Mike Aresco on Big 12 expansion drama

[NYUConn]

Wouldn't it be something if ESPN cancelled its contract with the AAC in order to support 2 new additions to the Big 12?
I hadn't realized that could be a possibility.

Yeah I have to admit that's something that never occurred to me either. ESPN could have a financial incentive to push UConn/Cincy to the Big 12 over BYU. They could slash the current AAC deal in half and come out ahead.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

I'm not a huge Aresco fan ,although even a critic like me acknowledges he was put into a difficult situation.
In his myopic impossible dream of pursuing the creation of a P6 football conference he managed to alienate the core of the conference he inherited.
Whether anyone short of Soloman could have saved that marriage.,I really don't know . I do know he failed in the creation of a P6 and in the process gave away a great eastern basketball conference. I don't applaud failure of this magnitude.
Do I think the addition of Tulane caused the CL7 to bolt? Only an idiot would believe that. They were obviously pursuing a separate contract almost from the beginning, In effect undermining their own hand picked commissioner. Any nostalgia for our old mates should be tempered by their duplicity. Not to mention the timing of their departure was ironically in sync with ESPN's narrative of doom.
Shouldn't an alleged media giant ( making a $1,000,000 a year) like Aresco have been aware of that possibility, and brokered an agreemement with them that somehow kept the league together.

 

[Fishy]

Sigh.

Aresco did not alienate his "core".

Fox Sports offered his "core" twice the money to start their own basketball conference.

On the ESPN contract....this is a business.

ESPN wrote the expansion clauses into the contract because they intended to use them. They're going to get the content for the least amount of money possible. The contract is for $18,000,000 per year - they would have happily and eagerly trim seven-figure slices off of that number.

 

[CallMeBruce]

ESPN wrote the expansion clauses into the contract because they intended to use them. They're going to get the content for the least amount of money possible. The contract is for $18,000,000 per year - they would have happily and eagerly trim seven-figure slices off of that number.

Then why didn't they do that to the Big 12 when they lost schools?

 

[Fishy]

1) The Big 12 did not have the automatic provisions in place. The American has a specific clause detailing what happens when specific teams leave.

2) The Big 12 did get a haircut of sorts - their contract remained the same despite the defections when they likely expected an increase.

3) Never confuse the American's place at the table. The Big 12 is one of ESPN's prime time networks - that is a partnership. The American is filler - ESPN doesn't even want most of it which is why we have to hunt for CBS Sports Net a dozen times a year.

 

[Dooley]

http://articles.courant.com/2013-03...1_mike-aresco-basketball-schools-burke-magnus

"The deal was negotiated by NBC Sports, but matched by ESPN as the existing rights holder. ESPN.com reports that the deal can be terminated if two schools from a group made up of UConn, Cincinnati, Temple and Houston leave or if one of those schools and any other member leave."

If any of Cincinnati, UConn, Houston or Temple leaves, the current AAC is dead. Temple isn't going anywhere and Houston, I'd say, is a long-shot.

 

[billybud]

Huh?

There actually is a death star scenario for the AAC. But, at the money, I wonder if ESPN wouldn't just maintain status quo.

 

[FAIRTIDES]

http://articles.courant.com/2013-03...1_mike-aresco-basketball-schools-burke-magnus

"The deal was negotiated by NBC Sports, but matched by ESPN as the existing rights holder. ESPN.com reports that the deal can be terminated if two schools from a group made up of UConn, Cincinnati, Temple and Houston leave or if one of those schools and any other member leave."

If any of Cincinnati, UConn, Houston or Temple leaves, the current AAC is dead. Temple isn't going anywhere and Houston, I'd say, is a long-shot.

That's good to know if you represent a P5 conference looking for new blood. First thought? There must be a reason (value?) ESPN insisted on identifying specific institutions.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Just hope that UCONN isn't one of those left behind!

...unless our ticket to the B1G has already been punched and all that remains is the announcement about departure time.

 

[Ha Who]

The Big 12 network has a classic game to show

 

[noeynox]

I don't think I agree with Fishy

The dollars in the AAC contract weren't all that large - slim slices for 12 schools. The "content" for ESPN and assorted other outlets has been good programming - far better value than some that are getting more dollars on the SEC network or B1G network or U or News. I think the Net of the first three years of the AAC is that it's good college sports at a low ticket price. Kinda like Marshalls.

How much thinner slice could it be?

I agree. The FB performances of Temple, Navy, Houston, and Memphis should ensure the payment stays the same. UCF had a BCS season recently. USF is on the way up.

The problem with this league has been the BB has been subpar. FB has been good.

 

[Sea Goat]

We gave away our T3 rights, valued at $9.14M/yr (comparable to the majority of P5 schools at the time), to be an AAC team player and probably under some very misguided notion that we would recoup at least half of that value in a conference package. The exposure has been nice...certainly better than what the Big East barely generates on FS1. But nobody has lost more money than UConn in AAC purgatory. I think UConn fans were expecting MUCH more than the peanut shells we currently get given the fact that our T3 rights were (and still are) valued so highly.

Aresco once again reprises his role as the Black Knight in Monty Python. When we leave (along with perhaps Cincy) the gulag even becomes a rougher place. Aresco just can't admit it! He would say it's a mere flesh wound!

