Is UConn dying?

[bennyskid]

Hey, at least UConn has company . . . UMass allocates $37 million, just to give their students and alumni the chance to watch A-10 conference action up close. And 81% of James Madison's $48 million dollar budget comes from outside allocations - what does the CAA conference TV deal look like?

Here's the reality of life in the AAC: every member in the USA Today database is running a 40+% deficit. I'm sure that every fan base has the same idea: it'll all pay off when we get into the Power Five. But none will ever make it there for a simple reason: for a P5 conference to expand, they have to find schools that will bring in enough extra revenue to cover the extra split. Say, for example, that the B10 had a $280m TV contract. They would need assurance that the contract would grow to $300m before they would take on one more school. Essentially, the new school doesn't have to just be better than all the other schools available - they have to have to be better than the average of the schools already in the conference.

You can see that dynamic in action with the B12, which most observers assumed would want to expand to get a championship game (and show the world that they know how counting works.) But they have passed on BYU, with its good TV market, excellent attendance in all sports, and fantastic traveling fan base. And they passed on Air Force, Colorado State, and the entire AAC. If the B12 - the poorest of the P5 - isn't expanding, it's ridiculous to think that the much wealthier ACC would give it any consideration at all.

 

[intlzncster]

Go

Good points. Just realized AD Dave has ALL his eggs on Hurley to fix this, but the thought of geno leaving before that happens could be a very loud death blow to end everything here and fall back to the old yankee conference days. AD is on thin ice as is right now.

Nobody cares about WCBB in realignment talks. Nor basketball for that matter.

 

[Waquoit]

"When did this place turn into loserville? Pathetic.

That's a gimme. August 7, 2014.

 

[Stainmaster]

That's a gimme. August 7, 2014.

You're trying too hard.

 

[BlueDogs]

That’s an accounting trick though. That’s revenue they could have used elsewhere, instead of more capital investment they can’t afford the upkeep on.

Exactly. Money is fungible. Those funds are revenue and could be used for other purposes. I don’t begrudge funding any sport, but the reflexive dump football crowd is clueless and of all things you don’t cut the one sport that matters in college athletics.

 

[BlueDogs]

High schools have better facilities. I have no idea how we managed to be as successful in baseball as we've been.

You need grass, dirt, chalk and a fence. South American soccer and baseball produces great players with facilities that you would find in prison yard. Dumping money into these secondary sports is isane at this moment. Zero return on investment and irrelevant to CR. They are nice to haves That I would love to see for the kids but not st the expense of sinking our future.

 

[Adios]

You need grass, dirt, chalk and a fence. South American soccer and baseball produces great players with facilities that you would find in prison yard. Dumping money into these secondary sports is isane at this moment. Zero return on investment and irrelevant to CR. They are nice to haves That I would love to see for the kids but not st the expense of sinking our future.

I know that, I mean be able to recruit solid talent.

Whether we like it or not, not only are coaches to be wooed, so are athletes. Thus, "expenditures". ADs used to be much simpler 100 years ago.

 

[zls44]

They are nice to haves That I would love to see for the kids but not st the expense of sinking our future.

They're costing about $30m for everything, all in. The deficit's $40m a year. As in- every year, that's $40m out the door.

Not building the stadiums isn't gonna fix that.

Plus, soccer is the one sport that *has* deep pocketed donors who *do* contribute. Seems like the kind of sport whose donor base we should be looking at to model the rest of them after, not tossing it in the trash.

 

[zls44]

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.

This is an incredibly stupid post that deserves to be highlighted for how incredibly stupid it is.

 

[olehead]

That's gonna continue unless we go P5. The Big East will die a long slow death eventually in and of itself I'm guessing.

Don't look at the now. Look at what will be.

Wow, that's some choice. But you are right, it is a question of lifespan. As it stands now and either way we go, there needs be success quickly.

 

[olehead]

Wow, that's some choice. But you are right, it is a question of lifespan. As it stands now and either way we go, there needs be success quickly.

The product is hard to watch in fball and bball.

 

[Jaker]

Uconn died, the question is can it be resurrected??

 

[olehead]

Uconn died, the question is can it be resurrected??

Say it ain't so?

 

[Mokum]

Just got back from Italy last week. I discussed college costs and differences in the university systems with my cousins. I have to admit, I think we should look at the costs of college sports across the board in this country. If, as a whole, college sports is a money loser, all schools should drop them and focus on academics. There are other ways to keep sports alive without college sports. Having said that, while college sports is still big and high visibility, you need to compete to stay relevant.

Good point. I have lived here in Europe for quite some time. Universities here don’t have sports teams. College sports does not exist. Sports are kept alive through amatuer and professional clubs. However in America we are so entrenched in the current system that changing it would be monumental.

 

[Mokum]

Why must minor sports be included in conferences? They should be in regional leagues that are a bus ride away. Sending the womens track& field team to Texas or Oklahoma to compete is absurd. There should be seperate conferences for football and basketball as well.

 

[David 76]

Nobody cares about WCBB in realignment talks. Nor basketball for that matter.

Pretty sure WCBB is basketball.

 

[huskyrob1]

Yeah, it's starting to look like the party could be over soon.

Can't run those kinds of deficits. You've got an obligation to students and tax payers. Sorry to ruin everyone's good time, but it's not gonna happen the longer they're in the conference.

My guess is they stick it out and hope they can cover the football deficit in the next round of negotiations. If they don't, football program gets shuttered within ten minutes of them knowing. That's assuming it gets that far.

