Non-Key Tweets

[businesslawyer]

We hate Aresco because we care about basketball. Which is why we’re still in the conference wilderness. Aresco wanted to push football as far as he could and ditching the name was part of it? And guess what? His strategy has worked damn well for all of the members who agree that it’s football first and second. Five are now P-5 and some, like Tulane and Navy, have had good years where they got more respect than they would have in other conferences.

It failed for us because we’re the only football member that wouldn’t have sold our basketball soul for football but wanted both,

 

[ZooCougar]

Apple could pay in order to keep the PAC together. Just looked into Apple TV to watch Ted Lasso and it did not seem like they had a lot of content. Noticed MLS.

And MLB. The Messi deal was paid for in part by Apple to fuel more subscribers.

 

[Luna]

Man I remember Aresco pretty much giving us a big ephu when we left. I guess he's used to it now.

In any event Aresco should be remembered as the man who took a seven-figure paycheck and ran the conference into the ground. Some will say no one could've done better and while that may or may not be true it's hard to imagine someone doing significantly worse.

He gave away the best branding asset he had, the Big East name, and blue the dust off of the old CUSA game plan and rammed with it. It should've been no surprise that what he ended up with was a replication of CUSA. Leaving that conference was one of the best things conference realignment moves we have made.

I agree… selling the big east name has turned out to be a very big blunder… that name carried power conference credibility

 

[CL82]

We hate Aresco because we care about basketball. Which is why we’re still in the conference wilderness. Aresco wanted to push football as far as he could and ditching the name was part of it? And guess what? His strategy has worked damn well for all of the members who agree that it’s football first and second. Five are now P-5 and some, like Tulane and Navy, have had good years where they got more respect than they would have in other conferences.

It failed for us because we’re the only football member that wouldn’t have sold our basketball soul for football but wanted both,

I don't know Biz, it seems like kind of a stretch to say the American was a success because every single member wanted to get out of it. That doesn't really seem like the hallmark of a successful conference, in fact, it's pretty much an indicator of just the opposite.

 

[noeynox]

I don't know Biz, it seems like kind of a stretch to say the American was a success because every single member wanted to get out of it. That doesn't really seem like the hallmark of a successful conference, in fact, it's pretty much an indicator of just the opposite.

In hindsight, they should have kept the name and did what Yormark is trying to do. Split the FB and BB deals into two seperate deals.

 

[Bongo Fury]

The AAC was a good conference but nobody cared. The PAC is feeling this a little at the moment while they are trying to get paid.

 

[metsfan2323]

I wonder if a GOR signing might be the holdup with the PAC 12. Very doubtful Washington and Oregon would want to sign a GOR.

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't know Biz, it seems like kind of a stretch to say the American was a success because every single member wanted to get out of it. That doesn't really seem like the hallmark of a successful conference, in fact, it's pretty much an indicator of just the opposite.

It was a way station for everyone but us. It was a place to play football as close as you could to a power league without being in one while you hoped something changed and you could join the club. Teams that won games while there did. We didn’t.

The organization itself is all but dead, the being in the organization, the way it was being run, worked out well for the majority of its members.

 

[uconnyankee]

I don't know Biz, it seems like kind of a stretch to say the American was a success because every single member wanted to get out of it. That doesn't really seem like the hallmark of a successful conference, in fact, it's pretty much an indicator of just the opposite.

So every conference is a failure except Big and SEC?
Saying Aresxo failed is so dumb.
The AAC became the defacto 6th best league. He got the first non P5 school to the playoffs.

What else could that guy do? It’s not his fault UConn’s time in his league paralleled a football divestment and a tailspin by the basketball program.

Had Ucon been in BE for basketball those same years, I doubt things would have been different.

 

[CL82]

It was a way station for everyone but us. At was a place to play football as close as you could to a power league without being in one while you hoped something changed and you could join the club. Teams that won games while there did. We didn’t.

The organization itself is all but dead, the being in the organization, the way it was being run, worked out well for the majority of its members.

All true, but none of that supports Aresco as being a quality president, in fact just the opposite. He never created a situation in which it was desirable to be in that conference. Now, if you were asserting that his attention was only to create "a waystation" I think you are revising history.

 

[CL82]

So every conference is a failure except Big and SEC?
Saying Aresxo failed is so dumb.
The AAC became the defacto 6th best league. He got the first non P5 school to the playoffs.

What else could that guy do? It’s not his fault UConn’s time in his league paralleled a football divestment and a tailspin by the basketball program.

Had Ucon been in BE for basketball those same years, I doubt things would have been different.

Wow, a lot to unwrap here.

You know, there actually is a pretty good argument that does say every conference except for the Big Ten in the SEC are failures, but some are bigger failures than others. The big 12 position itself to potentially be one of the the top three conferences in the country. The ACC bought it self survival through 2036. The PAC 10 is struggling for survival, but at least it had a run among the power conferences. The AAC did none of those things.

