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Message: [QUOTE="Husky25, post: 1632154, member: 2839"] There is no question that UConn's athletic budget is not sustainable long term, but what the Big East would offer (if they would even consider UConn, which they won't) in the short term: 1) does materially bridge the gap much further, 2) is not worth what UConn gives up long term, and 3) the probability is not encouraging that Fox will increase the media $$ when the contract comes up for renewal, given their ratings. So basically, the applicable equations are: 1) P5 invite = $15 - $20 Million/year 2) AAC (including football) = reasonable possibility of P5 invite. 3) Big East = AAC - football + $1Million/year - reasonable possibility of P5 invite. When the conversation is brought back to basketball-only, there are only 2 schools out of 16 left in the tournament whose school and/or conference does not sponsor FBS football. As overwhelming as the simple math is (12.5%), the odds of either Villanova or Gonzaga cut down the nets are probably much lower. Correlation may not equal causation, but in all likelihood, both streaks regarding schools and conferences that do not sponsor FBS football and winning the Basketball Tournament extend to 17 and 31 years, respectively. Given the dollars involved, correlation and causation become that much closer to being equal. [/QUOTE]