OSU President Gee's comments about UL...

[upstater]

Ummm, pretty sure our new arena will cost the taxpayers significantly less than the 1.5B that your state legislature is wanting to hand a school that no major conference is interested in associating with...

Holy cow--a guy who thinks education isn't worth the investment. Why am I not surprised?

 

[upstater]

Repost comparing how UConn and Louisville log revenue:

In 2008-9 Louisville was at $56,540,896 total revenue.
That same year UConn was at $58,446,441.

That was the last year before Ville started rocketing forward in revenue.

The next year Ville went to $63 million (2009-2010) while UConn hit $63 million in 2010-2011.
Louisville meanwhile skyrocketed to $87 million.

That has EVERYTHING to do with the new facilities.

Especially when you consider that UConn's sponsorships and licensing (in a market that is much bigger than Louisville's) is much higher than Louisville's even today: Ville went from $12.6m in 2010 to $16.3m in 2011. UConn was at $24.9 in 2011.

Ticket sales are the story for Louisville jumping so high. Back in 2006-07, Louisville got $15m in ticket sales and $13.1 in donations. That same year UConn got $13.5 in ticket sales and $12.1 in donations. The schools were practically even in total revenue, sponsorships, licensing, tickets and donations.

Ville, meanwhile, stayed at that level until football and basketball facilities expansion. It went from $15m in ticket sales to $26.4m in 2011, and from $12.1 in donations to $28.2m in donations. It literally jumped by $27m! In ticket sales and donations, it was almost $30 million ahead of UConn compared to where it was half a decade ago.

But in terms of sponsorships and TV rights and licensing, UConn has outdone Ville (but by a smaller margin). As Ville was building its ticket base, UConn was making up some of that $30m deficit by jumping out to a $9 million gain in terms of local TV, sponsorships and licensing. This is why the difference between the schools today (even about half a decade ago) is now $23m.

Lastly, I've said this a number of times on this board, but fans don't really know how these figures are calculated. Schools like Michigan raised money for facilities and then dumped the donations into AD revenues, while paying for facilities through school bonds. This means the private money raised for facilities is counted as athletics revenue. I don't know at all whether UConn has ever done this. I don't know that Louisville has either. But that huge donor jump may indeed be comprised in part of a trickle or a regular flow of facility donations. Who can say? UConn after all has also spent a huge amount on facilities (it has the best football training facilities of the entire old BE conference, and they are relatively brand new).

This is largely what the discussion here is about. UConn too could have plowed donations for facilities into athletics revenue. UConn spent $60 million on the Shenkman training center and Burton facility. If the private money had been dumped into sports, that would have made Uconn look better from a PR standpoint when it comes to sports. Furthermore, if Uconn had dumped its AD revenues into a single sport (as Ville currently does) it would also have been a PR coup.UConn does not count contributions under single sports, as Louisville does. That is purely a source of AD revenue, not bball revenue.

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

This is about a 50/50 post regarding the city (I strain to even call it that) of Louisville. Nothing to do with unflattering comments about UConn. No, I didn't get worked up about it--I can care less about hickville. I'm not the one that was grossly insulted by a post that said, I like Ville sports, jazz and a hotel, but the town entertainment is a strip mall where you can't get a taxi, and someone's blood boiled. Not mine. I'm not on your board either. I suggest you grow up and grow some thicker skin.

Lol - " blood boiled". I suggested that you don't know what you're talking about (as did others) and that your comment about Louisville in a (now defunct) thread about Louisville's "#1 fan base" was as much about you being butt hurt about being bypassed for the ACC in favor of UofL as anything else.

You're so ambivalent about it, you've chased me down in a different thread to continue to say you don't care. You are a riot...

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

You should be pissed that you live in Kentucky and you got your degree from UL

BTW, Ohio State president was spot on when talking about your school and the ACC.

Got my degree at Centre College but, I do love living in Louisville.

BTW, OSU president was spot on when he didn't mention UConn at all...

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

Holy cow--a guy who thinks education isn't worth the investment. Why am I not surprised?

Holy cow-- another rushed blind leap in logic from the board's leader in high volume posting. No one is surprised...

