Herbst hires Traghese & UConn-Big 12 CR rumors

[UConn990411]

More like "I propose splitting into 2 leagues and continuing to maintain a strong alignment. If we do not act upon this it will be done for us and we'll have much less control and leverage."

That's what a CEO does/is responsible for.

A commissioner is not a CEO...

 

[JSM1970]

Why not though? Aren't they both focused on maximizing the value of their company/assets?

A commissioner is not a CEO...

 

[UConn990411]

Why not though? Aren't they both focused on maximizing the value of their company/assets?

That's one of their goals, yeah. But each job has a completely different set of obstacles standing in the way.

 

[The Viking]

Let's start a thread on how good or bad Tranghese was as big east commish and keep this one geared toward his role with UConn present and future, shall we?

 

[SAMCRO]

A commissioner is not a CEO...

Exactly, you beat me to it.

 

[Pat125]

A commissioner is not a CEO...

More like a COO with 10-16 bosses.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

I mean P5 is cool and the conference is strong in both sports and we get some good recruiting ground (especially if Cinci is the partner).

But do we really want to be dealing with Big 12 fans?

Hell, yes. I mean, if we play Texas and Oklahoma, hell yes.

 

[Carl Spackler]

That's nice that BC said they would stay in an all sports conference, but what the hell was Tranghese going to do with the Bball only schools?

Tranghese seemed like a decent commissioner, but the big east was unlike any other major conference with bball only and FB schools wanting different things for different reasons. The thing was going to implode sooner of later. The reasons schools didn't bolt earlier was probably because no one was expanding.

This isn't really accurate. It was always about one thing - and one thing only - revenue sharing. Football schools didn't all want different things, they wanted the same thing, and never got it. It wasn't football schools pulling strings either from the very beginning - it was the basketball majority that voted to create the conference. The very first vote to exclude Penn State - had nothing to do with football. Paterno had visions for a northeastern based conference, but in 1982 - PSU football was doing fine among the 30 or so division 1A indendpents. It was about revenue sharing with all other sports - that PSU was excluded. - Basketball.

By 1990, with the changes in broadcasting rights and supreme court cases, and Notre Dame landing a monster contract the College Football cartel fell apart. THe entire intercollegiate model changed to a revenue sharing arrangement around college football regular season, and post season - and that meant it all fell into the control level of conference commissioners. ll the independants flocked into conferences. Some grew, some shrunk, some like the Big 8, folded, others started. Including the Big East

BC, Syracuse and PItt were going to leave in 1990, to join a conference where the revenue sharing would fit, with schools that had 1A football programs. Tranghese prevented it, by convincing Miami to join as a full member, and get a slice of the basketball revenue in return for a football conference home, and Rutgers, West Virginia, Temple and Virginia Tech to join as football only schools, so that a football conference could exist that would join the new (very first) edition of what became the BCS revenue sharing arrangement for college football.

Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami. That was the football conference from 1992-2004. Add UCONN in 1997.

That leaves Providence, Georgetown, Seton Hall, St. John's, Villanova, UCONN from 1990-2000. Rutgers, WVU, VTech would all eventually join as full members by 2000. Basketball members. All sports members.

The basketball schools found themselves in a minority by 2000 - but they had a friend in Tranghese. In 2001-2002, when Miami was facing all kinds of issues around a college football post season and national championship, he went on record publicly with a statement that said he was more concerned about the impacts of St. John's putting names on their jerseys or not.

THis concept that football schools were pulling strings, or all wanted different tings is a figment of the imagination, they all wanted the same thing - and that is a league that valued football as the driver of revenue sharing, and not basketball. If they had that, none of them would ever leave. Every school other than Cincinnati that had a division 1A program prior to the existence of the Big East - left the big east voluntarily (except for Temple, who was kicked out in favor of - UCONN)

UCONN was extended the invite along with Villanova to upgrade in late 1996, and we accepted the invite in 1997, which essentially made us a football school, then, even though our leadership didn't realize it until 2011. It was in limbo for a few years, pending stadium issues, but UCONN hit point of no return in 2000.

Temple - has the dubious distinction of being the only football program that existed at 1A prior to the inception of the Big East football conference, that did not leave the conference willingly, but was kicked out. Every other program on that list from the 1990s, plus Louisville later, left the conference willingly for a better conference arrangement.

