Non-Key Tweets

[noeynox]

There is a large contingent on this board that thinks making less money with ESPN is better than more money with Fox.

As for the Gopher expansion theory, UConn would either need the Big 10 would need to add 1 team only, which seems unlikely, or at least 2, and who would the second team be? Missouri is the only school that is AAU, adjacent to Big 10, credible as an addition, and not covered by a GOR.

So you were serious when you proposed we fold the football program?

If we were to leave for the Big East, UMass would slip into our spot in this conference before you can blink an eye.

The FB product has been terrible, but ALL the games are on TV. Yesterday during a college whip around they had the screen split into four squares with upcoming games on the ESPN networks between the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and the American's game between Tulsa and USF. I know exposure doesn't pay the bills, but I think Aresco has delivered on the exposure front. We will see if the money gets better. Our football program in any other G5 league or as an independent is toast.

The Big East is a better basketball league, than the American. Is it so much better that is worth flushing down the hundreds of millions invested in football down the toilet? That is where I differ from you, the extra two to three million a isn't worth submarining the FB program for, and I just don't see a scenario where going to the Big East doesn't do that to the FB program.

 

[chitown76]

I've said it a hundred times it's not about football. It's about markets and research and UConn is doing fine in both.

 

[chitown76]

Rutgers and Maryland was not taken because of football. They were taken because of there markets. Uconn helps complete NYC. UConn knows what they have to do to get a big invite and they are doing it. Spend big money in research.

 

[Fishy]

There is a large contingent on this board that thinks making less money with ESPN is better than more money with Fox.

The day after you lead UConn into the ratings and football oblivion that is Fox Sports, the American would put Massachusetts into every single broadcast that we formerly occupied. It would be the greatest day in the history of their athletic program.

They'd sing songs about you while we bitch about the feed buffering during our homecoming game against Houston Baptist on UConnhuskies.com All-Access.

 

[brasssbonanzaa]

Cheezus who the he11 cares who Minnesota wants to play in hockey? Delaney?

Actually, yes. It's a fairly big content generator during the winter months.

 

[Adios]

It's not a negative, though. As others have stated, if the B1G wanted UConn to stick around in HE instead of joining for hockey that would pretty much be the best of both worlds for us. It's a non-starter.

Shook Dan Malloy's hand today in New Haven and told him to make sure we get into the B1G. He was kind of stunned when I said that but gathered himself and said we can accomplish that with hockey staying in the HE. Was interesting to hear.

 

[HuskyJ]

Actually, yes. It's a fairly big content generator during the winter months.

If the reasons for the B1G expanding with UCONN aren't strong enough to overcome Minnesota losing a couple of out of conference hockey games, then UCONN isn't even in the conversation for the B1G.

 

[whaler11]

Shook Dan Malloy's hand today in New Haven and told him to make sure we get into the B1G. He was kind of stunned when I said that but gathered himself and said we can accomplish that with hockey staying in the HE. Was interesting to hear.

LOL. Dan Malloy is going to also get the women's basketball team into the WNBA.

 

[Adios]

LOL. Dan Malloy is going to also get the women's basketball team into the WNBA.

I thought that's already been accomplished.

 

[whaler11]

Beyond the obvious reasons that I hope UConn gets into the Big 10 soon... I'm starting to worry about y'all's sanity.

Minnesota's hockey schedule?

 

[CoastAtlantic]

And please, for the love of God, if you are going to slap together a fictional conference on the premise of making basketball "off the charts", do no come to a UCONN board and not include UCONN but include BC, Syracuse, Ga Tech, and UVA. You don't think basketball would be "off the charts" with UCONN in place of any one of these programs??

Fair enough. Wasn't trying to put down your program. However, fair warning: The B1G is very old-money-oriented. You think because you're a state school that should make you the next pick-up. However your complaints about the ACC (and some of them are warranted) the Big Ten operates on a similar elitist model. Indiana and Minnesota have the same votes as Michigan and Ohio State.

And it isn't so much about Boston College as it is Boston College AND the chance to rub shoulders with other elite institutions in the Boston area. Same with Rutgers and them being so close to Princeton, Columbia, NYU, etc.. Maybe you can convince them by talking about how close UConn is to Yale, Brown, etc.. You think I'm pulling stuff from my rear end? This is the way academics and college presidents think. Look at how flexible they were when they agreed to an association agreement with Johns Hopkins. Even Delany joked about it during the press conference.



