Is UConn on the move again? Pay attention, folks | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Is UConn on the move again? Pay attention, folks

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?
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
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?
Expand ...
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. :eek:
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
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?
Expand ...
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 said:
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. :eek:
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CONN78SEJ- - -Since I was just expressing MY opinion I don't care what your opinion is!
 
CONN78SEJ said:
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.
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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!
 
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reelfan said:
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.
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Colin Cowherd says that all the time on his show that I listen to/watch religiously every day.
 
A UConn fan on Twitter put this together

517AA7EC-9EDA-472C-8547-E0963D7F8260.jpeg
 
sun said:
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.

methodshop.com

Top 200 Nielsen DMA Rankings (2025) – Full List

The 2025 Nielsen DMA rankings (2025) reflect shifting media trends and housing market changes, with notable increases in Northeast markets such as Boston-Manchester and Buffalo.
methodshop.com methodshop.com
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Correct, but the NYCDMA includes about 1 million people in Fairfield County.
 
triaddukefan said:
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.
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Let's make one thing clear, football drives, rides in, and on top of the bus. Duke will be odd man out.
 
CL82 said:
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.
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The ACC has 7 teams ready to dissolve right now, add one and its over. GOR goes away when a conference dissolves.
 
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EricLA said:
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.
Expand ...
Don't expand the Rent! Build on campus!!!
 
NC28604 said:
The ACC has 7 teams ready to dissolve right now, add one and its over. GOR goes away when a conference dissolves.
Expand ...
The ACC has seven teams posturing about dissolution. I am not convinced that seven have homes waiting for them.
 
According to the UConn Blog, the Big 12 payout won't be $30-$35 million per year due to its relatively large expansion.
Rather the payout will only be "upwards of $20 million per year."
Personally I think that the Big 12 expansion sacrifices quality in order to chase quantity.
Since UConn is considered to be such an asset to the Big 12, perhaps the ACC will also realize that & make a similar expansion offer.
UConn should wait for the dust to settle in the ACC since there will be such a hefty penalty to withdraw from the Big East anyway, and the Big 12 payout won't solve all of the financial problems before its next TV contract will be negotiated.
With a lowered payout & geographical considerations, UConn could be better off working with the ACC schools.
Then UConn could either make or break the ACC or the next incarnation of the ACC.

www.theuconnblog.com

Report: Big 12 commissioner visited UConn on campus

UConn is once again swept up in realignment speculation.
www.theuconnblog.com www.theuconnblog.com
 
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sun said:
According to the UConn Blog, the Big 12 payout won't be $30-$35 million per year due to its relatively large expansion.
Rather the payout will only be "upwards of $20 million per year."
Personally I think that the Big 12 expansion sacrifices quality in order to chase quantity.
Since UConn is considered to be such an asset to the Big 12, perhaps the ACC will also realize that & make a similar expansion offer.
UConn should wait for the dust to settle in the ACC since there will be such a hefty penalty to withdraw from the Big East anyway, and the Big 12 payout won't solve all of the financial problems before its next TV contract will be negotiated.
With a lowered payout & geographical considerations, UConn could be better off working with the ACC schools.
Then UConn could either make or break the ACC or the next incarnation of the ACC.

www.theuconnblog.com

Report: Big 12 commissioner visited UConn on campus

UConn is once again swept up in realignment speculation.
www.theuconnblog.com www.theuconnblog.com
Expand ...
The UConn blog is not truthful on the amount of the last distribution. It’s not $20 million, it actually more than even the previously reported $30-35million that members get, it’s closer to $45 million. You have three teams leaving and 4-5 teams coming in. Just do the math, expanding the conference by 1 to 2 more teams reduces it to about $30-35 million. Do you really think the Athletic Dept and BOT are going listen to some blog writer with an agenda to keep UConn bottled up in a dying conference which gives a paltry $4 million a year?
 
I don't really follow the issues around the various leagues much, so I'm kinda new to the topic. But let me ask a probably naive question: Back when UConn was desperately looking for a new league to call home, people were saying (as they are now): What about the ACC? And the answer always was that because of the bad blood between BC and UConn, the Huskies would be, in effect, blackballed from getting into the ACC.

But isn't BC still in the ACC? Are they singing a different tune now, or is the thought of a UConn membership possible because the ACC has its own level of desperation now?
 
.-.
I’m not for a moment suggesting that UConn should take the money and run, but how do you turn away from a potential 41 million dollar increase to your annual athletic budget, especially if you're operating at a huge deficit every year?

According to what I'm reading here, a move would allow UConn to fund all of its athletic programs and remain in the black, with a few million left over. Can UConn athletics continue to operate in the red to the tune of $35 million per year? I've heard and read that the answer to most problems or challenges in business is either money or personnel.
 
CONN78SEJ said:
The UConn blog is not truthful on the amount of the last distribution. It’s not $20 million, it actually more than even the previously reported $30-35million that members get, it’s closer to $45 million. You have three teams leaving and 4-5 teams coming in. Just do the math, expanding the conference by 1 to 2 more teams reduces it to about $30-35 million. Do you really think the Athletic Dept and BOT are going listen to some blog writer with an agenda to keep UConn bottled up in a dying conference which gives a paltry $4 million a year?
Expand ...
You should read the SI article below before calling Dan Connolly a liar with an agenda.
It outlines the myriad complications involving the exit of Texas & Oklahoma from the Big 12.
There's a TV network dispute involving Fox that may end up in court, and a dispute over the penalties of the Big 12 dissolution agreement that may end up in court too.
Also, the new Big 12 schools won't be receiving the full conference payout the first year of membership because new members receive a reduction.
The finances are a very complex subject.
To top it off, the Big 12 claims that Texas & Oklahoma represents about 50% of the value of the conference.
And their TV rights agreement ends in 2031 so what will happen after that is anyone's guess.
When Texas & Oklahoma decided to exit, the Big 12 was considered to be ready to be put on life support.
The long term future TV value of the conference is still uncertain.

