Oh boy, Big 12 supposedly interested in UConn again | The Boneyard

Oh boy, Big 12 supposedly interested in UConn again

"Interest" is nice, I guess, but we've been down this road enough before to know that interest is not an invite. I've stopped caring until we are cashing the checks for a full share distribution.
Show Me The Money GIF
 
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.
 
As much as i dislike the big conferences?m, it is today’s reality if a program wants to be “big time”. If our football manages long term success as an independent it would be pretty tough, especially with better recruits being able to transfer so easily. The men’s hoop team can survive in a good Big East hoops conference. I am not so sure about the women post Geno if the Big East women's hoops stays as weak as it is and keeps losing better players to the portal.
 
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cohenzone said:
As much as i dislike the big conferences?m, it is today’s reality if a program wants to be “big time”. If our football manages long term success as an independent it would be pretty tough, especially with better recruits being able to transfer so easily. The men’s hoop team can survive in a good Big East hoops conference. I am not so sure about the women post Geno if the Big East women's hoops stays as weak as it is and keeps losing better players to the portal.
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I don't think the Big 12 is a big enough step up from the Big East without Oklahoma and Texas to make up for the travel to move the needle for women's basketball.

The reality is both the ACC and the Big 12 will be ended by the SEC and Big 10 in the not so far off future so the Big East and Uconn is best served planning for how win when that happens.
 
One of the B12 or ACC will survive as the best of the rest conference. Right now that's looking like the B12. If we could secure a seat on that boat now before the ACC exodus when more valuable properties become available and we get passed over yet again, we should jump at the chance.
 
Bald Husky said:
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.
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I don't believe that's true. If you go by viewership numbers, Football wins. What are you basing your belief on?
 
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I don't know what the end game is for the SEC or B10 outside of total domination and/or a split from the NCAA. At that point wouldn't it stop being a conference and more like a conglomorate? Conferences were largely regional in nature and a collection of schools with generally simliar backgrounds. With an ACC that goes from Boston to San Francisco Bay, a B10 that goes from Los Angeles to Piscataway, NJ, a B12 that goes from Tempe to Morgantown, WV to Orlando, really only the SEC can still more or less call itself regional.

The B12 is trying to get the bronze medal in the consolidation of conferences rather than the ACC. I long for the days when there were 10 to 12 team leagues, divisions, no portal, and certainly not this unlimited "NIL" that is nothing more than pay for play. I realize those are gone forever.

Best wishes that UConn finds itself in a good place soon.
 
MSSportsGuy said:
I don't know what the end game is for the SEC or B10 outside of total domination and/or a split from the NCAA. At that point wouldn't it stop being a conference and more like a conglomorate? Conferences were largely regional in nature and a collection of schools with generally simliar backgrounds. With an ACC that goes from Boston to San Francisco Bay, a B10 that goes from Los Angeles to Piscataway, NJ, a B12 that goes from Tempe to Morgantown, WV to Orlando, really only the SEC can still more or less call itself regional.

The B12 is trying to get the bronze medal in the consolidation of conferences rather than the ACC. I long for the days when there were 10 to 12 team leagues, divisions, no portal, and certainly not this unlimited "NIL" that is nothing more than pay for play. I realize those are gone forever.

Best wishes that UConn finds itself in a good place soon.
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A think a split from the NCAA is exactly what they are looking for. While it make work for their football teams, I'm not sure they want to be in the business of running and organizing basketball and Olympic sports. One those two leagues get what they want/need from the ACC and Big 12, they leave the NCAA imo. While they may be successful in accomplishing that, I don't know that they'll be particularly happy with what their accomplishments leave them with.
 
GirlBoo1020 said:
I don't think the Big 12 is a big enough step up from the Big East without Oklahoma and Texas to make up for the travel to move the needle for women's basketball.