 

[noeynox]

We gave away our T3 rights, valued at $9.14M/yr (comparable to the majority of P5 schools at the time), to be an AAC team player and probably under some very misguided notion that we would recoup at least half of that value in a conference package. The exposure has been nice...certainly better than what the Big East barely generates on FS1. But nobody has lost more money than UConn in AAC purgatory. I think UConn fans were expecting MUCH more than the peanut shells we currently get given the fact that our T3 rights were (and still are) valued so highly.

Keyword: "We"

There is no denying no one has taken it on the chin more than us in CR, but Mike Aresco isn't the cause. In fact props to him for picking teams like Houston, Memphis, Navy etc., that have been net pluses in football. He put together a nice little league of teams that competes well against P5 leagues. It isn't his fault that we are on the wrong side of the line of demarcation and hopefully we will not be here too much longer.

 

[coachcap]

Aresco's problem is that the Big East hired him 3 years too late. If he had been in place instead of Marinatto, the Big East MAY have survived.

 

[NYUConn]

Keyword: "We"

There is no denying no one has taken it on the chin more than us in CR, but Mike Aresco isn't the cause. In fact props to him for picking teams like Houston, Memphis, Navy etc., that have been net pluses in football. He put together a nice little league of teams that competes well against P5 leagues. It isn't his fault that we are on the wrong side of the line of demarcation and hopefully we will not be here too much longer.

I agree that Aresco has done a decent job, but technically it was Marinatto who brought in all the current teams including Navy.

 

[junglehusky]

I agree that Aresco has done a decent job, but technically it was Marinatto who brought in all the current teams including Navy.

And TCU, remember TCU?

 

[noeynox]

I agree that Aresco has done a decent job, but technically it was Marinatto who brought in all the current teams including Navy.

Really? I thought Marinatto tried getting Boise, SDSU, TCU etc.

 

[NYUConn]

Really? I thought Marinatto tried getting Boise, SDSU, TCU etc.

He did. But he also got Houston, Memphis, Navy et al too.

 

[UT4Big12]

1) The Big 12 did not have the automatic provisions in place. The American has a specific clause detailing what happens when specific teams leave.

2) The Big 12 did get a haircut of sorts - their contract remained the same despite the defections when they likely expected an increase.

3) Never confuse the American's place at the table. The Big 12 is one of ESPN's prime time networks - that is a partnership. The American is filler - ESPN doesn't even want most of it which is why we have to hunt for CBS Sports Net a dozen times a year.

The Big 12's contracts with ESPN and Fox were already in place before Nebraska and Colorado left.
To keep Texas from defecting to the Pac 10, the conference commissioner managed to convince ESPN and Fox to not lower the value of that contract.
Texas was also guaranteed it could start working on its network.

So as it turned out, the Big 12 (with 10 schools) was getting paid the same as if it still had 12 schools. The money that would have gone to Nebraska and Colorado went to the remaining members in the conference. Remember, this contract was for the Big 12's Tier 1 and 2 content only.

When the contract was renewed, it was for a higher amount than what the Big 12 was getting previously, with the understanding the conference needed to not lose anymore members. When A&M made the decision to leave, BYU was considered as a suitable replacement, but then TCU got the offer in the end. West Virginia was approved by ESPN and Fox as a suitable replacement for Missouri, with the expectation it would be ready to join the conference before the start of the 2012 season. As you know, WVU had to sue the BE in order to leave early. The Big 12 provided WVU with lawyer consultants and $10 million support to help with the exit fee. Starting this year, WVU will be obligated to pay back $5 million ($1 million per year for the next 5 years) with the other $5 million being considered as a gift from the conference.

 

[Dooley]

To date, not a single P5 TV deal has been negotiated down after a school has left the conference. Not the B12 deal and not the ACC deal. Could it affect future negotiations? Absolutely. But if a P5 school were to challenge a GOR and leave their conference, the "leftover" conference contract would not drop by a single penny...until negotiation begins on the next deal. I suppose all he11 could break loose if half of a conference decides to bolt at the same time...like if the B12 could secure a B12Network by inviting UConn plus one and showing schools like FSU, Clemson, Louisville, Miami, Pitt, and NC State the new financial benefits.

 

[Dooley]

Keyword: "We"

There is no denying no one has taken it on the chin more than us in CR, but Mike Aresco isn't the cause. In fact props to him for picking teams like Houston, Memphis, Navy etc., that have been net pluses in football. He put together a nice little league of teams that competes well against P5 leagues. It isn't his fault that we are on the wrong side of the line of demarcation and hopefully we will not be here too much longer.

I think I agree - Aresco doesn't deserve the venom. I'm just offering a probably reason as to why UConn fans might spit, justified or not.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Wouldn't it be something if ESPN cancelled its contract with the AAC in order to support 2 new additions to the Big 12?
I hadn't realized that could be a possibility.

Currently the AAC is the most profitable product ESPN owns in the college landscape, because they paid so little for it. If they can keep it and pay even less...goldmine.

 

[King Jonathan]

I think I agree - Aresco doesn't deserve the venom. I'm just offering a probably reason as to why UConn fans might spit, justified or not.

He really stepped into a giant s--- sundae, and that was before the "hot fudge" was poured on.

 

[Slasher]

UTSA has way more of a following in San Antonio than the Bearcats do in football in Cincinnati.

Their 23,008 attendance average begs to differ.

Cincinnati's was 37,096.

 

[noeynox]

He really stepped into a giant s--- sundae, and that was before the "hot fudge" was poured on.

He gets a million a year. He could afford some nice galoshes.