My Concern

[Exit 4]

I actually made a comment in a different thread today where I touched on that line of thinking. Which is that I completely understand your position and you may be right holding all things equal as of today. We would have the true geographic footprint, MSG to sell and games on FOX.

Where I think I become decidedly more pro Big 12 is that I'm pretty bearish on what a future BE tv deal looks like in terms of exposure. I could be proven to be wrong but ESPN and FOX both have an enormous amount of content right now. I fear we may be looking at a worse version of the pac 12 deal and behind a streaming pay wall. I think that would cripple recruiting.

Probably the most overlooked pitfall ahead. The death of linear tv in the next 10 years means all those second and third tier games/ schools end up becoming invisible as streaming events you have to seek out. The platforms are poised to market the main brands- but without that cable gravy train propping it up, seems they will have to downgrade their efforts with the lesser brands.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Probably the most overlooked pitfall ahead. The death of linear tv in the next 10 years means all those second and third tier games/ schools end up becoming invisible as streaming events you have to seek out. The platforms are poised to market the main brands- but without that cable gravy train propping it up, seems they will have to downgrade their efforts with the lesser brands.

Right - and while I have basketball in my handle I'm as much a football fan and have stuck with the program year in year out since Randy v1.0

Going to an AQ football league again would be incredible. If people are hoops only that's fine and I get it... But football stands so much to gain and I think the hoops only lense totally ignores that.

 

[noeynox]

Well the alternative is to stay in the BE and let CT tax payers and students fill the financial gap forever and ever and ever.

I read on twitter, this is a good thing!!!

 

[Exit 4]

I read on twitter, this is a good thing!!!

Ha- I appreciate with the state government has done to date investing in UConn. I think it’s been smart. It cannot go on forever.

And I think going to the b12 is not the payoff they dreamt of, but it’s a payoff and you make the best of it. Plus in the very long run, 15-20 years from now, things could change again anyway.

 

[JMick]

It's easy to leave a conference. Expensive, sure, but it's easy.

Its much harder to get into the club.

Rationally you have to take an invite into the club. Just that invitation and membership elevates the program and how people talk about you and how media conglomerates treat your value.

If it's 2036 and the ACC explodes, and a bunch of ADs want to get the band back together and form a conference of UConn, WVU, Pitt, Cuse, BC, VT, etc. You can do that. All it takes is money. But you can't just spend your way into a power conference.

If we have the opportunity to jump, we have to do it. Do I think it's better for our basketball program, today, to be in the Big East? Yes. Do I think travel matters more than most think? Yes. But today doesn't really matter. Travel today doesn't seem to matter. It's all about following the money so you can keep up with the Joneses.

 

[Mister Wonderful]

I am not as convinced as seemingly everyone else on this site that it is in UConn’s best interests to join the Big 12.

Geographical proximity with competitive schools makes the Big East special. Most UConn fans work, are friends with, or acquainted with fans from other Big East schools which allows rivalries.

UConn and it’s fans lacked proximity and familiarity with the AAC schools despite the fact that the AAC included future Big 12 “heavyweights” UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. UConn teams lost relevance and it’s NYC brand was diminished during its AAC era..

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 would be a mistake. UConn, it’s fans, and media have little in common with faraway schools Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, K-State,, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Yeah, I know that Kansas, Houston and others have top ranked basketball programs but to most UConn fans the aforementioned schools will seem like out of conference games which few will attend away games.

In my opinion UConn’s best interests is to stay in the Big East and wait to see what the ACC “football” schools do when the ACC football schools force a split, or when the GORs expire or are terminated.

UConn would have far- far more in common in terms of geographical proximity and fan rivalries with likely ACC football leftovers Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake, Georgia Tech than they would have with the Big 12 Schools.

If the ACC split does not accommodate UConn then it can remain in the Big East which existing relationship has proven beneficial.

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 will be the AAC redux.

Keep your concerns to yourself!

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Also, not for nothing but from the whole cultural angle, do we really think Joe Blow State U husky fan from Meriden has more in common with the kid paying $90K a year to attend Georgetown or the average Kansas State fan? The culture thing is way overblown.

 

[UConn Dan]

Also, not for nothing but from the whole cultural angle, do we really think Joe Blow State U husky fan from Meriden has more in common with the kid paying $90K a year to attend Georgetown or the average Kansas State fan? The culture thing is way overblown.

I don't care who we play as long as they are competitive -- there's nothing about the Big 12 that screams not competitive -- as much as many posters like to compare them, they are not the AAC.