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

Repost comparing how UConn and Louisville log revenue:

In 2008-9 Louisville was at $56,540,896 total revenue.
That same year UConn was at $58,446,441.

That was the last year before Ville started rocketing forward in revenue.

The next year Ville went to $63 million (2009-2010) while UConn hit $63 million in 2010-2011.
Louisville meanwhile skyrocketed to $87 million.

That has EVERYTHING to do with the new facilities.

Especially when you consider that UConn's sponsorships and licensing (in a market that is much bigger than Louisville's) is much higher than Louisville's even today: Ville went from $12.6m in 2010 to $16.3m in 2011. UConn was at $24.9 in 2011.

Ticket sales are the story for Louisville jumping so high. Back in 2006-07, Louisville got $15m in ticket sales and $13.1 in donations. That same year UConn got $13.5 in ticket sales and $12.1 in donations. The schools were practically even in total revenue, sponsorships, licensing, tickets and donations.

Ville, meanwhile, stayed at that level until football and basketball facilities expansion. It went from $15m in ticket sales to $26.4m in 2011, and from $12.1 in donations to $28.2m in donations. It literally jumped by $27m! In ticket sales and donations, it was almost $30 million ahead of UConn compared to where it was half a decade ago.

But in terms of sponsorships and TV rights and licensing, UConn has outdone Ville (but by a smaller margin). As Ville was building its ticket base, UConn was making up some of that $30m deficit by jumping out to a $9 million gain in terms of local TV, sponsorships and licensing. This is why the difference between the schools today (even about half a decade ago) is now $23m.

Lastly, I've said this a number of times on this board, but fans don't really know how these figures are calculated. Schools like Michigan raised money for facilities and then dumped the donations into AD revenues, while paying for facilities through school bonds. This means the private money raised for facilities is counted as athletics revenue. I don't know at all whether UConn has ever done this. I don't know that Louisville has either. But that huge donor jump may indeed be comprised in part of a trickle or a regular flow of facility donations. Who can say? UConn after all has also spent a huge amount on facilities (it has the best football training facilities of the entire old BE conference, and they are relatively brand new).

This is largely what the discussion here is about. UConn too could have plowed donations for facilities into athletics revenue. UConn spent $60 million on the Shenkman training center and Burton facility. If the private money had been dumped into sports, that would have made Uconn look better from a PR standpoint when it comes to sports. Furthermore, if Uconn had dumped its AD revenues into a single sport (as Ville currently does) it would also have been a PR coup.UConn does not count contributions under single sports, as Louisville does. That is purely a source of AD revenue, not bball revenue.

Yawn...

 

[Dann]

Gee blows his load by ripping apart a city and commuter school. Pitino blows his load down his leg.

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

Gee blows his load by ripping apart a city and commuter school. Pitino blows his load down his leg.

That's some weak tea right there, hfd. Maybe get some sleep and give it another shot in the AM.

 

[Dann]

That's some weak tea right there, hfd. Maybe get some sleep and give it another shot in the AM.

Where would u like me to blow my load then? Do u have a lower back tat?

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

Where would u like me to blow my load then? Do u have a lower back tat?

Nope - it would way too coincidental that we both would have one.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Never suggested it did - I was simply commenting on the total amount of tax dollars earmarked irrespective of their purpose. BTW, your continued ranting about Louisville "cooking the books" doesn't hold water - not that I need you to trot out your "evidence" again. You've beat that dead horse until its just a stain...

Actually you did when you suggested that ct was investing $1.5B in a school that no major conference wanted.

 

[BobbyPs Ghost]

Actually you did when you suggested that ct was investing $1.5B in a school that no major conference wanted.

Actually I didn't. I compared the amount of taxpayer dollars about to be given to UConn, to that of the taxpayer outlay for the YUM Center. While doing so, I then reminded the idiot to whom I was responding, that UConn got passed over in CR.

Simple as that.

 

[Adios]

BTW, OSU president was spot on when he didn't mention UConn at all...

Probably because he doesn't look down on UConn?

Ooooooo...mighty Centre College. Wow. Is that the best school in Kentucky?

Edit: Nope, that would be Washington and Lee University.