What could Aresco have done? Well the first thing would've been to keep the Big East brand. That was probably the biggest asset he had. The second thing might have been to have some kind of sensible expansion plan. It was his shotgun approach to expansion that led to the C7 leaving the conference. Finally, as noted above, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose he could've bifurcated our media contract into a football side and a basketball side in an attempt to get full value for what was still a pretty good basketball conference. That, too, could've kept the C7 in play. Finally, he could have not thrown the University of Connecticut under the bus at every opportunity. He never looked after our unique interests as probably his biggest sprint. He could have maintained our rights to resell our tier 3 properties. That might've kept Connecticut in the conference.

The University of Connecticut "divested" itself from football? When exactly did that happen? We had three bad coaching hires in a row, which hurt us badly, but the university never stopped investing in football and the fact this day we have facilities that would be comfortably in the middle of the P5.

Finally the University wordmark is UConn not Ucon.

 

[businesslawyer]

Wow, a lot to unwrap here.

You know, there actually is a pretty good argument that does say every conference except for the Big Ten in the SEC are failures, but some are bigger failures than others. The big 12 position itself to potentially be one of the the top three conferences in the country. The ACC bought it self survival through 2036. The PAC 10 is struggling for survival, but at least it had a run among the power conferences. The AAC did none of those things.

What could Aresco have done? Well the first thing would've been to keep the Big East brand. That was probably the biggest asset he had. The second thing might have been to have some kind of sensible expansion plan. It was his shotgun approach to expansion that led to the C7 leaving the conference. Finally, as noted above, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose he could've bifurcated our media contract into a football side and a basketball side in an attempt to get full value for what was still a pretty good basketball conference. That, too, could've kept the C7 in play. Finally, he could have not thrown the University of Connecticut under the bus at every opportunity. He never looked after our unique interests as probably his biggest sprint. He could have maintained our rights to resell our tier 3 properties. That might've kept Connecticut in the conference.

The University of Connecticut "divested" itself from football? When exactly did that happen? We had three bad coaching hires in a row, which hurt us badly, but the university never stopped investing in football and the fact this day we have facilities that would be comfortably in the middle of the P5.

Finally the University wordmark is UConn not Ucon.

Come on. We both know that you don’t believe that the difference in the SEC’s results to the American’s is the quality of the commissioners. That would be like claiming Jim Calhoun was a lousy coach when he was at Northeastern because he couldn’t win in the NCAAs.

One can only run the organization they are running.

 

[noeynox]

Wow, a lot to unwrap here.

You know, there actually is a pretty good argument that does say every conference except for the Big Ten in the SEC are failures, but some are bigger failures than others. The big 12 position itself to potentially be one of the the top three conferences in the country. The ACC bought it self survival through 2036. The PAC 10 is struggling for survival, but at least it had a run among the power conferences. The AAC did none of those things.

What could Aresco have done? Well the first thing would've been to keep the Big East brand. That was probably the biggest asset he had. The second thing might have been to have some kind of sensible expansion plan. It was his shotgun approach to expansion that led to the C7 leaving the conference. Finally, as noted above, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose he could've bifurcated our media contract into a football side and a basketball side in an attempt to get full value for what was still a pretty good basketball conference. That, too, could've kept the C7 in play. Finally, he could have not thrown the University of Connecticut under the bus at every opportunity. He never looked after our unique interests as probably his biggest sprint. He could have maintained our rights to resell our tier 3 properties. That might've kept Connecticut in the conference.

The University of Connecticut "divested" itself from football? When exactly did that happen? We had three bad coaching hires in a row, which hurt us badly, but the university never stopped investing in football and the fact this day we have facilities that would be comfortably in the middle of the P5.

Finally the University wordmark is UConn not Ucon.

It's unfair to compare any G5 to a P5 in terms of results. Aresco did make the conference desirable to schools in lesser G5 leagues.

 

[DGB]

It was a way station for everyone but us. It was a place to play football as close as you could to a power league without being in one while you hoped something changed and you could join the club. Teams that won games while there did. We didn’t.

The organization itself is all but dead, the being in the organization, the way it was being run, worked out well for the majority of its members.

This is true except for the strict focus on sucking at football while in the American. After 2014 UConn also basically sucked in basketball.

If UConn was UConn in bball during the AAC years, the AAC actually would have been a pretty good football and bball conference. More to the point, while I don't know if better bball during that time would have forced UConn into the Big 12 over one of Houston, Cinci, UCF, or BYU in 2021, I do think two things are apparent right now...

First, UConn winning the national championship in bball this year is helping UConn get this current look, as it would appear UConn is back as a long term bball power/brand.

