Is UCONN Football positioning for independence?

[weyuo]

At least no one is still claiming that the AAC is equal to the Big East in basketball.

Like to see Aresco set up a Big East/AAC challenge. Cinci vs Xavier, UConn vs Providence, Temple vs Villanova, Tulsa vs Creighton, Memphis vs Butler. There's five games right there that could be sold to TV.

 

[BlueMAB]

Like to see Aresco set up a Big East/AAC challenge. Cinci vs Xavier, UConn vs Providence, Temple vs Villanova, Tulsa vs Creighton, Memphis vs Butler. There's five games right there that could be sold to TV.

ummmmm.....

2016 Gavitt Games Schedule & Thoughts

 

[businesslawyer]

We know that staying in the AAC is failure. Your only argument against leaving is a strawman that it will be worse if we go, which you present as if you knew this for an absolutely certainty. The only certainty we have is that the AAC has been terrible for UConn.

At least no one is still claiming that the AAC is equal to the Big East in basketball.

You think others post with too much certainty? Talk about a "pot to kettle -- black" moment.

 

[weyuo]

ummmmm......

2016 Gavitt Games Schedule & Thoughts

So does that mean that Aresco couldn't try and arrange a "Old Big East vs New Big East" spin on some sort of future challenge? It's just one extra set of non conference games that both conferences need to fill and I think Xavier and Cincy play almost every year anyways. So why not hype it up into some sort of challenge? Especially early in the season could fill a need for ESPN or CBS or Fox. Just a thought. probably be moire interesting than Seton Hall and Iowa or St. Johns and Minnesota.

 

[BlueMAB]

So does that mean that Aresco couldn't try and arrange a "Old Big East vs New Big East" spin on some sort of future challenge? It's just one extra set of non conference games that both conferences need to fill and I think Xavier and Cincy play almost every year anyways. So why not hype it up into some sort of challenge? Especially early in the season could fill a need for ESPN or CBS or Fox. Just a thought. probably be moire interesting than Seton Hall and Iowa or St. Johns and Minnesota.

Aresco can try and do any number of things. Whether or not the Big East is interested is the issue.

In addition to the Xavier/Cincy games, with UConn already scheduling games against GTown and Nova, I suspect the Big East isn't interested. But it's not likely that we'd hear about him trying, we'd only hear about him succeeding.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't think the NBA is focused on anything other than basketball at the Olympics.

Your suggestion would be a great move for us, but what's in it for the ACC?

They don't seem to be hurt by an unbalanced schedule with FSU and Clemson both winning national championships recently. They can have us just about any time they want us. If we aren't around, there's always USF or UCF. Maybe even Navy. ND might push for them over us anyway.

What's the financial incentive for the ACC? Furthermore, BCU, Cuse, and Pitt would understand very much what that would do for us. Not only would we get to schedule them, we'd get our own money/deal with SNY. While it wouldn't be as lucrative as the ACC, it would have to be more lucrative than the AAC. Why would they help us, without helping themselves?

Doh! on the typo.

Here is my reasoning. UCF and USF aren't real options for them. Temple...maybe. Cinci...maybe. But they lost a lot market value with Maryland. The new ACCN is coming out and will need content, and will need broader markets for it.
The basic math we've used for years, that BC, plus Cuse plus UConn is more than the sum of its parts, holds up.

Should UConn football start winning, and basketball have an Elite 8 type of year, and the women win again...UConn will be back on the radar screen. ESPN is going to have to renegotiate the AAC deal, and UConn is going to make sure Aresco drives a hard bargain. Pull UConn out of the AAC, pay them as part of the ACC, and suddenly the AAC loses leverage.

I'm not saying it is likely. Simply that it has fewer clear impediments than a move to the NBE does.

 

[BlueMAB]

Doh! on the typo.

Here is my reasoning. UCF and USF aren't real options for them. Temple....maybe. Cinci....maybe. But they lost a lot market value with Maryland. The new ACCN is coming out and will need content, and will need broader markets for it.
The basic math we've used for years, that BC, plus Cuse plus UConn is more than the sum of its parts, holds up.

Should UConn football start winning, and basketball have an Elite 8 type of year, and the women win again....UConn will be back on the radar screen. ESPN is going to have to renegotiate the AAC deal, and UConn is going to make sure Aresco drives a hard bargain. Pull UConn out of the AAC, pay them as part of the ACC, and suddenly the AAC loses leverage.

I'm not saying it is likely. Simply that it has fewer clear impediments than a move to the NBE does.

Yeah I see the logic. IMO if the reasoning is that it provides a clear #16 if/when ND joins as a full member, well, they don't need a clear #16.

We're probably most valuable to the ACC, and with us doing very well in NYC, we've gotta be more valuable than Temple. BUT...if you get ND, you're getting one of the most valuable programs in the country. I dont' think the ACC needs to do anything right now until ND decides (or has their fate decided, which looks unlikely). Adding UConn would be icing, but if we aren't available, and they have ND, then Temple, Cinci, USF or UCF would be completely acceptable. So again, it comes down to Cuse/BCU, and potentially Pitt having no incentive to throw us a life preserver until it becomes obvious we're #16, and they're forced to capitulate to the rest of the conference.