As the great Jim Calhoun would say, line 'em up!

 

[Mister Wonderful]

I don't care who we play as long as they are competitive -- there's nothing about the Big 12 that screams not competitive -- as much as many posters like to compare them, they are not the AAC.

As the great Jim Calhoun would say, line 'em up!

Playing Kansas twice a year would dwarf playing Villanova twice a year. The crowds would be insane.

 

[CL82]

yes unfortunately the ACC has declined to offer membership to our beloved UConn in the past but if UMiami, Florida State, Clemson, UNC, NCState, and VaTech exit the ACC then the ACC leftovers Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake, and Georgia Tech would have no reason not to welcome UConn with open arms.

Could not agree more! Boston College has long been a great ally and supporter to the University of Connecticut. And sure Syracuse indicated it opposed us back before the Louisville ACC expansion, but they've probably changed their minds, right?

Duke, oddly enough, has always been in favor of adding us, so there's that. Of course, that leftover league isn't likely to command competitive dollars compared to the the big 10, the SEC, or even the big 12, but what the heck money is not everything!

It absolutely is the right call to wait for the ACCGOR to lapse in 2036 and hope that the league blows up, and then hope more that the leftovers have nowhere else to go and finally decide they want to be in a conference with us. Of course, in the meantime we will have foregone over a half billion dollars of potential income by joining the big 12 now, but really why not take a chance? I mean what do we have to lose… Well other than the viability of our athletic department.

 

[Bongo Fury]

The BIG 12 has a much greater national exposure than BE. That would be a positive for UConn.

 

[Smp7598]

I am not as convinced as seemingly everyone else on this site that it is in UConn’s best interests to join the Big 12.

Geographical proximity with competitive schools makes the Big East special. Most UConn fans work, are friends with, or acquainted with fans from other Big East schools which allows rivalries.

UConn and it’s fans lacked proximity and familiarity with the AAC schools despite the fact that the AAC included future Big 12 “heavyweights” UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. UConn teams lost relevance and it’s NYC brand was diminished during its AAC era..

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 would be a mistake. UConn, it’s fans, and media have little in common with faraway schools Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, K-State,, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Yeah, I know that Kansas, Houston and others have top ranked basketball programs but to most UConn fans the aforementioned schools will seem like out of conference games which few will attend away games.

In my opinion UConn’s best interests is to stay in the Big East and wait to see what the ACC “football” schools do when the ACC football schools force a split, or when the GORs expire or are terminated.

UConn would have far- far more in common in terms of geographical proximity and fan rivalries with likely ACC football leftovers Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake, Georgia Tech than they would have with the Big 12 Schools.

If the ACC split does not accommodate UConn then it can remain in the Big East which existing relationship has proven beneficial.

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 will be the AAC redux.

How about we talk about if they don’t go to the Big 12 if not invited.

I’ll give you one,the athletic department goes broke!

 

[ZooCougar]

I am not as convinced as seemingly everyone else on this site that it is in UConn’s best interests to join the Big 12.

Geographical proximity with competitive schools makes the Big East special. Most UConn fans work, are friends with, or acquainted with fans from other Big East schools which allows rivalries.

UConn and it’s fans lacked proximity and familiarity with the AAC schools despite the fact that the AAC included future Big 12 “heavyweights” UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. UConn teams lost relevance and it’s NYC brand was diminished during its AAC era..

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 would be a mistake. UConn, it’s fans, and media have little in common with faraway schools Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, K-State,, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Yeah, I know that Kansas, Houston and others have top ranked basketball programs but to most UConn fans the aforementioned schools will seem like out of conference games which few will attend away games.

In my opinion UConn’s best interests is to stay in the Big East and wait to see what the ACC “football” schools do when the ACC football schools force a split, or when the GORs expire or are terminated.

UConn would have far- far more in common in terms of geographical proximity and fan rivalries with likely ACC football leftovers Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake, Georgia Tech than they would have with the Big 12 Schools.

If the ACC split does not accommodate UConn then it can remain in the Big East which existing relationship has proven beneficial.

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 will be the AAC redux.

Thanks for posting and showing us how stupid you are.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

I am not as convinced as seemingly everyone else on this site that it is in UConn’s best interests to join the Big 12.

Geographical proximity with competitive schools makes the Big East special. Most UConn fans work, are friends with, or acquainted with fans from other Big East schools which allows rivalries.

