Blauds wants more clicks...

[WestCoastHusky]

If we are turned down by the B12, our best course of the action is to move all sports other than FB to the BE. We can keep our FB only in the AAC or another conference. There is no way in hell we should stay in the AAC if both Cincy and Houston are gone. BE is not ideal, but basketball there is at least tolerable until another P5 opportunity surfaces.

 

[Chin Diesel]

When I first saw the thread title I was at an angle from my computer screen and couldn't clearly see the "cl" in the title. My thought was, how many does he want?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Here's a thought (I will get flamed). Total speculation. If the American is getting poached, and would allow UConn to stay for football only, wouldn't the ACC be interested in our Olympic sports? Couldn't they essentially craft a deal that says we'd have to join the ACC if ND joined in full, and could only opt out if the American stopped allowing us to play football there. You'd think that would be ideal for them. They'd pay us a partial share. Balanced schedules in Olympic sports and football, plus our basketball, soccer, baseball etc. for the new network.

 

[TRest]

If we are turned down by the B12, our best course of the action is to move all sports other than FB to the BE. We can keep our FB only in the AAC or another conference. There is no way in hell we should stay in the AAC if both Cincy and Houston are gone. BE is not ideal, but basketball there is at least tolerable until another P5 opportunity surfaces.

We have no leverage over the AAC to keep football there or any other conference. It is not happening.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

We have no leverage over the AAC to keep football there or any other conference. It is not happening.

CR is based on football
The consensus is we believe we belong in a P5 conference because of Market
Yet we have no leverage over a G5 league
If it wasn't so sad it would be amusing
We're the only AAC team that actually owns a market of any size
Please get off the ledge

 

[psilotic]

The Big East needs viewers. They'd take us and if the B1G or ACC is making eyes at us for the long term, one of them will help us scheduling football games. Upstater made a great point elsewhere, the only problem with going back to the Big East is that FOX will know they are getting us either way and may not support us going to the B12.

At a minimum it sounds as if UConn might finally have some real leverage in this process. Maybe Fox greases the skids for UConn into Big 12 w/side agreement for lots of OOC hoop games (say 4-5 a season) vs. old Big East teams on Fox?

 

[TRest]

CR is based on football
The consensus is we believe we belong in a P5 conference because of Market
Yet we have no leverage over a G5 league
If it wasn't so sad it would be amusing
We're the only AAC team that actually owns a market of any size
Please get off the ledge

I may need to use Google translate on this one.

 

[NYUConn]

If UConn threatens to go to the Big East with a +1 (say Temple) that would give us more leverage of The American for football only.

If the AAC loses UC and UH to the Big 12 for all sports, they wouldn't want to lost two of their other major brands and be stuck with a football conference that is anchored by UCF, Memphis and Navy.

 

[upstater]

I've been saying this since the B12 announced plans for expansion. What leverage would Aresco have in forcing UConn to keep all sports in the AAC if UH/Cincy leaves? What's the difference if we're playing football in the MAC or a watered down AAC at that point? They can't afford to lose us.

They can certainly afford to lose us for the reasons you already argued. What difference would it make?

They could lose us if only to make a point. To discourage the others.

 

[upstater]

Because they paid the price for having members w/ one foot out the door already in the past. History repeats itself.


I don't think so, either. But if P5 isn't an option until 2025, I'd much rather have football in the AAC & everything else in the Big East than everything stuck in AAC purgatory.

What price did they pay though?

The only reason they left is that they didn't want to play Tulane, Boise and TCU in basketball. Who can blame them?

 

[husky210]

When I first saw the thread title I was at an angle from my computer screen and couldn't clearly see the "cl" in the title. My thought was, how many does he want?

I was about to come and say this. Beat me to it

 

[WestHartHusk]

What do we think about the timing of this story? Trying to make up for the interview?

 

[huskymedic]

What do we think about the timing of this story? Trying to make up for the interview?

?? MB was pumping this story 5 hours or so before the Courant/SH story was posted.

 

[WestHartHusk]

?? MB was pumping this story 5 hours or so before the Courant/SH story was posted.

