Is UConn on the move again? Pay attention, folks

[Zarathustra]

Why not take a breath and settle in where we are now…with bright prospects all across our horizon. Our AD deficits are disturbing but fixable.
We are at the forefront of a new era in the business of college sports. Perhaps, just perhaps, UConn can be an example of how to move forward without losing its identity, its bond with its people, and its money ! Yes, UConn.
And not be sucked into the black hole that is the ludicrous world of big-time football.
NIL is the absolute new paradigm and bidding wars, gambling, and corruption will be inevitable. And wherever resides the most money is where those problems are most pronounced.
Hope good decisions get made.

Is N.D. still an " independent" in Football. So, can UCONN (WBB) stay in the Big East or some
variant of ACC, etc., and still have the "independent" look by virtue of it's OOC schedule.
I assume that the 30 - 35 million Dollar issue gets worked out in the details of any
realignment shuffling. I assume that I will just have to wait and see.

 

[EricLA]

I pray that UCONN gets some kind of offer to a stronger power conference. The exit fee for leaving the Big East before the 7 year commitment is something like $30M. And given how fluid the other power conferences are, with seemingly the SEC and Big 10 as the 2 who will be left standing when all is said and done, moving to the Big 12 as it stands now is no guarantee it will look the same in the next few years.

But staying in the Big East and keeping football independent is simply not a long term solution. Yeah, we have 11 NC's for the women and 5 for the men's hoops programs, but basketball pales in comparison to the $ in football. Thankfully UCONN football is at least marginally relevant again, and while I don't know what it will take to get to the "next level", staying in the BE permanently is not the answer.

So I'm all in for a move to a power conference. Even if the conference we end up in (say the Big 12) continues to get decimated, it will give the university a longer term influx of football $ and hopefully allow us to expand the Rent and continue to build statewide interest in the football program.

 

[Skeets]

A very wise person ( actually several ) said to me if the ONLY reason you take a job is the money, it's a big mistake. Would tend to agree with this situation also.

I tend to agree, but the flip side of that coin is if the only reason you're taking a job is the lack of money, it's also a non-starter.

 

[Blueballer]

This is why I'm skeptical about this. The football team is getting better but isn't BIG12 ready yet. I'm surprised they would want us.

 

[hoopsfan22]

This is why I'm skeptical about this. The football team is getting better but isn't BIG12 ready yet. I'm surprised they would want us.

They want to break into the metro NY market and are looking for schools that they can onboard easily that will bring eyeballs to their sports broadcasts. Know any good schools with big time college athletics in the northeast that fit that bill?

 

[SEbluebood]

Agr

I pray that UCONN gets some kind of offer to a stronger power conference. The exit fee for leaving the Big East before the 7 year commitment is something like $30M. And given how fluid the other power conferences are, with seemingly the SEC and Big 10 as the 2 who will be left standing when all is said and done, moving to the Big 12 as it stands now is no guarantee it will look the same in the next few years.

But staying in the Big East and keeping football independent is simply not a long term solution. Yeah, we have 11 NC's for the women and 5 for the men's hoops programs, but basketball pales in comparison to the $ in football. Thankfully UCONN football is at least marginally relevant again, and while I don't know what it will take to get to the "next level", staying in the BE permanently is not the answer.

So I'm all in for a move to a power conference. Even if the conference we end up in (say the Big 12) continues to get decimated, it will give the university a longer term influx of football $ and hopefully allow us to expand the Rent and continue to build statewide interest in the football program.

Agree completely and to add some comments in response to some other posts I would simply say that the SEC has no interest in UConn. Also, UConn and others hoping for a P5 offer have no negotiating leverage in these situations. We are simply folks waiting to be asked to the prom. We are not Texas,Oklahoma, UCLA or USC in terms of value to big time conferences. We are a strong BB brand with a football program in a geographic / media market that has some value to conferences looking to build their highest value business model. You basically hope for an offer and take the offer you get.

 

[sun]

UConn is not located in the NYC media market.
It's in the Hartford-New Haven media market which is ranked #32 as opposed to NYC which is ranked #1.

Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2024) – Full List

These are the top 200 Nielsen DMA rankings listed by the 2022–2023 Nielsen rankings.

methodshop.com

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Agr

Agree completely and to add some comments in response to some other posts I would simply say that the SEC has no interest in UConn. Also, UConn and others hoping for a P5 offer have no negotiating leverage in these situations. We are simply folks waiting to be asked to the prom. We are not Texas,Oklahoma, UCLA or USC in terms of value to big time conferences. We are a strong BB brand with a football program in a geographic / media market that has some value to conferences looking to build their highest value business model. You basically hope for an offer and take the offer you get.

