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

[Rufus]

What if we were to win five or six football games this season? Would that change our candidacy for the ACC or B12?

Doubtful. Longterm decisions are not made on the whim of the record of a team in one particular season. This is about money. If UConn can make the Big 12 money, UConn will be in the Big 12.

 

[JohnFSilver]

What if we were to win five or six football games this season? Would that change our candidacy for the ACC or B12?

No. Individual seasons don’t matter.

 

[CTBasketball]

I wish you were right. I just do not see it.

Here is thing. If UConn doesn’t jump, would St John’s, would Gtown, will Nova to an acc, big 12 looking to own hoops in a new world order?

Guys. It’s coming.

Look how much money basketball brings in vs. hockey and that will answer your question. Can’t go Big 12 or ACC, we’ll end up like Syracuse.

Our football team is not desirable for any conference, we’re on the best path forward right now until things change dramatically.

 

[John]

Look how much money basketball brings in vs. hockey and that will answer your question. Can’t go Big 12 or ACC, we’ll end up like Syracuse.

Our football team is not desirable for any conference, we’re on the best path forward right now until things change dramatically.

Syracuse had a coaching problem, not a conference problem.

 

[Sole]

The excitement around the big east this year…. I wouldn’t want to be in any other conference… it’s going to be crazy..and the big east tournament should be insane in New York City… 20 thousand mostly uconn fans in msg

 

[upstater]

Big East is not getting left behind. Yormark thought basketball was a good opportunity for growth, but the Big 12 has diluted basketball by adding UCF, BYU, Arizona St., Utah, and Colorado. So, adding Gonzaga can offset some of that. That said, does anybody think Gonzaga will be Gonzaga in the Big 12? Of course not. BTW, the 4 new ads to the Big 12 currently are 1-8 in conference football games.

You can be included and left behind at the same time. This is how they like to rig things. With the NCAA out of the picture, the SEC and B1G are going to do their best to limit participation from smaller conferences and isolate those conferences when it comes to OOC matchups. They will put the screws to us when all that money is available to them.

They've done this in the past with football--they've made sure that their schools get first dibs on playoff berths.

 

[noeynox]

That would mean the difference between staying or going would be an additional $4 million. Better, still not great. For what it's worth, isn't the next biggest contract estimated to be worth about 8 million per school?

I have not seen this # anywhere but on the boneyard.

 

[CL82]

I have not seen this # anywhere but on the boneyard.

Does that make it any less true?

 

[Storrs South]

 

[LoyalFanCT]

We really need to get into the B12 or the ACC very soon or we will be in la la land for a while.

 

[NowInStorrs]

I wish our fan base would stop shooting ourselves in the foot and realize that we need to be in a real conference for all sports.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Cryptic. Really seems there is a very complicated dance that has to go on to even get UConn out of big east.

 

[huskymedic]

Cryptic. Really seems there is a very complicated dance that has to go on to even get UConn out of big east.

Norlander’s whole thread on subject:

 

[JohnFSilver]

Look how much money basketball brings in vs. hockey and that will answer your question. Can’t go Big 12 or ACC, we’ll end up like Syracuse.

Our football team is not desirable for any conference, we’re on the best path forward right now until things change dramatically.

Respectfully, things have changed dramatically.

UConn is a valued hoops brand. Be thankful for that. But make no mistake, Georgetown and Nova would leave the big east for the big 12 if the deal was right.

Like with anything UConn related, it is so much more complicated than any other school out there.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Norlander’s whole thread on subject:

Thanks. Good stuff from Matt.

 

[How Sway?!]

Respectfully, things have changed dramatically.

UConn is a valued hoops brand. Be thankful for that. But make no mistake, Georgetown and Nova would leave the big east for the big 12 if the deal was right.

Like with anything UConn related, it is so much more complicated than any other school out there.

No they wouldn't. They had their taste of B12 with the big east and they decided they'd rather take their ball and go home.

 

[Waquoit]

 

[How Sway?!]

I wish our fan base would stop shooting ourselves in the foot and realize that we need to be in a real conference for all sports.

If the B12 gave us an all sports invite, we would have taken it, but they haven't and they have shown no willingness to do so. Taking a Gonzaga type deal would relegate us to second class citizens in the worst power conference.

 

[uconnyankee]

It is absolutely nuts to me how much people will twist themselves into a pretzel to justify UConn's exclusion, now they're not questioning an "all sports" inclusion of a school that doesn't even have football and brings $0.00 from the sport while UConn's "downside" is their football. At least we have it and can bring money at all from it it's so infuriating at this point

True. But they aren’t paying for it either with Gonzaga.
Your point works if UConn came in for FB and BB for same $’s as Gonzaga with BB only

 

[huskymedic]

Thanks. Good stuff from Matt.

Might also want to read the article from The Athletic for another perspective:

Behind the scenes of Brett Yormark’s yearlong push to get the Big 12 to 16

There were countless twists and turns, but Yormark was never shy about his objective: Boost the Big 12 by any means necessary.

theathletic.com

Assisted access <<

-> UConn was different. It was no secret Yormark was most interested in inviting the Huskies to the Big 12 if the Pac-12 schools stuck together.

