ESPN & the UCONN Huskies

[phil sampieri]

and I grew up not much further. Stafford Ave, Forestville.

Stafford ave to Bayberry dr

 

[phil sampieri]

I get your point. I don't agree 100%. I think the UConn women - and all of WCBB - have gotten exposure because of who they (UConn) are, but in fact have gotten MORE exposure than they would have otherwise because they are close.

In 1995 the whole state of CT got whipped up into a frenzy about this team, then again (still?) in the 1999-2004 time frame. ESPN employees are, by nature, big sports fans, typically are "holed up" in the "nuthin' to do" town of Bristol, and many got caught up in the UConn frenzy. I think proximity is a big factor.

AS a kid growing up and living in both Waterbury and Bristol, they were the best sports fans for any sports.

 

[Florida Fan]

The 11995 historic win was unique by the focus of Connecticut, the state without a pro or college team of magnitude. The community response was in and of itself news, the people lining the streets from Hartford to Storrs. That level of support was special and, thanks to the team's ongoing successes, continues to this day. ESPN has documented the phenomenon well, so the symbiosis between the network and the university plays on. I can think of no fan base with a more extended, rewarding experience.

 

[CMC'72]

There is probably no entity in the entire world who has harmed UConn athletics more than ESPN. People who think ESPN is helping UConn have no idea how wrong they are.

Sorry, mate, but what you quote may be all true. I'm not commenting, condoning, or depreciating your reasons.

But for those of us not in SNY area, we get all the games on ESPN3. I even get games local to other areas and often watch while my family left in CT are out snow shoveling.

ESPN has been a great blessing, because otherwise we all would be way out of luck!!

God Bless ESPN!!!

 

[dwalks93]

Sorry, mate, but what you quote may be all true. I'm not commenting, condoning, or depreciating your reasons.

But for those of us not in SNY area, we get all the games on ESPN3. I even get games local to other areas and often watch while my family left in CT are out snow shoveling.

ESPN has been a great blessing, because otherwise we all would be way out of luck!!

God Bless ESPN!!! View attachment 19893

I am not trying to make you hate ESPN or even demonize ESPN.

All I am pointing out is ESPN has not given special preference to UConn. Any poster on other boards who would argue ESPN favoritism based on Connecticut co-location does not know their history.

ESPN shows the UConn women because they drive demand/TV viewers and thus make money for ESPN. It is no more complicated than that...I am glad you get to enjoy the games. I just wished ESPN paid UConn the fair market value of their product.

 

[WrenchFan69]

I will never accept that ESPN supports UConn while it pays to keep us out of major conferences and underpay us drastically for our product

 

[dwalks93]

I will never accept that ESPN supports UConn while it pays to keep us out of major conferences and underpay us drastically for our product

Why would you never accept that?

ESPN is in the business to make money. They are no different than any other corporation looking to maximize profit (BTW ESPN is owned by Disney which is about as corporate America as one can get.) A solid business strategy to make money is to buy the best product possible at the cheapest price and then resale it at a higher price. UConn is a great bargain for ESPN at the pro-rata AAC rate of $3 million per year. Why would ESPN not want to continue that relationship on the same terms?

BTW ESPN showing UConn on its network is not "supporting" UConn. ESPN is broadcasting their games and promoting others to watch the games because there is profit in it. It has less to with UConn and more to do with driving TV viewership which makes money for ESPN.

 

[RogueDave]

There has been considerable discussion through the years regarding UConn’s geographic and structural limitations. Tucked away in bucolic Storrs, CT the Huskies are not located in the middle of a hotbed of WBB recruiting talent. While there are certainly solid players in the Northeast, the nexus of recruiting talent in WBB is more often found in the Southeast, Southwest, Midwest & West. At the same time, UConn has been unable to entice any of the P-5 conferences to grant them entrance to the financial pot of gold and conference strength associated with such membership.

However, UConn has a particular geographic strength and association that most schools would give their right arm for. Years before Geno & CD arrived in Storrs, on July 14, 1978, Bill & Scott Rasmussen, Ed Eagan & Bob Beyus paid $91 to incorporate their unconventional idea. Subsequently, for $18,000 they purchased a parcel of land that used to be a dump where they had discovered that satellite signals were clear and unaffected. Finally, they secured major financial backing from Getty Oil and so was born the Educational and Sports Programing Network (ESPN) in Bristol, CT.

Fast forward to the present time. ESPN is a worldwide giant in sports, representing approximately 40% of the value of its parent company, the Walt Disney Corporation. As ESPN grew, a little over an hour away, in Storrs , CT, Geno and CD were building the greatest women’s basketball program in history. Eventually, ESPN added ESPNw to its portfolio to promote the fast-growing segment of women’s sports and there was an immediate and symbiotic relationship established between ESPNw and the Huskies.

While we BY’ers lament the lack of coverage of WBB, ESPN has become a forceful advocate and supporter of WBB in general and the UConn Huskies in particular. ESPNw’s team of reporters have all traveled to Storrs, met with the coaches and players and watched UConn practices. Led by UConn’s own Rebecca Lobo, they never pass up an opportunity to sing the praises of Geno and the Huskies. ESPN covers just about every major UConn game as well as the NCAA tournament, giving the Huskies unprecedented national exposure, so young girls aspiring to be great basketball players, living in CA, TX, OK, AR, TN, VA, MO, IL, GA and every other place they play basketball, can watch and dream of someday becoming a Husky.

On Monday night leading up to and including the SC game, in the quest for 100, ESPN outdid themselves with wall to wall coverage of the Huskies, all day long, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU & ESPNEWS. As the Huskies continue to dominate WBB, hopefully for many years to come, their relationship with ESPN will continue to be a prominent factor in their remarkable success.

Dont forget they tore down the White Birch Inn too...They had such good Baked Stuff Shrimp...

 

[Buzzyboy]

oldude - cool post ... but ... it is the old chicken and egg issue. While ESPN has done WCBB and especially UConn proud over the years (and for all the issues people have with them they really, really, have carried the ball for women's sports for years), the reality is that little old CPTV proved that WCBB could drive market share on the airwaves. And together with Pat and TN proving that a real rivalry of epic proportions could be created in a women's sport, they were more responsible for getting the ball rolling. Yes ESPN promoted 'THE GAME' each year and expanded to 'THE HOME AND HOME', but CPTV proved that there was a market for 'THE UCONN SEASON' 20+ games a year, warts and all, year after year. It took a long time for ESPN and the other networks to catch on to the fact that there were actually fan bases out there that would watch Duke/UNC, or Stanford/Cal.

And while UConn has certainly benefitted from great ESPN coverage, I believe the common thought that proximity to their headquarters plays any real role in that is demonstrably false. The obvious rejoined is, how have the other UConn teams fared in terms of ESPN coverage - not well. Even though UConn MCBB over the last 20 years is as successful as any program, they get ESPN preference only when they win the NC and only for a day. Football ...! The reason the women get the coverage they do from ESPN is because they are DOMINANT - cover the UConn women or cancel coverage of WCBB.

Not trying to rain on the parade here, because I respect what ESPN and ESPNW have done for women's sports and athletes, just trying to counteract something I see frequently on other WCBB forums - it is UConn WCBB all the time, and it is all because they are 70 miles from ESPN's headquarters. The heavy weighting towards UConn is because UConn has won 10 of the last 17 NCs. And they have been to the FF 14 of the last 17.

Totally agree that CPTV helped UConn immensely and it was a great marriage because UConn was very good for CPTV, as well. A nice two way relationship.