Non-Key Tweets

[ZooCougar]

The votes on the Pac12 schools took 2 days.

This is going on so so long. Not good.

Sounds like some schools think it’s too much too quickly.

 

[Forte]

Sounds like some schools think it’s too much too quickly.

I wonder if they would make that same statement if it were say .... Clemson and FSU at this very moment?

 

[auror]

Monty and his son have always been against UConn, but they have changed their tune. They finally get Yormark's plan. Yormark wants UConn so he can get the ACC schools. The Big 12 thinks they can get them. He says he talked to someone high up in the Big 12.

I had the script on Friday

The B12 commissioner is trying to zag when the other power conferences are zigging. He's expecting basketball to have growth and earn a closer share of revenue dollars to football over the years. So he's loading up on undervalued basketball-focused properties (Arizona, Houston, BYU, etc.) and worthwhile "leftovers".

His goal is P3. The top schools in all other conferences have joined the B1G or SEC, and FSU/Clemson have made it clear they're looking to bolt the ACC as soon as they find a way around the grant of rights or bully their way out. Yormark is seeing how tenuous the ACC's position is, and how many strong basketball-focused brands/schools the ACC has that won't be the top choice of B1G/SEC. The B12 was almost dead, and now he's trying to make the B12 a better landing spot for some of the basketball-focused ACC schools when the time comes instead of ACC teams staying and trying to poach FROM the B12. So he's getting UConn in right away to further enhance the B12's value in the run up to their next media negotiation and next round of realignment (easier to convince east coast teams from ACC that B12 will work for them if they have UConn as a test case and "friend" as it were... and keep us from the ACC as a decent fill-in when others leave).

From UConn's perspective, joining right away hopefully gets us more short term money while eventually getting us enough money when football joins and we get a full share to compete when the House settlement and revenue sharing of up to $25 million annually to players kicks in. B12 presidents don't want to give us football money that comes out of their share and ESPN won't give us full pro rata share because our football is garbage. So have to wait for a full re-negotiation in 2031, and B12 presidents are pretty skeptical about our football so they'll add some stipulations to protect themselves from us joining if we don't improve football so we're not a net drain on that future football negotiation. UConn would prefer football in right away, but it doesn't seem to be an option.

 

[Patman]

Sounds like some schools think it’s too much too quickly.

Also the pac12 was a very different situation and there were time pressures. There are no time pressures right now

 

[UConnTrumbull]

IIRC the corner 4 schools, aside from Colorado, were a package deal.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

IIRC the corner 4 schools, aside from Colorado, were a package deal.

Those schools had less leverage than UConn has now, and were bad and/or redundant in their markets. They were desperate and in no position to make make demands and they got full memberships in a league that appears to be turning us down for a basketball only membership coming off a national championship in men’s and a final four in women’s where we posted one of the highest rated games in the sport’s history despite playing it at 10 pm on a Friday.

Conference realignment sucks.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Sounds like some schools think it’s too much too quickly.

Seems like odd timing. Start of semester, students and possibly protesters coming back and start of football season. Guessing it might not be top priority?

 

[UConnTrumbull]

Those schools had less leverage than UConn has now, and were bad and/or redundant in their markets. They were desperate and in no position to make make demands and they got full memberships in a league that appears to be turning us down for a basketball only membership coming off a national championship in men’s and a final four in women’s where we posted one of the highest rated games in the sport’s history despite playing it at 10 pm on a Friday.

Conference realignment sucks.

I think that was the strength in being a package deal. But that’s also why I’m skeptical we’ll get in this time around.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I think that was the strength in being a package deal. But that’s also why I’m skeptical we’ll get in this time around.

They weren't a package deal. They would have slit each other's throats in a heartbeat for a spot on the Big 12 lifeboat.

 

[ZooCougar]

Seems like odd timing. Start of semester, students and possibly protesters coming back and start of football season. Guessing it might not be top priority?

It always happens at this time of year. With the season going again it will be pushed into the back burner within the media, it already kind of was.

The closer it gets to basketball the better I say.

We’re good enough to seriously considers but not good enough to be urgent.

I see people refer to UConn Football as “unwashed -ss”. The fact that they are even still considering football is a minor miracle.

 

[upstater]

Seems like odd timing. Start of semester, students and possibly protesters coming back and start of football season. Guessing it might not be top priority?