 

[UConn Dan]

Got my degree at Centre College but, I do love living in Louisville.

BTW, OSU president was spot on when he didn't mention UConn at all...

Gee did mention UConn as an ACC target. He didn't go further to say anything about them because if he doesn't have anything negative to say he doesn't say anything at all. He did say Louisville would never be invited to B1G because of academics and Cincy would not be invited because tOSU already brings that market for the B1G.

 

[upstater]

Actually you did when you suggested that ct was investing $1.5B in a school that no major conference wanted.

He suggested exactly that. Now he's running away from it. Is it any surprise that this guy doesn't care at all about education? It shows. He's better off rooting for a pro team. He seems to think Louisville IS a pro team.

 

[upstater]

Lol - " blood boiled". I suggested that you don't know what you're talking about (as did others) and that your comment about Louisville in a (now defunct) thread about Louisville's "#1 fan base" was as much about you being butt hurt about being bypassed for the ACC in favor of UofL as anything else.

You're so ambivalent about it, you've chased me down in a different thread to continue to say you don't care. You are a riot...

You admitted 5 of the 6 things I wrote about. You admitted Ville had ridiculously bad taxi service, that Spaghetti Factory has lines out the front, that Jazz is good, Ville sports (you didn't mention the Seelbach actually). The only point of contention is whether or not a strip mall makes for a good entertainment district. I say NO, you say it's wonderful, and that's the difference between real cities in the northeast and hollowed out shells like Louisville. I was kind by not even going into your pavement and parking lot disaster of a downtown. I assume that the disaster occurred in the 1960s when they built parking lots for suburbanites. Too bad--look at what's left. Empty lot after empty lot.

 

[upstater]

Yawn...

Next time, when you claim there's no evidence that Ville plays accounting games, we know you slept through through class.

 

[B1GALUM]

It was probably unfair of me to group the B1G folks in my original post as many of you have offered information and been open to conversation and provoked positive conversation. Really I was directing it to the posters from other schools who have nothing to contribute other than defending their schools and putting down UConn at the same time. It's one thing to come and post sensibly and openly. It's another to clog up the board with crap that just wastes time. So again, my apologies for including you all in that. You and some of the other B1G posters have been a nice addition to the board.

Thanks. I have no intention to smack talk or clog the board with useless information. It is only my intention to share information and my perspective relative to the B1G especially as it relates to realignment. I may be among the minority but I do not think realignment is over. The B1G’s media deal will be up for negotiation in the next three years, the Maryland and ACC lawsuit is still out there, the impact of the CFB playoff needs to be determined, the question of whether a new division will be developed within the NCAA structure needs to be settled. I think the conferences will continue to “survey the landscape” as we often hear and will make a move if it can better position them for the future. I do not think realignment is eminent but feel as though we are more in the 7th inning stretch rather than at the conclusion of the 9th inning of this realignment game.

 

[upstater]

Thanks. I have no intention to smack talk or clog the board with useless information. It is only my intention to share information and my perspective relative to the B1G especially as it relates to realignment. I may be among the minority but I do not think realignment is over. The B1G’s media deal will be up for negotiation in the next three years, the Maryland and ACC lawsuit is still out there, the impact of the CFB playoff needs to be determined, the question of whether a new division will be developed within the NCAA structure needs to be settled. I think the conferences will continue to “survey the landscape” as we often hear and will make a move if it can better position them for the future. I do not think realignment is eminent but feel as though we are more in the 7th inning stretch rather than at the conclusion of the 9th inning of this realignment game.

One problem for UConn is that it more naturally fits in with the ACC as currently constituted. The lck of AAU seems to be a big deal. If UConn were in it, there'd be a very solid case for the B1G moving into one of the nation's biggest markets for a school that has a big following in that market (and I'm not talking about NYC here, but rather Conn.). But since the school's football team doesn't move national interest, the lack of AAU keeps us out. If this were to happen 10 years from now when the fruits of UConn's build-out might possibly land them in the AAU, it would be a clear candidate.

