Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell. | Page 208 | The Boneyard

Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

From the Cincy 247 board:

  • Brett McMurphy on Louisville ESPN radio this morning briefly touched on Big 12 Expansion .
    He basically reiterated the same points he touched on last week .

    - Not going to 14 (seems less and less likely) . Rumblings about staying at 10 , but really doesnt see that happening after interviewing 20 schools . it would be PR nightmare for them

    - Looking like Sept/Oct time frame

    - "The 10 presidents dont talk to me but looks like a 3 horse race UC/UH/BYU "

    - He said he would guess UC/UH . BYU LGBT Honor Code and geography main issues with them.

    • Expansion talk begins at 18:30 mark
 
RE: The Tramel question, he's not writing these pieces unless he's hearing from sources that UConn has a real chance. To stake your reputation on pushing a school that so many in Big 12 country are skeptical of is a real risk.

That being said, I don't think he's getting these stories fed to him by OU, I think they are largely his pieces.
 
jostar1 said:
From the Cincy 247 board:

  • Brett McMurphy on Louisville ESPN radio this morning briefly touched on Big 12 Expansion .
    He basically reiterated the same points he touched on last week .

    - Not going to 14 (seems less and less likely) . Rumblings about staying at 10 , but really doesnt see that happening after interviewing 20 schools . it would be PR nightmare for them

    - Looking like Sept/Oct time frame

    - "The 10 presidents dont talk to me but looks like a 3 horse race UC/UH/BYU "

    - He said he would guess UC/UH . BYU LGBT Honor Code and geography main issues with them.
    • Expansion talk begins at 18:30 mark
Expand ...

So basically he admits no one talks to him yet still opines anyway on the subject. K.
 
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jostar1 said:
From the Cincy 247 board:

  • Brett McMurphy on Louisville ESPN radio this morning briefly touched on Big 12 Expansion .
    He basically reiterated the same points he touched on last week .

    - Not going to 14 (seems less and less likely) . Rumblings about staying at 10 , but really doesnt see that happening after interviewing 20 schools . it would be PR nightmare for them

    - Looking like Sept/Oct time frame

    - "The 10 presidents dont talk to me but looks like a 3 horse race UC/UH/BYU "

    - He said he would guess UC/UH . BYU LGBT Honor Code and geography main issues with them.
    • Expansion talk begins at 18:30 mark
Expand ...

I'll say it again. How can the non Texas schools allow another Texas school and only add 2? Are they that freakin stupid? I think the northen schools put the kibash on this expansion before letting Houston in with just 2.
 
If only the University of Connecticut/Southern New England/greater Boston/Sixth Borough had a catchier ring to it we'd be in. In Jerry. In. That would be a better characterization of our reach
 
On a day where it is announced the IRS is auditing the Louisville athletic department, I cannot believe the Big 12 would be dumb enough to add 2 more commuter schools. Just insane to do so which is why it will probably hapen.
 
sportsart said:
I'll say it again. How can the non Texas schools allow another Texas school and only add 2? Are they that freakin stupid? I think the northen schools put the kibash on this expansion before letting Houston in with just 2.
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I'll take that one step further; another Texas school provides zero return to the TV providers (ESPN/Fox) yet costs them another full share. I can't see Houston without both UConn & BYU (the two that would provide a return) also added. Houston only works with a four school expansion.
 
What does a "commuter" school have to do with the IRS? There actually auditing the entire book of personal services contracts. That's actually pretty common.
 
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DiacosArmy said:
If two teams with no fans join a conference will anyone notice?
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Cincy at least expands the footprint. Ohio could use a second P5 school too. Cincy = Pitt essentially, though Pitt is a fine university academically, better than Cincy. But if you're only going to add a city school after all this, then you've failed. I get that Houston could be good for football, and that Houston is in a giant city (I could also argue that city is owned by other football powers, and that a good Houston football team hurts Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU and even the Oklahoma schools).

But when you add it all up, the TV people will be underwhelmned by a combination of the 2.

If the net result is BYU and Cincy, well then there are no complaints.
 
jostar1 said:
UConn's athletic budget much larger than other Big 12 expansion hopefuls

Berry Tramel by Berry Tramel • Published: August 22, 2016 •

That should be the Big 12’s criteria. Judge athletic programs on what they’ve done. Not on what they say they will do.

Which leads us to UConn. Among the schools outside the Power-5 conferences (and Notre Dame), Connecticut has far and away the largest athletic budget. According to USA Today’s annual research, UConn’s 2014-15 athletic budget was $72 million. The next highest total on the list was Cincinnati’s, $52 million.

Brigham Young is not on the list – USA Today was unable to find the figures for some schools – but BYU’s reported athletic budget is $57 million per year. UConn, with football attendance about half of BYU’s, spends more than do the Cougars.

That’s impressive. UConn’s commitment to big-time athletics is unassailable. It is not recent. Now, Connecticut has some other issues, which I addressed. But it’s clear that UConn is better-equipped than most to step into the high-stakes game of Power-5 athletics.

So Connecticut stands above the field. When you factor in UConn’s strong academics and its status as a flagship school in a populous state, the geographic problems are overshadowed.

More at:

UConn's athletic budget much larger than other Big 12 expansion hopefuls
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After his second complimentary piece on us in two days, I'm officially on board with the "Oklahoma is pushing for UConn" line of thinking. There is no other reason that, with this data having been readily available to any writer for many, many months, he would all of a sudden be pushing us unless he has been tipped off that decision makers at the school he has connections at gave him a reason to.
 
