"If the B1G wants NYC" ....from MSU fans

[ZooCougar]

I disagree. The B1g and ACC are at fourteen full time members+ Notre Dame. ND is gumming up the works in the ACC, by telling them there is a chance they will join for football. In addition, there are forces within the ACC that want to keep us out. That cannot be discounted. Who besides us, is not tied up with a GOR, that the Big Ten could pair with us? UConn/Kansas leading the basketball side has some real cache. For all the talk of the Big12 being the best basketball conference, they like the ACC went out with a whimper. UConn should aggresively, and privately be selling themselves to the Big12. Travel concerns be damned.

We may not mind the potential travel. But here in Big 12 country they are already grumbling about traveling to Morgantown.

In football it's not so bad, because they only have to go out there once every other year, but in the other sports it is at least once a year. Why would they add to it? They are not thinking like that at the moment.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I'd sign up for the Big 12 in a heart beat even if it was contingent on every other home football vs Texas or OU being at Giants Stadium. Likely, I'd give more concessions than that as well.

As has been mentioned, if we could keep our tier 3 rights which would include some men's and a lot of women's basketball we'd stand to make a lot of money from that as well.

 

[Dooley]

Yeah, sign me up for the B12 too. My first choice is and will always be the B1G. But if the AAU requirement is too far out in the future (i.e. - won't happen for more than 5 years) and that is an absolute sticking point to gain an invite, then we need to move our athletics to the first power conference that offers. If that's the B12, great. I can think of a worse way to spend a Saturday than watching UCONN take on the likes of Texas, OU, OSU and welcome back WVU. Kansas vs UCONN basketball would be must-see TV. Maybe even make that an annual MSG tilt. We can play Texas and OU at MetLife until we can expand the Rent. We will need the cash infusion and the added revenue would offset the increased travel costs. And like others have said here, the expenses won't be all that much more than what we will be spending to play our AAC mates.

But, I really hope the B1G steps up soon and realizes that it needs UCONN to fully capture NYC.

 

[Waquoit]

I'd sign up for the Big 12 in a heart beat even if it was contingent on every other home football vs Texas or OU being at Giants Stadium. Likely, I'd give more concessions than that as well.

It's not worth agreeing to be someone else's bitch. It never works out.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

It's not worth agreeing to be someone else's bitch. It never works out.

Yeah, you're right. Better to continue to bring in $20M less in tv revenue than our local rivals than two play two of the best programs in history in an NFL stadium every few seasons.

 

[pj]

Most Big 12 schools are within an hour of a major airport. OU is less than an hour to OKC. OSU is about an hour to OKC or Tulsa. ISU is an hour from Des Moines. KU is 30 minutes from KC. TCU is in DFW. UT is in Austin. TT is in Lubbock. WVU is an hour form Pittsburg. Really Baylor and KSU are furthest from major airports but there are commercial flights into Topeka which is not far from Manhattan, KS.

Alright. A major airport is one that has nonstop flights from Boston, New York, or Hartford. Austin is a major airport. Dallas Fort Worth is a major airport. Kansas City is a major airport. Pittsburgh is a major airport, but Morgantown is an hour away. After that, minor airports.

To get to Ames Iowa, you can change planes to fly into Des Moines (not a major airport) and drive 41 miles, or fly into Minneapolis (major airport) and drive 3 hours. Lubbock - who thinks Lubbock has a major airport?

The SEC has a similar problem by the way, you either charter flights into small airports or do a lot of plane changing and layovers on commercial flights or fly and take a long bus ride. It's a problem for student athletes and travel budgets.

Nothing against you as you are posting a fact, but really who cares? I know it means an extra hour or two on a bus for the athletes, but somehow, if it means the school will get revenue to keep it operating as a high major, it will be worth it to everyone, including the athletes.

Agreed, it's not relevant to our realignment decisions.

 

[CTGoonie]

You would have to think west Virginia would lobby for us. They need more eastern teams

Kansas as well. KU vs. Uconn in bball bould be the B12's Duke/Cuse.

