Football Conference Only

[AZHuskiePop]

Form a football only conference nationwide with all the schools that want to be the best they can be in FSB football. Possibly 10- or 12 teams in two divisions. They have to be the best football schools out there each with a goal of being great within in 5 years. The seriously committed only apply
With Temple, Cinn, Memphis, Butler, and the best of the A10 or selected old big east schools you form an all-sport (less football)conference that is primarly regional. You will quickly have the best BB league in the NE and should easliy retain MSG for our tourney. Owning New York in BB is critical.
You have two seperate TV contracts two seperate commisioners.
How much can you get 2mm for bb + NCAA money
??? Million for football
Our own bowls maybe are own network.
I live in AZ and subscribe to SNY

We and these football schools have to be dedicated to the best football possible.
We can't sit back and wait for an invite that may never come
The main obsticle will be these schools and us have illusions. Subordinate short term goals for long term success.
sign a GOR if that's what it takes football only to stay together.
I can't believe some of you defeatest on the board.
If Connecticut was inhabited by your likes we would still be British colony.
If we take ourselves off the table the ACC is the only target left.

 

[mattp]

I've said before I think this cross country megaconference works better as a football only affiliation. Why send each others field hockey and track teams all over when we're only doing it for what's basically a football driven contract. Everyone says football drives the bus, and that's fine, but why not let the local passengers off first? We could keep our other sports in a local league whether it be the BE or A10 or even another local league.

 

[kingdobbs]

I've said before I think this cross country megaconference works better as a football only affiliation. Why send each others field hockey and track teams all over when we're only doing it for what's basically a football driven contract. Everyone says football drives the bus, and that's fine, but why not let the local passengers off first? We could keep our other sports in a local league whether it be the BE or A10 or even another local league.

We wouldn't be doing these things regardless of how big the conference got, geographically speaking.

 

[mattp]

What do you mean we wouldn't be sending them all over the country? How are we going to play them in our other sports?

 

[kingdobbs]

I mean that, for most sports, especially individual ones, teams already compete in local events for the bulk of their schedule, and there's no round-robin or even organized in-conference play. For UConn, that means the following sports: Cross-country (m/w), track and field (m/w), tennis (m/w), golf (m), rowing (w), swimming and diving (m/w), which, if you're counting at home, is ten of the twenty-two sports UConn already sponsors.

Men's and women's ice hockey already compete in a single-sport conference (currently AHA for the men, and HEA for the women, which will harmonize in two years). So knock those two out as well.

Assuming no B1G or ACC invites are in the offing, women's field hockey and lacrosse would end up in a regional single-sport league or get a affiliate membership in a regional conference; at this juncture, there are precisely zero future Big East or future candidates for the Big East that play either sport. Two more that don't have to be worried about.

Baseball and softball already travel to Florida, Texas, and California year after year for non-conference dates. The upshot to this is that travel budgets will not *significantly* increase.

So far, that gives us sixteen of the twenty-two sports whose travel arrangements will not significantly change as a result of any additions to the Big East.

Since football is the reason we'd be pushing for a "best of the rest nationwide" all-sports conference, we're not going to be concerned with the travel there.

Basketball, men's and women's, will be profitable enough on their own to offset any additional travel.

So that leaves three: men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball. Those are the ones that will be forced into increasing travel with a "Big Country" concept, and for whom the travel would neither be moot, or offset by other upsides.