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

[Slasher]

Rating the Big 12 expansion candidates' Twitter statements

I thought Cincinnati did the most extensive campaigning.

ESPN's report is since the announcement of expansion.

 

['dweller]

Hi, BYU fan here. I am hoping that we will be conference mates in the near future, but I also realize that we're potential rivals for a spot right now so I don't want to cause a stir. I see us both as similar in that we both feel like we're vying for a spot in a conference that is somewhat removed from our prime fanbase -- BYU with the PAC and UCONN with the ACC or Big 10 would both seem more ideal. Regardless, our excitement is at a fever pitch right now and I love the idea of UCONN coming to a sold out, incredibly loud 19,000 seat Marriott Center.

There is some chatter about Colorado State as a potential school, which probably sounds as crazy to you as, say, a Temple might sound to us. I suppose the idea would be to keep the Big 12 in more contiguous states, but more than that, to go after the Denver market of course. I know that the Hartford market is nothing to scoff at whatsoever, but how confident do you feel about your ability to crossover and capture even a small portion of the Boston and/or NYC markets as well? While CSU is tempting to many BYU fans because of proximity, personally I would prefer a school with an established powerhouse basketball program and top-notch Olympic sports over one that doesn't bring much other than potential.

I know all of the candidate schools come with some misgivings, but one concern many of us have about UCONN is the likelihood of jumping to the ACC as soon as the opportune time comes down the road. We are speculating that perhaps a long GOR is being worked on to prevent that, but of course I know nothing.

In the end, I could live with any of the candidate schools, except that I hope Memphis isn't allowed to buy itself in. Good luck. It could very possibly be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCONN, and that would be exciting.

 

[TRest]

Hi, BYU fan here. I am hoping that we will be conference mates in the near future, but I also realize that we're potential rivals for a spot right now so I don't want to cause a stir. I see us both as similar in that we both feel like we're vying for a spot in a conference that is somewhat removed from our prime fanbase -- BYU with the PAC and UCONN with the ACC or Big 10 would both seem more ideal. Regardless, our excitement is at a fever pitch right now and I love the idea of UCONN coming to a sold out, incredibly loud 19,000 seat Marriott Center.

There is some chatter about Colorado State as a potential school, which probably sounds as crazy to you as, say, a Temple might sound to us. I suppose the idea would be to keep the Big 12 in more contiguous states, but more than that, to go after the Denver market of course. I know that the Hartford market is nothing to scoff at whatsoever, but how confident do you feel about your ability to crossover and capture even a small portion of the Boston and/or NYC markets as well? While CSU is tempting to many BYU fans because of proximity, personally I would prefer a school with an established powerhouse basketball program and top-notch Olympic sports over one that doesn't bring much other than potential.

I know all of the candidate schools come with some misgivings, but one concern many of us have about UCONN is the likelihood of jumping to the ACC as soon as the opportune time comes down the road. We are speculating that perhaps a long GOR is being worked on to prevent that, but of course I know nothing.

In the end, I could live with any of the candidate schools, except that I hope Memphis isn't allowed to buy itself in. Good luck. It could very possibly be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCONN, and that would be exciting.

Connecticut has 3.5 million residents, and UConn captures a lot of them. It is a similar size or better than several B12 states, like Oklahoma and Kansas, and doesn't share a fanbase with anyone else. Any additional market share of NY and Boston is a bonus. Agree on BYU, Cincy, UConn and Houston being the obvious choices (today).

 

[UCDaveD]

Houston Athletics ‏@UHCougars 1h1 hour ago
A special announcement... 8.1.16 #GoTeam #HTownTakeover https://www.instagram.com/p/BIXtptsg0a8/

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Connecticut has 3.5 million residents, and UConn captures a lot of them. It is a similar size or better than several B12 states, like Oklahoma and Kansas, and doesn't share a fanbase with anyone else. Any additional market share of NY and Boston is a bonus. Agree on BYU, Cincy, UConn and Houston being the obvious choices (today).

Added bonus of Connecticut being one of the richest states in the country about 100 miles away from two of the richest cities in the country (Boston and New York). UConn is very advertiser friendly..

