ESPN & the UCONN Huskies

[oldude]

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.

 

[JavaMan]

What up oldude? Great post. Thanks for the education. You are just toooo .

​

 

[UConnNick]

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.

The land ESPN sits on wasn't a dump. The dump was about a half mile or so west of there. The land was part of an office/industrial park. It was farmland before that. I know the family that owned the farm. One of their children is related to my family by marriage. I grew up a mile or so from ESPN.

 

[oldude]

I neglected to mention in my original post the fact that ESPN2's overnight ratings for the Monday night game vs SC were the highest of any college basketball game on ESPN2 this season, for men or women, and the highest for a women's college basketball game since 2010. Ratings generate commercial revenue. ESPN's support of the Huskies has a strong financial incentive.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Will be interesting to see where ESPN will be 10 Years from now. There are more Sports Networks available to broadcasts events, thus ESPN content contains more Talk Shows then before. Even the 6PM Sports Center show has become a Sports/Variety/Political show, where it seems like that Time Slot is ideal for Discussion on what Sporting Evcnts/Games are going to happen that night. I will admit that I haven't watched the show since Jemell/Michael Smith took over. Didn't like what I was seeing in the Promos for the new show.

ESPN is losing subscribers on a monthly basis and I don't see that trend reversing. Not saying any of the other Sports Networks are any better. I had high hopes that Fox Sports would be better, but they are just a smaller version of ESPN.

 

[oldude]

The land ESPN sits on wasn't a dump. The dump was about a half mile or so west of there. The land was part of an office/industrial park. It was farmland before that. I know the family that owned the farm. One of their children is related to my family by marriage. I grew up a mile or so from ESPN.

Thank you for the clarification. I should know that every piece of information found on Wikipedia has to be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[UConnNick]

Thank you for the clarification. I should know that every piece of information found on Wikipedia has to be taken with a grain of salt.

A long time ago, there was a restaurant called Hamp's at the old Y intersection of Middle St. and Birch St. where ESPN is located. It later changed hands and became the White Birch Inn. They had pretty good food there. We took my mother-in-law to dinner there in the early 1980's. Eventually ESPN wanted that corner lot to expand so they bought the restaurant and lot, tearing down the restaurant. Within the past several years they bought up additional property to expand the campus. You can't get onto Birch St. from Middle St. anymore. Coming from Southington, you now have to drive past most of the ESPN campus, turn right and then left onto Birch St. headed toward Forestville. I still have some matchbooks from the White Birch Inn.

 

[meyers7]

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.

Close, but I believe it's Entertainment and Sports Programing Network.

 

[oldude]

Close, but I believe it's Entertainment and Sports Programing Network.

Thanks for the correction. I did know the correct name, but must have had a brain hiccup when I wrote the post.

 

[CCinCT]

A long time ago, there was a restaurant called Hamp's at the old Y intersection of Middle St. and Birch St. where ESPN is located. It later changed hands and became the White Birch Inn. They had pretty good food there. We took my mother-in-law to dinner there in the early 1980's. Eventually ESPN wanted that corner lot to expand so they bought the restaurant and lot, tearing down the restaurant. Within the past several years they bought up additional property to expand the campus. You can't get onto Birch St. from Middle St. anymore. Coming from Southington, you now have to drive past most of the ESPN campus, turn right and then left onto Birch St. headed toward Forestville. I still have some matchbooks from the White Birch Inn.

Used to stop at Hamps after work - just a little while ago though - maybe 35 or so years ago. The White Birch did have great food. One day it was there - the next it was an ESPN parking lot

 

[mntncougar]

I neglected to mention in my original post the fact that ESPN2's overnight ratings for the Monday night game vs SC were the highest of any college basketball game on ESPN2 this season, for men or women, and the highest for a women's college basketball game since 2010. Ratings generate commercial revenue. ESPN's support of the Huskies has a strong financial incentive.

I've seen no mention of this, but I can't help wondering. Could the audience Monday night have been the largest for a regular season WCBB game EVER?

 

[j66kicker]

Will be interesting to see where ESPN will be 10 Years from now. There are more Sports Networks available to broadcasts events, thus ESPN content contains more Talk Shows then before. Even the 6PM Sports Center show has become a Sports/Variety/Political show, where it seems like that Time Slot is ideal for Discussion on what Sporting Evcnts/Games are going to happen that night. I will admit that I haven't watched the show since Jemell/Michael Smith took over. Didn't like what I was seeing in the Promos for the new show.

ESPN is losing subscribers on a monthly basis and I don't see that trend reversing. Not saying any of the other Sports Networks are any better. I had high hopes that Fox Sports would be better, but they are just a smaller version of ESPN.

ESPN was unique in being a "cable only" content provider. They basically got double revenue streams - traditional TV advertising revenue plus they got to charge cable operators for their feed, and eventually they gained the power to force the operators to include them (and therefore force consumers to pay for their product whether they used the product or not). This allowed ESPN to "overpay" for events and league broadcast rights by the traditional single revenue stream definition of value. So they got even more powerful and more dominant.

