NCAA tourney.

Would any of these ACC teams think of jumping ship for a $15m+ yearly bump?

If GOR is as air tight as we all seem to think it is, probably not. $51M exit fee, GOR and partial payment for 6 years for new members would mean that schools who jumped would have to wait a LONG time for the move to pay off. If the GOR isn't as sealed as we think, then yes.

I think the ACC's next best (and most logical) play is to tell ESPN to p1ss off and start their own TV network. Take a page right out of Delany's playbook by starting their own network and concentrate on adding schools who have presence in large markets. Hello UCONN.

 

[upstater]

If GOR is as air tight as we all seem to think it is, probably not. $51M exit fee, GOR and partial payment for 6 years for new members would mean that schools who jumped would have to wait a LONG time for the move to pay off. If the GOR isn't as sealed as we think, then yes.

I think the ACC's next best (and most logical) play is to tell ESPN to p1ss off and start their own TV network. Take a page right out of Delany's playbook by starting their own network and concentrate on adding schools who have presence in large markets. Hello UCONN.

Starting their own network is death to the ACC. Not enough big markets plus the BTN somehow got BTN working while showing reruns and 3rd tier non-sense. I doubt the ACC could do that in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania. They could do it in North Carolina but not in Georgia. Don't know if Virginians are willing to shell out $1 a month for that. Florida would be a tough call too.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I thought the consensus was that we should hold out in the American for a while(?).

The only good news about this is that it does set the market for media value, and the smart move would be to somehow get UConn out to bid without a bunch of deadweight attached to us. Or we could hang out in the AAC for the next 10 years.

At $44.5MM a year per school, the Big 10 is never adding another school. They are done.

 

[metsfan2323]

I'll take championships over money any day, as a fan I get to enjoy the championships and I won't be getting a cut of the money anyway.

Until cash payouts are distributed to prospective recruits (it will never happen) the money factor is overrated (from a fans perspective). I'm sure Minnesota made a small fortune this year, but they didn't have a parade. What the lack of TV funding really means is that CT taxpayers will have to support their state institution more than Minnesota taxpayers do because in Minnesota the athletic department profits can help support the academic side of the school.

CT Taxpayers should be pissed, which is why conference realignment is very much a political issue that should be at the doorstep of the Governor, any fan who thinks Warde Manual needs to lead our realignment campaign is nuts.

 

[Dooley]

I don't understand this "the B1G is done" sentiment. College athletics is about making money. Why would they decide that $45M/yr/school is the end game? That would be the equivalent of Ford saying "we are only going to sell cars in the U.S. now because we have enough money". The B1G is no different than any other money making entity: they will continue to grow their "business" if they feel that they can make more money.

 

[woomba]

This isn't just TV money - it's conference distributions, so that will include NCAA credits and Bowl/Playoff money.

What this doesn't include are the Tier 3 rights still owned by each school - there's still some TV inventory for non FB/BB game material (Coach shows, Olympic sports) that's not covered in BTN as well as radio, advertising, etc.

So what essentially this does comes down to is that the Big Ten is projecting ~$30-$35MM ish from the new TV deal once signed in a few years.

 

[Dooley]

I'll take championships over money any day, as a fan I get to enjoy the championships and I won't be getting a cut of the money anyway.

Until cash payouts are distributed to prospective recruits the money factor is overrated (from a fans perspective). I'm sure Minnesota made a small fortune this year, but they didn't have a parade. What the lack of TV funding really means is that CT taxpayers will have to support their state institution more than Minnesota taxpayers do because in Minnesota the athletic department profits can help support the academic side of the school.

I agree with you: championships bring me more happiness than revenue stories. But at some point we are going to have to step up and pay Kevin Ollie as the highest paid coach in college basketball and we can't do that making AAC peanuts.

 

[Dizzy21]

Random question regarding the upcoming revenue gap. If we have brand new football facilities, brand new basketball facilities, a new football stadium and a 25 year old campus hoops facility, and an XL Center with plans for an upgrade with state money, is it essentially the coaching staff and full cost of attendance where the money will be hard to compete?

We all know Diaco will be gone if he does well, but even before this huge gap that was likely.

With KO it's UConn or the NBA - which we couldn't compete with anyways.

I think we have more time to survive due to the facilities being built or near completion, but down the road.... well... hopefully were in a better position.

I wonder some of these questions myself. I do understand having 40mln would be nice, but where is our football team or basketball team going to lack because of not having the extra money. Our expenses on football are already close to top 20 in the country. http://www.businessinsider.com/schools-spend-most-money-football-team-2012-1?op=1 I get that we could pay coaches more and pay the athletes full tuition, however all of that would come to maybe a few million dollars a year max, which may well be covered in a slightly better AAC TV deal. Aside from that, and I honestly don't understand how other sports work, but UConn's other teams seem to be doing well and competing nationally with their budgets. I guess, and this is an honest question, but why would having an extra 40 mln make our athletics better compared to an extra few million that would pay for more football coach salary and full cost of player tuition?

 

[Seaa Blue]

At $44.5MM a year per school, the Big 10 is never adding another school. They are done.

One goal of BTN is to eventually become a player for Tier 1 content. That thought opens the door a bit for further expansion without diminishing returns. Well, it's an indication of what they're thinking anyway.

 

[Dooley]

Starting their own network is death to the ACC. Not enough big markets plus the BTN somehow got BTN working while showing reruns and 3rd tier non-sense. I doubt the ACC could do that in New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania. They could do it in North Carolina but not in Georgia. Don't know if Virginians are willing to shell out $1 a month for that. Florida would be a tough call too.

