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Cincy and the Big 12

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UConnTrumbull said:
[Another edition of Half-Baked Jake, or deep thoughts when trying not to succumb to claustrophobia while getting an MRI for a bad back …

News: The University of Cincinnati turned over emails, travel records and other documents to The Cincinnati Enquirer last week that provided an inside view of the school's effort to get into a Power Five conference. These are some of the things The Enquirer discovered: Fortune 500 executives from Kroger's and Macy's have helped promote Cincinnati to the Big 12. Former Kansas State president Jon Wefald advised Cincinnati president Santa J. Ono that Cincinnati and a second school in expansion should be willing to initially take less than a full conference television share. Oklahoma president David Boren, one of the power brokers in all this, likes Ono and Cincinnati. Ono has made numerous visits with Big 12 presidents.

For those pushing us to do the same: The Courant did make a Freedom of Information request for similar information about UConn attempts to get into the Power Five and was told there was no relevant documents.]

A whole lotta nothin'
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Isn't one of the key reasons why UConn hired Mike Tranghese as his work as a 'consultant' would exclude him from FOI requests?
 
To those trashing Ono for not being discrete, let's not forget how badly Louisville's AD's public lobbying duck*ed this programs chances of getting into the ACC. Our leaders just sat and waited assuming it was going to be offered to them while watching Women's Basketball in the Bahamas meanwhile Louisville's AD is actively lobbying to the ACC presidents and steals our spot, and potentially the future health of our entire athletic department.
 
BUHusky10 said:
To those trashing Ono for not being discrete, let's not forget how badly Louisville's AD's public lobbying duck*ed this programs chances of getting into the ACC. Our leaders just sat and waited assuming it was going to be offered to them while watching Women's Basketball in the Bahamas meanwhile Louisville's AD is actively lobbying to the ACC presidents and steals our spot, and potentially the future health of our entire athletic department.
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See @Mr. Conehead's post quoted below as to why there is silence out of Storrs. Herbst is very smart and politically savy. IMHO she learned a LOT from the Louisville/ACC experience. She did I instruct Pendergast via email that she was the lead in CR matters ....an email ironically produced by FOI.
Mr. Conehead said:
Isn't one of the key reasons why UConn hired Mike Tranghese as his work as a 'consultant' would exclude him from FOI requests?
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Last night Suzie was a guest on the Geno Coach's Show on WTIC. Spent the entire segment extolling UCONN, from the Jackson Labs facility in Farmington to the new Megadorm being built on campus with labs included. Lots of infrastructure info along with academic issues (faculty hirings, entrance requirements, etc.) She was a virtual UCONN commercial.
 
coachcap said:
Last night Suzie was a guest on the Geno Coach's Show on WTIC. Spent the entire segment extolling UCONN, from the Jackson Labs facility in Farmington to the new Megadorm being built on campus with labs included. Lots of infrastructure info along with academic issues (faculty hirings, entrance requirements, etc.) She was a virtual UCONN commercial.
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I wonder if this is the same presentation she gave to KSU Pres Kirk Schulz when he came north for a women's hoops game
 
coachcap said:
Last night Suzie was a guest on the Geno Coach's Show on WTIC. Spent the entire segment extolling UCONN, from the Jackson Labs facility in Farmington to the new Megadorm being built on campus with labs included. Lots of infrastructure info along with academic issues (faculty hirings, entrance requirements, etc.) She was a virtual UCONN commercial.
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Also on the AAU front geno stated that he personally saw professors from both Princeton and notre dame at his place that were being interviewed by Uconn. Talk em up!
 
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If we are serious about joining the Big 12(which I doubt), we need to produce documents stating that Madison Square Garden will commit to supplying us dates for Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma in basketball every year and that we will rent Yankee Stadium(as with Army) to play Texas and/or Oklahoma in the stadium every single year. Then we have something to sell.
 