If you look back, early fall, late august has always been the time that realignment happens.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Let’s face it, UConn is the red headed step child of conference realignment.

 

[NowInStorrs]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

 

[ZooCougar]

If you look back, early fall, late august has always been the time that realignment happens.

Which is true.

I wonder if Yormark might have gotten more traction by rolling this out at the start of hoop season.

 

[ZooCougar]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

These people are stupid.

The AAC adds were just as poor as us before they got Big 12 checks.

 

[upstater]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

It gives UConn a good excuse.

"Why aren't you consistently winning?"

"It is difficult to support a program financially outside a competitive conference. When UConn was in the Big East and better supported financially, we competed well."

 

[KryHavok]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

We're in a catch 22. We need more money to get football back to competitive levels, but for that we need to be in a conference where we get more football money. Hard to do the former without the latter being true, and we get slammed for this every time.

 

[jostar1]

It gives UConn a good excuse.

"Why aren't you consistently winning?"

"It is difficult to support a program financially outside a competitive conference. When UConn was in the Big East and better supported financially, we competed well."

It's not an excuse. It's a reason.

 

[Kowalski]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

Agree and it’s also why I’m tired of the comparisons to Vandy, even from B12 podcasters that support adding Uconn. If Uconn gets full or partial B12 shares, they won’t be the Vandy of the B12. Uconn already showed what they can do in a power conference. Given the chance, they’ll get it done again.

 

[ScottVib]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

The challenge here is many of the other programs grew their football spending in advance of getting an invite. In some cases they still may have only spent what UConn is spending, but when the football first teams look and see UConn is the only FBS program spending more on basketball than football they find it hard to believe UConn takes football seriously… thinking instead how they’d allocate the money and not that UConn is trying to match P4 program basketball spending without the resources.

Just another scenario where UConn is doing what is right for its unique situation, but because it’s different it takes more explaining to help it make sense to others. It’s part of why leaks (to mobilize football first opposition in the Big XII and Big East nostalgists in CT) can be so damaging, it just feeds into that narrative before the explanation/education process is done, giving detractors all the excuse they need.

 

[noeynox]

It's so weird to me that the big thing is "UConn needs to commit to spend more on football." Well, what do you think we would do if we had an extra $20 mil per year from our conference? In fact, the best way to quickly improve the football program is to give us a full or partial share up front.

Yeah, but schools like Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF spent more on FB than we did facing similar obstacles.

The good news is that information juat released on football NIL regarding UConn is very promising. The bad news is, did they wait too long to start getting serious about football?

 

[Kolumbo]

I feel like we are in a never-ending loop in these threads. Forking CR.

 

[blue93]

Those schools had less leverage than UConn has now, and were bad and/or redundant in their markets. They were desperate and in no position to make make demands and they got full memberships in a league that appears to be turning us down for a basketball only membership coming off a national championship in men’s and a final four in women’s where we posted one of the highest rated games in the sport’s history despite playing it at 10 pm on a Friday.

Conference realignment sucks.

You have to love that the B12 didn’t bat an eye at adding ASU (in a duplicative market with Arizona) whose arguably been more of a s***show in football than we have all things considered. The goalposts just never stop moving.

 

[uconndogs]

I'm just not vested in this. If it happens, fine, if not, I think things are going to get completely upended once FSU figures out a way to leave the ACC.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I don't think any of this is tenable over the long-term. College athletics will have to bifurcate along an open market professional sports model and somehting that resemles amatuer athletics. Most athletic departments indluding most of those in the current P4 are not going to be able to compete or necessarily even want to try to compete given the labor costs involved to attract and retain talent.

 

[noeynox]

I'm just not vested in this. If it happens, fine, if not, I think things are going to get completely upended once FSU figures out a way to leave the ACC.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I don't think any of this is tenable over the long-term. College athletics will have to bifurcate along an open market professional sports model and somehting that resemles amatuer athletics. Most athletic departments indluding most of those in the current P4 are not going to be able to compete or necessarily even want to try to compete given the labor costs involved to attract and retain talent.

If the bifurcation happens, the amateur model would only be the feeder system for the system that pays.

Doesn't have to be a bifurcation. D1 schools now could opt for a lower division of play like UHart did.