Oh boy, Big 12 supposedly interested in UConn again

[CONN78SEJ]

I don't believe that's true. If you go by viewership numbers, Football wins. What are you basing your belief on?

Right now having consecutive National Basketball Championships and possibly going for a third, by far trumps an 8-4 football team. Even so, I can see why Yormark finds UConn attractive. I’ll bet him and Benedict talk every week, if not about scheduling, about Geno’s program propping up women’s basketball in the Big 12, Kansas vs UConn in the Garden, how being in the Big 12 helps UConn’s baseball program, and the possibility of Yormark grabbing Boston College, Syracuse and Pitt too.

 

[Galaxyshooter]

This is an attempt to get the Uconn football team into a big-time football conference so eventually Uconn can make even more money from its sports programs. being in the Big 12 will secure more top talent for all its sports teams, especially football, baseball, and of course basketball which already attracts top basketball players both men and women

 

[MSGRET]

Michigan is the reigning football champion

Nan I believe that @ec33 was talking about the last time the Big 10 won an NCAA Basketball Championship, when they were replying to @Husker Husky.

 

[EricLA]

Well, there aren't too many "Big" schools left that would fit into a P4 conference. It would make sense for one of them to court UConn, the best basketball school in the nation. Even though football runs the roost, I believe there are more college basketball fans then college football fans. To have the best basketball school in history should be a feather in any leagues cap, so if the Big12 wants to start the ball rolling, so be it. STILL, I'm tired of these leagues screwing with us and leaving us up s--ts creek without any toilet paper. When they want to make an offer, then and only then should we respond to the rumors.

You are correct of course, but also I think with the additional revenues, UConn could put a lot of the funds towards a new (upgraded/expanded) stadium and really (hopefully) move the football program in the right direction.

It is maybe like a chicken/egg sort of thing. They aren't interested in us because our football program is B-league, but we don't have the funds to just expand it without an additional revenue stream. I'm probably simplifying the issue, but I'm quite sure UConn would make a huge effort to beef up football should they get invited. It would be like Christmas morning for the program.

 

[CL82]

You are correct of course, but also I think with the additional revenues, UConn could put a lot of the funds towards a new (upgraded/expanded) stadium and really (hopefully) move the football program in the right direction.

It is maybe like a chicken/egg sort of thing. They aren't interested in us because our football program is B-league, but we don't have the funds to just expand it without an additional revenue stream. I'm probably simplifying the issue, but I'm quite sure UConn would make a huge effort to beef up football should they get invited. It would be like Christmas morning for the program.

Coach Mora has said that not being in a conference and not having an on-campus stadium are the two biggest challenges to the football program currently.

Being in a "power" football conference brings a lot of benefits, many of them monetary, though not all of them. The first is that the media distributions from those conferences are substantially higher than the 4 million that we currently get under our big easy deal or the estimated $7 1/2 million that we will get under the new deal. I believe that the big 12 and the ACC both have a per school annual distribution of about $35 million for broadcast rights. It may be slightly higher than that.

In addition to the broadcast rights distributions each power conference member is entitled to a share of the college football playoffs annual earnings, which I believe are an additional $15 million per per school. These two items result in a jump from our current $4 to $5 million to $50 million per year. A sizable increase.

In addition to that, one would presume that with power conference membership would come more fan interest in the program. Certainly, the games we schedule against power conference members have been the games that have the highest attendance. Filling Rentschler field to capacity would mean 40,000 fans six times a year. Even at a relatively modest ticket price of $25 that would be an additional $6 million a year. It's worth noting that the last time Connecticut was in a "power" football conference was when the big east was a member of the "BCS" prior to the break up. During that time Renschler field was sold out 30 times in had many more games at 38,000+ attendance.

 

[ERWUC65]

This is a dead subject, let's bury it and move on. If you have any serious questions about UConn in the big 12 or any other 'power' conference, just google the articles like: What happened to college football in the Northeast? And, as we all know, or should know, football is the straw that stirs the drink.