Second, Yormark sees value through a longer term and brand driven lens than his predecessor. In fact, I don't think the Big 12 invites any of Houston, UCF, or Cinci in 2021 if Yormark had been commissioner. The invite would have been UConn and BYU, with a future eye towards the PAC. IF no PAC teams became available, UCF and Cinci would be viewed similarly to SDSU...luke warm possibilities for expansion due to new markets, but nothing to get too excited about. Houston would be behind Memphis.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Wow, a lot to unwrap here.

You know, there actually is a pretty good argument that does say every conference except for the Big Ten in the SEC are failures, but some are bigger failures than others. The big 12 position itself to potentially be one of the the top three conferences in the country. The ACC bought it self survival through 2036. The PAC 10 is struggling for survival, but at least it had a run among the power conferences. The AAC did none of those things.

What could Aresco have done? Well the first thing would've been to keep the Big East brand. That was probably the biggest asset he had. The second thing might have been to have some kind of sensible expansion plan. It was his shotgun approach to expansion that led to the C7 leaving the conference. Finally, as noted above, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose he could've bifurcated our media contract into a football side and a basketball side in an attempt to get full value for what was still a pretty good basketball conference. That, too, could've kept the C7 in play. Finally, he could have not thrown the University of Connecticut under the bus at every opportunity. He never looked after our unique interests as probably his biggest sprint. He could have maintained our rights to resell our tier 3 properties. That might've kept Connecticut in the conference.

The University of Connecticut "divested" itself from football? When exactly did that happen? We had three bad coaching hires in a row, which hurt us badly, but the university never stopped investing in football and the fact this day we have facilities that would be comfortably in the middle of the P5.

Finally the University wordmark is UConn not Ucon.

Agree with a lot of what you said above. Two things:

1. Did the C7 have the legal ground and the strength in numbers to keep the BE brand away from the football playing members that broke off?

2. You can actually argue that only the SEC is successful/not a failure because while the B10 has big brands/lots of eyeballs, it really only has Ohio State to brag about in terms of consistent football success over the past 20 years and we know about how their basketball also has underperformed over the same span.

 

[uconnyankee]

Wow, a lot to unwrap here.

You know, there actually is a pretty good argument that does say every conference except for the Big Ten in the SEC are failures, but some are bigger failures than others. The big 12 position itself to potentially be one of the the top three conferences in the country. The ACC bought it self survival through 2036. The PAC 10 is struggling for survival, but at least it had a run among the power conferences. The AAC did none of those things.

What could Aresco have done? Well the first thing would've been to keep the Big East brand. That was probably the biggest asset he had. The second thing might have been to have some kind of sensible expansion plan. It was his shotgun approach to expansion that led to the C7 leaving the conference. Finally, as noted above, with the benefit of hindsight, I suppose he could've bifurcated our media contract into a football side and a basketball side in an attempt to get full value for what was still a pretty good basketball conference. That, too, could've kept the C7 in play. Finally, he could have not thrown the University of Connecticut under the bus at every opportunity. He never looked after our unique interests as probably his biggest sprint. He could have maintained our rights to resell our tier 3 properties. That might've kept Connecticut in the conference.

The University of Connecticut "divested" itself from football? When exactly did that happen? We had three bad coaching hires in a row, which hurt us badly, but the university never stopped investing in football and the fact this day we have facilities that would be comfortably in the middle of the P5.

Finally the University wordmark is UConn not Ucon.

The AAC had very little leverage. Do you think it was a secret that every school in that league wanted to be somewhere else?
Comparing to PAC or ACC, both of which were in the power structure, is not apples/apples.

The AAC outperformed it’s position and it’s schools did the same. It provided a platform from which several schools gained national attention and were invited to the P5 level.

The fact Uconn stuck with RE for 5 seasons, sticking with a local discount while the team won no more than 3 games in any season and actually cancelled a season doesnt shout ‘we’re all in!’.

 

[CL82]

Come on. We both know that you don’t believe that the difference in the SEC’s results to the American’s is the quality of the commissioners. That would be like claiming Jim Calhoun was a lousy coach when he was at Northeastern because he couldn’t win in the NCAAs.

One can only run the organization they are running.

True, in his case he ran it into the ground.

I'm not sure citing Jim Calhoun is the argument you want to make. Jim Calhoun improved northeastern dramatically during his tenure there. Jim Calhoun improved Connecticut dramatically during his tenure here. Jim Calhoun improved Saint Joe's dramatically during his tenure there. Do you see a pattern there?

Aresco, at best, failed to make the American a viable conference that people wanted to stay in. More honestly, he was at the helm during the conferences decline and made a series of poor decisions along the way. In my world, that's a failure.

The notion that he failed epically, but no one else could've done better is the mantra of every single manager who gets fired for poor performance. It isn't a particularly compelling argument.