CallMeBruce said:
Given how wrong the rest of his post was, I figured it was better just to ignore it.
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I probably should have. Sometimes I comment when I shouldn't.
 
pnow15 said:
If we are serious about joining the Big 12(which I doubt), we need to produce documents stating that Madison Square Garden will commit to supplying us dates for Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma in basketball every year and that we will rent Yankee Stadium(as with Army) to play Texas and/or Oklahoma in the stadium every single year. Then we have something to sell.
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I hope you are kidding. We are definitely serious, and I don't think we'd agree to that for anybody....nor would they ask. It isn't appropriate. Our value is pretty clear without needing to play games in NYC or at Gillette.
 
BUHusky10 said:
To those trashing Ono for not being discrete, let's not forget how badly Louisville's AD's public lobbying duck*ed this programs chances of getting into the ACC. Our leaders just sat and waited assuming it was going to be offered to them while watching Women's Basketball in the Bahamas meanwhile Louisville's AD is actively lobbying to the ACC presidents and steals our spot, and potentially the future health of our entire athletic department.
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If you think decisions like this are made because of public begging tantrums, I don't know what to tell you.
 
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BUHusky10 said:
To those trashing Ono for not being discrete, let's not forget how badly Louisville's AD's public lobbying duck*ed this programs chances of getting into the ACC. Our leaders just sat and waited assuming it was going to be offered to them while watching Women's Basketball in the Bahamas meanwhile Louisville's AD is actively lobbying to the ACC presidents and steals our spot, and potentially the future health of our entire athletic department.
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Here's the thing...Louisville was the right add at the time for the ACC. They were so lucky that Louisville was even on the table since the Big 12 should've taken them well beforehand.

Louisville is good enough at basketball for UNC/Duke, and good enough in football with an upwards trajectory for FSU/Clemson. Had UConn not absolutely the bed after Edsall left we would've been a similar candidate and our geographical/academic advantage probably gets us in. But Louisville isn't in the ACC because their AD lobbied and ours didn't. Louisville as a program was in the right place at the right time.
 
As I've said before, never underestimate the value of a good closer. Of course 'ville had some good charactoristics, every institution does, but winning happens when you present your strengths in a way that maximizes them, while minimizing your (considerable, in the case of Louisville) weaknesses.
 
CTMike said:
If you think decisions like this are made because of public begging tantrums, I don't know what to tell you.
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The thing that worries me is they are made by negotiation and compromise. We lost out to Louisville because they were an appeasement to the football powers in the south. The question we should be asking ourselves is what does everyone want?

WVU - They want Cinci first and foremost for the proxy relief.
OU - Wants a network

Most of the middle probably wants to go along to get along so long as it doesnt break the bank

Who are the likely nay votes? And what is the bargaining chip? I'd really hate to be the best available on paper via the metrics only to lose out when UT or TCU or TTech finally compromises so long as Houston is one of the schools.
 
OkaForPrez said:
The thing that worries me is they are made by negotiation and compromise. We lost out to Louisville because they were an appeasement to the football powers in the south. The question we should be asking ourselves is what does everyone want?

WVU - They want Cinci first and foremost for the proxy relief.
OU - Wants a network

Most of the middle probably wants to go along to get along so long as it doesnt break the bank

Who are the likely nay votes? And what is the bargaining chip? I'd really hate to be the best available on paper via the metrics only to lose out when UT or TCU or TTech finally compromises so long as Houston is one of the schools.
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Obviously UConn is in the Big 12 expansion conversation for one reason: eyeballs for a conference network. There are other advantages, but none that come close to market size.

So there really aren't any bargaining chips for us. If the decision makers ultimately buy the idea that a conference network is possible (and can get Texas to give up the LHN), then they'll need UConn to get it done. If they don't, then I don't see why they'd expand at all. They don't need 12 for a CCG, they've proven they can get a spot in the tournament using their current system without a CCG, and OU and Texas no doubt plan on abandoning ship in the long term anyway.
 
@amory exactly my fear. My assumption would be a network with New Haven/NYC would be so much more lucrative than a network with the Houston market instead that it would be prohibitive to compromise on Houston (or Memphis, or BYU or Directional Florida) but I don't know. That, and primarily the lack of expansion at all, make me squirm.

