Mike Aresco Unloads on CFB Playoff Committee & ESPN on Latest Rankings | Page 5 | The Boneyard

Mike Aresco Unloads on CFB Playoff Committee & ESPN on Latest Rankings

Ldandy said:
I have my reasons for disliking ESPN as much as anybody, but putting UCONN's Attendance issues on them is silly. They are not going to spend air time pumping up a team with a sub .500 record 5 out of the last 6 seasons. What could they possibly say? ESPN is a business, and The AAC as a whole is made up of schools with mostly small fickle fan bases. Not exactly a great group to be targeting. The blame ultimately has to fall on your administration for making terrible coaching hires that bottomed out a once promising program.

Being in The AAC isn't ideal, but it hasn't stopped other programs from competing at a high level. The key is consistently being able to make good hires. Coaching matters. Recruiting really matters. UCONN did neither well for half a decade and the product reflected it. You can say perception equals reality but when you are winning 4 games and recruiting below teams in Conference USA and The Sunbelt maybe it's time to point your fingers elsewhere than the media.
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I didn't actually say that. I'm saying that even at 8-2, we'd still struggle to fill the Rent without ESPN deeming us a worthy program. UConn fans just can't swallow being sold tickets to see anything but high level sports events. We've tasted the big time. Unless the media starts calling the AAC "big time", the fans are unlikely to buy it. Our best hope is for ESPN to embrace the league as a power conference in an effort to get good programming at a better price. That could be accomplished by pressuring the P5 to accept the AAC at some level and by helping the AAC get a contract that makes competing feasible.
 
ESPN can find value in the AAC that they can't get from bloated P5 contracts. ESPN can better afford maintaining the status quo if the AAC provides bigger returns. The only way the AAC can do more for everyone is to legitimize it and then underpay it, say $8,000,000 per year, per school.

So, the AAC schools have enough cash to compete for right now, the current P5 conferences keep their gravy train and ESPN draws way more eyeballs to the AAC. When current contracts expire, another reshuffle happens. If it isn't feasible, it isn't feasible. However, that USF/UCF game had to have had wheels turning. The American has produced great late season games each year. Those games look legit, not G5.
 
BlueDogs said:
Playing inside the lines drawn by the P5 cartel and glad handing the Committee is exactly what they hope for. Aresco should be at war for the blatant collusion and corruption. He should be calling them a cartel in public and impugning the system at every turn until they feel the heat.
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UCF AD, Danny White is tired of getting no respect too!

UCF’s AD calls out Playoff committee for disrespecting AAC
 
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Stinger92860 said:
He should have out there last night. What is he waiting for?
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Maybe because there will be only one real bidder for our AAC tv package (ESPN) and that one bidder already called Mike and told him to shut up. Let’s see what happens today.
 
Exit 4 said:
Maybe because there will be only one real bidder for our AAC tv package (ESPN) and that one bidder already called Mike and told him to shut up. Let’s see what happens today.
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someone has to stick a camera and microphone in his face. ESPN isn't gonna do it. He should have sounded off on Twitter. Maybe Brando will have him on.
 
Exit 4 said:
Maybe because there will be only one real bidder for our AAC tv package (ESPN) and that one bidder already called Mike and told him to shut up. Let’s see what happens today.
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Good take. I could see ESPN saying to keep your mouth shut, we'll give the AAC an auto bid to a NY6 Bowl (as opposed to the G5 at large), if you don't rock the boat too much and bring controversy into our billion dollar investment into CFB Playoff.

There is no point in picking enemies with the only entity that is going to want our content. For better or for worse we need to position ourselves as the ESPN House Brand Lite to the ACC as the House Brand as ESPN is likely going to own all of our content once again.
 
Stinger92860 said:
He should have out there last night. What is he waiting for?
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Don't worry, it will come out very strategically. He understands how the game is played. He's a professional and has to be careful not to spike the ball too hard and let the results do the talking. He has to work with the Networks and doesn't want to embarrass anyone or burn bridges. He knows the people who negotiated the P5 contracts on both sides of the spectrum.

UCF's undeafeted season culminating with the de facto National Championship win over Auburn speaks volumes. That together with the success of USF, Memphis and Navy this year as well as Houston and Temple previously bodes well for future TV negotiations. I'm still thinking that there may be possibilities for expansion with Army, Navy and select Mountain West teams. I wouldn't rule out a few select Bball teams. I believe all options will be on the table. I would love to be a fly on the wall during the planning and negotiating. This is an immensely critical time for the long term viability of the AAC.
 
Confident Carl said:
Don't worry, it will come out very strategically. He understands how the game is played. He's a professional and has to be careful not to spike the ball too hard and let the results do the talking. He has to work with the Networks and doesn't want to embarrass anyone or burn bridges. He knows the people who negotiated the P5 contracts on both sides of the spectrum.

UCF's undeafeted season culminating with the de facto National Championship win over Auburn speaks volumes. That together with the success of USF, Memphis and Navy this year as well as Houston and Temple previously bodes well for future TV negotiations. I'm still thinking that there may be possibilities for expansion with Army, Navy and select Mountain West teams. I wouldn't rule out a few select Bball teams. I believe all options will be on the table. I would love to be a fly on the wall during the planning and negotiating. This is an immensely critical time for the long term viability of the AAC.
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That ain't how it works. If he doesn't brag on the AAC, no one will. He needs to shout it from the roof tops and have it echoed through out the media. That's his job.
 