MattMang23 said:
After his second complimentary piece on us in two days, I'm officially on board with the "Oklahoma is pushing for UConn camp." There is no other reason that, with that data having been readily available to any writer for many, many months, he would all of a sudden be pushing us unless he has been tipped off that decision makers at the school he has connections at gave him a reason to.
Expand ...

Agreed. And what I think it means is that OK wants to add four schools and for the new schools to be ones that are best for their tv friends at FOX. I think its a sign that OK wants to make the conference work in the long haul, because landing elsewhere is not so assured in 2026. If landing elsewhere was assured, then just campaign to add any old regional options and be done with it.

TV matters firsts in the P5 arms race. Who can do better than use delivering more tv firepower? No one.
 
Exit 4 said:
Agreed. And what I think it means is that OK wants to add four schools and for the new schools to be ones that are best for their tv friends at FOX. I think its a sign that OK wants to make the conference work in the long haul, because landing elsewhere is not so assured in 2026. If landing elsewhere was assured, then just campaign to add any old regional options and be done with it.

TV matters firsts in the P5 arms race. Who can do better than use delivering more tv firepower? No one.
Expand ...

Yup. Not sure on OU's chances in 2024 (I think I'm a little more optimistic on their chances than you seem to be) but as far as OU wanting four, and UConn being one of them, I'm totally in agreement. This is as sure a sign that that is what OU's agenda is as anything we have seen yet. This is clearly the "horse trading." OU is trying to get Texas to trade a vote for Houston for a vote for us. If only a two team expansion is on the table, Texas won't be getting Houston. Through Tramel, OU is signaling Texas that they will vote for Houston in return for a vote for UConn. And the only way UConn and Houston can get to eight is by a four team expansion.
 
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There are actually a lot of pressure points here. Does Navy continue on if Cincy is gone and UConn threatens leaving? UConn and Navy played quite a bit prior to the AAC.

But if ESPN loses interest in the AAC, it is in a bad spot for eastern programming filler.

Also remember, ESPN has promised a certain number of AAC basketball games on ESPN and ESPN2. If Cincy goes, who are they going to show other than Connecticut.

Is UConn going to be on ESPN 23 times a year now?

This is some crazy stuff with a lot of pressure points.
 
upstater said:
There are actually a lot of pressure points here. Does Navy continue on if Cincy is gone and UConn threatens leaving? UConn and Navy played quite a bit prior to the AAC.

But if ESPN loses interest in the AAC, it is in a bad spot for eastern programming filler.

Also remember, ESPN has promised a certain number of AAC basketball games on ESPN and ESPN2. If Cincy goes, who are they going to show other than Connecticut.

Is UConn going to be on ESPN 23 times a year now?

This is some crazy stuff with a lot of pressure points.
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It's almost not relevant if Cincy and anyone else from the AAC leaves. The contract is canceled but of course free to be negotiated. I would guess that ESPN has to pick it up because they need the content, but they're going to trim it down again.
 
I'm not sure they can. I think the remaining schools could simply tell them to suck it. They don't have any other options for programming and I'm pretty sure Fox would grab the AAC at $2,000,000 per year or even more. It is good football and it is cheap. They could bury ESPN. We might see FOX attempt to put them out of business.
 
Hoophound said:
I'm not sure they can. I think the remaining schools could simply tell them to suck it. They don't have any other options for programming and I'm pretty sure Fox would grab the AAC at $2,000,000 per year or even more. It is good football and it is cheap. They could bury ESPN. We might see FOX attempt to put them out of business.
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The problem is, ESPN gets way more viewers than fox does even on their auxiliary channels like ESPNEWS and ESPNU, so it elevates less popular content like AAC. Fox already has trouble with viewers as it is.
 
Hoophound said:
I'm not sure they can. I think the remaining schools could simply tell them to suck it. They don't have any other options for programming and I'm pretty sure Fox would grab the AAC at $2,000,000 per year or even more. It is good football and it is cheap. They could bury ESPN. We might see FOX attempt to put them out of business.
Expand ...
Yeah! $2m/year divided by 10!
 
Tramel + the fact that everyone seems to be leaning towards two, leads me to believe like I've said for a while now it's going to be 2 with UConn and Cincinnati. They're the best two choices, and it's been obvious from the beginning.
 
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huskypantz said:
It's almost not relevant if Cincy and anyone else from the AAC leaves. The contract is canceled but of course free to be negotiated. I would guess that ESPN has to pick it up because they need the content, but they're going to trim it down again.
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The option to terminate the agreement if certain schools leave is on ESPN. It doesn't appear to be an auto-term.

>>NBC Sports Network's contract divided the league into Group A (Connecticut, Cincinnati, Houston and Temple) and Group B (the remaining members), sources said. The media rights deal can be terminated if either two Group A schools leave or one Group A and one Group B school leave. If two Group B schools leave, the contract will be renegotiated, sources said. This does not include any schools that already have announced they are leaving, such as Louisville, Rutgers, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh or Syracuse.<<
 
I think we'd find ESPN would try and negotiate and the American would shop around if they wanted to lower the figure. You can't play competitively at this level on $2,000,000, let alone less. It was different when there were rounds of CR to go but if we are about to see a 9 year quiet period, the AAC schools need to make some money.
 
I think it's pretty safe to say ESPN won't allow the AAC to put their product on the open market unless they believe it is worth noticeably less than the current deal. If we are still in after all of this ESPN won't exercise their option to terminate.

I also believe that if we do leave the AAC without a bid to the B-12 (or another P-5) someone (Fox?) is underwriting our football independence.
 
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