Outside of those scenarios, I firmly believe we're the obvious choice. Heck we may even be the catalyst for expansion in the first place given what Rutgers has done for the B1G.
 
Mr. Conehead said:
Isn't one of the key reasons why UConn hired Mike Tranghese as his work as a 'consultant' would exclude him from FOI requests?
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Provided nobody is using official UConn email addresses or taking meetings with Tranghese on UConn time and in UConn facilities, his communications would probably not be subject to FOIA requests.
 
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OkaForPrez said:
@amory exactly my fear. My assumption would be a network with New Haven/NYC would be so much more lucrative than a network with the Houston market instead that it would be prohibitive to compromise on Houston (or Memphis, or BYU or Directional Florida) but I don't know. That, and primarily the lack of expansion at all, make me squirm.

Outside of those scenarios, I firmly believe we're the obvious choice. Heck we may even be the catalyst for expansion in the first place given what Rutgers has done for the B1G.
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Personally, I take some degree of comfort in thinking that it's either us or no one. At the very least our position doesn't get worse than it is today.

I can't see a scenario where the Big 12 raids the AAC and doesn't give us a spot. That's a good thing.
 
amory said:
Personally, I take some degree of comfort in thinking that it's either us or no one. At the very least our position doesn't get worse than it is today.

I can't see a scenario where the Big 12 raids the AAC and doesn't give us a spot. That's a good thing.
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Actually, based on what's happened in the past I can totally see that happening.
 
BUHusky10 said:
Actually, based on what's happened in the past I can totally see that happening.
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Well yeah. Rule #1 is alive and well.

I'm just saying that rationally speaking, expansion without UConn makes no sense.
 
I saw a comment above about guessing who is in our camp and who is against us, but I'm not scrolling back up to hit reply. If I would venture a guess, I'm going to guess the following:

Oklahoma: Wants expansion, obviously. Likes us. Would probably be willing to compromise and take UC and BYU over us if the three of us all bear out closely in television analysis. Would not substitute any other candidate but BYU/Cincy for us is my inclination, but would vote yes for us if it were put as a yes/no question.

WVU: Firmly in the exapansion camp. Likes us. Would be less willing than OU to substitute BYU for us for travel reasons, but would probably be willing to substitute Memphis, or a directional Florida for us if asked to. Would vote yes for us if asked.

Kansas: On the fence on expansion. Is willing to compromise and expand if the right schools are taken. Chatter I've read has said that UC and us are the two they would prefer and are seen as acceptable if expansion has to happen, but they'd rather not expand if it isn't necessary. If there's a yes/no vote on us, they'd vote yes.

Kansas St.: See Kansas, although they seem, based on Cincinnati emails, that they're a bit more inclined to expand. Yes on us, with reservation.

Iowa St.: Another fence rider. Haven't heard much from them. If I had to guess, they'd stick with KU and vote as they do. Swing vote but if OU, KU and the like are championing us, it'll be a yes.

OSU: Mostly crickets in Stillwater. I'd be willing to say that as OU goes, the Cowboys go. Yes on us if BYU is not on the table.

That brings us to Texas.

Texas: Firmly anti-expansion. Would be persuaded to expand only if monetary considerations are made their way. I get the idea that they're totally OK with staying as close to Texas with the teams in the league as they can possibly be so Houston may be appealing here. The only way they're willing to bring in an outpost like UConn is if they can't be the king of conference payouts without having the NYC DMA. If a compromise is reached and their bottom line isn't hurt by the LHN transitioning to a conference network (ie. A network is created and even without NYC/northeast the network still pays them what they make now- even if it's an imbalanced revenue distribution.) we would be off the table for them. They'd go in the direction of Houston or directional Florida. If the only way they make more or the same money by having a conference network is by adding NYC, they'll do it, but they will exhaust every avenue before signing off. We are a no for them as it stands now.

Texas Tech: Red Raiders definitely would be trying to keep in Texas' good graces. They don't like that they're not profiting off a network while Texas does anymore than anyone else but don't want to upset big brother. They're a no for us at the moment but they'll swing yes quickly if we add the money that no one else can.