UConn and it’s fans lacked proximity and familiarity with the AAC schools despite the fact that the AAC included future Big 12 “heavyweights” UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. UConn teams lost relevance and it’s NYC brand was diminished during its AAC era..

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 would be a mistake. UConn, it’s fans, and media have little in common with faraway schools Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, K-State,, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Yeah, I know that Kansas, Houston and others have top ranked basketball programs but to most UConn fans the aforementioned schools will seem like out of conference games which few will attend away games.

In my opinion UConn’s best interests is to stay in the Big East and wait to see what the ACC “football” schools do when the ACC football schools force a split, or when the GORs expire or are terminated.

UConn would have far- far more in common in terms of geographical proximity and fan rivalries with likely ACC football leftovers Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake, Georgia Tech than they would have with the Big 12 Schools.

If the ACC split does not accommodate UConn then it can remain in the Big East which existing relationship has proven beneficial.

I fear that UConn joining the Big 12 will be the AAC redux.

How did monitoring the situation work out the last time? Success of college sports programs lay on good coaching staffs and the support they get. Just look at our own AD coaching hires through the years.

 

[Jimdish255]

Listening to Brett Yormark right now on Sirius XM College Sports. Aside from the money. Aside from the stability and aside from the benefits to multiple sports and I will say including the long-term viability of our basketball program. This guy is an absolute visionary He's a great leader with endless ideas about making his league better and the landscape of college athletics better. He's beginning tremendous initiatives even outside of the United States for the Big 12. We'd be incredibly lucky to get on this ship with his leadership right now. This guy may be the best conference commissioner in the entire country. Put aside your feelings and your nostalgia and make every attempt to find the interview that I just heard. And away games are definitely on the table with this league.

 

[noeynox]

Listening to Brett Yormark right now on Sirius XM College Sports. Aside from the money. Aside from the stability and aside from the benefits to multiple sports and I will say including the long-term viability of our basketball program. This guy is an absolute visionary He's a great leader with endless ideas about making his league better and the landscape of college athletics better. He's beginning tremendous initiatives even outside of the United States for the Big 12. We'd be incredibly lucky to get on this ship with his leadership right now. This guy may be the best conference commissioner in the entire country. Put aside your feelings and your nostalgia and make every attempt to find the interview that I just heard. And away games are definitely on the table with this league.

Someone link this if they find it.

 

[Jimdish255]

Someone link this if they find it.

He started out by lighting it up on basketball in the Northeast and then he went into some of his other initiatives including Mexico and promoting basketball across different borders. The guy just doesn't stop. I could probably figure out a way to capture the audio and post it somewhere but I'm sure one of the media people hopefully will get to it.

 

[ScottVib]

The concerns always seem to be centered around basketball and the teams performance/fan support in the AAC.

A couple of key differences: 20-30M in athletic revenue… and a conference that is consistently one of, if not the best in hoops.

In the AAC Cincinnati was probably the most attractive opponent. In the Big XII now it’s middle of the pack. In the AAC, UCF was middle of the pack, now it’s among the worse. Fan interest in those opponents shouldn’t wain.. at least not if you’re looking for top end matchups in conference.

Performance and the drop off of the program in AAC is often cited. That was a coaching issue, poor coaching led to poor performance which led to poor attendance. Hurley looked poised to make noise in the AAC tournament pre-COVID cancellation and by 2021 the program seemed to be back on the right path. Attendance’s initial surge may have been from conference interest, but long term attendance is sustained by team performance (much like the football team went from drawing 38-40k when it was last competitive to 15k as it bottomed out).

In the end it’s a no brainer for the school if offered you accept. You don’t wait to see what happens in 13 years when the ACC GOR runs out…. Unless you’ve got a donor with an extra $25-30M (or more) annually to supplement the athletic department’s revenue to fund your patience.

 

[gioff2323]

The ACC hit the iceberg when they allowed ND to be a partial member. Now the conference is taking on water and is going to sink once the GOR expires. Without FSU, Clemson, and Miami, they are a mediocre (at best) in football and the 3rd best in hoops. The PAC has a structural flaw that lowers their value: their time zone. The most stable and forward-looking conferences are SEC, B1G, and B12. We need to be in a P5 conference because we are a P5-level school. The B12 needs an east-coast/NYC school. UCONN is going to be in the B12, and it is going to be a win/win.

Notre Dame - destroying power conferences since 1995. Anyone else want to include them as a “partial” member?