Go to 4:05

I know you don't think much of Boston College and Syracuse as institutions but they've been at this game for much longer and UConn is only starting to catch up. Goodness, they even tried to convince Notre Dame, even though the Irish wanted nothing to do with them.

The Midwest have had this complex about the East Coast for some time, which was why they resisted eastern schools for a long time. Only recently have they started moving this way because they aren't dummies and realize the way the demographic trends are going. If they could access the young people living in cities from Boston all the way down to Atlanta, including the cities of Philly, New York, Washington, Baltimore, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond and Norfolk/Hampton Roads, it would be a tremendous achievement for them and help counter the declines in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Milwaukee. It is a very remote possibility, mind you, but something like this would have to be tried and would include a good number and right profile of schools in order for them to not feel isolated in a new conference. Even if all those young people aren't sports fans they still want to access them.

Here's how I know what I'm talking about:



Go to 8:22. Take good stock of the words Delany used to justify the addition of Rutgers. Institutions. Changes in landscape. All clues to what the presidents back in Chicago are thinking.

Please note that none of this means I'm putting down UConn. I'm just telling things as I think they are.

 

[Dooley]

Fair enough. Wasn't trying to put down your program. However, fair warning: The B1G is very old-money-oriented. You think because you're a state school that should make you the next pick-up. However your complaints about the ACC (and some of them are warranted) the Big Ten operates on a similar elitist model. Indiana and Minnesota have the same votes as Michigan and Ohio State.

And it isn't so much about Boston College as it is Boston College AND the chance to rub shoulders with other elite institutions in the Boston area. Same with Rutgers and them being so close to Princeton, Columbia, NYU, etc.. Maybe you can convince them by talking about how close UConn is to Yale, Brown, etc.. You think I'm pulling stuff from my rear end? This is the way academics and college presidents think. Look at how flexible they were when they agreed to an association agreement with Johns Hopkins. Even Delany joked about it during the press conference.



Go to 4:05

I know you don't think much of Boston College and Syracuse as institutions but they've been at this game for much longer and UConn is only starting to catch up. Goodness, they even tried to convince Notre Dame, even though the Irish wanted nothing to do with them.

The Midwest have had this complex about the East Coast for some time, which was why they resisted eastern schools for a long time. Only recently have they started moving this way because they aren't dummies and realize the way the demographic trends are going. If they could access the young people living in cities from Boston all the way down to Atlanta, including the cities of Philly, New York, Washington, Baltimore, Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond and Norfolk/Hampton Roads, it would be a tremendous achievement for them and help counter the declines in Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago and Milwaukee. It is a very remote possibility, mind you, but something like this would have to be tried and would include a good number and right profile of schools in order for them to not feel isolated in a new conference. Even if all those young people aren't sports fans they still want to access them.

Here's how I know what I'm talking about:



Go to 8:22. Take good stock of the words Delany used to justify the addition of Rutgers. Institutions. Changes in landscape. All clues to what the presidents back in Chicago are thinking.

Please note that none of this means I'm putting down UConn. I'm just telling things as I think they are.

I understand that UCONN is currently playing catch-up in a lot of areas and don't dispute any of it. Endowment, research, football program, building a bigger student population, campus expansion, etc. UCONN slept at the wheel for too long and are paying for it now. And I have no argument about the academic piece that you bring up. But I was specifically responding to the basketball comment. You can't, for one second, convince me or anyone here that Syracuse/BC/Ga Tech/UVA would be better basketball additions over UCONN. "Old money", academic peers, and demographics aside, there are very few programs in the entire country that can bring the type of basketball pedigree that UCONN can bring.

 

[Seaa Blue]

Please note that none of this means I'm putting down UConn. I'm just telling things as I think they are.

Um, not really. Above all you're trying to impress us by characterizing your take on it as gospel.

 

[FDNY99]

One idea that comes to my mind is splitting the Big Ten into two 10-team divisions but that would require them being willing to go to 20. Basically, the idea is to expand their presence into Boston and down to Atlanta, create a Midwest division where you put back Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, and shift Indiana eastwards to even the numbers up. What that does is to bring back as close to the original ten as possible but also reach the people that have moved into the Eastern states south of D.C. in the last two decades. Not that I'm encouraging the idea but that would be the play if I were wearing the Big Ten hat.

