Path Forward for UConn

[NEforceUConn]

Yup, color me sad.

 

[ninety-nine]

It's sunk in for me that UConn football probably doesn't have a future beyond MAC-level or independent play, and even our basketball programs might not survive the tectonic shifts if the big-money schools decide to do their own thing in other revenue sports. With the Pac-12's demise they're officially consolidating now, and even new Big XII adds like Cincinnati, not to mention Kansas State and Iowa State, might not make it through the next gauntlet.

Sometimes things just happen and you fall through the cracks, and no one's going to fix it. The ethos of this society certainly supports that outcome -- it's not about making sure everyone can play. Maybe when UConn no longer has an exit fee to worry about, some creative option will emerge that shifts the playing field again and UConn can jump in and capitalize on it, or even help engineer it, but right now we don't have a path into the current P4.

I'll still go to the football games, though. They're fun. Might as well enjoy it however long we can.

 

[Point6]

I was holding out for partnering with Notre Dame to the B1G anyway, so...

 

[Kolumbo]

 

[CL82]

adding UConn does not increase their revenue

Unless, ESPN chooses to pay them more, then it does.

The path forward is that there is no path forward.

Unless ESPN decides that it is willing to write a check for us, then it is.

Literally, our fate is in the hands of an in-state company that was created to broadcast UConn games. They eviscerated our conference and left us to die out in the wilderness. Anytime the state has any interaction with them, but particularly if they come to us with their hat in hand again asking for tax help, that is some thing that should be in the forefront of elected officials minds.

 

[Muddler]

E

This is why it will ultimately split.

The P4 is funding the DIII swimming and diving championships. They don’t want to.

the entire NCAA Division III budget is around 35 million. March Madness revenue--which is included in that number, pays for their championships.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The SEC and B1G will be. So, the growing wealth gap is huge problem.

No they won’t.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Seems to me we only have one sure-shot way of getting into a power conference. It would be on the backs of our basketball programs and would require a massive change to the way the March Madness tv dollars are distributed. It would take the shutting off/reducing what goes to fund D2/D3 sports. If all of a sudden power conferences kept much more of that money, then UConn gets an invite immediately. $1.1 billion of tv revenue is what the tourney generates for the men's tourney alone. Say, 100m of that is kept at the D1/power level instead of flowing into D2/D3. That's a huge pot of dough that we could win part of for an all sports conference assuming theyd continue to use the games won credit system, so we'd leave the BE for riches in the Big12 or ACC (or maybe even the Big10 if they were still desperate basketball wise).

 

[NH Husky]

The ultimate path is you cheer for your teams to win in whatever affiliation they are. A championship is always something to be proud of.
Regarding basketball specifically, it would be pretty hard for the P2 to claim they have the best college team in the country considering past seasons performances. Realistically they only can assume that in football, but even then, people will always speculate if the best non-P2 could beat them. Then reorging happens all over again.
Talent? Walter Payton came out of D2 Jackson St