 

[WestCoastHusky]

I have stated multiple time on this forum that the mentality like OP's is simply ridiculous and clueless. Waiting for the ACC to blow up? WTF care about BCU, Fruits, sPitt, and others that have screwed UCONN over the years? Does the OP really think these schools will be nice to UCONN once the ACC got blown up?

If we don't join the B12, those backstabbing spots will simply take our B12 spots when the ACC is torn to pieces. ACC is on its way down, and it will take a miracle to save it. The minute the GOR is done, Clemson, FSU and Canes will be out of the door. Once first wave of rats jump ship, the rest of smaller rats will be looking for any lifeboat. At that time, you bet your asses they will be looking at the B12 as a landing spot vs. banding together and try to rebuild the ACC. UCONN would be screwed badly during that time as well.

The minute we are offered the B12 membership, we take it. Brett Yormark is an awesome commissioner with a vision. The ACC commissioner is a moron who is short-sighted like the old Big East guy. We need to join the B12 as soon as we are offered.

 

[Jimdish255]

Here's the Interview from today.
I'll leave it up for 48 hours on the cloud as a "news" item but will be pulling it down as it's news value probably has a limited period.

BY Interview

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I want all the UConn fans that are guaranteeing mountains of revenue from the Big 12 to have to actually personally guarantee mountains of revenue from the Big 12. I am guessing there won't be a lot of takers if the university asked alumni for a guarantee.

We have no idea how college sports is going to look in 5 years much less 10, but this board throws money around that is based on a cable TV model that no longer exists and where the schools that were willing to cheat had a huge advantage over the schools that were not. Between streaming, the Transfer Portal, and NIL, the business model for college sports has changed completely in just the last 2-3 years.

Ironically, the same people that assert with absolute certainty that the Big 12 will last forever and be worth hundreds of millions in revenue for UConn, also have this bizarre theory about how the Pac 12 will come apart but not completely come apart and UConn will get into the Big 12 with Colorado, a theory that makes absolutely no sense at all. If these people are that wrong about the Pac 12, then why are we listening to them about the Big 12?

I am generally in favor of joining the Big 12, but the people claiming it is a no brainer need to settle down. Joining the Big 12 could blow up on UConn so badly that the athletic program could become a wasteland. This is not a no-brainer decision.

 

[Jimdish255]

One of the things he mentioned was the Rucker Park Program. This guy knows how to market his product. It's this coming Tuesday if anyone is in the area.

Big 12 plans to play exhibition basketball games at iconic Rucker Park - NewsBreak

The Big 12 conference announced on Thursday that it is bringing youth basketball clinics to the iconic Rucker Park, and hopes to play exhibition games there as well.

www.newsbreak.com

 

[Exit 4]

I want all the UConn fans that are guaranteeing mountains of revenue from the Big 12 to have to actually personally guarantee mountains of revenue from the Big 12. I am guessing there won't be a lot of takers if the university asked alumni for a guarantee.

Really great point - about as brilliant as: "I want all the UConn fans that are guaranteeing mountains of revenue from the [State of Connecticut] to have to actually personally guarantee mountains of revenue from the [State of Connecticut] . I am guessing there won't be a lot of takers if the university asked alumni for a guarantee."

Yes people are saying joining the B12 is a no brainer, so sorry you agree that they should join the B12 too, but that you are bothered people don't sit here and bloviate like you with all the risks, concerns and trade offs as if no one else can seem them.

The world is fraught with risks and rewards. With linear TV poised to die over the next 10 years, those relying on FS2 type coverage might be devastated. The golden age of cable tv, like the golden age of radio has probably past.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Really great point - about as brilliant as: "I want all the UConn fans that are guaranteeing mountains of revenue from the [State of Connecticut] to have to actually personally guarantee mountains of revenue from the [State of Connecticut] . I am guessing there won't be a lot of takers if the university asked alumni for a guarantee."

Yes people are saying joining the B12 is a no brainer, so sorry you agree that they should join the B12 too, but that you are bothered people don't sit here and bloviate like you with all the risks, concerns and trade offs as if no one else can seem them.

The world is fraught with risks and rewards. With linear TV poised to die over the next 10 years, those relying on FS2 type coverage might be devastated. The golden age of cable tv, like the golden age of radio has probably past.

Iger gave an interview today that appears to put ABC and ESPN up for sale, yet you are arguing that the Big 12 is the way to go because the Big 12 has a contract with ESPN. Good logic.