Looking up the phrase "upwards of" reveals that it basically means "in excess of."
So a payment in excess of $20 million may not be a dishonest use of the phrase by Dan Connolly at all.
But take note that he doesn't say that the payment will be in excess of $30 million because that may be a dishonest claim too.

 
Last edited:
sun said:
You should read the SI article below before calling Dan Connolly a liar with an agenda.
It outlines the myriad complications involving the exit of Texas & Oklahoma from the Big 12.
There's a TV network dispute involving Fox that may end up in court, and a dispute over the penalties of the Big 12 dissolution agreement that may end up in court too.
Also, the new Big 12 schools won't be receiving the full conference payout the first year of membership because new members receive a reduction.
The finances are a very complex subject.
To top it off, the Big 12 claims that Texas & Oklahoma represents about 50% of the value of the conference.
And their TV rights agreement ends in 2031 so what will happen after that is anyone's guess.
When Texas & Oklahoma decided to exit, the Big 12 was considered to be ready to be put on life support.
The long term future TV value of the conference is still uncertain.

Looking up the phrase "upwards of" reveals that it basically means "in excess of."
So a payment in excess of $20 million may not be a dishonest use of the phrase by Dan Connolly at all.
But take note that he doesn't say that the payment will be in excess of $30 million because that may be a dishonest claim too.

Expand ...
Only for the first year, as I understand it is the distribution about half of the normal amount, so about $20 million, and did he say that in the SI article?
 
Carnac said:
I’m not for a moment suggesting that UConn should take the money and run, but how do you turn away from a potential 41 million dollar increase to your annual athletic budget, especially if you're operating at a huge deficit every year?

According to what I'm reading here, a move would allow UConn to fund all of its athletic programs and remain in the black, with a few million left over. Can UConn athletics continue to operate in the red to the tune of $35 million per year? I've heard and read that the answer to most problems or challenges in business is either money or personnel.
Expand ...
Sure, my tax dollars at work. Same with everything the government does, but I digress...
 
CONN78SEJ said:
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.
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You mean the fans that actually buy tickets and go to games?
 
Waquoit said:
You mean the fans that actually buy tickets and go to games?
Expand ...
No, I mean any fan who buys tickets, goes to games, tailgates, posts on the Boneyard, and is over age 55.
 
.-.
Bills Fan said:
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that WCBB is any significant part of the decision equation. It's a decision based primarily on the two positive revenue sports with the women's BB just a blip on the screen. I would estimate the following sports impact in making the decision: Football-75%; Men's BB - 15-20%; Women's BB - 3/4%; Non-revenue sports - whatever % is left.
While total gross revenues would increase, travel cost and time would be negatives. However, we have to remember that even in the Beast, we have to travel to Cincy, Chicago Milwaukee and Omaha.
Having said all that, it is a strange fit , even more so than West Vir. being part of the Big 12.
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We should also remember that UConn is not just a women's basketball program. It's much more than that. It's iconic. People that couldn't tell you a single thing about WCBB would be able to mention UConn, if the topic surfaced. UConn increases revenues at other schools. UConn gets other universities on TV. UConn makes other programs better. Schools like an Ohio State or a Louisville, just to pick two at random, don't contribute what UConn contributes. Whatever a top ten program contributes to a school, UConn probably triples that.
 
Bills Fan said:
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that WCBB is any significant part of the decision equation. It's a decision based primarily on the two positive revenue sports with the women's BB just a blip on the screen. I would estimate the following sports impact in making the decision: Football-75%; Men's BB - 15-20%; Women's BB - 3/4%; Non-revenue sports - whatever % is left.
While total gross revenues would increase, travel cost and time would be negatives. However, we have to remember that even in the Beast, we have to travel to Cincy, Chicago Milwaukee and Omaha.
Having said all that, it is a strange fit , even more so than West Vir. being part of the Big 12.
Expand ...
That may be true, but at the same time, having one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time coaching in their league for a few years before he retires, might sell some tickets.
 
sun said:
According to the UConn Blog, the Big 12 payout won't be $30-$35 million per year due to its relatively large expansion.
Rather the payout will only be "upwards of $20 million per year."
Personally I think that the Big 12 expansion sacrifices quality in order to chase quantity.
Since UConn is considered to be such an asset to the Big 12, perhaps the ACC will also realize that & make a similar expansion offer.
UConn should wait for the dust to settle in the ACC since there will be such a hefty penalty to withdraw from the Big East anyway, and the Big 12 payout won't solve all of the financial problems before its next TV contract will be negotiated.
With a lowered payout & geographical considerations, UConn could be better off working with the ACC schools.
Then UConn could either make or break the ACC or the next incarnation of the ACC.

www.theuconnblog.com

Report: Big 12 commissioner visited UConn on campus

UConn is once again swept up in realignment speculation.
www.theuconnblog.com www.theuconnblog.com
Expand ...
This has been my dream for years. :rolleyes: Look before you leap. If there is a possibility that some schools might be leaving the ACC, perhaps a move right now would not be prudent.
 
From France said:
What do you think, people wouldn't like to pay their tickets to see a P5 team rather than Georgetown, Xaxier, St John's or Marquette ?
I must disagree
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UConn has proven they can win national championships regardless of conference affiliation. UConn and Florida Gulf Coast (ASUN) are the only two WBB programs to finish in the coach's final top 25 rankings for 2022-2023 that ARE NOT in a Power 5 Conference.
 
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