IF there is Big 12 Expansion | Page 11 | The Boneyard

IF there is Big 12 Expansion

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Father Leahy is still President at Boston College and he was part of the Big East lawsuit. Supposedly, Herbst has met with him to smooth over past issues. The fact that UConn and BC are scheduled to playing football again is a good sign that the relationship has warmed, but it is hard to know if Father Leahy still has issues with UConn.
Didn't the Hockey East admission smooth things out for us with them?
 
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Well what realistic alternative is there to what the leadership could say at that point? What alternative was there to say after Louisville got in the ACC? Honest question.
I got it then. Made sense. Just don't pull the same stunt again. We all know what time it is. All the school could do is put on its best dress, but they still have to be asked to the prom. Please don't blow smoke up our azzes again.
 
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B12 has always been my preference. "Fat side up" on tailgate day!
 

The Funster

What?
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Well, hey CR fans...how about this scenario: what if Delany has already told Herbst that the B1G is very interested in UConn but can't do anything right now because 1) UConn isnt AAU and b) doesn't have a partner atm. If there is one rule that I believe is hard and fast for the B1G it's that there is no admittance to the conference unless you are AAU. Imagine the outcry if UConn turns down the Big 12 because they already have a semi solid B1G invite in hand but can't say anything?

I also think Swofford has to be crapping his pants about now and trying to rally his troops to start talking to UConn too.

6 months ago a Big 12 invite would have been a stunner but as it gets coser it makes too much sense although I have my doubts that the Big 12 can actually put a network together. I'd laugh my off if they do before the ACC does though...
 
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6 months ago a Big 12 invite would have been a stunner but as it gets coser it makes too much sense although I have my doubts that the Big 12 can actually put a network together. I'd laugh my off if they do before the ACC does though...

If the XII gets a network in place before the ACC, then UConn needs to get into the XII (assuming that there is no invite from the B1G) because then the ACC would more more likely than the XII to be raided when the P5 become the P4.
 
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Well, hey CR fans...how about this scenario: what if Delany has already told Herbst that the B1G is very interested in UConn but can't do anything right now because 1) UConn isnt AAU and b) doesn't have a partner atm. If there is one rule that I believe is hard and fast for the B1G it's that there is no admittance to the conference unless you are AAU. Imagine the outcry if UConn turns down the Big 12 because they already have a semi solid B1G invite in hand but can't say anything?

I also think Swofford has to be crapping his pants about now and trying to rally his troops to start talking to UConn too.

6 months ago a Big 12 invite would have been a stunner but as it gets coser it makes too much sense although I have my doubts that the Big 12 can actually put a network together. I'd laugh my off if they do before the ACC does though...


Stating the obvious - we can't be picky about which lifeboat we get in...

Having said that, it is just as obvious, that the B1G would be our dream lifeboat. Doesn't look likely in the short term, however.

As between the ACC and the Big 12, I think a properly structured Big 12 is superior to the ACC for a couple of reasons. While, the ACC provides logistical advantages, I think instability down the road is inevitable. The gulf between the current football powers and the weak sisters (Syracuse, BC, Wake etc.) will only increase. The academic gulf is just as stark. Need I say anything more than Duke and Louisville? Further, the deal with ND will eventually bring divisiveness as the "full time" football powers wonder why they must win a conference championship to possibly qualify for the playoff while ND can cruise in with one less game and an inconsistent conference schedule. Simply put, the ND deal for full inclusion of the olympic sports, doesn't bring enough to the conference to warrant the sweet heart football deal. As posted before, the ND deal is a one-way mess waiting to happen.

In the Big 12, we would provide a connection to NYC and the Big 12 will tout it. Imagine a NYC BB doubleheader with KU, OU, UT and UConn. I think it works. Football wise, provided we can deal with the stadium issues, home games v. OU, Baylor, TCU, UT etc. would be big draws, easily as big or bigger than for an ACC game.