 

[okielite]

Alright. A major airport is one that has nonstop flights from Boston, New York, or Hartford. Austin is a major airport. Dallas Fort Worth is a major airport. Kansas City is a major airport. Pittsburgh is a major airport, but Morgantown is an hour away. After that, minor airports.

To get to Ames Iowa, you can change planes to fly into Des Moines (not a major airport) and drive 41 miles, or fly into Minneapolis (major airport) and drive 3 hours. Lubbock - who thinks Lubbock has a major airport?

The SEC has a similar problem by the way, you either charter flights into small airports or do a lot of plane changing and layovers on commercial flights or fly and take a long bus ride. It's a problem for student athletes and travel budgets.



Agreed, it's not relevant to our realignment decisions.

If that is how you want to look at it then so be it. I responded to the post that said many Big 12 schools are 2 hours from an airport, which is simply not true. If you think that flying to DFW and connecting to Lubbock is too much then so be it. But Lubbock is not as small as you might think. 300k people and the 8th busiest airport in Texas. I think when you look at it the majority of schools are a direct flight to DFW, OKC, Tulsa, Austin, KC, or Pittsburg along with a 30 minute to 1 hour bus ride. Isn't that about what it is to UConn as well? With TT, ISU, KSU, and Baylor requiring a 1 hour plus bus ride and/or s connecting flight. Small price to pay for exchanging schools like SMU, Houston, UCF, etc... for UT, OU, OSU, TT, KSU, etc.. along with a bigger payday and a huge opportunity on tier 3.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

If that is how you want to look at it then so be it. I responded to the post that said many Big 12 schools are 2 hours from an airport, which is simply not true. If you think that flying to DFW and connecting to Lubbock is too much then so be it. But Lubbock is not as small as you might think. 300k people and the 8th busiest airport in Texas. I think when you look at it the majority of schools are a direct flight to DFW, OKC, Tulsa, Austin, KC, or Pittsburg along with a 30 minute to 1 hour bus ride. Isn't that about what it is to UConn as well? With TT, ISU, KSU, and Baylor requiring a 1 hour plus bus ride and/or s connecting flight. Small price to pay for exchanging schools like SMU, Houston, UCF, etc... for UT, OU, OSU, TT, KSU, etc.. along with a bigger payday and a huge opportunity on tier 3.

I think one of the biggest attraction thing to the B12 is the tier-3 thing. UCONN women's tier-3 rights sold for $1.14M a year to SNY. There is much money to be made there if UCONN can keep more games to ourselves.

I do agree with you that travel to B12 schools would be a small price to pay to play in a power conference. UCONN is every bit a P5 school and we need to be with our peers.

 

[pj]

If that is how you want to look at it then so be it. I responded to the post that said many Big 12 schools are 2 hours from an airport, which is simply not true. If you think that flying to DFW and connecting to Lubbock is too much then so be it. But Lubbock is not as small as you might think. 300k people and the 8th busiest airport in Texas. I think when you look at it the majority of schools are a direct flight to DFW, OKC, Tulsa, Austin, KC, or Pittsburg along with a 30 minute to 1 hour bus ride. Isn't that about what it is to UConn as well? With TT, ISU, KSU, and Baylor requiring a 1 hour plus bus ride and/or s connecting flight. Small price to pay for exchanging schools like SMU, Houston, UCF, etc... for UT, OU, OSU, TT, KSU, etc.. along with a bigger payday and a huge opportunity on tier 3.

Yes, agreed, small price. We'd love to be in the B12. Great football, and some great basketball teams - Kansas, ISU looks to be good for years to come, Texas and Oklahoma historically. Money wise it would be better for us than the ACC thanks to the Tier 3 rights, and it would also keep a B1G option open since the most likely B1G expansion would be upon a B12 break up at the expiration of their TV contract, whereas in the ACC we'd be locked in with the GoR and $52 mn exit fee. The main risk to the B12, that Texas or Oklahoma goes somewhere when the TV contract expires, wouldn't be much of a risk for UConn, by the expiration of the B12 TV contract in 2025 or whenever it is we'll probably be AAU, well established in football, and one of the top candidates for poaching by other leagues with Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas; we should find a safe landing. All in all it would be awesome for UConn.

