Major Announcement... TV? (Update>CBSSN)

[zls44]

A thing folks don't discuss enough about the deal is that AAC schools aren't getting $7m a year...that's the average over the TWELVE YEARS of the deal. Towards the back end, they get near $10m a year- but for the first few years of the deal, its under $4m a year.

 

[UConnDan97]

Had Uconn been better, the conference would have been better, the deal might have been better.

But we will never know.

So by that logic, the AAC should have really been elevated if, let's say, we won a national championship in men's basketball or women's basketball?

Well, we did both (the women did it 4 times in conference). And the conference still sucks in both. At some point, you have to say that we were playing against schools nobody cared about, including us not carrying about them either. We didn't take care of everything we could have on the field, but the conference hurt us way more than it helped us. That's just a fact...

 

[uconnbill]

UConn did very well with the new CBSSN deal with whatever the payment is. No more being held hostage by ESPN+ and the AAC.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

So by that logic, the AAC should have really been elevated if, let's say, we won a national championship in men's basketball or women's basketball?

Well, we did both (the women did it 4 times in conference). And the conference still sucks in both. At some point, you have to say that we were playing against schools nobody cared about, including us not carrying about them either. We didn't take care of everything we could have on the field, but the conference hurt us way more than it helped us. That's just a fact...

So you are overlooking a decade of putrid football and up and down Men's basketball to hang your hat on two titles. Not the hill I would choose to die upon, but we are different people.

 

[UConnDan97]

So you are overlooking a decade of putrid football and up and down Men's basketball to hang your hat on two titles. Not the hill I would choose to die upon, but we are different people.

My point is this: how many other teams in the AAC won a national title in anything? And I really mean anything. Anything at all? Chess? Synchronized equestrian??

This is why the nation didn't care about the AAC. Because the programs in the AAC weren't worth a damn...

 

[Chief00]

Humans are horrible at opportunity cost.

Opportunity costs is one difference between Economics and Finance. In Economics it exists but not in Finance.

 

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, there’s a reason Randy makes so many offers to recruits in FL, TX and GA. The football is better, even if you focus on the second and third tier guys. Our problem in the AAC was we couldn’t successfully compete in football against the southern schools.

 

[CL82]

So you are overlooking a decade of putrid football and up and down Men's basketball to hang your hat on two titles. Not the hill I would choose to die upon, but we are different people.

Ha ha, aren’t championships what people play for? I mean not in the American, other than us, but in other conferences.

 

[freescooter]

Ha ha, aren’t championships what people play for? I mean not in the American, other than us, but in other conferences.

In reality, no. In football 80% of the teams are eliminated by week 2. By week 7 al but maybe 5-6 are out. In basketball it isn’t really that different. Does Wake Forest play for a national championship? Does Vanderbilt? How about Texas A&M and California? De Paul? Providence? Iowa? The honest answer is no. Most of those Places go in hoping for a bid but with zero thought of going all the way. There are a handful of elite programs in both sports that actually have a chance on a regular basis. From 1990-2014 we were part of that group. Now not so much. At one time Indiana was one. Now they aren’t. If you gave me Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas against the field any given year, I like my chances in football if you gave me Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State I like them better.

 

[CL82]

In reality, no. In football 80% of the teams are eliminated by week 2. By week 7 al but maybe 5-6 are out. In basketball it isn’t really that different. Does Wake Forest play for a national championship? Does Vanderbilt? How about Texas A&M and California? De Paul? Providence? Iowa? The honest answer is no. Most of those Places go in hoping for a bid but with zero thought of going all the way. There are a handful of elite programs in both sports that actually have a chance on a regular basis. From 1990-2014 we were part of that group. Now not so much. At one time Indiana was one. Now they aren’t. If you gave me Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas against the field any given year, I like my chances in football if you gave me Alabama, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State I like them better.

Yes, championships are extraordinarily rare and difficult to achieve. That's why it is so incredibly dumb when people discount them.

(When I see "UNC, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky" I think "cheater, cheater, cheater and probably a cheater.)

 

[huskymedic]

 

[CL82]

Uh, Dave? You couldn't find a better stadium shot than that?

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Ha ha, aren’t championships what people play for? I mean not in the American, other than us, but in other conferences.

That wasn't the point he made, nor the point of my response. The premise was our place in the conference and our failure to maintain our excellence. This was a discussion of titles. But, ok.

 

[CL82]

That wasn't the point he made, nor the point of my response. The premise was our place in the conference and our failure to maintain our excellence. This was a discussion of titles. But, ok.

Isn't this what excellence looks like?

 

[Ajs120102]

Uh, Dave? Youcouldn't find a better stadium shot than that?

View attachment 54285

No he couldn’t but if there is one thing UConn is #1 in the country at it’s the best damn grass

 

[Exit 4]

My current three wish - wish list.

1) a vaccine
2) a full 2020 CFB season this fall
3) whatever.

 

[Waquoit]

That wasn't the point he made, nor the point of my response. The premise was our place in the conference and our failure to maintain our excellence. This was a discussion of titles. But, ok.