Well that is an inconvenient fact for me, isn't it?

 

[JMick]

What do we think about the timing of this story? Trying to make up for the interview?

To me it was a crap or get off the pot statement.

 

[Fishy]

We have no leverage over the AAC to keep football there or any other conference. It is not happening.

Been thinking about this....

If the AAC loses, say, Houston and Cincy, I'm not sure what leverage they have left.

The television contract falls apart, bowl agreements fall apart - UConn might not be the only school looking to vacate at that point.

 

[pepband99]

Been thinking about this....

If the AAC loses, say, Houston and Cincy, I'm not sure what leverage they have left.

The television contract falls apart, bowl agreements fall apart - UConn might not be the only school looking to vacate at that point.

Exactly. If the exit clauses get fired, they're dead. That's why the Blauds article is huge to me - if the Big East might take us, we end up with a better situation than we have now, instead of the worst possible situation.

 

[TRest]

Been thinking about this....

If the AAC loses, say, Houston and Cincy, I'm not sure what leverage they have left.

The television contract falls apart, bowl agreements fall apart - UConn might not be the only school looking to vacate at that point.

Does a conference exist if the television contract is negated? The schools are still bound together, unless there is a mass exodus/vote to disband. I would think these schools would tether themselves to UConn any way they can. But most put football first, and because of our investment in football we desperately need a relevant place to play.

 

[MattMang23]

If UConn threatens to go to the Big East with a +1 (say Temple) that would give us more leverage of The American for football only.

If the AAC loses UC and UH to the Big 12 for all sports, they wouldn't want to lost two of their other major brands and be stuck with a football conference that is anchored by UCF, Memphis and Navy.

Temple will never get into the Big East. There was a reason they only played football in the league previously. That reason just won the NCAA basketball tournament this year. They're not sharing the market.

I'm not sure I agree on leverage either. We would tell the AAC either keep us in football... Or...? Or what? We'll take it to the MAC? They would be losing our basketball anyway under this plan and both the league and UConn know football is far better off in the AAC than MAC or Sun Belt or C-USA or whatever. So the league is just going to say ok sure. Park here? Without basketball? When they can let us go languish in a lesser league? I don't buy it.

 

[UConn Dan]

Temple will never get into the Big East. There was a reason they only played football in the league previously. That reason just won the NCAA basketball tournament this year. They're not sharing the market.

I'm not sure I agree on leverage either. We would tell the AAC either keep us in football... Or...? Or what? We'll take it to the MAC? They would be losing our basketball anyway under this plan and both the league and UConn know football is far better off in the AAC than MAC or Sun Belt or C-USA or whatever. So the league is just going to say ok sure. Park here? Without basketball? When they can let us go languish in a lesser league? I don't buy it.

If the AAC loses 2-4 teams not named UConn -- I think UConn should explore all options at that point, including football only in AAC and the rest in Big East. I think at that point anything is negotiable and part of the pitch you can make to the AAC is we'll play 4 AAC teams a year in men's and women's basketball (2 home and 2 away). I don't know -- this is all going sideways right now -- gotta figure out how to stay alive and relevant in both football and basketball -- gotta be creative until the P5 calls. I never thought split AAC/Big East was on the table, but I think we are coming to that point.

 

[BlueMAB]

The MAC has 12 teams. I can't imagine why they'd take UConn unless it was a package deal with Cinci to keep the balanced schedule.

 

[NYUConn]

Temple will never get into the Big East. There was a reason they only played football in the league previously. That reason just won the NCAA basketball tournament this year. They're not sharing the market.

I'm not sure I agree on leverage either. We would tell the AAC either keep us in football... Or...? Or what? We'll take it to the MAC? They would be losing our basketball anyway under this plan and both the league and UConn know football is far better off in the AAC than MAC or Sun Belt or C-USA or whatever. So the league is just going to say ok sure. Park here? Without basketball? When they can let us go languish in a lesser league? I don't buy it.

Agree on Temple, was putting it out there as a hypothetical +1. Point is that if the American loses 2 to the Big 12 they definitely can't afford to lose 2 more completely.