 

[CL82]

It's unfair to compare any G5 to a P5 in terms of results. Aresco did make the conference desirable to schools in lesser G5 leagues.

Disagree. The Big East was BCS conference when Aresco took over the helm. So its pier organizations were not such the current G5, but were the current P5. Aresco was at the helm when it was relegated.

 

[CL82]

1. Did the C7 have the legal ground and the strength in numbers to keep the BE brand away from the football playing members that broke off?

I don't know the answer to this. It is a good question.

 

[noeynox]

Disagree. The Big East was BCS conference when Aresco took over the helm. So its pier organizations were not such the current G5, but were the current P5. Aresco was at the helm when it was relegated.

Is that true? I thought Marinato resigned immediately when the Big East was dropped from the power structure. Even still, they were not dropped because of anything Aresco did.

 

[CL82]

Is that true? I thought Marinato resigned immediately when the Big East was dropped from the power structure. Even still, they were not dropped because of anything Aresco did.

I think so, but I am not motivated to go Google it. I don't particularly disagree with your last sentence. But to me saying " all the failures that happened during his management weren't his fault" isn't particularly high praise. In fact, it's an epitaph.

 

[Bongo Fury]

This is true except for the strict focus on sucking at football while in the American. After 2014 UConn also basically sucked in basketball.

If UConn was UConn in bball during the AAC years, the AAC actually would have been a pretty good football and bball conference. More to the point, while I don't know if better bball during that time would have forced UConn into the Big 12 over one of Houston, Cinci, UCF, or BYU in 2021, I do think two things are apparent right now...

First, UConn winning the national championship in bball this year is helping UConn get this current look, as it would appear UConn is back as a long term bball power/brand.

Second, Yormark sees value through a longer term and brand driven lens than his predecessor. In fact, I don't think the Big 12 invites any of Houston, UCF, or Cinci in 2021 if Yormark had been commissioner. The invite would have been UConn and BYU, with a future eye towards the PAC. IF no PAC teams became available, UCF and Cinci would be viewed similarly to SDSU...luke warm possibilities for expansion due to new markets, but nothing to get too excited about. Houston would be behind Memphis.

Although I don’t recall the AAC getting many NCAA invites.

 

[ZooCougar]

I think Aresco was outflanked a bit by the Sun Belt. The expanded and reloaded with a better strategy, prioritizing schools that were passionate about football and not markets.

 

[Husky68]

Agree with a lot of what you said above. Two things:

1. Did the C7 have the legal ground and the strength in numbers to keep the BE brand away from the football playing members that broke off?

2. You can actually argue that only the SEC is successful/not a failure because while the B10 has big brands/lots of eyeballs, it really only has Ohio State to brag about in terms of consistent football success over the past 20 years and we know about how their basketball also has underperformed over the same span.

Believe it was the C7 that exited the OBE and paid exit fees to UConn and other football teams remaining in the OBE, included in the exit deal (fees) was the C7 buying the BE name from the football schools.

 

[TheCatsLair]

This is true except for the strict focus on sucking at football while in the American. After 2014 UConn also basically sucked in basketball.

If UConn was UConn in bball during the AAC years, the AAC actually would have been a pretty good football and bball conference. More to the point, while I don't know if better bball during that time would have forced UConn into the Big 12 over one of Houston, Cinci, UCF, or BYU in 2021, I do think two things are apparent right now...

First, UConn winning the national championship in bball this year is helping UConn get this current look, as it would appear UConn is back as a long term bball power/brand.

Second, Yormark sees value through a longer term and brand driven lens than his predecessor. In fact, I don't think the Big 12 invites any of Houston, UCF, or Cinci in 2021 if Yormark had been commissioner. The invite would have been UConn and BYU, with a future eye towards the PAC. IF no PAC teams became available, UCF and Cinci would be viewed similarly to SDSU...luke warm possibilities for expansion due to new markets, but nothing to get too excited about. Houston would be behind Memphis.

You're a thousand percent wrong, TV wanted Cincinnati, BYU, Houston and UCF. UConn was the one viewed similarly to SDSU while Cincinnati and UCF had Top 25 football programs which is what Fox and ESPN wanted. Yormark would have gone along with TV and the Big 12 leadership but even more than that Yormark would have seen that those four were the best non-P5 programs available. From a geographical standpoint the Big 12 leadership would have never have gone with BYU and UConn. I respect UConn but they were not going to crack the Top 4 in Big 12 expansion. There's a reason why he hasn't invited UConn as of now when given the chance.

On a side note, BYU and Cincinnati were the initial top options for the Big 12. And UCF and Houston skyrocketed into the mix. UConn and BYU would not have gotten the Big 12 a 2.28 billion dollar deal. Adding BYU and UConn would have left the Big 12 in the same shape that the Pac-12 is currently in.