How far did it get with UConn? Yormark traveled to Storrs for a campus visit after the Huskies’ men’s basketball national title and later had a second meeting with their leadership in New York. The commissioner saw something his peers did not: a proven brand in men’s and women’s basketball that gets the league into New York City and the East Coast. He believed Jim Mora has the football program (currently 0-4 this season) heading in the right direction. He trusted that, over time, UConn would add value.

“I’m all about scenario management and think that’s critically important,” Yormark said. “We vetted them all out time and time again and tried to go down parallel paths with respect to how to work them.”

Still, it was always going to be tough to build support for that addition. ESPN and Fox were willing to pay full price for Pac-12 additions. The Big 12 board wanted Power 5 schools. It meant more to them. <-

 

[uconnyankee]

No they wouldn't. They had their taste of B12 with the big east and they decided they'd rather take their ball and go home.

No big East school would sign up to be one of two or four bb only schools in a football league.
That was old big East. Which they left. They would have even less say.

Big East works for BB only.
Surprised Big East doesn’t grab some west coast schools.

 

[John]

No big East school would sign up to be one of two or four bb only schools in a football league.

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

 

[Exit 4]

I see no point for BY to push on UConn for BB only again until he has Zaga signed. And getting Zaga signed sounds like it requires some serious internal salesman ship with his conf members.

Should Zaga and the B12 announce a deal, then all bets are off who goes next as a BB only compliment to Zaga. Surely there will be at least one additional BB only addition.

 

[JohnFSilver]

No. That is not what happens.

No they wouldn't. They had their taste of B12 with the big east and they decided they'd rather take their ball and go home.

No. That literally has nothing to do with it.

Football isn’t going to be able to bail out the AD department anymore. The Big 12 this summer was the final chance.

Now? They gotta really maximize that hoops dollar and ensure future. I am looking at landscape. Big East isn’t it. It’s a shame really, but they are once again sitting on their hands. Big 12/ACC/Big 10 is gonna go after those properties. And it’s gonna be a race to the bottom thanks to smu/cal/Stan.

UConn can’t afford to do the SMU deal with the big 12 or acc or that would have offered it.

 

[CTBasketball]

Respectfully, things have changed dramatically.

UConn is a valued hoops brand. Be thankful for that. But make no mistake, Georgetown and Nova would leave the big east for the big 12 if the deal was right.

Like with anything UConn related, it is so much more complicated than any other school out there.

I don’t think any Big East school would leave for that, not even the ACC either. It doesn’t get you much these days, but the Big East has pride. The other conferences don’t.

 

[How Sway?!]

No. That is not what happens.

No. That literally has nothing to do with it.

Football isn’t going to be able to bail out the AD department anymore. The Big 12 this summer was the final chance.

Now? They gotta really maximize that hoops dollar and ensure future. I am looking at landscape. Big East isn’t it. It’s a shame really, but they are once again sitting on their hands. Big 12/ACC/Big 10 is gonna go after those properties. And it’s gonna be a race to the bottom thanks to smu/cal/Stan.

UConn can’t afford to do the SMU deal with the big 12 or acc or that would have offered it.

The big east schools, other than us, have no FBS football to worry about financing. They can finance their while AD with basketball. They are not going to trade their traditional peers for a southern football conference that won't even get them more money.

Gonzaga can take an Olympic sports invite for 3 million and be happy with it, we can't. We couldn't do an SMU deal because we didn't bring a new cable boxes, not because we couldn't afford it.

 

[Rufus]

I see no point for BY to push on UConn for BB only again until he has Zaga signed. And getting Zaga signed sounds like it requires some serious internal salesman ship with his conf members.

Should Zaga and the B12 announce a deal, then all bets are off who goes next as a BB only compliment to Zaga. Surely there will be at least one additional BB only addition.

If it's a basketball move, B12 could add a decent program and get into California at the same time by adding St. Mary's. Already established rivalry in place with Gonzaga and BYU. Doesn't get East Coast exposure, but would fit what BY is trying to do otherwise.

 

[Exit 4]

If it's a basketball move, B12 could add a decent program and get into California at the same time by adding St. Mary's. Already established rivalry in place with Gonzaga and BYU. Doesn't get East Coast exposure, but would fit what BY is trying to do otherwise.

Yep.

Seems to me though getting the second school will be far easier than selling the b12 that they need the first BB school. So if they manage to sign up Zaga, then after that the speculation will be wild.

 

[Sole]

I don’t think any Big East school would leave for that, not even the ACC either. It doesn’t get you much these days, but the Big East has pride. The other conferences don’t.

After the big 10 and acc grabbed schools from California..its just about money… seems they are trying to be like the nfl and nba having teams all across the country… i doubt and big east schools besides uconn would even think about joining that mess

 

[NowInStorrs]

If the B12 gave us an all sports invite, we would have taken it, but they haven't and they have shown no willingness to do so. Taking a Gonzaga type deal would relegate us to second class citizens in the worst power conference.

I agree with that, but even when we were being discussed as an all-sports invite, we had a bunch of people on Twitter (and media and in the capitol) asking if we'd even want to go to the B12 for all sports.