Baylor: Badly needs a network. If this league implodes they have few options. TCU would be scooped up before they would be due to proximity to Dallas. Would certainly like to keep playing nice with Texas but with their own future on the line, they're going to end up siding with Oklahoma. They got into BXII on a compromise to begin with. They don't want this league to fall apart. Candidates would likely be sticking point for them but I don't see them being in a strong enough position to go against a candidate OU is pushing if the TV money backs that candidate up.

TCU: See Baylor.

In all, in a vacuum, I think we are safely looking at OU, OSU, KU, KSU, WVU and ISU saying yes to us if it's a simple yes/no. Baylor and TCU are next in line to shift that way followed by TTU and finally Texas. Problem is that it's not a simple yes/no. There will be suggestions made to substitute one school for another and many of the schools on the list would just as soon vote for a UC/BYU combo if the money is in the same ballpark.

We need to hope our TV analysis blows theirs out of the water so much so that subsituting us seems like a silly proposition.
 
http://newsok.com/how-david-boren-f...rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

On potential expansion targets: “We’re all talking with each other. We’ve agreed not to speculate about any one school or another school that might get in. But we have some good choices. We’ve all agreed to be very confidential about schools. We don’t want to let some school{Cincinnati} get a lot of publicity and they’re ‘oh, they’re about to get in the Big 12,’ and maybe they don’t get in. We don’t want to have any of that. So we’re trying to keep that all in-house.”

Its best for the Courant and Tdog to keep quiet…
 
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And most of us didn't have a receding hairline
 
Facts don't always carry the day in business. Perception matters and it matters a lot. Decision makers make there bones by thinking they know better. Bad decision makers think they are smarter than facts sometimes, see Swofford and the ACC.

I'd wager that at this time last year over half the B12 presidents and AD's couldn't find Storrs on a map. I know that half the B12 fan base couldn't. The fan base does influence the decision makers because it's their donations and opinions that keep the decision makers in power, especially in Texas. Mack Brown doesn't have it anymore...gone.

The margin of breaking Rule #1 can be that small. Every little bit counts and that means intangibles count and relationships count. Underestimate them at your own peril.
 
I'm on a terrible device at the moment so I can't write much but I'm thinking some concerns expressed are unfounded. I hope to elaborate more later but for now just let me say:
Texas may not be as anti-expansion as you think;
Texas certainly wouldn't advocate Houston to the Big 12;
Of all expansion candidates, i have reasons to think UConn is Texas' choice.
 
I can expound now, but first a disclaimer. I'm no insider. I'm just a long-time Texas fan in Austin who follows the Horns religiously, connects the dots and draws conclusions based on experience.

1. Texas and expansionism. Texas was anti-expansion at one time but now everybody (chancellor, president and AD) is new. When the new players left millions on the table to sign a recent contract with Nike instead of Under Armour, they justified it by saying they value relationships.

Now think of Texas' rivals: Arkansas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Thanks to realignments, OU is the only one left. I can't even imagine Texas athletics without OU as an adversary.

If Texas really values relationships more than money, they should be willing to make a concession or two to hang onto the very last rival they have.

2. Texas and the U of H. Football is paramount and recruiting is its lifeblood. I seriously doubt Texas wants to help an in-state recruiting rival by giving them P5 legitimacy.

3. Texas and the expansion candidates. I think Cincy is in because they're Boren's pick. I think Texas will try to assert a preference too. Texas isn't picking an in-state rival (like U of H) or another church school (like BYU). So who would Texas pick? I happen to think that a school that values its brand so much that it plays basketball in China and hosts fund raisers in Dubai would salivate at the thought of being one of the flagship schools of a conference with an in-footprint presence in Hartford and NYC.

And that's why I'm here, trying to get to know the thoughts of UConn fans better. I see the writing on the wall.

Some of you may imagine Texas is Uconn's adversary when it comes to expansion. I'm thinking UConn is actually Texas' nominee.
 
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