Other than spite, why wouldn't the AAC keep UConn football on a reduced payout?

[uconnfan68]

ESPN can renegotiate the deal. However, Navy's AD and media members have said we mean so little to ESPN that our exclusion would be negligible.

Isn’t Gladchuck from BC? Could explain the attitude.

 

[MustangMan]

ESPN will want a conference championship game. If the NCAA says they need divisions to have one, they're going to add someone. There is no better option that would join than us. And we'd take a reduced payout on top of that fact. Not only is whoever else they'd consider a worse value, they also would probably want a path to a full payout down the line.

They can have a conference championship with 11 teams (The Big12 does it with 10).

 

[John]

Isn’t Gladchuck from BC? Could explain the attitude.

BC, the gift that keeps on giving

 

[06029]

BC, the gift that keeps on giving

Long gone from BC to the USNA before all of the old BE breakdown.

 

[StunningSteve]

Missing the point Steve. It is dumb to treat the American and P5 leagues as equivalent. They aren't. But UConn will make more money in year 1 of joining the NBE, with the existing contract, than it will make in the American. Remember that the $7.2M is the figure for the the end of the deal and is before each school paying for its own production costs. It was hardly a windfall.

No leagues are equivalent.

If you really believe that the 1 million dollar SNY deal was worth killing football and paying a 12 million dollar exit fee, that's your prerogative. I wont try to convince you otherwise.

If you believe the old folks are too dementia'd out to learn new technology to pipe in their games, that's fine too. I understand that there are a lot of laggards out there who grimace at the early adopters. I'm sure some of those folks enjoy the snap of their flip phones and pretend they are Captian Kirk from Star Trek...

It just seems like there's this detachment from the real world around here, and it's not coming from my satisfaction with the ESPN deal. I appreciate UConn's contribution, and I realize the ancillary equity that was put into building something new.

It's a lot to walk away from... But, to each their own... I wont begrudge you your right to watch your games on the set you've had for the last decade, and pretend you're rejoining your former league. Good luck with that. I'd say that the AAC is closer to the autonomy leagues than the NBE is to the old Big East. Who did Nova beat in the tournament this year? It must have been something else. I can't remember.

 

[Pudge]

Well … $7 ain't 10. And it is a long way from $35m.

For every Memphis Tiger fan crowing about their bowls or the SMU (school that averaged 17,000 attendance the last two years) … we have made the difficult decision. Fans matter. We know we can get to MSG in 10,000 strong and feel our oats again. That will always be important in the College landscape.

 

[Hoophound]

A lot of this bickering has to do with a fact no one is mentioning. We are literally the only AAC school with options of any kind. Nobody else could follow us, period. Nobody else has an SNY option. People are so sick of our “arrogance”. The perceived arrogance is actually painful mourning of the loss of power status mixed with the truth that we are a fish out of water as evidenced by us being the only school with options. Despite our supposed lack of power and weak football, we have a network deal in NYC and the Big East welcoming us back with fanfare. We are not an AAC level school. We are something more. This is another chapter in the destruction of a once great AD. It is not a crappy, lowly AD finally admitting it is a failure as some try to frame it.

 

[whaler11]

No leagues are equivalent.

If you really believe that the 1 million dollar SNY deal was worth killing football and paying a 12 million dollar exit fee, that's your prerogative. I wont try to convince you otherwise.

If you believe the old folks are too dementia'd out to learn new technology to pipe in their games, that's fine too. I understand that there are a lot of laggards out there who grimace at the early adopters. I'm sure some of those folks enjoy the snap of their flip phones and pretend they are Captian Kirk from Star Trek...

It just seems like there's this detachment from the real world around here, and it's not coming from my satisfaction with the ESPN deal. I appreciate UConn's contribution, and I realize the ancillary equity that was put into building something new.

It's a lot to walk away from... But, to each their own... I wont begrudge you your right to watch your games on the set you've had for the last decade, and pretend you're rejoining your former league. Good luck with that. I'd say that the AAC is closer to the autonomy leagues than the NBE is to the old Big East. Who did Nova beat in the tournament this year? It must have been something else. I can't remember.

we dont want to be associated with you. you can move past rationalization and onto acceptance.

 

[StunningSteve]

Well … $7 ain't 10. And it is a long way from $35m.

There are other streams besides the ESPN deal.

Edit: and UConn is now one of them.

 

[StunningSteve]

we dont want to be associated with you. you can move past rationalization and onto acceptance.

Whaler, You're back! As I said, nothing but love here.

 

[VAHuskyFan]

How much will SNY or some other entity pay for full control of UConn football broadcasts as an independent? That is likely a discussion that has already occurred. Is there any value? Is there a package with UConn women and potentially other sports? We are not BYU, buy there is certainly more interest than other independent schools such as UMass or Army.