The reality is both the ACC and the Big 12 will be ended by the SEC and Big 10 in the not so far off future so the Big East and Uconn is best served planning for how win when that happens.
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The problem is how many boats can we afford to miss hoping for something better. We are not in a great spot. By the way, I can live with being a mid major in some conference that has real rivalries. National championships are intoxicating but “big time” college sports are becoming a turn off to me. But I am old and trying hard not to drool in public so what do I know.
 
meyers7 said:
I don't believe that's true. If you go by viewership numbers, Football wins. What are you basing your belief on?
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I don't think it is true either, really, but like anything else, it is complicated.

On one side, you can look at the enormous number of folks that show up at a football game, the donations given to football specifically, and, as you say, the viewership. On the other hand, there are not that many football games; there are more than double - close to triple - the number of home basketball games, in a much smaller arena. Football, for the better teams, is virtually always on national television, but the much broader base of basketball is not (across the board) as available on TV (of course you can watch it all on your streaming service).

Looking even on the personal side - we are women's basketball fans, but qualify also as college football fans. I'll be honest that, although we have season tix, I'm not as thrilled to attend the football game, but I am excited to watch not only Arizona but many national programs on TV. Don't watch men's basketball at all, but watch most nationally televised women's games, and very occasionally, something streaming. In the end, I think, many fans are fans of their university and are (most likely) to follow both football and basketball. As to which is their passion, well, who knows.

All of that said, by the way, football generates larger media revenue in almost every case, while basketball revenue is largely tournament related, at least so far as I have read over the years without looking it up specifically.
 
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cohenzone said:
The problem is how many boats can we afford to miss hoping for something better. We are not in a great spot. By the way, I can live with being a mid major in some conference that has real rivalries. National championships are intoxicating but “big time” college sports are becoming a turn off to me. But I am old and trying hard not to drool in public so what do I know.
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The boats have already passed imo. To me there is no point climbing into one of the two Titanics, its smarter to plan for how to survive when the two boats inevitably sink themselves. Thats when things will actually get interesting and UConn and the Big East have had over a decade to plan for it and have, imo, less than a decade before it happens so they better have a plan in place.
 
Husker Husky said:
Big 10 or nothing!
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Yep! BIG and UConn fit together like peas and carrots IMO. Every conference has had a rotating football doormat. Rutgers football has the fourth best recruiting class for 2025 after Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State and Schiano is recruiting his home state like a protective mother hen. I think Jim Mora is heading the program in the right direction but it'll take a lot of time. Realistically most other schools don't have the perennial success of tOSU, UM or PSU - my dad is a Purdue alum and he typically skips football season and waits every year for basketball season lol. But the reason I say UConn fits BIG is due to the accretive benefit to the conference's Olympic and women's sports including M&W ice hockey and soccer, field hockey, women's lax and others besides basketball. In the future these sports will add to the BIG's media value, and in such a conference move UConn can finally add men's lax which is also a growth sport in the NCAA. In the short term, basketball alone will make any conference immediately more prominent with more bids come March Madness.
 
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Is there any assurance, or likelihood, that a Big 12 offer to UConn would be accompanied by a financial share offer that is the same as that of the big football schools? Or would it be a "basketball and minor sports" offer with a diminished dollar cut to match that?

It might be more than what the Big East can offer (that might be all that the Big 12 thinks that they need to put on the table), but with the travel and the lessened fan interest from the loss of traditional rivalries, is it worth it?
 
meyers7 said:
I don't believe that's true. If you go by viewership numbers, Football wins. What are you basing your belief on?
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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.
 
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
 
CL82 said:
"Interest" is nice, I guess, but we've been down this road enough before to know that interest is not an invite. I've stopped caring until we are cashing the checks for a full share distribution.
Show Me The Money GIF
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The new paradigm is not getting a full share when joining P4. Yes I think it will be greater than Big East of $7.2 million but probably around $10 million for first 10 years. Is that enough for UConn to join the Big 12? Significant part of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament revenue for next 10 years is going to the house settlement. After 10 years it is possible that NCAA tournament distribution changes due to NCAA not being in control of the tournament then it will be more lucrative for good basketball programs like UConn.
 
Bald Husky said:
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.
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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.
 
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