Delany - B1G expansion article - from Forbes

[UConn Dan]

Sounds like Delany is still beating the we're done drum and working the assimilation of the new schools angle...


Of course, Delany admits that because so many hard decisions have been made in such a short period, the conference must once again strengthen itself for the challenges it will face in the future.
“In our world, you don’t have an unlimited amount of time, political capital and resources. You need to understand that when you’re taxing the institutions and their leadership, you can’t overdue it either,” says Delany. “We need to make sure that what we’ve done is working, and make sure everything we do is with the goal of assimilating our new members. While we may miss out on some opportunities in the meantime, you have to remember that by chasing everything, you’ll usually end up with nothing.”

Read the full article:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbe...e-teaches-us-about-making-critical-decisions/

 

[RioDog]

Read the full article?! No way! It could crush what little bit of self-delusion I still posess regarding UConn to the BiG. I'm goin' back to the U CONN and Big 10 thread...

 

[Hoophound]

It means nothing. Even if we are on the B1G radar, he doesn't want the ACC to know it so he wouldn't say anything anyway.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Sounds like Delany is still beating the we're done drum and working the assimilation of the new schools angle...

Didn't sound to me like he was beating some "we're done" drum at all. Sounded like he was saying they need to digest the meal they've already ordered before they start looking for their next one, a position anyone operating from a position of strength would embrace. A position someone operating from a position of weakness doesn't have the luxury of pursuing.

Neither Maryland nor Rutgers has played a down in the B1G yet. Delany may be smart but he's not prescient. Their analyses suggested that a move into the populous northeast would be a good one but it wasn't proof. Everything Coca-Cola learned told them New Coke would be a roaring success. So much so they pulled the old formula only to have egg all over themselves. Delany knows Rutgers/Maryland could be a monumental flop. Why waste time leveraging the unknown? More than likely whatever roll out plan they have will have to be tweaked based on information learned over several seasons with a 14 team configuration. Think Delany wants to be a stupider Big XII sitting on a turkey egg (West Virginia) while sending more invitations thither and yon?

Delany tacit position is that when the dust from the latest acquisitions settles, if it settles, don't expect that conference to sit back and enjoy the sunset. Like the B1G, UConn needs to prepare well for the next several years. We need a viable plan for how to get from where we are to the B1G. And we need to execute that plan. This next football hire needs to literally scream "duck this oh and twelve " (in more polite terms of course). If not, we might as well go back to cheering for whatever big-boy school we used to root for in order to have a dog in the relevancy hunt.

 

[MikeR92779]

As much as everybody wants a quick resolution to the expansion scenario's there is no motivation for anybody to do so. As mentioned the main trigger potentially is the Big Tens tv contract in 2017 expiring, that gives several years for the Rutgers/Maryland acquisitions to take shape. While the general belief is the Conference is trying to gain more of an East Coast presence , it is still necessary that these teams are successful and if they want these moves to be a success for the Big Ten as a whole and Rutgers and Maryland individually is to add more of an Eastern presence. I believe all schools know where they stand with joining another conference and for Uconn the best thing they can do is continue to improve as a University as theyve been doing, Football success is nice but obviously means nothing in the long run. I only really see UConn, Virginia and Kansas as 15 and 16. And as far as the Grant of Rights go even in 3 years it could be easier to get out of.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

There is no breaking a GOR.

 

[UConn Dan]

Didn't sound to me like he was beating some "we're done" drum at all. Sounded like he was saying they need to digest the meal they've already ordered before they start looking for their next one, a position anyone operating from a position of strength would embrace. A position someone operating from a position of weakness doesn't have the luxury of pursuing.

What's the difference, semantics? Should I have qualified the statement with "done for now". Of course they aren't done...but they are done for short-term -- I don't know if that's 2 years, 5 years or 10 years. They will get to 16+, but the issue of adding for the sake of adding isn't pressing. They will sit back and digest. GOR's will expire or some other shift will occur and then they pounce.

 

[CL82]

It means nothing. Even if we are on the B1G radar, he doesn't want the ACC to know it so he wouldn't say anything anyway.

Conspiracy Kitty says:
Exactly! If he said he was interested in adding UConn, then I would know that we have no chance. But since he appears he's entirely indifferent to us... well let's just say I like those odds.