 

[Pudge]

I thought UConn had one of the best recruiting classes ever this year? It is not the conference that is having a bad effect on recruiting, it is the people doing the recruiting. If recruiting is bad in the AAC, why is it that SMU, Cinci, Temple, Tulsa, seems to recruit and develop players and kick UConn's butt most of the time? I think this line of thinking here is erroneous. I hope this talk of Big East is just that, talk. It would be a very bad move. UConn has lost elite status in basketball because it has been fielding mediocre teams, at best. (I know you are all going to say we won the AAC tourney last year, we have four championships), etc. but look at the here and now and not the past. In my opinion UConn basketball is on a downward spiral. How many of us now expect the games to be losses, with the only question being how much will they lose by? They will be near the bottom of the Big East, the same way that they are near the bottom of the AAC. And for you KO lovers, next year will be a defining year for him, like it or not.

Silly

Use your eyes.

Larrier is outstanding. He is a 6-8 Wing who is athletic, with dynamic moves and shooting touch. Gilbert in 2 games proved that he can get past virtually anyone in CBB with quickness and drive the ball to the hoop; he also looked to be an excellent defender. Add Vance who has gotten far better over the course of 22 games ... he is a stud skilled 6-9 Forward and can actually defend a wide variety of players. Vital is a gamer; proved to be a solid 3 point shooter and plays better as the game gets tight. Durham needs further development; but his talent is quite evident. And we haven't seen Diarra.

Adams is progressing quite well; needs to be more consistent. He will be here 4 years. Enoch? I still think we will see good basketball out of a great physical specimen. He is still young.

MAL, Pulley, Carlton? All solid.

So ... I don't know what you are talking about. Your SMU, Tulsa, Temple ... and even Cincy don't have 11 like that. We have injuries. Thus, you feel you can piss all over the kids. You are just WRONG on your recruiting notion and purely have not watched kids or recruiting for 20 years like some of us. We should be happy with the recruiting. The real criticism of Ollie and our play does not begin there.

 

[hardcorehusky]

At Uconn, football may drive the bus, so to speak, like anywhere else, but men's and women's basketball pay for the gas in Storrs.

The women's program is break even at best. They have a smaller gate and higher expenses due to coaches salaries. Yes, they are on tv more, but the dollars except for the SNY package are minimal at best.

Basketball is not the gas. I wish it was, but it is all about football.

 

[shizzle787]

Yeah I see the logic. IMO if the reasoning is that it provides a clear #16 if/when ND joins as a full member, well, they don't need a clear #16.

We're probably most valuable to the ACC, and with us doing very well in NYC, we've gotta be more valuable than Temple. BUT....if you get ND, you're getting one of the most valuable programs in the country. I dont' think the ACC needs to do anything right now until ND decides (or has their fate decided, which looks unlikely). Adding UConn would be icing, but if we aren't available, and they have ND, then Temple, Cinci, USF or UCF would be completely acceptable. So again, it comes down to Cuse/BCU, and potentially Pitt having no incentive to throw us a life preserver until it becomes obvious we're #16, and they're forced to capitulate to the rest of the conference.

ND is never leaving independence, and football will be dead around most of the country in 10-15 years. We are never getting into the ACC.

 

[shizzle787]

I don't get this idea that because we are losing is the ONLY reason our brand is taking a hit and people aren't showing up. Wake up. We went 26-8 in the AAC in 2014 (which was actually good that year) and still ONLY got a 7 seed. If we went 26-8 in the BE we would have been a 4 or a 5. The Big East is grandfathered into the power conference status for basketball. It means that their schools will automatically be ranked and seeded higher just because of the conference name. It would take at least 10-15 years for the AAC to raise its stature like the BE has.

 

[hardcorehusky]

My take on the basketball ratings for SNY, our publicizing it and the smoke about the Big East is to drive up our bargaining position within the AAC and ESPN. We are different than our conference mates in the AAC, we need to maximize our strengths monetarily.

We have doubled back down on football with the hire of Randy. We can't go to a lower G5 and we can't go independent for football. UMASS brought back Mark Whipple and he has had more success than anyone there, but not being in a conference is a killer for them.

 

[huskyrob1]

The women's program is break even at best. They have a smaller gate and higher expenses due to coaches salaries. Yes, they are on tv more, but the dollars except for the SNY package are minimal at best.

Basketball is not the gas. I wish it was, but it is all about football.

Yes it is. I think you're wrong, the womens program has made a profit for most of the last 17 years, some years more than others.

UConn data shows football, two basketball programs made profit

 

[hardcorehusky]

Yes it is. I think you're wrong, the womens program has made a profit for most of the last 17 years, some years more than others.

UConn data shows football, two basketball programs made profit

This article is from 2011. I had hair and 40 less pounds 6 years ago!!

 

[UCweCONN]

All teams except football and hockey would need to go to the Big East, not just basketball. Big East soccer is superior to the AAC soccer.