The ACC is going to become the modern day equivalent of the Holy Roman empire - it has shown signs of decay that will eventually doom it. Now, also on the "obviously" front, we would take an offer from the ACC in a heartbeat. But that has as much to do with being in a gulag than anything else. IMHO, the Big 12 has an appeal that the ACC is lacking. As between the two, I'd take the Big 12.
 
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Stating the obvious - we can't be picky about which lifeboat we get in...

Having said that, it is just as obvious, that the B1G would be our dream lifeboat. Doesn't look likely in the short term, however.

As between the ACC and the Big 12, I think a properly structured Big 12 is superior to the ACC for a couple of reasons. While, the ACC provides logistical advantages, I think instability down the road is inevitable. The gulf between the current football powers and the weak sisters (Syracuse, BC, Wake etc.) will only increase. The academic gulf is just as stark. Need I say anything more than Duke and Louisville? Further, the deal with ND will eventually bring divisiveness as the "full time" football powers wonder why they must win a conference championship to possibly qualify for the playoff while ND can cruise in with one less game and an inconsistent conference schedule. Simply put, the ND deal for full inclusion of the olympic sports, doesn't bring enough to the conference to warrant the sweet heart football deal. As posted before, the ND deal is a one-way mess waiting to happen.

In the Big 12, we would provide a connection to NYC and the Big 12 will tout it. Imagine a NYC BB doubleheader with KU, OU, UT and UConn. I think it works. Football wise, provided we can deal with the stadium issues, home games v. OU, Baylor, TCU, UT etc. would be big draws, easily as big or bigger than for an ACC game.

The ACC is going to become the modern day equivalent of the Holy Roman empire - it has shown signs of decay that will eventually doom it. Now, also on the "obviously" front, we would take an offer from the ACC in a heartbeat. But that has as much to do with being in a gulag than anything else. IMHO, the Big 12 has an appeal that the ACC is lacking. As between the two, I'd take the Big 12.
ACC with ND membership as it is...Big East 2.0...with a similar fate.
 

junglehusky

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ACC can afford to lose schools if the B1G raids. BXII cannot afford to lose Texas or OU, they instantly become AAC 2.0 once that happens.
 
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ACC with ND membership as it is...Big East 2.0...with a similar fate.

Except that one can argue that Texas has its own sweetheart power arrangement with the XII that may provide as deadly to the conference as ND was to the old Big E (and possibly current ACC).
 
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Except that one can argue that Texas has its own sweetheart power arrangement with the XII that may provide as deadly to the conference as ND was to the old Big E (and possibly current ACC).
If the B12 expands by 2 ....I think it's safe to say that OU has trump carded UT's power.
 
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If the B12 expands by 2 ....I think it's safe to say that OU has trump carded UT's power.

Depends, if the XII add Houston and Memphis or maybe Houston and Cincinnati, I would call it a draw as the XII gets what it wants in a playoff while Texas gets to shore-up its domestic political base over the short-term as the XII is still likely dead over the long-term. If Cincinnati and UConn are added, then I agree that OU won.
 
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Depends, if the XII add Houston and Memphis or maybe Houston and Cincinnati, I would call it a draw as the XII gets what it wants in a playoff while Texas gets to shore-up its domestic political base over the short-term as the XII is still likely dead over the long-term. If Cincinnati and UConn are added, then I agree that OU won.
If UT were worried about shoring up a domestic political base they would't be purchasing land in Houston to build another UT system campus. That link is floating around here somewhere. IMHO if the B-12 expands it's either gonna be BYU and UC or UC and UCONN.
 