I refuse to believe that SNY was not a player in this decision. They had a cash cow in the women's program that was eliminated by the AAC contract.

This. Frontier dropped SNY earlier this year and CT is a tough market for them because there aren’t enough Mets fans to force cable carriers’ hands. Losing the UConn women would have been a huge blow to SNY if we had stayed in the AAC.

I truly hope the school worked something out with SNY for WBB + football before we left the AAC (i.e. when we had all the leverage), and is not just getting around to it now. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.

 

[whaler11]

Whaler, You're back! As I said, nothing but love here.

While I appreciate the love and bear no ill will towards you personally - not having to worry about things such as Memphis State or Too Lane anymore really has put me in a good mood.

 

[Madmannsucks]

For the record, I am not mad or upset. UConn IMO was in a good (Not p 5) conference that is clearly on the rise. The conference IMO sold itself short with the ESPN deal. With all that was spent to upgrade the football program, it would appear this was a decision that was made rather quickly. The hoops programs have a chance to thrive. For the time being, no one else does.

 

[Pudge]

We are a Athletic Department of Excellence. Over decades. The "we will figure it out" mode … belies a long history of success.

A Jim Calhoun - best Program builder in College Basketball. A Geno Auriemma - the finest Womens' Sport team ever. A Jim Penders - the best Northeast Baseball team despite challenges. A Joe Marrone - the longtime National contender in Soccer & attendance leading Program for decades. Men's Hockey - from low level playing on an Outdoor rink to the finest Hockey Conference in America - Hockey East. (*whaler11 - I left out the Field Hockey champions for your benefit)

Entitle Program Building Head Coaches to pursue Excellence. Today - we need HCRE to come through

So … WE are on this board with a bunch of traditional Connecticut /New England curmudgeon types. We need to energize the youth stakeholders & rabidly follow out teams - like we used to.

 

[UConnRock]

This. Frontier dropped SNY earlier this year and CT is a tough market for them because there aren’t enough Mets fans to force cable carriers’ hands. Losing the UConn women would have been a huge blow to SNY if we had stayed in the AAC.

I truly hope the school worked something out with SNY for WBB + football before we left the AAC (i.e. when we had all the leverage), and is not just getting around to it now. I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.

Maybe $2-$3M per year from SNY for football / WBB / occasional baseball + the Fox MBB deal would work. Add this to a couple of P5 $1M visits a year would cover lots of costs

 

[CL82]

No leagues are equivalent.

If you really believe that the 1 million dollar SNY deal was worth killing football and paying a 12 million dollar exit fee, that's your prerogative. I wont try to convince you otherwise.

If you believe the old folks are too dementia'd out to learn new technology to pipe in their games, that's fine too. I understand that there are a lot of laggards out there who grimace at the early adopters. I'm sure some of those folks enjoy the snap of their flip phones and pretend they are Captian Kirk from Star Trek...

It just seems like there's this detachment from the real world around here, and it's not coming from my satisfaction with the ESPN deal. I appreciate UConn's contribution, and I realize the ancillary equity that was put into building something new.

It's a lot to walk away from... But, to each their own... I wont begrudge you your right to watch your games on the set you've had for the last decade, and pretend you're rejoining your former league. Good luck with that. I'd say that the AAC is closer to the autonomy leagues than the NBE is to the old Big East. Who did Nova beat in the tournament this year? It must have been something else. I can't remember.

Lol, That's a whole lot of dancing to avoid admitting that you statement that the American is "6th richest conference" was, well just dumb. It was.

 

[HartbeatHusky]

It's going to be hilarious if we actually have a halfway decent football season and pull some upsets on our way out of the AAC.

 

[Nostical]

It's going to be hilarious if we actually have a halfway decent football season and pull some upsets on our way out of the AAC.

I'd say you can count on it.

 

[WrenchFan69]

They can have a conference championship with 11 teams (The Big12 does it with 10).

You either need divisions or full round robin if you're under 12 teams. Can't do uneven divisions and Navy isn't playing 10 conference games, nor would anyone else want to I imagine.

 

[Excalibur]

Hmmmmm.

Perhaps this actually answers the timing question (i.e. why "now"), right @Excalibur and @Fishy ?

I think the timing has more to do with the money from the previous exit fees running out, as well as the major reduction in NCAA tournament credits. Next year marks the last year of the 2014 credits, and the conference gets almost nothing for the 2015, 16, 17 and 18 tournaments.

 

[bceagle]

Was gonna say the same. Spite is a damn good reason.

100% part of the reason why UConn did not get an ACC invite. I talked to two people over the years that know this to be true.