Can't run $8.7 million and then have everyone else running $7.8 million in travel expenses, largely to keep the football dream alive. At it's peak - men's hoops was generating something like $16 million for the university. That right there would eat that alone. My guess is they beg, borrow and steal to try to get into the Big East, but that'll be that. Even if they can score a big payday of like $14 million in the Big East and cut both the football deficit and trim travel, they'll still have like $15-$16 million they're going to have to make up.

But $41 million is so far past inexcusable at this point, it's hard to know where to begin.

So I guess the guy that just donated 1 million to the football program is just peeing away his money.

 

[FartMan69]

With one of the worst FBS recruiting classes, the worst defense in the history of man and the possibility of having to start a true freshman QB from that horrible class I fully expect the football board to predict 5-7 than pikachushocked.jpeg when we go winless and continue this pointless endeavor straight into the toilet

 

[FartMan69]

So I guess the guy that just donated 1 million to the football program is just peeing away his money.

OUR HEAD COACH HAS TO PAY HIS OWN ASSISTANTS. Sustainable?

 

[fatlucy]

You can wait around for Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz to ask you for a threesome while you're at it.

Great combo!!!

 

[huskyrob1]

OUR HEAD COACH HAS TO PAY HIS OWN ASSISTANTS. Sustainable?

Spring football workouts ought to be starting in a few weeks. I for one am looking forward to it. Are you saying Dunn deserves another $150,000 raise next year too? It was a noble gesture by a guy who believes in this university and is trying to make up for what he did seven years ago.

 

[FartMan69]

Spring football workouts ought to be starting in a few weeks. I for one am looking forward to it. Are you saying Dunn deserves another $150,000 raise next year too? It was a noble gesture by a guy who believes in this university and is trying to make up for what he did seven years ago.

Are you going to enjoy the spring game we can’t afford anymore?

 

[huskyrob1]

Great combo!!!

I'd go with a couple of cougars, maybe Jennifer Garner and Elisabeth Shue.

 

[huskyrob1]

Are you going to enjoy the spring game we can’t afford anymore?

One of the alumni just donated one million to football, with more coming. The wealthier UConn benefactors will not let the football program die, nor will the students and parents who gladly pay the AD fees. 40,000 freshman applications are denied every spring. They are beating down the door to get into Uconn. Kids want to go here, and as long as that continues the AD and football will be ok. Edsall has 3 or 4 years to succeed, after that it does get dicey if they don't at least get to some post season bowls. By then Hurely will have improved men's basketball and hopefully ticket sales. The one bright spot right now that worries me is Women's Basketball, Geno is just a few years from retirement, and once he does that bright spot goes away.

 

[billybud]

The Big East has their niche...as basically a one sport league.

But they play the sport that is the most important college sport to fans in the northeast. A sport in which smaller private universities have been successful.

UConn, as a land grant state university, is neither fish nor fowl. A basketball oriented school like the Big East schools, yet offering the full panoply of sports of a major state university.

UConn, under different circumstances, would have been a nice fit with the ACC with its mix of basketball and football schools.

Maybe being closer to Duke, UNC, and Virginia on the football/basketball scale than to Clemson, FSU, and Miami.

It's water over the dam now....but who knows what will happen with Notre Dame, nor when

 

[mike012]

This is probably the worst the football team could do. Except for the first game every other game you could get tickets for free or for 5 dollars and still sit 6 rows up from the field. So they basically made 100 dollars a game off of tickets sales.

 

[QDOG5]

USA TODAY Sports
Go to this website and scroll down to #49. Click Connecticut and 12 years of revenue will show up. Go to the upper right hand corner and press the red arrow next to Revenues and Expenses will show up. It shows a $250,000 surplus in '17. In the revenue columns it shows School funds, whatever that is, have doubled in the last two years while student fees have actually dropped. Any of you forensic accountants want to have a go at these numbers? My personal opinion is UConn should continue to try and get a P5 invite. Make no small plans.

 

[Zissou]

In the Big East the tv cash for basketball will be similar to the AAC cash for football. The Big East can be a more fiscally responsible permanent spot, or it can be a more fiscally responsible holding spot while dreaming of a P5 invite.

The AAC puts about 90% value on football. Join the Big East and try to negotiate keeping football in the American. The American wants the football more than anything else anyway. Double dip both conferences.

In the Big East regional rivals return and travel decreases for all non rev sports plus hoops.

If the American “football only” deal can’t be negotiated successfully, like the Navy model, then the back-up is going Indy in football and cutting some costs. Cut back to MAC level costs and play Indy. It really should not diminish the chances of a P5 invite. You may end up with a better schedule.

As a side note, make the Big East deal contingent on a FS1 renewal for more $$$. Use the change in conferences as a rightful requirement to have a TV deal in place. IMHO, UConn hoops brings added value for the NE and NYC. (Much more than football can).

I’d welcome UConn home with open arms.

 

[billybud]

NCAA:

Total Allocated: The sum of student fees, direct and indirect institutional support and state money allocated to the athletics department, minus certain funds the department transferred back to the school. The transfer amount cannot exceed the sum of student fees and direct institutional support that the department receives from the school. (Under NCAA reporting rules, any additional money transferred to the school cannot be considered part of the department’s annual operating revenues or expenses.)

 

[donyell34]

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.

Yeah ! I hear you Elvis, I think I'll roll a blunt.