 

[amory]

Houston Athletics ‏@UHCougars 1h1 hour ago
A special announcement... 8.1.16 #GoTeam #HTownTakeover https://www.instagram.com/p/BIXtptsg0a8/

If that's NOT to announce they're going to the Big 12 (and I doubt it is), it's a serious fail on their part

 

[jostar1]

B.J. Rains ‏@BJRains · 17h17 hours ago
Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said two schools have told him they plan to send information to the Big 12.

B.J. Rains
@BJRains
Idaho Press-Tribune's Boise State football and basketball beat writer.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Houston Athletics ‏@UHCougars 1h1 hour ago
A special announcement... 8.1.16 #GoTeam #HTownTakeover https://www.instagram.com/p/BIXtptsg0a8/

They posted a picture of a full basketball arena as a hint. UH has mastered cloning!

 

[Slasher]

If that's NOT to announce they're going to the Big 12 (and I doubt it is), it's a serious fail on their part

They announced expansion on 7/19 and they're ready to announce accepted new member(s) just 13 days later? The sloth-like Big 12? I think there's about a 2% chance this is about Big 12 acceptance.

 

[ElGuapo]

Hi, BYU fan here. I am hoping that we will be conference mates in the near future, but I also realize that we're potential rivals for a spot right now so I don't want to cause a stir. I see us both as similar in that we both feel like we're vying for a spot in a conference that is somewhat removed from our prime fanbase -- BYU with the PAC and UCONN with the ACC or Big 10 would both seem more ideal. Regardless, our excitement is at a fever pitch right now and I love the idea of UCONN coming to a sold out, incredibly loud 19,000 seat Marriott Center.

There is some chatter about Colorado State as a potential school, which probably sounds as crazy to you as, say, a Temple might sound to us. I suppose the idea would be to keep the Big 12 in more contiguous states, but more than that, to go after the Denver market of course. I know that the Hartford market is nothing to scoff at whatsoever, but how confident do you feel about your ability to crossover and capture even a small portion of the Boston and/or NYC markets as well? While CSU is tempting to many BYU fans because of proximity, personally I would prefer a school with an established powerhouse basketball program and top-notch Olympic sports over one that doesn't bring much other than potential.

I know all of the candidate schools come with some misgivings, but one concern many of us have about UCONN is the likelihood of jumping to the ACC as soon as the opportune time comes down the road. We are speculating that perhaps a long GOR is being worked on to prevent that, but of course I know nothing.

In the end, I could live with any of the candidate schools, except that I hope Memphis isn't allowed to buy itself in. Good luck. It could very possibly be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCONN, and that would be exciting.

We got you covered with this monstrosity currently nearing completion.

Hartford Connecticut Temple

It will be all ready for you to visit the next time BYU plays here.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

When you look at the demographics, it is pretty formidable. And if BYU and Cincy are 1A and 1B UConn should be damn glad there is a 4th school out there for either number 13 or 14.[/QUOTE]

Thsts 6,000,000 in the greater Houston area of 10,000 square miles
Enlarge Ct to those dimensions and the population is over 20,000,000
You say yes ,but the're not many UConn fans outside of the 3,500,000 population of Ct ,
They may be true but there is also is little competition to a P5 UConn in thst area
I will tell you even in the city of Houston itself of 2,000,000 they are second or third choice for loyalty
I can spin Houston's Demos any why I want to but that last fact is inescapable.

 

[Exit 4]

When you look at the demographics, it is pretty formidable. And if BYU and Cincy are 1A and 1B UConn should be damn glad there is a 4th school out there for either number 13 or 14.

Thsts 6,000,000 in the greater Houston area of 10,000 square miles
Enlarge Ct to those dimensions and the population is over 20,000,000
You say yes ,but the're not many UConn fans outside of the 3,500,000 population of Ct ,
They may be true but there is also is little competition to a P5 UConn in thst area
I will tell you even in the city of Houston itself of 2,000,000 they are second or third choice for loyalty
I can spin Houston's Demos any why I want to but that last fact is inescapable.[/QUOTE]

Except nothing changes the fact that adding Houston does less for their conference media value than other schools such as UConn, Cincy, BYU and any directional FL school.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hi, BYU fan here. I am hoping that we will be conference mates in the near future, but I also realize that we're potential rivals for a spot right now so I don't want to cause a stir. I see us both as similar in that we both feel like we're vying for a spot in a conference that is somewhat removed from our prime fanbase -- BYU with the PAC and UCONN with the ACC or Big 10 would both seem more ideal. Regardless, our excitement is at a fever pitch right now and I love the idea of UCONN coming to a sold out, incredibly loud 19,000 seat Marriott Center.

