Is UConn dying?

[Towney007]

time to drop some non rev sports

Well this is the other option.

Which UConn non rev sport do you guys want to cut to keep this going?

 

[BFieldHusky]

time to drop some non rev sports

I'm surprised more people aren't looking at this angle. And I hate recommending it.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm surprised more people aren't looking at this angle. And I hate recommending it.

Title IX really complicates this tho. Because of football/basketball, spending on non rev women's sports is high. You can nix all nonrev men's programs though.

 

[JMick]

Well this is the other option.

Which UConn non rev sport do you guys want to cut to keep this going?

Cross country, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field. That's a good start

 

[intlzncster]

During a pretty strong economic expansion. What will the numbers look like during the next recession? Scary thought.

True. This is when TV contracts for leagues like the BE will fall. Farther than P5 imo.

 

[Towney007]

The reason the Big East has low ratings on FS1 is largely because of FS1. This is never mentioned in the viewership discussion. There is a reason no one watches Skip on FS1 but he had great numbers when on ESPN.

FS1 also basically let the UFC walk, which has opened up a ton of the time on the network. It's basically talking heads, the Big East, and the Bundesliga 24/7 now. They'll pony up. They don't have a choice.

 

[Towney007]

Cross country, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field. That's a good start

K so you found about $3 million....

 

[Robertelamin]

911 Bunky!

 

[BFieldHusky]

FS1 also basically let the UFC walk, which has opened up a ton of the time on the network. It's basically talking heads, the Big East, and the Bundesliga 24/7 now. They'll pony up. They don't have a choice.

I'll play Devils advocate. Where is the nbe going? I doubt espn is interested with what they have invested in other leagues. NBC?

The Big East numbers are down because most of the schools are regional schools with small alumni. Fox may be bidding against itself.

They may get a small raise but I doubt they are going to double their money number with struggling ratings.

 

[CTBasketball]

State of CT and debt really go well together.

 

[StunningSteve]

People worried about TV revenue in the $7-$11 million range when you're running $7.8 million in travel is...


A thing, i guess.

Lol. It doesn’t cost that much to travel.
Every major conference in America boards planes. The American is more travel friendly than most with locations in major cities. There aren’t many plane rides that get coupled with long bus rides to rural locales.

 

[whaler11]

Honestly, I think if you polled the fan base and asked them right now:

Football, stay in the AAC, maybe ACC if we're lucky, but spend $123 million on that chance and potentially go belly up in the Athletic Department

or

Basketball, Cut football, shave $7.8 million in travel just so football can exist, trim $8ish million in football expense, get $10 millionish more in TV rights, play your old rivals again.

I mean.

Look I was really on board with the football program to begin with AND giving it a shot when it got shaky, but you can't explain this away. This is really, really, really scary.

How would they get $10 million more in TV money. The next deal for BE and AAC are going to be similar.

 

[Towney007]

PS folks this conversation is going surprisingly well and civil, so let's keep this going

 

[Stainmaster]

PS folks this conversation is going surprisingly well and civil, so let's keep this going

Having it today instead of last night was the right move.

 

[whaler11]

Cross country, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field. That's a good start

Not that I care but that doesn’t save much.

 

[ThabeetDown]

Title IX really complicates this tho. Because of football/basketball, spending on non rev women's sports is high. You can nix all nonrev men's programs though.

This. Football's scholarships essentially double into the women's sports. I've never been a "cut the football program" guy, but cutting football allows you to cut that many more scholarships, for what it's worth.

 

[JMick]

Not that I care but that doesn’t save much.

I just think even $1 is too much for those sports. There's also just the costs associated with the AD spending time on those sports

 

[8893]

Just a flesh wound.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Cutting multiple non-revenue sports in favor of keeping the football program which loses more money than all of them combined would be a PR nightmare for the university.

 

[superjohn]

PS folks this conversation is going surprisingly well and civil, so let's keep this going

F^*k you.

 

[bazz&boujee]

at least they can never take away our memories <3

 

[superjohn]

Cutting multiple non-revenue sports in favor of keeping the football program which loses more money than all of them combined would be a PR nightmare for the university.

We have a real life nightmare on our hands, I wouldn't worry too much what Skip and Stephen A. have to say. The reality is we have to be creative and should have been a long time ago. Sitting where we are is a slow bleed until we're all out of blood.

Unfortunately I no longer have faith in the University. The similarities between the state and the state U are striking, mismanaged something great to the point where it's become a corpse.

 

[Towney007]

I'll play Devils advocate. Where is the nbe going? I doubt espn is interested with what they have invested in other leagues. NBC?

The Big East numbers are down because most of the schools are regional schools with small alumni. Fox may be bidding against itself.

They may get a small raise but I doubt they are going to double their money number with struggling ratings.

For the first question - nowhere, really. It's the equivalent of laying up to staying in the AAC and going for the green.

I think the distinct advantage is that the people in the conference want to be in it. That helps. People keep forecasting the AAC out years in advance and I don't think there's any way to tell who's going to be in it year to year to be honest. There's not much consistency in what they're looking for - they're looking for everyone. And everyone in this conference's #1 priority is to leave.

I don't see any real negotiating leverage for a conference like that, especially when you consider that whenever the SEC or ACC want UCF or USF - they're just going to take them. It's an island of misfit toys that fit as badly together as we would in the Big East with a bigger travel bill and less recognizable brand names nationally.

I think the Big East knows what it is and in business, that's really half the battle. The most successful restaurants are your mega chains, but the next rung down - it's the ones where people go there specifically for one thing. I think there's something to be said for that.

Having the National Champion 2/3 years in the conference helps. From a more microeconomic standpoint - you're playing rivals and more schools who will travel here. I'd still rather see St John's or Seton Hall 8,000 times more than Tulane. Or even UCF. Sorry. That's probably most fans.

I'd also say it also helps to have traveling alums. Providence will travel, Villanova travels - St Johns, Seton Hall - they will too. Like 20 people come from Memphis on good years. Not that that's a difference maker, but every bit helps.

For the second question, i'd say FS1 has to bid against themselves. They need anchor TV in the winter. The Bundesliga will pay major dividens for them eventually, but it's well behind the EPL in TV rights right now. That'll take time. UFC is gone, but that literally leaves 22 content blocks open during the season. That's a lot more games. They're also getting more aggressive in their bidding on things like WWE, etc.


More to that end - the original Big East was built on TV markets. People's attitudes will shift as St John's gets better. As Seton Hall finds itself surprisingly OK again. Putting UConn in there, basically helps them cover every original Big East market sans Boston, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

Don't get me wrong - there's a very real ceiling to that conference, but sometimes knowing what you are an operating within that is better than betting your house on a 1/1,000 chance at a P5 invite.

So lots of angles. Mind you - i'm not saying this is a better option than the P5 schools at all. I'm not *enthusiastic* about it either - but it might be the best bad decision we can make on the table.

 

[FatElvis]

Just seeing this. Yikes, someone pass Benedict a defibrillator. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue and start posting on the Boneyard.

 

[HuskyAlum012]

Cutting multiple non-revenue sports in favor of keeping the football program which loses more money than all of them combined would be a PR nightmare for the university.

Did you read the article? Because thats completely false...