The premise is you don't want to admit that UConn is in a much, much better place now than it was a year ago. Fans except apparently you are happy. Why are you intent on revisiting our bondage?

 

[MilliniumPrince]

The premise is you don't want to admit that UConn is in a much, much better place now than it was a year ago. Fans except apparently you are happy. Why are you intent on revisiting our bondage?

You have no idea of what you are talking about, and neither do I.

 

[Husky68]

According to calculations run at Los Alamos - tomorrow, but no later than by Friday.

According to my local voodoo priestess that is as likely as HCRE2.0 ending his head coaching career with a winning record. I asked her to put a spell on HCRE2.0 to make him a winning coach, she told me she's only a priestess, I need to be directly contacting the Big Fella for parting of the Red Sea type of requests. HCRE2.0 is 6 and 30 (102 and 134 as HCRE1.0, HCREDreamJob1.0 and HCRE2.0) and counting.

At least the AD took the team out of a conference so HCRE2.0 won't have to execute against conference opponents where his teams are 34-71 (how you keep head coaching jobs when your wins record against conference foes is less that 33%, that is HCRE's real talent).

On the positive side, 3 wins in 2020 would be a 50% increase over 2019 and also 50% over his average win totals as HCRE2.0.

Get to that total in 2020, maybe time for a contract extension, don't want some new Dream School popping up.

 

[SubbaBub]

I don't know if it's much, much, better. It certainly more assertive. Better to put destiny in their own hands as opposed to ESPN and the AAC.

The only thing missing is a guaranteed bowl game and access to a conference title (not to be discounted).

Everything else is close, but the AAC has reached its ceiling. You can't have a run in FB in the G5 as good as the AAC has had recently with the top 25 teams and UCF going undefeated for nearly 2 years.

They should have gotten a better deal if this were just about on field performance. But it isn't. The P5 is still a cabal and no one else is getting in until they say so.

No being bound by a conference just adds to UConn's value add should the world tilt favorably. We stand as our own thing now, no more comparisons to Cincy or Memphis or UCF.

Its up to the program to go succeed. By that I mean cheat if neccessary.

 

[Waquoit]

On the positive side, 3 wins in 2020 would be a 50% increase over 2019 and also 50% over his average win totals as HCRE2.0.
Get to that total in 2020, maybe time for a contract extension, don't want some new Dream School popping up.

I should hope 3 wins in your 4th year wouldn't be enough for an extension.

 

[CL82]

I should hope 3 wins in your 4th year wouldn't be enough for an extension.

Probably not. It depends on the wins, the timing of them and how competitive we were in the losing games. I think 4 wins is still on the bubble.

 

[weyuo]

So by that logic, the AAC should have really been elevated if, let's say, we won a national championship in men's basketball or women's basketball?

Well, we did both (the women did it 4 times in conference). And the conference still sucks in both. At some point, you have to say that we were playing against schools nobody cared about, including us not carrying about them either. We didn't take care of everything we could have on the field, but the conference hurt us way more than it helped us. That's just a fact...

You can crap on the AAC all you want but what was the alternative for UConn? Not join the AAC? We'll see how that plays out in time.

I'll be very curious to see how the Big East and AAC schools look a decade from now.... financially. The AAC still has football to sell to TV and the Big East still does not. Unless there is a new wave of conference re-alignment where a number of AAC schools get poached and the league folds that football is just going to get better and better and more appealing for TV. And UConn football will still be begging for table scraps every season when it comes to a possibility for a bowl game or a couple of decent P-5 matchups. Alabama ain't coming to E. Hartford and no one is going to donate a penny to put any kind of roof over the seats so that fans have some kind of protection from the elements in November and actually stay past halftime. Not as an independent. Notre Dame is a fluke living off past glory. BYU has an insolated fan base(what else is there to do big-time sports-wise in Utah?).

 

[UConnDan97]

You can crap on the AAC all you want but what was the alternative for UConn? Not join the AAC? We'll see how that plays out in time.

I'll be very curious to see how the Big East and AAC schools look a decade from now.... financially. The AAC still has football to sell to TV and the Big East still does not. Unless there is a new wave of conference re-alignment where a number of AAC schools get poached and the league folds that football is just going to get better and better and more appealing for TV. And UConn football will still be begging for table scraps every season when it comes to a possibility for a bowl game or a couple of decent P-5 matchups.

First, the most recent tv contract negotiation all but proved what the nation thinks of the AAC's market value. It's pretty much why we left to try independence.

Second, you're correct that we had no alternative to joining the AAC at the time. That doesn't mean the conference was good for us. It wasn't. And now we have chosen another option which looks more promising even in these early days. Imagine what it will become tomorrow...

 

[Hoophound]

The AAC sucks. It is unstable and undesirable. The day we left is the day we were were born again. My 19 year old son grew up a Gator fan. He plays D3 basketball. His only interest in UConn is that he loves me and he knows I love UConn. The other day he was eating a sub at the table while I was watching something on TV and he goes, “Dad, are we going to any UConn games this year? The Big East is fire”. For you old guys, “fire” is good.

Edit: He also loves the new logo and wears UConn hoodies all the time because the new logo is fire.