 

[HuskyFan16]

Plus we would get to stay in Hockey East. I know that is irrelevant... but I'm pretty excited to get into that league, and sooner or later kick the crap out of BCU in the sport they love most.

 

[businesslawyer]

I would love the Big12. I've always felt that with the ACC and Big Ten making a play for it, with SU and RU, the Big 12, should grab UConn and schedule one marquee confrence game in NYC. Texas/UConn, Oklahoma/UConn. I think current NCAA rules state conference games can't be played at neutral sites, but rules be damned.

Where would you get the NCAA ban of neutral site conference games from? UGA and Florida play each other every year in Jacksonville at a neutral site. And Kansas and Mizzou, when in the Big XII, played in Arrowhead at least once.

 

[UConn9604]

Where would you get the NCAA ban of neutral site conference games from? UGA and Florida play each other every year in Jacksonville at a neutral site. And Kansas and Mizzou, when in the Big XII, played in Arrowhead at least once.

...and Auburn and Alabama used to play the Iron Bowl in the Iron Bowl.

 

[ZooCougar]

Really?

Most Big 12 schools are within an hour of a major airport. OU is less than an hour to OKC. OSU is about an hour to OKC or Tulsa. ISU is an hour from Des Moines. KU is 30 minutes from KC. TCU is in DFW. UT is in Austin. TT is in Lubbock. WVU is an hour form Pittsburg. Really Baylor and KSU are furthest from major airports but there are commercial flights into Topeka which is not far from Manhattan, KS.

More wrong info from you.


KU is definitely not a half hour from the Kansas City Airport. The airport is north of where I live and it takes me 45 minutes to get to Lawrence.

The closest airport to KU would technically be Topeka. But good luck getting a flight out of there. I think United has one flight a day out of there. Unless KSU takes charter jets everywhere I bet they have to drive to KC too.

It's easily 2 hours by bus from Manhattan to KCI.

 

[ZooCougar]

Where would you get the NCAA ban of neutral site conference games from? UGA and Florida play each other every year in Jacksonville at a neutral site. And Kansas and Mizzou, when in the Big XII, played in Arrowhead at least once.

Most Miami games are neutral site because nobody goes to those games.

 

[okielite]

More wrong info from you.


KU is definitely not a half hour from the Kansas City Airport. The airport is north of where I live and it takes me 45 minutes to get to Lawrence.

The closest airport to KU would technically be Topeka. But good luck getting a flight out of there. I think United has one flight a day out of there. Unless KSU takes charter jets everywhere I bet they have to drive to KC too.

It's easily 2 hours by bus from Manhattan to KCI.

So your argument is that is it 45 minutes to the airport, not 30. If it makes you feel better to tell me I am wrong because you think it takes a few more minutes to get there then so be it. LAffin.

What else do you think I am wrong about?

 

[ZooCougar]

So I checked with my KSU pal in the office next door. They actually fly out of a small airport in Manhattan when they can.

 

[ZooCougar]

So your argument is that is it 45 minutes to the airport, not 30. If it makes you feel better to tell me I am wrong because you think it takes a few more minutes to get there then so be it. LAffin.

What else do you think I am wrong about?

More like an hour at least. You make it sound like they are 30 minutes from the Terminal. Look at a map dude. I bet if we did a deep dive on some of your other points we would find all sorts of inaccuracies.

 

[okielite]

More like an hour at least. You make it sound like they are 30 minutes from the Terminal. Look at a map dude. I bet if we did a deep dive on some of your other points we would find all sorts of inaccuracies.

Again, if that is how you want to look at it then so be it. Now you have gone from 45 minutes to at least an hour. By next time we will be looking at an hour and a half. LAffin.

According to MapQuest it is 47 minutes to the airport. If you would like to argue with them or accuse them of being wrong then feel free.

If you are going to accuse me of posting inaccurate information you might want to figure out what is inaccurate first instead of just claiming "I bet if we dug back there would be all sorts of inaccuracies".

I'll ask again. What is it that you think I am wrong about?

 

[okielite]

How far is it from UConn's campus to the airport?

