How little could/should UConn accept from the Big 12?

[bingethinker]

B1G 10 commish Delaney informed Rutgers that even when a new TV deal is struck, they will have to wait till 2020 to get their full share. I believe Maryland got a beter deal and will enjoy a full share much sooner, not sure though

Maryland received a total Big Ten distribution of $36.1 million ($24.5 million base payment) during the 2014-15 school year. $32 million was the standard payout. $18.7 million went to Nebraska. Rutgers received about $10 million. $11.6 million of Maryland’s money included an advance on future payments it'll start paying back when its a full member and a $2 million travel stipend it doesn't have to pay back to the conference.

 

[whaler11]

I don't think that the viable candidates are offering AAC money only, but your premise is sound. Subba's analogy to a one-on-one negotiation is lunacy. There are multiple bidding parties and the alternatives to getting an invite are so unsavory that you can guarantee that the bidding will be aggressive.

The biggest mistake anyone here will make is assuming we know who the viable candidates are.

 

[Excalibur]

The biggest mistake anyone here will make is assuming we know who the viable candidates are.

I don't. The schools involved likely do.

 

[whaler11]

I don't. The schools involved likely do.

The candidates or the league? I'd guess the schools have educated guesses on who the competition is. I doubt the member schools agree who the candidates are.

The information you get is just as likely to be wrong as right - the commissioner doesn't have any influence. They might just throw 7 names in a hat and pick 4. Or pin Big 12 logos on a map and the four schools closest to the logos are in.

Nothing is off the table with this crew.

 

[djct1999]

I say flip the switch. Preserve the brand. Go public by stating that UConn would only consider a full share because we are their equal. This way, when the Big 12 doesn't pick us we have a legitmate reason.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't think that the viable candidates are offering AAC money only, but your premise is sound. Subba's analogy to a one-on-one negotiation is lunacy. There are multiple bidding parties and the alternatives to getting an invite are so unsavory that you can guarantee that the bidding will be aggressive.

But all candidates are not equal, if they were then they'd just pick them at random. Do you really think there are more than 4 viable candidates that can get 8 votes? Sure, the XII might be self destructive. The first rule of negotiation is being able to walk away from a bad deal. Now, what we currently have is beyond a bad deal, so we can take a lot, but this isn't a one time transaction. The XII doesn't want a team that is going 0-12 every year in both revenue sports, they can't pick teams that their media partners don't want if they want to maintain their relationships for later.

If your school is one of the four, then the XII has already invested in you. Maybe the last spot is a toss up, but I doubt it. BYU is a go/no based on other factors. UH is a go/no go based on what UT needs out of them politically. Cincy, UConn are the two most valuable properties, UCF/USF are trading academics for location. Memphis is not a serious candidate. Those are the six options for four spots (two isn't happening for all the reasons stated). Would the XII looking for the best academic, brand, media, value programs trade them for a measly $1M? No, the wouldn't.

You don't enter the room with your take it or leave it offer. This isn't a transaction. It's a relationship. You talk about anything and everything but the numbers. You talk about things you know you agree upon. You build that relationship. By the time you get to the numbers, they want to keep you happy as long as you are within their take it or leave range.

Remember, a partial share to start is the market benchmark. But, for how long? What other revenue avenues are left? What about new revenue sources? What about things that we care about that they may not care so much about. What kind of transition assistance can we expect, the B10 learned a lot from its PSU expansion. The XII isn't looking for Mad Max blood bag.

We may not even have to negotiate nor want to. But the idea of a zero or minimal revenue share isn't worth it. P5 or no P5. The GOR runs another 8 years. If the XII won't allow us the opportunity meet our P5 potential before the next round in 2024, then why bother? Don't misunderstand, we are willing to eat a lot of dirt but, this can't be a predatory relationship.

 

[SubbaBub]

I say flip the switch. Preserve the brand. Go public by stating that UConn would only consider a full share because we are their equal. This way, when the Big 12 doesn't pick us we have a legitmate reason.

This is a surefire kick waiting to happen. The market has set a partial share entry arrangement. This is also fair as we contributed nothing to the current XII organization or brand. We are talking about a supportive deal vs. a predatory reverse auction.

 

[djct1999]

This is a surefire kick waiting to happen. The market has set a partial share entry arrangement. This is also fair as we contributed nothing to the current XII organization or brand. We are talking about a supportive deal vs. a predatory reverse auction.

I was being sarcastic.

 

[1husky]

The biggest mistake anyone here will make is assuming we know who the viable candidates are.

You have to remember who the buyers are. Presidents at UT, OU, KS, IA State and others do not want to partner with a Memphis or their agent at FedEx. It's beneath them. There are really only a couple of viable candidates. We have value.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Just get in and worry about the tv money later.

 

[whaler11]

It's silly to say that the money is needed to be competitive. BYU, UConn, BYU and Houston wouldn't be bad in either revenue sport and that's recruiting from a position of weakness.

Giving a team a third instead of a half of the television money is not going to matter in their win loss record.

It's not like the schools we are talking about aren't paying Tuberville, Diaco, Hermann, Cronin, Ollie.

If UConn gets more money they are going to decrease the subsidy - don't see how you'd sell anyone that would improve your win/loss record.

Subba if they walk away from a Big 12 offer over financial negotiations then the administration should be tarred, feathered and then drawn and quartered.

Acting like this is a done deal and schools like Memphis aren't candidates is the absolute biggest mistake that could possibly be made.

If the Big 12 expands by 4 and UConn isn't included - there won't be an FBS football program in this state in 2024.

 

[whaler11]

You have to remember who the buyers are. Presidents at UT, OU, KS, IA State and others do not want to partner with a Memphis or their agent at FedEx. It's beneath them. There are really only a couple of viable candidates. We have value.