There is some chatter about Colorado State as a potential school, which probably sounds as crazy to you as, say, a Temple might sound to us. I suppose the idea would be to keep the Big 12 in more contiguous states, but more than that, to go after the Denver market of course. I know that the Hartford market is nothing to scoff at whatsoever, but how confident do you feel about your ability to crossover and capture even a small portion of the Boston and/or NYC markets as well? While CSU is tempting to many BYU fans because of proximity, personally I would prefer a school with an established powerhouse basketball program and top-notch Olympic sports over one that doesn't bring much other than potential.

I know all of the candidate schools come with some misgivings, but one concern many of us have about UCONN is the likelihood of jumping to the ACC as soon as the opportune time comes down the road. We are speculating that perhaps a long GOR is being worked on to prevent that, but of course I know nothing.

In the end, I could live with any of the candidate schools, except that I hope Memphis isn't allowed to buy itself in. Good luck. It could very possibly be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCONN, and that would be exciting.

UConn certainly captures part of the NY market (definitely does in basketball). Nobody captures all of it. But I'd wager that UConn may be as strong in NYC as CSU is in Denver, where Colorado is king, and CSU an afterthought. I don't think the Rams are a serious contender at this point.

Enjoyed playing BYU in football and I think UConn and BYU are the two strongest overall athletic departments among the contending schools, with Cinci third. Cinci has the best geography of those three however.

 

[CL82]

Hi, BYU fan here. I am hoping that we will be conference mates in the near future, but I also realize that we're potential rivals for a spot right now so I don't want to cause a stir. I see us both as similar in that we both feel like we're vying for a spot in a conference that is somewhat removed from our prime fanbase -- BYU with the PAC and UCONN with the ACC or Big 10 would both seem more ideal. Regardless, our excitement is at a fever pitch right now and I love the idea of UCONN coming to a sold out, incredibly loud 19,000 seat Marriott Center.

There is some chatter about Colorado State as a potential school, which probably sounds as crazy to you as, say, a Temple might sound to us. I suppose the idea would be to keep the Big 12 in more contiguous states, but more than that, to go after the Denver market of course. I know that the Hartford market is nothing to scoff at whatsoever, but how confident do you feel about your ability to crossover and capture even a small portion of the Boston and/or NYC markets as well? While CSU is tempting to many BYU fans because of proximity, personally I would prefer a school with an established powerhouse basketball program and top-notch Olympic sports over one that doesn't bring much other than potential.

I know all of the candidate schools come with some misgivings, but one concern many of us have about UCONN is the likelihood of jumping to the ACC as soon as the opportune time comes down the road. We are speculating that perhaps a long GOR is being worked on to prevent that, but of course I know nothing.

In the end, I could live with any of the candidate schools, except that I hope Memphis isn't allowed to buy itself in. Good luck. It could very possibly be BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCONN, and that would be exciting.

UConn has a very good following the NYC and Boston. You may know that our home arena in Storrs, CT is Gampel Arena. Well Madison Square Garden in NYC is known as Gampel South. Our fan support there is amazing.

This video is from our Elite 8 against Michigan State at MSG:



It was basically a UConn home game despite the fact that Michigan State travels very well. AMTRAK scheduled a special train from Hartford just to handle the crowd going to the game. I think it is fair say we have a decent presence there.

 

[MattMang23]

We got you covered with this monstrosity currently nearing completion.

Hartford Connecticut Temple

It will be all ready for you to visit the next time BYU plays here.

Wow. I can't believe you just did that...

 

[Sea Goat]

UConn has a very good following the NYC and Boston. You may know that our home arena in Storrs, CT is Gampel Arena. Well Madison Square Garden in NYC is known as Gampel South. Our fan support there is amazing.