Big Ten East

BC
Syracuse
Penn State
Rutgers
Maryland
Indiana
Virginia
Duke
North Carolina
Georgia Tech


Big Ten Midwest

Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska

I would say that with a league like this the basketball competition would be off the charts!

Your take on basketball being off the charts with this scenario is comical! If the B1G wanted to make their hoops the best conference in the country take out BC, UVA, and GT... add Kentucky, Kansas, UCONN! The last time UVA was a hoops difference maker Ralph Sampson was the center, BC when Jim O'Brien was the HC and GT..all downhill since they lost to UCONN in the Final Four. This collection of schools you mentioned is beyond ridiculous! Never will happen either..this thing called the ACC GOR will put a HUGE wrench in this idea.

 

[chitown76]

UConn is very attractive to the BIG that is fact. They help with NYC. Delany went to MSG and witnessed it first hand in the tournament. UCONN is spending billions of dollars on research and building relations with like minded schools. Its not always about football if it was we wouldn't have offered Rutgers and Maryland. UConn is on the list. Boston College and Syracuse will not be in the B1G.

 

[whaler11]

What help does the Big 10 need with NYC? They put their network on every system.

UConn is involved in research and growing because that is what's best for the university and the state. It's not doing it so the football team has a better schedule.

 

[Ldandy]

LOL on Hopkins. "Look at how flexible they were when they agreed to an associaton agreement with Johns Hopkins." The B1g needed one more school to form a Lacrosse Conference, JH was looking for a home for their program. Done and done. This was the no brainier addition of all time. If JH decided that they wanted all of their other sports to join as well, they would have been on the outside looking in regardless of their standing in the academic community.

The idea that Rutgers was added so that conference presidents could rub shoulders with presidents of other elite NY/NJ Universities is beyond insane. They already have an organization in place where they can do this (AAU). Rutgers was a real estate/money grab, and based on the success to date in gaining access for The BTN on NYC Cable Systems, it can only be categorized as wildly successful.

 

[chitown76]

Not everyone watches Rutgers in NYC. UCONN has a large following in NYC. So yes it would be in the big tens interest to have eyeballs actually watching the big network and UConn is becoming big like minded when it comes to research believe it or not UConn is on the list . Football don't always drive the bus .

 

[jostar1]

Found this older story about Fox and the Big 10 contract:

Big money coming for Big Ten: Basketball stands to hit TV jackpot with next deal

Not that Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany wants to rush time, but I’m fairly certain that he can’t wait for the 2016-17 basketball season. That’s when the Big Ten’s TV deals for basketball conclude with ESPN and CBS. Based on what the new Big East got from Fox Sports 1 this week, you know Delany is anxious for his turn at the bargaining table. -

The Big Ten stands to get a hefty increase, especially on the cable side. And the commissioner will have some help from his good friends at Fox.

Fox, which owns 51 percent of the Big Ten Network, is going to be an aggressive player for college basketball rights, as demonstrated by the Big East deal. Executives know the quickest way for Fox Sports 1 to compete with ESPN is to acquire premium live programming. Big Ten basketball is premium.

- See more at: http://www.shermanreport.com/more-t...-jackpot-with-next-deal/#sthash.MLRlwYE3.dpuf

 

[whaler11]

Not everyone watches Rutgers in NYC. UCONN has a large following in NYC. So yes it would be in the big tens interest to have eyeballs actually watching the big network and UConn is becoming big like minded when it comes to research believe it or not UConn is on the list . Football don't always drive the bus .

Someday people will understand it doesn't matter if people watch.

Does this 'list' exist outside the Boneyard?

 

[CoastAtlantic]

this thing called the ACC GOR will put a HUGE wrench in this idea.

Correct. Same with the Big 12 and the Big Ten. That pesky little Grant of Rights thing, huh? I guess that gives some hope for the pro-B1G UConn fans. And, yet, Gene Smith in a video said that people shouldn't be surprised if they expand again. Unless their final goal is 15 I would like to know how they plan on doing that.

But we all know that odd numbers after 10 are awkward for football. Heck, I just posted a video of Delany saying it. Maybe they want no more than one, so what are they waiting for?

Missouri? Nope. Kentucky? Nope. Vandy? Get outta here! Kansas? Stuck in the B12. Oklahoma? See Kansas. Texas? Don't you see it now? So is Gene Smith blowing smoke? They could offer UConn and only UConn RIGHT NOW! They haven't.