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There is absolutely no way in he11 UCONN gets invited to the Big 12. That said, I look forward to watching UCONN Football progress against the Horns and Sooners and watching their hoops teams try to keep up with UCONN if it happens. :cool:
 
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There is absolutely no way in he11 UCONN gets invited to the Big 12. That said, I look forward to watching UCONN Football progress against the Horns and Sooners and watching their hoops teams try to keep up with UCONN if it happens. :cool:

Playing Oklahoma worries me. Playing a Charlies Strong led U Texas team, not so much as we have already beaten one of his teams (#19 Louisville in 2012), which was arguably more talented than what he has been able to put together to far in Austin, with one of our Coach P teams :cool:
 

uconnphil2016

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If it does come down to a B12 vote between Cincinnati/Houston or Cincinnati/UConn let's think of how things should hash out:
-All Texas teams most likely will prefer UConn over Houston, for obvious reasons. So that gives Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech in favor of UConn--that's already 4 of 10 teams in the conference, and two away from a majority vote. My guess is that whatever Texas favors, Oklahoma will favor the same thing. Further, it would make way more sense for a school like Kansas to want UConn as a good basketball partner. WVU should prefer UConn's geographical proximity, and Herbst seems to be making moves with K-State's president. Given that we SHOULD have 4 schools close to locked up, the scales seem to be hugely tipped in our favor. Of course, who knows what will happen when push comes to shove, but conventional logic tells us that UConn stands a far greater chance than Houston as long as Texas egos have something to say in the decision.
 

junglehusky

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If it does come down to a B12 vote between Cincinnati/Houston or Cincinnati/UConn let's think of how things should hash out:
-All Texas teams most likely will prefer UConn over Houston, for obvious reasons. So that gives Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech in favor of UConn--that's already 4 of 10 teams in the conference, and two away from a majority vote. My guess is that whatever Texas favors, Oklahoma will favor the same thing. Further, it would make way more sense for a school like Kansas to want UConn as a good basketball partner. WVU should prefer UConn's geographical proximity, and Herbst seems to be making moves with K-State's president. Given that we SHOULD have 4 schools close to locked up, the scales seem to be hugely tipped in our favor. Of course, who knows what will happen when push comes to shove, but conventional logic tells us that UConn stands a far greater chance than Houston as long as Texas egos have something to say in the decision.
I suspect the reality is not a simple as that. B12 presidents may want a presence in Houston simply for alumni relations and recruiting (athletes and non-athletes). And we know UT and OU are clashing as far as their vision for the conference down the road.

Recall - we/the media thought UConn in the ACC was almost a done deal because the Tobacco Road contingent thought they had the votes. Then the politics happened and the FSU/Clemson/Miami contingent won out over Tobacco Road. I suspect that OU and maybe Kansas would be supportive of UConn, but beyond that I have no idea. A lot hinges on UT. And I hope the rumors from the last couple weeks are accurate about Directional Florida being on the B-list, we don't want them being a dark horse.
 

HuskyHawk

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If it does come down to a B12 vote between Cincinnati/Houston or Cincinnati/UConn let's think of how things should hash out:
-All Texas teams most likely will prefer UConn over Houston, for obvious reasons. So that gives Texas, Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech in favor of UConn--that's already 4 of 10 teams in the conference, and two away from a majority vote. My guess is that whatever Texas favors, Oklahoma will favor the same thing. Further, it would make way more sense for a school like Kansas to want UConn as a good basketball partner. WVU should prefer UConn's geographical proximity, and Herbst seems to be making moves with K-State's president. Given that we SHOULD have 4 schools close to locked up, the scales seem to be hugely tipped in our favor. Of course, who knows what will happen when push comes to shove, but conventional logic tells us that UConn stands a far greater chance than Houston as long as Texas egos have something to say in the decision.

I mostly agree. All the Texas schools should want to keep Houston out. Whether they want UConn over a BYU (presumably out) or a Memphis or UCF....not sold on that at all. I think OU and Boren want UConn for Academics. He really wants to boost OU and the conference. I think Kansas would be similar to OU on the academic side and could use a hoops rivalry since OSU has fallen off. WVU would like UConn over Houston...but again, not sold they'd choose us over say, Memphis. They certainly don't want to go to Provo, Utah. Oklahoma State, KSU, ISU? No idea really. Then there is the question of what the Network wants.
 
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Why does Memphis continue coming up in these threads? They're not getting a P5 invite.
 