 

[NYUConn]

Been thinking about this....

If the AAC loses, say, Houston and Cincy, I'm not sure what leverage they have left.

The television contract falls apart, bowl agreements fall apart - UConn might not be the only school looking to vacate at that point.

The other issue I was thinking about with the TV contract falling apart - if UConn is about to head to the Big East and FOX, does ESPN lean on another conference to take a look at us?

UConn BBall is a major ratings draw for ESPN that they are getting for peanuts right now. If we go to FOX (through the Big East), that's significant for a young FS1 network struggling to get viewers.

More likely than not they'll let us go, but UConn bball helped launch ESPN 30 years ago, would be poetic justice if we did the same for FOX in the future.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The other issue I was thinking about with the TV contract falling apart - if UConn is about to head to the Big East and FOX, does ESPN lean on another conference to take a look at us?

UConn BBall is a major ratings draw for ESPN that they are getting for peanuts right now. If we go to FOX (through the Big East), that's significant for a young FS1 network struggling to get viewers.

More likely than not they'll let us go, but UConn bball helped launch ESPN 30 years ago, would be poetic justice if we did the same for FOX in the future.

That's why I speculated that they leaked this via Mike T. to Blauds. If ESPN is pushing the Big 12 to stop at 2, mostly to preserve the American, then UConn needs to demonstrate that they won't keep the UConn content that way. I think that's what this is really about, encouraging ESPN to stop resisting the B12 going to 14 and including UConn.

I do think UConn is in if it goes to 14. But Blaud's blog post hit not long after McMurphy said he is hearing that expansion will be just by two (BYU and Cinci or Cinci and UH).

 

[NYUConn]

That's why I speculated that they leaked this via Mike T. to Blauds. If ESPN is pushing the Big 12 to stop at 2, mostly to preserve the American, then UConn needs to demonstrate that they won't keep the UConn content that way. I think that's what this is really about, encouraging ESPN to stop resisting the B12 going to 14 and including UConn.

I do think UConn is in if it goes to 14. But Blaud's blog post hit not long after McMurphy said he is hearing that expansion will be just by two (BYU and Cinci or Cinci and UH).

The timing of Blauds's piece is interesting for sure.

 

[UC1995]

The MAC has 12 teams. I can't imagine why they'd take UConn unless it was a package deal with Cinci to keep the balanced schedule.

MAC won't take UConn Football only... that is why UMASS was kicked out. If they don't get the basketball than they will say see you later.

 

[NYUConn]

MAC won't take UConn Football only... that is why UMASS was kicked out. If they don't get the basketball than they will say see you later.

To be fair UConn football is light years ahead of UMass football not only in on-field product but in overall fan base as well. You're talking about a program that has like 8 FBS wins versus a school that went to a BCS game and has made a bowl in half it's time as an FBS program. A team that has been drawing over 30K per home game as opposed to 10K.

This is not to say that you're wrong that the MAC wouldn't take UConn Football only, but to say that they won't do it because we'd be similar to what UMass brought to them is silly.

 

[Kolumbo]

he wants more chicks?
I thought the Big 12 was being fair and open to allow so many schools an opportunity but now it's just looking like a cruel hoax.
If the Big 12 is seriously considering expanding to 14, does that give the ACC any incentive to go to 16? And quick?

 

[BlueMAB]

No. The ACC isn't under pressure to react. If the B1G and SEC react and move to 16, and ND is forced to join due to some sort of rules changes (that don't appear to be forthcoming) then the ACC gets ND. If that happens, #16 for the ACC isn't that important. Say UConn and Temple are left to pick from. Considering UConn has been passed over twice, I'm pretty sure they would settle for Temple instead of UConn if it means they're getting Notre Dame. There are a number of schools I think would be acceptable for 16 if 15 is ND.

 

[Kolumbo]

I was thinking in terms of there ultimately being 4 super conferences. If the Big 12 were serious about expanding, the ACC could swoop up UConn and Cincy and put another nail in the big 12 coffin. I know, not gonna happen.