Many of you may have already read these, but here you have it:
http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-aresco-q-and-a-0519-20130518,0,241232.story
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...named-conference-getting-picked-at-by-others/
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...-bit-as-much-access-to-get-into-the-playoffs/
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...eeping-poise-and-not-taking-moves-personally/
My take: Mike Aresco clearly sees Uconn and Cincy as the cornerstones of the AAC, with Uconn being the founding block. He seems to find Uconn's input and suggestions in the AAC to be valuable. I find his thoughts on money and exposure to be a little discouraging. I like that he is looking forward and already has plans to renegotiate in a few years, but sometimes I get the impression that money is either not the top priorty to him or that he undervalues his league. Uconn, Cincy, and USF should be worth more than the contract without the rest of the teams and I do not know if he recognizes this. I agree that exposure is very important for growing a brand, but I think he over values quantity of games over quality of games for branding the conference. He is very proud that 113 of 170 games will be on ESPN platforms. I think insead of addressing the quantity of games to be on ESPNU and ESPN3, he should target the marquee games and ensure that they are played on ESPN or ESPN2. I think that is the exposure that the AAC needs to seperate itself from the other mid major conferences and to ensure that the ACC gets the automatic bid for major bowls as often as possible.
All in all, I think he says most of the right things you want from a commish. And with Uconn getting most of the say in the league so far, Uconn may be able to use the AAC to better position itself for future realignment.
http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-aresco-q-and-a-0519-20130518,0,241232.story
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...named-conference-getting-picked-at-by-others/
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...-bit-as-much-access-to-get-into-the-playoffs/
http://courantblogs.com/uconn-footb...eeping-poise-and-not-taking-moves-personally/
My take: Mike Aresco clearly sees Uconn and Cincy as the cornerstones of the AAC, with Uconn being the founding block. He seems to find Uconn's input and suggestions in the AAC to be valuable. I find his thoughts on money and exposure to be a little discouraging. I like that he is looking forward and already has plans to renegotiate in a few years, but sometimes I get the impression that money is either not the top priorty to him or that he undervalues his league. Uconn, Cincy, and USF should be worth more than the contract without the rest of the teams and I do not know if he recognizes this. I agree that exposure is very important for growing a brand, but I think he over values quantity of games over quality of games for branding the conference. He is very proud that 113 of 170 games will be on ESPN platforms. I think insead of addressing the quantity of games to be on ESPNU and ESPN3, he should target the marquee games and ensure that they are played on ESPN or ESPN2. I think that is the exposure that the AAC needs to seperate itself from the other mid major conferences and to ensure that the ACC gets the automatic bid for major bowls as often as possible.
All in all, I think he says most of the right things you want from a commish. And with Uconn getting most of the say in the league so far, Uconn may be able to use the AAC to better position itself for future realignment.