Someone please explain how Jim Delaney can convince the membership of the Big 10 conference that adding Rutgers football was a postitive thing, while Mike Tranghese was unable to convince the Big East membership that having a multiple national championship winner in Miami was a good idea.

There is only one conference hat plays division 1 football (1A/FBS or 1AA/FCS) that has not had significant change repeatedly since the 1980s - that's the IVY league - because they have no interest in the college football post season, or revenue sharing from the regular season either.

Tranghese was the commissioner of the conference during a period of time where his leadership led to the building of the best basketball conference in the history of the intercollegiate sport, on the foundation that the top level of intercollegiate football provided - while exerting the least amount of effort necessary in maintaining the sport of football.

That's what

 

[HuskyDogArt]

He's been called worse in the press from day 1...but thanks for the heads up.

Lets see, the present mayor shouldn't be sewer cleaner...that guy makes Dinkins look like Koch...

 

[DarthGrumpy]

Its interesting how a guy like Jim Delaney can manage to get schools like Rutgers to be accepted by the leadership of schools like Northwestern and Michigan and Tranghese is supposed to be a merely a puppet that can only do what his constituents want.

Simple, the B1G Presidents look at more than just a single sport (football or basketball) and take in account a range of factors, such as market size (TV), AAU status, research dollars, etc. From that picture, Rutgers as a lot more in common with Michigan and Northwestern than UConn has with Providence College and Seton Hall.

 

[Fishy]

Boston College left because of the hoop schools like the hoop schools split because of Tulane.

You're a dingus if you think either one of those things is true.

 

[Carl Spackler]

LMAO "Restructuring."

He couldn't just dump the Catholic 7, he didn't have the authority as commissioner.

Again, what you're advocating for was an earlier break between the C7 and Football schools - which is fine, but not something Tranghese could have engineered himself.

By the by - who is this Catholic 7 that you keep referring to as having so much pull in the conference?

I seem to recall that as of 2004-2005, a few schools were added to bring the football conference back up to the minimum 8 programs to maintain a division 1A conference and be part of the BCS - replacing BC, Miami and VT. It was USF, Cincinnati and Louisville. Temple got kicked out for sucking so bad for so long, and we moved into their place. Bare minimum 8 programs - as all along

Which - made scheduling for a 12 game season a pain in the ass for everyone, and didn't give the opportunity for a championship game, and never mind the complete lack of any revenue sharing arrangement around the post season so that schools that went to the big bowls didn't have to eat the expenses (which our unprepared leadership found out about first hand in 2010) - or all the other reasons that the football schools all left.

Why was it again that Tranghese added those other schools?

Could it be that as the commissioner he was doing a balancing act so that the basketball schools wouldn't be a minority vote anymore in the conference on decision making?

And then people lament that Tranghese needed to work for his consituents. He frigging built the conference.

There was no reason to add DePaul, etc. The only reason was to balance the voting in favor of the long time basketball only schools.

If he didn't want to do any of it, and felt it was wrong, he could have retired at any time.

I haven't even touched really on the debacle that Notre Dame as a member caused from 1995 on.

I will refrain from spewing anymore onthis. None of this history means much now, except that UCONN leadership needs to have learned from it all, and I believe they have.

There is no reason to think that Tranghese can't be useful for UCONN's interests now, and he's a good person to consult, if for nothing more than to make contacts. I'm not sure I'd trust him for anything else. But I'm not anywhere in position to be of consequence. Just an internet posting fool.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The only sample size I am going by is SMU's band during last year's AAC tournament. It was an eye opener.

I spent three years of law school in the Big XII at Kansas, it is pretty much conference wide. Astonishingly pretty girls at KU, and really every other school (which included Colorado, Mizzou and Nebraska back then).

 

[Carl Spackler]

Simple, the B1G Presidents look at more than just a single sport (football or basketball) and take in account a range of factors, such as market size (TV), AAU status, research dollars, etc. From that picture, Rutgers as a lot more in common with Michigan and Northwestern than UConn has with Providence College and Seton Hall.

Just stop at "Simple, the Big 10 presidents look at more than just a single sport."

 

[Adios]

I spent three years of law school in the Big XII at Kansas, it is pretty much conference wide. Astonishingly pretty girls at KU, and really every other school (which included Colorado, Mizzou and Nebraska back then).

Not surprised, considering the educational cultural differences between the northeast and the rest of country.