 

[B1GALUM]

One problem for UConn is that it more naturally fits in with the ACC as currently constituted. The lck of AAU seems to be a big deal. If UConn were in it, there'd be a very solid case for the B1G moving into one of the nation's biggest markets for a school that has a big following in that market (and I'm not talking about NYC here, but rather Conn.). But since the school's football team doesn't move national interest, the lack of AAU keeps us out. If this were to happen 10 years from now when the fruits of UConn's build-out might possibly land them in the AAU, it would be a clear candidate.

I agree with you. The lack of AAU membership is a substantial obstacle but beyond that I see in UConn a university that certainly could fit in with the B1G even if the ACC is a more natural fit. It is my sense that UConn is on an upward trajectory as a university aside from being on the outside looking in at the power conferences at this time. I think it is fair to say, based on the recent invitations to Maryland and Rutgers, that the B1G takes the long view and is making decisions about invitations based on where universities will be decades from now not just recent success. I think if the B1G leadership were to make an effort to study UConn, perhaps they already have, they would see potential for UConn to be a really good fit as a member of the eastern footprint of the conference.

 

[upstater]

I agree with you. The lack of AAU membership is a substantial obstacle but beyond that I see in UConn a university that certainly could fit in with the B1G even if the ACC is a more natural fit. It is my sense that UConn is on an upward trajectory as a university aside from being on the outside looking in at the power conferences at this time. I think it is fair to say, based on the recent invitations to Maryland and Rutgers, that the B1G takes the long view and is making decisions about invitations based on where universities will be decades from now not just recent success. I think if the B1G leadership were to make an effort to study UConn, perhaps they already have, they would see potential for UConn to be a really good fit as a member of the eastern footprint of the conference.

The school is certainly ramping up even more academically. The market is there. Unless Conn. HS football improves substantially (and it already has) it will be hard to see UConn making huge inroads there especially since it is now in the AAC. Nonetheless, a good coach could make waves. The school has had a couple years with 5 NFL draft picks in the last half decade. It makes you think what a solid offensive coordinator would do. The market is there, the academics are ramping up, the basketball coach is there, and football is what it is. They simply need someone to take advantange of the talent that is already there.

 

[NEforceUConn]

One other point is SH and UConn is finally starting to understand that marketing matters. The new Husky and the unified UConn name across all teams is a great first step. I'm glad SH is stressing academics first, however marketing in Fairfield county is important. Have the FB team schedule one or two summer practices in Greenwich or Stamford. thats what UNC does in Charlotte.

We have NFL exposure, lets just get the word out. Stress our FB successes, point in fact UConn has a winning record against UL in FB over the lat 5 years at 3-2. We beat ND. We beat, actually crushed, South Carolina - I believe the old ball coach said something like UConn beat us in every facet of the game. Inform people that RGIII stated UConn's stadium was perhaps the loudest he had played college ball in. No one in the ACC/SEC/B1G knows that.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Good God what a dumb thread.

UConn guys: calling Louisville a glorified community college is stupid and sounds like nothing but sour grapes. Now Boise, that is a freaking community college. Memphis and Houston are both far below Louisville as well. Attacking the city is dumb too. Upstater loves NYC, which I think is the just about the worst place on the continent. Everybody likes something different. Storrs isn't exactly a tourist attraction and Hartford is nothing great. I know we all tend to take the CR snubs personally, but knocking others down to make yourself feel better is petty.

Louisville folks: attacking UConn's athletic success as in some way inferior is stupid. So is the suggestion that not obtaining an invite to the "Big 5" is some sort of permanent stain. If so it's a stain Louisville had for a long, long time. Louisville was lucky as hell, and if you don't acknowledge that the ACC choked down Louisville against its normal academic standards and judgment, then you aren't being honest. Gee did nothing except say the B1G isn't going to do the same thing, which should suprise nobody. A little freaking humility would serve you well at the moment. We've seen the same nonsense from Syracuse and Pitt fans who think they are now somehow superior and UConn is unworthy, just because they joined the ACC. Anybody who brings that attitude here deserves to be smacked down.

B1G posters: Thanks for the continued support. Rational discussion is always welcome.

 

[Dann]

This guy actually shared his toys in kindergarten. Back to the war!!!!

 

[Adios]

....but knocking others down to make yourself feel better is petty.

That is a ridiculously widespread pattern of behavior. All walks of life.