 

[Ldandy]

Yeah, sign me up for the B12 too. My first choice is and will always be the B1G. But if the AAU requirement is too far out in the future (i.e. - won't happen for more than 5 years) and that is an absolute sticking point to gain an invite, then we need to move our athletics to the first power conference that offers. If that's the B12, great. I can think of a worse way to spend a Saturday than watching UCONN take on the likes of Texas, OU, OSU and welcome back WVU. Kansas vs UCONN basketball would be must-see TV. Maybe even make that an annual MSG tilt. We can play Texas and OU at MetLife until we can expand the Rent. We will need the cash infusion and the added revenue would offset the increased travel costs. And like others have said here, the expenses won't be all that much more than what we will be spending to play our AAC mates.

But, I really hope the B1G steps up soon and realizes that it needs UCONN to fully capture NYC.

I empathize with your situation, and realize that economics dictate that UCONN likely needs to jump on the first P5 invite it recieves. That said If possible you need to hold out for your first choice. UCONN in The Big 12 makes less sense than WVU, which in turn makes no sense. Many of the sports you sponsor are not contested in the conference making it necessary to search out multiple conferences for competition. The Olympic Events that are supported will require considerable travel like the AAC.

Even discarding the cultural differences, which are many, the lineup proposed would not be sustainable long term. The old Big 12 faced defections because of mistrust between members and differing agendas. How would this lineup be any different? All the Texas and Oklahoma Schools in one division? All the schools with weak football tradition and even weaker recruiting grounds grouped opposite them. No potential issues there.

The B1G is where you belong. 13 of 14 schools are strong state universities. You would have reasonable neighbors in RU, PSU, and UMD nearby, with other schools like UM and OSU having good sized alumni bases in the tri state area. Regular matchups with historic powers in football and basketball, with ice hockey and a full compliment of olympic sports all under one tent.

If one objectively looks at college conferences it is clear as day that the B1G and SEC will expand again. Fourteen is untennable for a final number. Both will go to 16. The B1G will strongly consider, and should accept UCONN for membership when they go to the table to negotiate their next contract. The question remains who will be 16?

 

[upstater]

If that is how you want to look at it then so be it. I responded to the post that said many Big 12 schools are 2 hours from an airport, which is simply not true. If you think that flying to DFW and connecting to Lubbock is too much then so be it. But Lubbock is not as small as you might think. 300k people and the 8th busiest airport in Texas. I think when you look at it the majority of schools are a direct flight to DFW, OKC, Tulsa, Austin, KC, or Pittsburg along with a 30 minute to 1 hour bus ride. Isn't that about what it is to UConn as well? With TT, ISU, KSU, and Baylor requiring a 1 hour plus bus ride and/or s connecting flight. Small price to pay for exchanging schools like SMU, Houston, UCF, etc... for UT, OU, OSU, TT, KSU, etc.. along with a bigger payday and a huge opportunity on tier 3.

UConn would go because of the money.

Nonetheless, when you price tickets from NYC to Dallas, Memphis, Orlando, Houston, New Orleans, Cincinnati, Tampa, Washington DC, Philly, etc., you are looking at $250-$300 Rt.

 

[upstater]

I empathize with your situation, and realize that economics dictate that UCONN likely needs to jump on the first P5 invite it recieves. That said If possible you need to hold out for your first choice. UCONN in The Big 12 makes less sense than WVU, which in turn makes no sense. Many of the sports you sponsor are not contested in the conference making it necessary to search out multiple conferences for competition. The Olympic Events that are supported will require considerable travel like the AAC.

Even discarding the cultural differences, which are many, the lineup proposed would not be sustainable long term. The old Big 12 faced defections because of mistrust between members and differing agendas. How would this lineup be any different? All the Texas and Oklahoma Schools in one division? All the schools with weak football tradition and even weaker recruiting grounds grouped opposite them. No potential issues there.

The B1G is where you belong. 13 of 14 schools are strong state universities. You would have reasonable neighbors in RU, PSU, and UMD nearby, with other schools like UM and OSU having good sized alumni bases in the tri state area. Regular matchups with historic powers in football and basketball, with ice hockey and a full compliment of olympic sports all under one tent.