This video is from our Elite 8 against Michigan State at MSG:



It was basically a UConn home game despite the fact that Michigan State travels very well.

You can post any of those great clips anytime! I never tire of watching them. (Here's another of my favorites!)

 

[sportsart]

I don't know about anyone else, but the 2 wins over Baylor and 1 over Iowa St would be my favorites.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

UCF...

Great point.

Now look at UCF. Huge disengaged alumni base, huge DMA, terrible basketball, back to irrelevance in football.

Sounds like Houston once their coach leaves.

 

[NYUConn]

UConn has a very good following the NYC and Boston. You may know that our home arena in Storrs, CT is Gampel Arena. Well Madison Square Garden in NYC is known as Gampel South. Our fan support there is amazing.

This video is from our Elite 8 against Michigan State at MSG:



It was basically a UConn home game despite the fact that Michigan State travels very well. AMTRAK scheduled a special train from Hartford just to handle the crowd going to the game. I think it is fair say we have a decent presence there.

Just got chills watching that. Felt like I was back in the Garden watching it live. Thank you.

 

[CL82]

I don't know about anyone else, but the 2 wins over Baylor and 1 over Iowa St would be my favorites.

Robert Griffin III: The thing that people think is when you go to these big stadiums and they have 80,000 people or 100,000 people, that these are the toughest stadiums to play at, but really, those aren't. When you have that many people, most of the time, the fans are pretty far away from the field. The toughest places to play are the ones that are jam-packed, are really tight to the field, and sit about 45,000 people. When we played at UConn my freshman year, that was the loudest place I've ever been as a football player. The stands are right next to the field, it was packed, and everyone was yelling. That was probably the coolest place for me to play at aside from Texas, Texas A&M, and Nebraska.

Link

 

[Marty Jackson]

Great point.

Now look at UCF. Huge disengaged alumni base, huge DMA, terrible basketball, back to irrelevance in football.

Sounds like Houston once their coach leaves.

exactly...

 

[ElGuapo]

Wow. I can't believe you just did that...

Nothing mean meant.
2nd Temple in New England is certainly an attraction.
I suppose the "monstrosity" part can be read wrong but that was me being cheeky for some of the early controversy that went along with building such a large place in colonial Farmington.

Even my heathen @ss was impressed by the Temple in SLC when I visited there.

 

[jostar1]

Robert Griffin III: The thing that people think is when you go to these big stadiums and they have 80,000 people or 100,000 people, that these are the toughest stadiums to play at, but really, those aren't. When you have that many people, most of the time, the fans are pretty far away from the field. The toughest places to play are the ones that are jam-packed, are really tight to the field, and sit about 45,000 people. When we played at UConn my freshman year, that was the loudest place I've ever been as a football player. The stands are right next to the field, it was packed, and everyone was yelling. That was probably the coolest place for me to play at aside from Texas, Texas A&M, and Nebraska.

Link

I hope that quote is used in our presentation.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I hope that quote is used in our presentation.

You know, when you posting in this thread comes up as an alert I usually get real excited.

 

['dweller]

Nothing mean meant.
2nd Temple in New England is certainly an attraction.
I suppose the "monstrosity" part can be read wrong but that was me being cheeky for some of the early controversy that went along with building such a large place in colonial Farmington.

Even my heathen @ss was impressed by the Temple in SLC when I visited there.

I wasn't aware that there would be a temple in Hartford, so it's good to know. It looks like a beautiful building to me, but I'll grant that these things can be somewhat subjective. In any case, from a practical sense regarding athletics, having a temple in Hartford can only mean that there is a significant enough population of Mormons in the area to potentially make a meaningful dent in ticket sales or TV eyeballs, granted that all Mormons are not sports fans, much less BYU fans. It doesn't hurt that the founding of our church was in nearby parts of New England either. That could make an enticing travel destination for many of us. I've been to upstate New York and parts of New England a couple of times to tour those areas for that reason, coupled with a Broadway play or something, and I'm sure many would find a football or basketball game a good excuse for a visit of this sort, perhaps.

But let's not get the cart before the horse. We're not even sure to be in yet, so forgive me if I'm hijacking this thread with my anxiety/anticipation.