I think that one of the Big 12 or ACC will survive the next culling out process. Which will depend on who is best able to adapt to the next reality. I want the ACC to not only survive but thrive but if it doesn't it would be because the vast majority of schools would find homes elsewhere. UConn, being in the G5, is at a distinct disadvantage in this scenario.

Where I stand from, the Big Ten can go three ways: 1) Stay put and compete with the number they have now. That's perfectly reasonable. But then why go through the runaround of AD's and other people intimating that they're not finished yet? 2) Go and rework their alliance with the PAC-12. Go through the issues that broke up that agreement and go it right next time. They already have a relationship through the Rose Bowl so that shouldn't be a huge issue. 3) Go really BIG and establish a massive presence in the East to counteract the demographic advantages of the SEC and ACC. This is the scenario the pro-B1G UConn people haven't taken into consideration. How do you break up a conference where you want schools from? Two other conferences get to share the spoils. And how do you get the schools you want from the area? From that same conference.

Or you could let bygones be bygones and support UConn to the ACC in order to ensure a place in the Power 5 where you belong.

 

[itgoeslike]

Someday people will understand it doesn't matter if people watch.

I understand the point you are trying to make, which is valid. But, for some, including FOX, advertising revenue is important. ESPN is a carriage behemoth, but still gets 25% of their revenue through advertising. If ad revenue can't cover programming costs, it eats into your carriage.

 

[BlueHen]

Correct. Same with the Big 12 and the Big Ten. That pesky little Grant of Rights thing, huh? I guess that gives some hope for the pro-B1G UConn fans. And, yet, Gene Smith in a video said that people shouldn't be surprised if they expand again. Unless their final goal is 15 I would like to know how they plan on doing that...

...Or you could let bygones be bygones and support UConn to the ACC in order to ensure a place in the Power 5 where you belong.

Huh? How does our support ensure anything? UConn fans will support any P5 conference that offers UConn a spot, but our opinion has no weight. The powers-that-be at the ACC aren't waiting for Boneyard approval so they can offer an invite to UConn.

 

[jostar1]

Correct. Same with the Big 12 and the Big Ten. That pesky little Grant of Rights thing, huh? I guess that gives some hope for the pro-B1G UConn fans. And, yet, Gene Smith in a video said that people shouldn't be surprised if they expand again. Unless their final goal is 15 I would like to know how they plan on doing that.

But we all know that odd numbers after 10 are awkward for football. Heck, I just posted a video of Delany saying it. Maybe they want no more than one, so what are they waiting for?

Missouri? Nope. Kentucky? Nope. Vandy? Get outta here! Kansas? Stuck in the B12. Oklahoma? See Kansas. Texas? Don't you see it now? So is Gene Smith blowing smoke? They could offer UConn and only UConn RIGHT NOW! They haven't.

I think that one of the Big 12 or ACC will survive the next culling out process. Which will depend on who is best able to adapt to the next reality. I want the ACC to not only survive but thrive but if it doesn't it would be because the vast majority of schools would find homes elsewhere. UConn, being in the G5, is at a distinct disadvantage in this scenario.

Where I stand from, the Big Ten can go three ways: 1) Stay put and compete with the number they have now. That's perfectly reasonable. But then why go through the runaround of AD's and other people intimating that they're not finished yet? 2) Go and rework their alliance with the PAC-12. Go through the issues that broke up that agreement and go it right next time. They already have a relationship through the Rose Bowl so that shouldn't be a huge issue. 3) Go really BIG and establish a massive presence in the East to counteract the demographic advantages of the SEC and ACC. This is the scenario the pro-B1G UConn people haven't taken into consideration. How do you break up a conference where you want schools from? Two other conferences get to share the spoils. And how do you get the schools you want from the area? From that same conference.

Or you could let bygones be bygones and support UConn to the ACC in order to ensure a place in the Power 5 where you belong.

I think it depends if you're talking short term or long-term (after GORs expire).

Regarding letting bygones be bygones, are you referring to the ACC letting bygones be bygones? We as fans can't do a thing "to ensure a place in the Power 5".

 

[whaler11]

I understand the point you are trying to make, which is valid. But, for some, including FOX, advertising revenue is important. ESPN is a carriage behemoth, but still gets 25% of their revenue through advertising. If ad revenue can't cover programming costs, it eats into your carriage.

Where did you see that 25% number for ESPN? That would be 2 billion in advertising for ESPN....

The BTN makes relative pennies on ads.