If one objectively looks at college conferences it is clear as day that the B1G and SEC will expand again. Fourteen is untennable for a final number. Both will go to 16. The B1G will strongly consider, and should accept UCONN for membership when they go to the table to negotiate their next contract. The question remains who will be 16?

Lack of olympic sports would be a plus for joining these mega conferences. Just dump them in the ECAC!

 

[Waquoit]

Yeah, you're right. Better to continue to bring in $20M less in tv revenue than our local rivals than two play two of the best programs in history in an NFL stadium every few seasons.

Begging the Big 12? Have some self-respect. It will payoff in the long run.

 

[okielite]

I empathize with your situation, and realize that economics dictate that UCONN likely needs to jump on the first P5 invite it recieves. That said If possible you need to hold out for your first choice. UCONN in The Big 12 makes less sense than WVU, which in turn makes no sense. Many of the sports you sponsor are not contested in the conference making it necessary to search out multiple conferences for competition. The Olympic Events that are supported will require considerable travel like the AAC.

Even discarding the cultural differences, which are many, the lineup proposed would not be sustainable long term. The old Big 12 faced defections because of mistrust between members and differing agendas. How would this lineup be any different? All the Texas and Oklahoma Schools in one division? All the schools with weak football tradition and even weaker recruiting grounds grouped opposite them. No potential issues there.

The B1G is where you belong. 13 of 14 schools are strong state universities. You would have reasonable neighbors in RU, PSU, and UMD nearby, with other schools like UM and OSU having good sized alumni bases in the tri state area. Regular matchups with historic powers in football and basketball, with ice hockey and a full compliment of olympic sports all under one tent.

If one objectively looks at college conferences it is clear as day that the B1G and SEC will expand again. Fourteen is untennable for a final number. Both will go to 16. The B1G will strongly consider, and should accept UCONN for membership when they go to the table to negotiate their next contract. The question remains who will be 16?

The sports like Lacrosse and Hockey could simply be played with your regional conferences and schools, which is actually a good thing to stay connected to the New England schools without having to share a conference in all sports with them.

As far as the divisional layout I think regional divisions the most sense. These Zipper divisions that the B1G tried, completely failed. The ACC is still trying to make it work. Pretty dumb when schools like FSU and GaTEch only play once every few years. What prime recruiting grounds does the B1G West division have? whoops. I think the B1G West might be the only power conference division without a school in a prime recruiting area. congrats. IF the Big 12 added UConn and Cinci at the least you would be in a division with a school from Ohio, not to mention playing at least 1 if not 2 games per year in Texas. That beats the heck out of being stuck playing in Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Those are all terrible recruiting areas, plus you only play at tOSU and PSU every 5 years or so. Talk about lack of recruiting.

There are major cultural differences with the B1G as well. Do you think people in Nebraska and Iowa are similar top those in Jersey and Connecticut? Do you think you would be looked down upon by the B1G members because of AAU status? Do you think B1G members feel the same way now that Michigan and tOSU are in the same division? I now the Nebraska fans are not thrilled. They went from having one of the best rivalries in the country with OU and to some degree Texas, now they play Iowa and Wisconsin as their biggest rivals, who they have little history with. Fans dont' care about those much. Many Nebraska fans already want out of the B1G.

I don't disagree that the B1G is a good fit. As is the ACC. But lets not pretend that these are all regional games. Traveling to Miami, FSU, Clemson, GA Tech, UNC, etc.. is a long way. Traveling to Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska is a long way as well. For most games you are looking at a bus ride, flight, and bus ride to get there. The only real difference is how long your flight is.

The B1G is already watered down from a FB perspective. Adding Maryland and Rutgers only made it worse. Getting in a conference that has roots in parts of the country that are growing is important. Without ties to CA, TX, FL, GA , etc... recruiting can be much more difficult. Ask Nebraska how they like recruiting the rust belt. It's obvious where the top FB talent is, and it's not the NE. If UConn want to be successful in FB being in a conference with Southern ties would help more than anything.