Let's say that the ACC already had their own network, UCONN probably would have been added years ago because of markets. If they decided to re-run FSU and UCONN National Championship runs, it would get watched. Then again, Maryland surely wouldn't have bolted for greener pastures.

 

[kyleslamb]

I thought the consensus was that we should hold out in the American for a while(?).

The only good news about this is that it does set the market for media value, and the smart move would be to somehow get UConn out to bid without a bunch of deadweight attached to us. Or we could hang out in the AAC for the next 10 years.

At $44.5MM a year per school, the Big 10 is never adding another school. They are done.

Survey says: no.

The Big Ten has always planned on getting to 16-20 since they expanded to 14. They don't like scheduling for 14 teams and won't stay there. It might be five years before they take another step, but they're not done IMHO.

 

[itgoeslike]

The B1G would need to appreciate not only what UConn brings today, but more importantly, what it can be 6 years down the road.

 

[ASweet3781]

I can only hope those who have been the most hysterical and doomsday on conference realignment turn out to be as over the top wrong as they were about the UConn men's basketball team and it's coaching staff this year. Some of us remember what was said. Ollie couldn't beat veteran good coaches. The assistant coaches need a recruiter on staff because they can't recruit and are simply there because the assistant coaches at UConn has turned into a jobs program for former UConn players.

How did those bold proclamations turn out? If a little patience was shown you would have seen Ollie out coach the likes of John Calipari, Billy Donovan, and Tom Izzo en route to a National Title. And those empty suit assistant coaches whose only qualifications appear to be that they played at UConn have proven to be good recruiters and good coaches even in the face of sanctions.

Conference realignment is depressing and frustrating enough from our perspective. But overreacting hysterically to every piece of news and than pretending you have the slightest clue what will happen in the future has gotten old.

The Big Ten is going to make a ton of money? Wow, no kidding. Does it suck? Yes. Does it mean that the schools in the power 5 who suck in most every sport now and are making a lot of money are gonna get any better? No. Does it mean that 2 multi title winning programs coached by Geno Auriemma and Kevin Ollie are going to shrivel up and die? No. Do you have the slightest clue what the Big 10 and any other league will do in the future? No. Do you know where UConn will be in the future? No.

 

[itgoeslike]

Survey says: no.

The Big Ten has always planned on getting to 16-20 since they expanded to 14. They don't like scheduling for 14 teams and won't stay there. It might be five years before they take another step, but they're not done IMHO.

What's the value in waiting until after the TV deal is put to bed?

 

[metsfan2323]

I can only hope those who have been the most hysterical and doomsday on conference realignment turn out to be as over the top wrong as they were about the UConn men's basketball team and it's coaching staff this year. Some of us remember what was said. Ollie couldn't beat veteran good coaches. The assistant coaches need a recruiter on staff because they can't recruit and are simply there because the assistant coaches at UConn has turned into a jobs program for former UConn players.

How did those bold proclamations turn out? If a little patience was shown you would have seen Ollie out coach the likes of John Calipari, Billy Donovan, and Tom Izzo en route to a National Title. And those empty suit assistant coaches whose only qualifications appear to be that they played at UConn have proven to be good recruiters and good coaches even in the face of sanctions.

Conference realignment is depressing and frustrating enough from our perspective. But overreacting hysterically to every piece of news and than pretending you have the slightest clue what will happen in the future has gotten old.

The Big Ten is going to make a ton of money? Wow, no kidding. Does it suck? Yes. Does it mean that the schools in the power 5 who suck in most every sport now and are making a lot of money are gonna get any better? No. Does it mean that 2 multi title winning programs coached by Geno Auriemma and Kevin Ollie are going to shrivel up and die? No. Do you have the slightest clue what the Big 10 and any other league will do in the future? No. Do you know where UConn will be in the future? No.

Well said. There is a very active group of doomsdayers on this board who act like the money directly effects their ability to feed their kids. It's old and nauseating.

 

[kyleslamb]

What's the value in waiting until after the TV deal is put to bed?

I don't think there is much, and to be honest, that is the reason it's probably likely they do something within the next two years. But in the event the legal system and legal complications slow it down, there's an outside possibility it could drag beyond the 2016 negotiating window.

I do believe the Big Ten will have at least two more teams in place by 2016, though.

 

[ASweet3781]

Well said. There is a very active group of doomsdayers on this board who act like the money directly effects their ability to feed their kids. It's old and nauseating.

I used to be that way. There's no point to it. We don't control any of it. Whatever happens will happen. You can act hysterical and be miserable and it will change nothing. You can be a faux prophet too and pretend you know what's going to happen and look foolish. We got some people who have mastered that.

UConn has been on the outside looking in for a while now. And we are coming off our best year athletically in quite some time.

 

[itgoeslike]

I don't think there is much, and to be honest, that is the reason it's probably likely they do something within the next two years. But in the event the legal system and legal complications slow it down, there's an outside possibility it could drag beyond the 2016 negotiating window.

I do believe the Big Ten will have at least two more teams in place by 2016, though.

I happen to agree. If the B1G can expand to 16 on their terms prior to the TV deal they will. I don't know if UConn is one of the moving parts, but it would be great it was. The impending subdivision could be a drag or a potential catalyst depending upon how it unfolds.

 

[Fishy]

Anyone disturbed by reality should just bail on this thread.

It's not for you.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

You think Va might be wavering.

Huh?