CL82

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I suspect the reality is not a simple as that. B12 presidents may want a presence in Houston simply for alumni relations and recruiting (athletes and non-athletes). And we know UT and OU are clashing as far as their vision for the conference down the road.

Recall - we/the media thought UConn in the ACC was almost a done deal because the Tobacco Road contingent thought they had the votes. Then the politics happened and the FSU/Clemson/Miami contingent won out over Tobacco Road. I suspect that OU and maybe Kansas would be supportive of UConn, but beyond that I have no idea. A lot hinges on UT. And I hope the rumors from the last couple weeks are accurate about Directional Florida being on the B-list, we don't want them being a dark horse.
To recap: If we aren't talked about as an expansion candidate, we're doomed, but if we are talked about as an expansion candidate, we're doomed.

I'm cool with that because we've won 4 men's basketball natties, while we were doomed.

To sum up: We're doomed.
 
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In my opinion, the best case scenario is that strong talk of UConn going to the XII spurs the B1G (option 1, especially as the ACC may not survive over the long term) or the ACC (option 2) to grab UConn now.

But, if UConn does join the XII, where do UConn's Olympic sports go? The non-revenue sports, such as baseball, softball, track, women's soccer, etc. would have a devil of a travel schedule. Field Hockey I assume can stay in the Big E and ditto for both hockey teams in Hockey East. The XII does not sponsor men's soccer (West Virginia is the only XII to play soccer and they play in the MAC), so that team would have to find a new home - MAC, stay in the America, Big East?

Many sports would not find trouble at all.

UConn sponsors the following sports that the Big XII does not: men's and women's ice hockey (who would stay in Hockey East), women's field hockey and women's lacrosse (who would stay in the Big East), men's soccer (who would presumably join the Big East). The Big XII sponsors three sports that UConn does not at a varsity level: equestrian, women's gymnastics, and men's wrestling (UConn could be easily convinced to, if not elevate its equestrian program to varsity due to its status as a women's emerging sport and UConn's general goodness at it at a club level, compete against their potential Big XII opponents in the sport: Baylor, K-State, Okie State and TCU).

Football, men's basketball, and women's basketball are also equally irrelevant, as they already would have revenue offsets for the travel due to those sports granting ticket and television revenue.

The remaining sports that both UConn and the Big XII both sponsor:
1) Cross country, women's crew/rowing, swimming and diving, and track and field: the team would compete in the Big XII championships for these sports, but would compete regionally for all of its regularly scheduled competition. Travel impact for these sports: minimal to irrelevant.
2) Golf: the team would compete in the Big XII championships for the sport, and would (because of UConn's home climate) play a predominantly Southern US-based schedule (against a mix of Big XII and non-conference opponents) to begin the season, which is something the golf team already does anyway.
3) Baseball and softball: the teams would compete in a Big XII round-robin or round-robin-alike competition, requiring regular travel to the Southwest and Midwest (and West Virginia); however, because of UConn's home climate, the teams ALREADY play a large portion of its schedule in the South, Southwest and West during February and early March (and a good portion of that is against OTHER Northern colleges who are also playing in Florida or Texas during that portion of the season). No noticeable change to the travel impact.
4) Men's and women's tennis: would play a predominantly regional schedule, and would compete irregularly against Big XII competition. Impact would increase, because UConn would be trading away conference competition against Temple and the "south Atlantic" AAC schools for competition against predominantly schools from Oklahoma and Texas.
5) Women's soccer, and women's volleyball: Impact would increase in a significant but not dramatic fashion (because AAC round-robin competition already sends them to Texas and Oklahoma, as well as Florida and Louisiana).

So between those eleven sports: seven would see no impact, and four would see some.

In other words, the pain UConn would feel is ultimately not a whole lot.
 
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I didn't know this stat but, a recent UConn women's bball game did a 6.7 rating in Los Angeles. That is a huge amount of people.

That was the UConn-ND women's game I believe, right? I think it preceded the Pac 12 Championship USC-Stanford football game, so that was part of it.

Still impressive, people didn't have to watch, but there's some context for you.
 
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