Maybe they’re not interested now, but if UConn can dominate the Big 12 in all the big collegiate sports, and if Mora can make strides in the football program, I can see the SEC giving UConn a sniff and grabbing a share of the Northeast market. Speaking of UCLA, have they done anything in major college athletics in anything less than 50 years?

 

[hoopsfan22]

UConn is not located in the NYC media market.
It's in the Hartford-New Haven media market which is ranked #32 as opposed to NYC which is ranked #1.

Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2024) – Full List

These are the top 200 Nielsen DMA rankings listed by the 2022–2023 Nielsen rankings.

methodshop.com

A large percentage of UConn's alumni live in the part of CT that is part of the NYC media market. In the northeast where media markets are tiny and you can drive across a bunch of them in a couple of hours, the boundaries are less important because you can throw a stone from Storrs and hit the NYC, Boston, Springfield, Providence media markets.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

UConn is not located in the NYC media market.
It's in the Hartford-New Haven media market which is ranked #32 as opposed to NYC which is ranked #1.

Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2024) – Full List

These are the top 200 Nielsen DMA rankings listed by the 2022–2023 Nielsen rankings.

methodshop.com

Oh stop…….the small state of Connecticut and its proud university is large part of the New York media market. Ever hear of Fairfield County? Danbury? Bridgeport? Stamford? Norwalk? Greenwich?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMHO this talk of the Big 12 considering recruiting UCONN is not as great as it seems!
The grass always seems a little greener some where else.
Stupid decisions, such as the Kevin Ollie fiasco helped push us into monetary problems.
Yes, there is the possibility of $30 million over the BE $5 million TV money but natural rivalries are NOT waiting for us there!
The travel will bleed us dry! Will our fans go to TX, OKLA, IA State, etc, to watch our games every week?
WVA is the closest Big 12 school to us!
It will cost UCONN much more in normal fees to participate in FB, WBB, MBB,, Baseball, FH, MSoccer, WSoccer, VB, Cross-country, Track, etal!
Boston College was a powerhouse in the BE in FB, WBB, MBB and their other sports for example! How good are they now in the ACC?
UCONN has an East Coast identity not a Mid West identity!
Even if we schedule UCLA, ND, TX, Oregon, we're still East Coast!
The Big East schools are really improving to keep up with UCONN! I feel the BE will be a much better Conference down the road!
And finally with all this poaching schools from so-called Power Conferences, what's to guarantee more teams than TX & OKLA won't be running elsewhere 2 or 3 years down the line?

 

[CONN78SEJ]

IMHO this talk of the Big 12 considering recruiting UCONN is not as great as it seems!
The grass always seems a little greener some where else.
Stupid decisions, such as the Kevin Ollie fiasco helped push us into monetary problems.
Yes, there is the possibility of $30 million over the BE $5 million TV money but natural rivalries are NOT waiting for us there!
The travel will bleed us dry! Will our fans go to TX, OKLA, IA State, etc, to watch our games every week?
WVA is the closest Big 12 school to us!
It will cost UCONN much more in normal fees to participate in FB, WBB, MBB,, Baseball, FH, MSoccer, WSoccer, VB, Cross-country, Track, etal!
Boston College was a powerhouse in the BE in FB, WBB, MBB and their other sports for example! How good are they now in the ACC?
UCONN has an East Coast identity not a Mid West identity!
Even if we schedule UCLA, ND, TX, Oregon, we're still East Coast!
The Big East schools are really improving to keep up with UCONN! I feel the BE will be a much better Conference down the road!
And finally with all this poaching schools from so-called Power Conferences, what's to guarantee more teams than TX & OKLA won't be running elsewhere 2 or 3 years down the line?

Your post makes perfect sense, passing up $35 million a year just so UConn can play basketball twice a year with Seton Hall and St John’s.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

IMHO this talk of the Big 12 considering recruiting UCONN is not as great as it seems!
The grass always seems a little greener some where else.
Stupid decisions, such as the Kevin Ollie fiasco helped push us into monetary problems.
Yes, there is the possibility of $30 million over the BE $5 million TV money but natural rivalries are NOT waiting for us there!
The travel will bleed us dry! Will our fans go to TX, OKLA, IA State, etc, to watch our games every week?
WVA is the closest Big 12 school to us!
It will cost UCONN much more in normal fees to participate in FB, WBB, MBB,, Baseball, FH, MSoccer, WSoccer, VB, Cross-country, Track, etal!
Boston College was a powerhouse in the BE in FB, WBB, MBB and their other sports for example! How good are they now in the ACC?
UCONN has an East Coast identity not a Mid West identity!
Even if we schedule UCLA, ND, TX, Oregon, we're still East Coast!
The Big East schools are really improving to keep up with UCONN! I feel the BE will be a much better Conference down the road!
And finally with all this poaching schools from so-called Power Conferences, what's to guarantee more teams than TX & OKLA won't be running elsewhere 2 or 3 years down the line?