Now, with cord cutting and unbundling, the playing field is beginning to level again and ESPN is finding itself in a cost-cutting mode with shrinking revenues. However, they have continued to be forward-thinking, and their online sports news presence is light-years ahead of whoever is in 2nd place. 10 years from now I expect they will still be around. They are clearly the best prepared to succeed in an all-digital media world.

 

[oldude]

I've seen no mention of this, but I can't help wondering. Could the audience Monday night have been the largest for a regular season WCBB game EVER?

The story I read about ESPN's ratings for the game did indicate that it was the highest "regular season women's game" since 2010, so I guess the answer to your question is no, although the same article indicated that the game had the highest number of people watching the game via streaming services from the internet of any WBB game ever.

As streaming services become a bigger segment of the viewing audience it's difficult to compare apples to apples when it comes to ratings.

 

[ctfjr]

A long time ago, there was a restaurant called Hamp's at the old Y intersection of Middle St. and Birch St. where ESPN is located. It later changed hands and became the White Birch Inn. They had pretty good food there. We took my mother-in-law to dinner there in the early 1980's. Eventually ESPN wanted that corner lot to expand so they bought the restaurant and lot, tearing down the restaurant. Within the past several years they bought up additional property to expand the campus. You can't get onto Birch St. from Middle St. anymore. Coming from Southington, you now have to drive past most of the ESPN campus, turn right and then left onto Birch St. headed toward Forestville. I still have some matchbooks from the White Birch Inn.

Hey, that brings me down memory lane! I used to eat at Hamps and eventually the White Birch!

 

[Zanzman]

This post will help feed the other wbb forums , just feeding the masses that UCONN and espn work together . ESPN covers UCONN cause of their talent not cause it's the local team.

 

[j66kicker]

This post will help feed the other wbb forums , just feeding the masses that UCONN and espn work together . ESPN covers UCONN cause of their talent not cause it's the local team.

Would ESPN have had 95 credentialed employees at this game is if were anywhere else?

 

[oldude]

This post will help feed the other wbb forums , just feeding the masses that UCONN and espn work together . ESPN covers UCONN cause of their talent not cause it's the local team.

I agree with your post because if it was just about geography, ESPN would be covering the U. of Hartford which is closer to Bristol, but realistically the proximity between ESPN & UConn results in an unprecedented level of access that would not exist if ESPN's HQ was located in CA for instance.

 

[Zanzman]

Would ESPN have had 95 credentialed employees at this game is if were anywhere else?

If another team was having a 100 game winning streak they would be where ever it was played and that's my point they came for the talent and the streak , but the other forums think espn covering UCONN is a recruiting tool. The original post reads like he agrees

 

[phil sampieri]

The land ESPN sits on wasn't a dump. The dump was about a half mile or so west of there. The land was part of an office/industrial park. It was farmland before that. I know the family that owned the farm. One of their children is related to my family by marriage. I grew up a mile or so from ESPN.

Was that the Bugrin family John Bugrin is about 80

 

[j66kicker]

If another team was having a 100 game winning streak they would be where ever it was played and that's my point they came for the talent and the streak , but the other forums think espn covering UCONN is a recruiting tool. The original post reads like he agrees

I agree also. Maybe not a "tool" per se, but certainly an advantage. It's not by design (to be a recruiting tool), and it's not UConn's fault, but the disparity in exposure UConn has gotten because of geographical dumb luck has been a huge advantage. And to not exploit your advantages is a losing strategy.

For those who don't think this is "fair"...
1) Who cares? Any other school/team who had this advantage would exploit it too.
2) IMO ESPN's proximity to UConn has also benefitted all of WBB.

 

[oldude]

If another team was having a 100 game winning streak they would be where ever it was played and that's my point they came for the talent and the streak , but the other forums think espn covering UCONN is a recruiting tool. The original post reads like he agrees

I can honestly say I've never even looked at another team's forum, and frankly could care less what they think about UConn and ESPN's relationship. In recruiting top student-athletes you use every advantage you have, so yes I do believe that UConn uses ESPN to their advantage, just like other teams sell their conference affiliation or their proximity to LA, Chicago or the Grand Old Opry.

I know this opens up a sensitive subject, particularly for the folks in Knoxville, but would Maya have chosen UConn if a tour of ESPN wasn't part of her visit to Storrs during the recruiting process? Hopefully she still would have been a Husky, but you use every advantage you have at your disposal.

 

[Zanzman]

My point is they are getting the exposure beacause they are not because they are close

 

[j66kicker]

My point is they are getting the exposure because they are not because they are close

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.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I've seen no mention of this, but I can't help wondering. Could the audience Monday night have been the largest for a regular season WCBB game EVER?

Hey, cougar, here is one of several published sources. S.C.-UConn Game Was A Ratings Bonanza For ESPN2

 

[CMC'72]

I grew up a mile or so from ESPN.

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