 

[Urshurak]

Football still rules any sport. Even basketball. By far. Simple google search has several articles and they all agree.

Big 12 is interested in UConn for basketball. Football wise they would be the Vanderbilt of the Big 12. At least for now.

At least Vanderbilt has a stadium…..just sayin. That is a problem. Someone mentioned Mora said something about that too.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

This is a dead subject, let's bury it and move on. If you have any serious questions about UConn in the big 12 or any other 'power' conference, just google the articles like: What happened to college football in the Northeast? And, as we all know, or should know, football is the straw that stirs the drink.

Move on to what?

 

[REB1094]

This will end with UConn staying put and 2 ACC schools getting invites to the Big 12

 

[veryolddog]

Ah....another league change speculation thread. How nice. We have not had one for quite a bit of time. News for the future: what is left of the ACC and the Big East merge to form the new Big East going full circle.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Ah....another league change speculation thread. How nice. We have not had one for quite a bit of time. News for the future: what is left of the ACC and the Big East merge to form the new Big East going full circle.

Not happening unless the Big East basketball only schools agree to a distribution that’s only 1/3 of the what the football schools would get.

 

[Huskie02]

Believe it when it actually happens. Too many times rumors about being invited to join a major conference and being left standing at the altar!

 

[itsasport]

I really like UConn being in a primary eastern and basketball conference.

All the travel to a more distant conference would be very difficult for the players.
I think that will become apparent with the extreme example of the western schools joining a distant conference.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I really like UConn being in a primary eastern and basketball conference.

All the travel to a more distant conference would be very difficult for the players.
I think that will become apparent with the extreme example of the western schools joining a distant conference.

You would rather have the UConn basketball teams have an easy bus ride to games and the school give up an eventual $30 million plus a year distribution check in the process? I get it that you don’t care much for success with the football program but others in the University definitely do. They’re not paying Jim Mora and his coaching staff millions every year while planning to stay all in the Big East, quite the contrary. If Hurley gets a three peat or even his third FF in a row, you can kiss the Big East goodbye. There’s too much at stake for the school and it’s status as a major land grant institution.

 

[maple]

I’m not going to hold my breath, but …

It would only be a positive in terms of $ and recruitment, as far as I’m concerned. Which is really all that matters.

 

[HuskyNan]

I’m not going to hold my breath, but …

It would only be a positive in terms of $ and recruitment, as far as I’m concerned. Which is really all that matters.

It would be good for me,personally, because I would be able to see my Huskies in person when they play UCF

 

[hoophuskee]

If Hurley gets a three peat or even his third FF in a row, you can kiss the Big East goodbye. There’s too much at stake for the school and it’s status as a major land grant institution.

I hope you are right but I'm very skeptical.

 

[itsasport]

You would rather have the UConn basketball teams have an easy bus ride to games and the school give up an eventual $30 million plus a year distribution check in the process? I get it that you don’t care much for success with the football program but others in the University definitely do. They’re not paying Jim Mora and his coaching staff millions every year while planning to stay all in the Big East, quite the contrary. If Hurley gets a three peat or even his third FF in a row, you can kiss the Big East goodbye. There’s too much at stake for the school and it’s status as a major land grant institution.

I really don't think that the UConn football program will ever reach near the level of the basketball teams. They never have and never will. There is no tradition of it whatsoever. There are dozens of great football programs that we will never compete with for the large number of talented players necessary to have a nationally ranked team, no matter how much additional funding might become available by a league change.

It is exponentially harder to create and maintain a top football program is terms of player talent, coaching talent and financing than any other collegiate sport.

That is the sad TRUTH. I would love it to be otherwise. My father played on the UConn football team in the thirties. As a child, we went to many of the games. including the yearly trip down to Yale. I watched many games from the hill.

It is NOT that I do not care; but, to make any league change decisions based some pie-eyed dream about football greatness is delusionary.