Couldn’t Hurley and Benedict schedule some of those “natural rivalries” you covet so much as OOC matchups? I actually think that moving to the Big 12 would give UConn a recruiting bump for all sports. Uconn playing Kansas, Baylor, TCU, KState and Oklahoma State twice each year will draw more tv viewers than you can imagine, especially if they’re home games at MSG.

 

[Waquoit]

Since we don't print the money, we have to follow it. Only the feds think deficits aren't real.

Deficit spending is how England became a world power.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Your post makes perfect sense, passing up $35 million a year just so UConn can play basketball twice a year with Seton Hall and St John’s.

CONN78SEJ- - -Since I was just expressing MY opinion I don't care what your opinion is!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Couldn’t Hurley and Benedict schedule some of those “natural rivalries” you covet so much as OOC matchups? I actually think that moving to the Big 12 would give UConn a recruiting bump for all sports. Uconn playing Kansas, Baylor, TCU, KState and Oklahoma State twice each year will draw more tv viewers than you can imagine, especially if they’re home games at MSG.

CONN78SEJ- - Aren't there more sports at UCONN than just Hurlley's MBB team?
And about having home games at MSG, the CT State Legislature will never allow the MBB or WBB out of the XL Center and Gampel!
UCONN in Hartford brings money into Hartford!

 

[Carnac]

A very wise person ( actually several ) said to me if the ONLY reason you take a job is the money, it's a big mistake. Would tend to agree with this situation also.

Colin Cowherd says that all the time on his show that I listen to/watch religiously every day.

 

[HuskyNan]

Colin Cowherd says that all the time on his show that I listen to/watch religiously every day.

Colin Cowherd, the USC/UCLA fan that refused to mention the UConn men’s team during their run to the championship? My husband listens to Cowherd but he was disgusted by the lack of respect for the Huskies.

 

[HuskyNan]

A UConn fan on Twitter put this together

 

[CL82]

UConn is not located in the NYC media market.
It's in the Hartford-New Haven media market which is ranked #32 as opposed to NYC which is ranked #1.

Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2024) – Full List

These are the top 200 Nielsen DMA rankings listed by the 2022–2023 Nielsen rankings.

methodshop.com

Correct, but the NYCDMA includes about 1 million people in Fairfield County.

 

[NC28604]

FSU and Clemson ain't going anywhere, at least not to the Big 10 or SEC. The SEC doesn't want either, and the Big 10 would rather have Chapel Hill, UVA, and Duke before FSU or Clemson. Florida State needs to pipe down, those haven't done anything in Football in a decade.

Let's make one thing clear, football drives, rides in, and on top of the bus. Duke will be odd man out.

 

[NC28604]

The ACC has a grant of media broadcast rights from the schools to the conference (GOR) until 2036. Although there is a lot of postulating and posturing going on, no one has broken one of these GOR's yet. Even if you were to guarantee that the ACC were to fall off a cliff say 10 years from now, I would still except full membership today because that means we make something in excess of an additional $30 million per year, or $300 million prior to the forecasted demise of the conference. It would be fiscal malpractice to walk away from that.

That said, an offer isn't coming, so the point is moot.

The ACC has 7 teams ready to dissolve right now, add one and its over. GOR goes away when a conference dissolves.

 

[NC28604]

I pray that UCONN gets some kind of offer to a stronger power conference. The exit fee for leaving the Big East before the 7 year commitment is something like $30M. And given how fluid the other power conferences are, with seemingly the SEC and Big 10 as the 2 who will be left standing when all is said and done, moving to the Big 12 as it stands now is no guarantee it will look the same in the next few years.

But staying in the Big East and keeping football independent is simply not a long term solution. Yeah, we have 11 NC's for the women and 5 for the men's hoops programs, but basketball pales in comparison to the $ in football. Thankfully UCONN football is at least marginally relevant again, and while I don't know what it will take to get to the "next level", staying in the BE permanently is not the answer.

So I'm all in for a move to a power conference. Even if the conference we end up in (say the Big 12) continues to get decimated, it will give the university a longer term influx of football $ and hopefully allow us to expand the Rent and continue to build statewide interest in the football program.

Don't expand the Rent! Build on campus!!!

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Don't expand the Rent! Build on campus!!!

I like the idea, students would love it, as would the coaches and players, but the fans who’ve been tailgating for years will hate you.

 

[CL82]

The ACC has 7 teams ready to dissolve right now, add one and its over. GOR goes away when a conference dissolves.

The ACC has seven teams posturing about dissolution. I am not convinced that seven have homes waiting for them.