Yeah and the ACC will turn up their noses at Louisville I bet!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Yeah and the ACC will turn up their noses at Louisville I bet!

Absolutely perplexing that people would play the academic card given what's occurred in the past.

To your point, the school isn't going to all of a sudden start spending millions of more dollars. Any incense in TV revenue will and should just be taken out of our subsidy.

If UConn wants to play any meaningful FBS games in their future, you offer whatever it is the Big 12 wants. Period .

 

[AZHuskiePop]

It's silly to say that the money is needed to be competitive. BYU, UConn, BYU and Houston wouldn't be bad in either revenue sport and that's recruiting from a position of weakness.

Giving a team a third instead of a half of the television money is not going to matter in their win loss record.

It's not like the schools we are talking about aren't paying Tuberville, Diaco, Hermann, Cronin, Ollie.

If UConn gets more money they are going to decrease the subsidy - don't see how you'd sell anyone that would improve your win/loss record.

Subba if they walk away from a Big 12 offer over financial negotiations then the administration should be tarred, feathered and then drawn and quartered.

Acting like this is a done deal and schools like Memphis aren't candidates is the absolute biggest mistake that could possibly be made.

If the Big 12 expands by 4 and UConn isn't included - there won't be an FBS football program in this state in 2024.

The Texas governor's announcement has insured this is not really an evaluation and it is more of a patronage interview.
We are out of out lesgue dealing with these folks and
I"m making the assumption we will not be picked .
If I were the UConn leaders I would be working on plan B
Or how do we survive.
I think it's difficult but doable.

 

[UConnNick]

The Texas governor's announcement has insured this is not really an evaluation and it is more of a patronage interview.
We are out of out lesgue dealing with these folks and
I"m making the assumption we will not be picked .
If I were the UConn leaders I would be working on plan B
Or how do we survive.
I think it's difficult but doable.

I don't understand why you indicate "we are out of our league dealing with these folks." If that's the case, then we are never going anywhere, since I assume by "folks" you're talking about the school presidents.

I really don't see this process degenerating into an episode of the old game show "Let's Make a Deal." I don't think the candidates are going to submit sealed bid offers of just how much garbage they're each willing to eat. They'll pick their two or four teams, dictate to them what the financial details will be, and that's it.

 

[1husky]

Yeah and the ACC will turn up their noses at Louisville I bet!

Memphis is not Louisville but I hear what you are saying. I agree with Subba. Anyone who goes into a negotiation knows there has to be a win-win at the outcome to move on together. You can't spend 8 years with a "partner" who is angry at how you ripped them off. We have value. And it's worth more than just the baseline of getting in to the B12. You have to start with that premise. Are we at a disadvantage? Yes. If we walk away we are screwed forever. Everyone knows that. Beyond that there has to be a mutually satisfying outcome on both sides.

 

[Stinger92860]

I am surprised ESPN would structure a contract in a way that would encourage a league to bottom feed for new members to rip off ESPN.

This is likely the next step for the larger schools and a scenario which drives p5 contraction. Why is Wake making same or similar money to FSU will be the dialogue in a few years.

 

[billybud]

I believe that it was an unintended consequence...of several things working together.

...of having a contract that authorized the addition of teams at a pro rata distributions from the network

...the lack of interest by ESPN/Fox in negotiating higher fees for a league that has had poor TV ratings

...the only way for current members to receive a bump is to take money from new members...(aka a Ponzi scheme)

...the only hope of maybe a future network is to expand the limited Big 12 footprint and the only way to do that without taking a pay cut is on the back of the barbershop.

 

[Hoophound]

The issue is that the big schools need someone to play. FSU is worth more in the sense that they would have more value as an individual entity but these aren't pro sports franchises. FSU needs someone to play against. Yes, you could make super conferences and just have FSU playing Michigan and Texas etc. but you'd lose the interest of half the population.

Conferences provide a platform for each school to play on. Ultimately, the schools will need to have more control of selling their own rights and agents working for them to hash out deals. However, conferences with a wide variety of states and fanbases represented seem hard to discard.

 

[billybud]

A conference is a mix...some heavyweights, midweights, and some bottom feeders....and these may move around some from time to time (Wake did play in a CCG recently)

Moreover, as the seasons change, the weights change...as basketball rolls around, FSU & Clemson step back and UNC and Duke step up. Soccer has a different set of team weights, etc.

While football currently drives TV audiences, basketball is not too far behind (depending on the conference). And with more non revenie sports to be televised, there might be a jump in watching interest as fans find their way to how to watch them.

 

[IMind]

Absolutely perplexing that people would play the academic card given what's occurred in the past.

To your point, the school isn't going to all of a sudden start spending millions of more dollars. Any incense in TV revenue will and should just be taken out of our subsidy.

If UConn wants to play any meaningful FBS games in their future, you offer whatever it is the Big 12 wants. Period .

I'm assuming you meant increase.

Honestly I doubt UConn drops their subsidy very much unless they're getting a ton of friction from the student body. People are already paying it and UConn has record levels of applications. They're more likely to plow the cash increase into coaching staffs and adding scholarships to those sports that aren't at the Big 12 level.

I mean reducing the subsidy might be the right thing to do, but it's probably not going to happen.

 

[noeynox]

We will take 3 hots and a cot damn it.

 

[WestHartHusk]

We will take 3 hots and a cot damn it.

You must not have read this thread...we have all the leverage and the Big12 is a rational actor.

 

[UConnNick]

We will take 3 hots and a cot damn it.

That's where we currently are. We aspire to stay at a Holiday Inn Express, preferably with a restaurant, bar and room service.

 

[sportsart]

If they paid us in pumpkin bites I'd say yes.