 

[shizzle787]

Yes it is. I think you're wrong, the womens program has made a profit for most of the last 17 years, some years more than others.

UConn data shows football, two basketball programs made profit

Someone posted on CSNBBS the numbers and showed that MBB made a profit, WBB took about a $2 million loss, and football lost $6-7 million. .

 

[huskyrob1]

Someone posted on CSNBBS the numbers and showed that MBB made a profit, WBB took about a $2 million loss, and football lost $6-7 million. .

I don't believe the women's program lost $2 mil last year. Do you have a link? Maybe they paid for Disco's buyout? Lol. The women's games commentators have been saying for years that they always make a profit, and are the only women's program that consistently makes a profit.

 

[shizzle787]

I don't believe the women's program lost $2 mil last year. Do you have a link? Maybe they paid for Disco's buyout? Lol. The women's games commentators have been saying for years that they always make a profit, and are the only women's program that consistently makes a profit.

Rothstein: UConn to Look at Another League After Season
Poster's name is stugray2. He got information from Department of Education.

 

[huskymedic]

Yes it is. I think you're wrong, the womens program has made a profit for most of the last 17 years, some years more than others.

I don't believe the women's program lost $2 mil last year. Do you have a link? Maybe they paid for Disco's buyout? Lol. The women's games commentators have been saying for years that they always make a profit, and are the only women's program that consistently makes a profit.

CBS Money Watch from April of last year. The financial impact of championship basketball

>>Data that UConn submitted to the U.S. Department of Education shows that for the 2014-2015 academic year, the school incurred $6.7 million in expenses for its women's basketball team while earning $4 million in revenue. <<

 

[shizzle787]

Department of Education stats: Equity in Athletics

 

[huskyrob1]

CBS Money Watch from April of last year. The financial impact of championship basketball

>>Data that UConn submitted to the U.S. Department of Education shows that for the 2014-2015 academic year, the school incurred $6.7 million in expenses for its women's basketball team while earning $4 million in revenue. <<

It's about time you showed up. I just read it myself. I'm shocked, had been hearing for years that they made a profit. I guess it was only two or three years that they were touting. I was flat wrong on that one.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Rothstein: UConn to Look at Another League After Season
Poster's name is stugray2. He got information from Department of Education.

Welcome back Randy. Forgot to mention, we're moving our football to the MAC.
Go Get'em!!!

Not seeing it.

 

[shizzle787]

Welcome back Randy. Forgot to mention, we're moving our football to the MAC.
Go Get'em!!!

Not seeing it.

Independent. We can get an independent schedule. 6 P5 the first six weeks, NMSU, FCS, UMass, Army, BYU, BC.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Independent. We can get an independent schedule. 6 P5 the first six weeks, NMSU, FCS, UMass, Army, BYU, BC.

because people keep saying independent would be a tough rode, then I assume it must be.

I think Uconn is angling for something, anything to keep its name on the radar. I think we can all agree, Uconn's take in the current AAC deal is undervalued.

But the new AAC deal is around the corner, and it's likely going to be better than the current. It's wise for Uconn to understand all it's options and drive it's own destiny, whereas in the past, it's allowed its destiny to be determined by others.
if Uconn could possibly get it's sports into the big east with independant football being subsidized by SNY or Fox, and the money/exposure is better than the AAC, great!

A regular schedule with BC, Syracuse, and 5-6 other P5 schools would work (it's essentially a P5 schedule then). Just don't see that as possible, otherwise it would have been done already.

leaving the AAC for the sake of leaving doesn't solve anything.

 

[shizzle787]

because people keep saying independent would be a tough rode, then I assume it must be.

I think Uconn is angling for something, anything to keep its name on the radar. I think we can all agree, Uconn's take in the current AAC deal is undervalued.

But the new AAC deal is around the corner, and it's likely going to be better than the current. It's wise for Uconn to understand all it's options and drive it's own destiny, whereas in the past, it's allowed its destiny to be determined by others.
if Uconn could possibly get it's sports into the big east with independant football being subsidized by SNY or Fox, and the money/exposure is better than the AAC, great!

A regular schedule with BC, Syracuse, and 5-6 other P5 schools would work (it's essentially a P5 schedule then). Just don't see that as possible, otherwise it would have been done already.

leaving the AAC for the sake of leaving doesn't solve anything.

It's a tough road if you don't plan. UMass is able to get six/seven home games a year and some decent road games. They take advantage of things like the Hawaii rule allowing them to play 13 games if they play @Hawaii. If UConn plans properly, they can go independent. The BOR is probably afraid it will hurt exposure and status, but I disagree because we could play more power conference schools, and BYU was fine stature-wise moving from the MWC to independence. This AAC is no better than that MWC. The other issue is bowl tie-in but as it is, 5-7 teams are going bowling so we would have no problem there (and I would rather have a better regular season schedule than a better bowl game).

The new AAC deal has to at least be doubled to make sense for UConn to stay as the NBE deal is twice the current AAC deal. It would be leaving for the sake of leaving; it would be leaving for better basketball and potentially a better football schedule.