 

[HuskyNan]

I really don't think that the UConn football program will ever reach near the level of the basketball teams. They never have and never will. There is no tradition of it whatsoever. There are dozens of great football programs that we will never compete with for the large number of talented players necessary to have a nationally ranked team, no matter how much additional funding might become available by a league change.

It is exponentially harder to create and maintain a top football program is terms of player talent, coaching talent and financing than any other collegiate sport.

That is the sad TRUTH. I would love it to be otherwise. My father played on the UConn football team in the thirties. As a child, we went to many of the games. including the yearly trip down to Yale. I watched many games from the hill.

It is NOT that I do not care; but, to make any league change decisions based some pie-eyed dream about football greatness is delusionary.

They don't have to be great; they need to be respectable year in and year out. Hey, Rutgers got into the Big 10.

 

[Hamms30]

I really don't think that the UConn football program will ever reach near the level of the basketball teams. They never have and never will. There is no tradition of it whatsoever. There are dozens of great football programs that we will never compete with for the large number of talented players necessary to have a nationally ranked team, no matter how much additional funding might become available by a league change.

It is exponentially harder to create and maintain a top football program is terms of player talent, coaching talent and financing than any other collegiate sport.

That is the sad TRUTH. I would love it to be otherwise. My father played on the UConn football team in the thirties. As a child, we went to many of the games. including the yearly trip down to Yale. I watched many games from the hill.

It is NOT that I do not care; but, to make any league change decisions based some pie-eyed dream about football greatness is delusionary.

Nobody has any illusions of UConn being national champions in football. But being respectable instead of bottom 10 in the country when basically every other sports team at the school can compete at the national level for a championship, puts the school in a position to be in a power conference. The one sport we're lagging in is the one that drives the bus. The athletic department operates at a 40M deficit every year, so the conference payouts would be a big deal for the school.

And as far as travel goes, we're already sending teams to Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Omaha every year as part of league play in the Big East. The football team still travels around the country as an independent because they're taking whatever games they can get. So Florida or WV or Texas isn't really causing much more strain than they're already dealing with. The first third of the baseball and softball seasons are spent in the south as it is because of the way the season lines up with New England weather.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I really don't think that the UConn football program will ever reach near the level of the basketball teams. They never have and never will. There is no tradition of it whatsoever. There are dozens of great football programs that we will never compete with for the large number of talented players necessary to have a nationally ranked team, no matter how much additional funding might become available by a league change.

It is exponentially harder to create and maintain a top football program is terms of player talent, coaching talent and financing than any other collegiate sport.

That is the sad TRUTH. I would love it to be otherwise. My father played on the UConn football team in the thirties. As a child, we went to many of the games. including the yearly trip down to Yale. I watched many games from the hill.

It is NOT that I do not care; but, to make any league change decisions based some pie-eyed dream about football greatness is delusionary.

Now you’re putting words in my mouth. Never said that the football program needed to equal the successes of the basketball program. 7, 8, 9 wins a year is enough to earn some respect from other football conferences and maybe get an invite on Geno’s, Dan Hurley’s and Mora’s coattails. I think Dave Benedict plays a major role as well.

 

[CL82]

They don't have to be great; they need to be respectable year in and year out. Hey, Rutgers got into the Big 10.

True, but Rutgers didn't get into the big 10 based on it success, or even consistency, on the court and on the field. he got into the big 10 because New Brunswick falls within the NYC DMA in this allowed the Big Ten to get its network carried on the first year of basic cable at a higher carriage fee. That and the facts that New Jersey is wedged between New York and Philadelphia well having a population density roughly equivalent to that of New Delhi, made it an attractive candidate.

 

[itsasport]

My point was that the decision ona league change should be based on basketball, not football.

 

[Alydar]

They don't have to be great; they need to be respectable year in and year out. Hey, Rutgers got into the Big 10.

And how has that worked out for Rutgers athletically?