Palatine said:
That ain't how it works. If he doesn't brag on the AAC, no one will. He needs to shout it from the roof tops and have it echoed through out the media. That's his job.
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Agree- squeaky wheel gets the grease. They want you to behave because it perpetuates the system.
 
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Listening to sports radio this morning in my town, no one is talking about UCF.
 
How exactly would one use UCF’s good season in a forward looking television negotiation?

Every single person involved in creating it is gone.

The quality of the play is not what drives the value of the contracts either.

If it did the G League and FIBA would be collecting the money the NCAA gets paid.

Aresco’s only negotiating path is simple:

1. Drum up someone to compete with ESPN. There isn’t a linear television network that will get involved so you better go find a new entry
(This is where Aresco’s touted television expertise is hilarious - he’s exactly the OPPOSITE of what you need).

2. If you can’t drum up a non-linear competitior then you have little else than convincing ESPN that if these schools don’t get a certain level of revenue the product is going to be worthless. The only thing the AAC can offer is volume. Volume to fill the spaces on the ESPN networks that have moved to the BTN, SEC Net, Fox and soon to the ACC Net. They have a billion windows and ratings for non-live sports cratering.

They literally need something to put on the stations. They clearly weren’t interested in CUSA and there are rumblings that the MWC will choose to move on for LESS money because they think the dates and times are killing their programs.

The angle isn’t to convince ESPN that UCF is going to be a common occurance. The angle is to get ESPN to partner with the league because ESPN needs to partner with SOMEONE and they are just about out of dance partners.
 
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upstater said:
Listening to sports radio this morning in my town, no one is talking about UCF.
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-from every radio station in the world not in Orlando.
 
Palatine said:
That ain't how it works. If he doesn't brag on the AAC, no one will. He needs to shout it from the roof tops and have it echoed through out the media. That's his job.
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It's obvious and everyone knows that Aresco has been pushing hard the P6 narrative. The UCF win was huge and disruptive to the sacred P5 proponents but during the process he still needs to work with those TV/ESPN network relationships. Shouting from the roof tops alone won't get the job done. A well thought out plan handled by a seasoned and skilled TV executive will. He doesn't want to embarrass or ridicule his contacts like some on the Boneyard do. This is big boy stuff. It was what Mike Aresco was hired to do. Let's trust him and let him do his thing. Contrary to some, he's been doing a great job of promoting and building this conference over the past 5 years. This is the time he's been waiting for. Quite frankly, this will be his legacy!
 
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Finebaum just said on OTL that he doesn’t think schools with “poor schedules” like UCF deserve to get in. What a joke.
 
upstater said:
The point about Mississippi State is a good one though.

UCF was in front of MSU last week. MSU beat Arkansas by 7, UCF crushed Temple. So how do you elevate MSU over them?

I think the AAC has proven that a solid core of its teams are as good as the top or midlevel of the P5. And that includes teams like Houston, Memphis, UCF, USF, Navy, and in prior years Cincinnati. It just doesn't have the top echelon teams like the top 5. Still, UCF is nowhere near the top 10.
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Do you still believe what you said in the last sentence?
 
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upstater said:
Listening to sports radio this morning in my town, no one is talking about UCF.
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Really? Because Boomer Esiason talked a little about it on WFAN New York City on my morning commute. I'd say that's something...
 
BlueDogs said:
Agree- squeaky wheel gets the grease. They want you to behave because it perpetuates the system.
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This blurb from right after the Big 12 expansion is an indicator of How Mike Aresco thinks and operates:

Aresco didn't like how public the Big 12 expansion process became. He said if the AAC ever adds members, he would try to do so quietly*. Aresco noted that Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby called Monday and they had a "gracious" conversation about the Big 12's decision not to expand.

"He didn't have to call me and he did, just to let me know what happened," Aresco said. "He's been a friend for 30 years. It was a tough process. We're all glad it's over. I wanted to show respect and get through the process with dignity. The last thing I wanted to come off as was smug and self-satisfied with the situation. We've got a lot of work to do. There's a great amount of pressure on us to perform now."

*I think he meant he was being sensitive to the Missouri Valley conference regarding Wichita State because he knew how it feels to have your best teams plucked. Aresco is a class act.
 
Confident Carl said:
Shouting from the roof tops alone won't get the job done. A well thought out plan handled by a seasoned and skilled TV executive will. He doesn't want to embarrass or ridicule his contacts like some on the Boneyard do. This is big boy stuff.
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This is spot on. Sorry Palatine, I can't agree with being loud and boorish about the win and the snub. Those in the know can figure that out.

whaler11 said:
The angle is to get ESPN to partner with the league because ESPN needs to partner with SOMEONE and they are just about out of dance partners.
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This is the best approach. And Aresco is probably best equipped to pull it off. Had Aresco been BE Commissioner instead of Marinatto things would've likely been different for the league, agree? Let him maneuver it his way. It's our best shot.
 
Wordbomar said:
Finebaum just said on OTL that he doesn’t think schools with “poor schedules” like UCF deserve to get in. What a joke.
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The fact that he's talking about UCF at all is noteworthy.
 
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Butch said:
College football fans are not going to boycott the 4 game system (SEC, Big 10, ACC?). Why would they want other schools to have opportunities? They forget we beat UVA with Bob Diaco as head coach.
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FHCBD also beat UCF :cool:. And FHCPP beat Louisville at Louisville against Teddy Bridgewater. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.
 
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