Possible Big 12 Invite rumors

[noeynox]

If there is a market that gets the hodge podge of flyover schools and community colleges like the Big 12 that much money, then let's see how well the Big East can do on its own.

The other issue is timing. Fox has hitched their wagon to the Big 12 money wise. There are only so many tv timeslots available. The B1G and the Big 12 have locked a lot of those up.

 

[Tenspro2002]

As of 9:08 AM on 5/17/2023

There are three conferences that won't be raided
1) SEC
2) B10
3) Big East

Everybody else is in a state of flux. The only exception might be the Big East, and the only school that might get plucked is UConn

I'm talking as a fan, a basketball fan. We have all we need to compete

Why the Big 12? To compete against KU in hoops? That conference will look a lot like the AAC soon enough

Since it's unlikely we'll ever be an SEC school, it's B10 or bust

The Big East won't be raided, but it will also be dirt poor (comparatively) in perpetuity.

I'd rather take the significant Big XII payday in the short term and let the long term sort itself out if the Big XII has issues down the line.

 

[Chuck]

If it isn't a top 5 job, that's only because we can't afford to pay our coaches what they deserve

A Big 12 offer would solve that

UConn is a top basketball job right now. The Big East is part of that. There are two challenges keeping it from Top 5. First, we don't have unlimited funds at the university for coach and assistant salaries. A move to the Big 12 (or ACC) could significantly help with that.

The other challenge is NIL. It's hard to know where we stand. Our competitors seem to think we have southern Connecticut fund managers throwing money around, but I've never seen evidence of that. A move to a P5 conference wouldn't change that as the university can't pay NIL.

We should assume that our biggest donors and NIL contributors will be as split as this thread. UConn should be in touch with them about any move to get their temperature and pull all to the desired goal.

 

[Scottobot]

Big 12 may be good now, but they care more about football than basketball and teams will leave Big 12 as soon as there is a better football option for them and like many others have said it may look a lot like AAC in 5 years.
Also the last couple of years they have been good at basketball, but historically it has been a league where only Kansas is consistently good. Texas is good about half the time. If the coach at Baylor leaves, they will probably return to sucking.

Better to stay in a league that is devoted to basketball. St John’s and Georgetown are on the verge of being restored and relevant again. Rather than looking to bolt, I would like to see the Big East pluck a good basketball team, like Duke from these dissolving conferences.

 

[Rdkid]

Speculation makes for interesting posts, but nothing more.

 

[aburks41]

UConn is a top basketball job right now. The Big East is part of that. There are two challenges keeping it from Top 5. First, we don't have unlimited funds at the university for coach and assistant salaries. A move to the Big 12 (or ACC) could significantly help with that.

The other challenge is NIL. It's hard to know where we stand. Our competitors seem to think we have southern Connecticut fund managers throwing money around, but I've never seen evidence of that. A move to a P5 conference wouldn't change that as the university can't pay NIL.

We should assume that our biggest donors and NIL contributors will be as split as this thread. UConn should be in touch with them about any move to get their temperature and pull all to the desired goal.

I could be wrong but I'm willing to bet a majority of our biggest donors are football people who would overwhelming support a move to the B12. You could easily sell B12 basketball too. It's not the AAC with ECU, Tulane, SMU, and Tulsa.

 

[Windsorlocks]

UConn Can Ill Afford to Make the Mistake of a Football-Centric Big 12 Move

 

[Luna]

The big east has a electricity about it right now..most of the big east venues are packed… the big east tournament is by far the best in the country…David Benedict better think hard before he puts uconn in the big 12…i can see 10,000 in Hartford for big 12 games

 

[Rico444]

We are not Syracuse, BC or Pitt. We do things differently and much more successfully when given the opportunity.

I hope you're right. I'm not saying that to be snarky, I really do hope if this happens that I'm proven wrong and we're the outlier that has continues our success. Syracuse and Pitt were top level programs in 2013. Cuse has made a few deep tournament runs, but otherwise hasn't been very successful. Pitt has completely fallen apart. BC wasn't that good to start, but they have dropped so much that I can barely remember the last time they were even remotely relevant. The hit rate for teams leaving the Big East has not been very good. I don't think that's a coincidence.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

The big east has a electricity about it right now..most of the big east venues are packed… the big east tournament is by far the best in the country…David Benedict better think hard before he puts uconn in the big 12…i can see 10,000 in Hartford for big 12 games

Disagree - it'd be 15k in Hartford and 40k in East Hartford.

 

[Palatine]

The big east has a electricity about it right now..most of the big east venues are packed… the big east tournament is by far the best in the country…David Benedict better think hard before he puts uconn in the big 12…i can see 10,000 in Hartford for big 12 games

A healthy part of that is the BE has UConn. We are the tail that wags the dog. Without us the BE loses much of its electricity.

A yearly UConn-Kansas match up has more star power than any match up in the Big East. Seven B12 teams made the NCAA last year. The league plays very good basketball. Baylor just won the NC a couple of years ago. B12 basketball is probably better than the BE.

This UConn to the B12 thing is all smoke, so the BE groupies don't have to worry. For the foreseeable future we will stay in our small pond and be the big fish. Many things will have to happpen in the conference landscape before it trickles down to UConn.

 

[uconndogs]

A healthy part of that is the BE has UConn. We are the tail that wags the dog. Without us the BE loses much of its electricity.

A yearly UConn-Kansas match up has more star power than any match up in the Big East. Seven B12 teams made the NCAA last year. The league plays very good basketball. Baylor just won the NC a couple of years ago. B12 basketball is probably better than the BE.

This UConn to the B12 thing is all smoke, so the BE groupies don't have to worry. For the foreseeable future we will stay in our small pond and be the big fish. Many things will have to happpen in the conference landscape before it trickles down to UConn.

I largely agree with this take.

......and I think many things are going to happen not the least of which is a separation of the BiG and SEC from the rest of college athletics. The BiG is not done out west and at some point the prison that is the ACC for schools like FSU, UNC, etc. will be gone.

I'm not sure that UCONN to the B12 makes sense for anyone right now. DB has made some pretty good strategic moves of late. Let's hope that continues.

 

[businesslawyer]

Tell that to Yormark who is sniffing us. Also, you are a replacement school. We would be a true expansion school.

Did that sound like you were owning him in your head?

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

I largely agree with this take.

......and I think many things are going to happen not the least of which is a separation of the BiG and SEC from the rest of college athletics. The BiG is not done out west and at some point the prison that is the ACC for schools like FSU, UNC, etc. will be gone.

I'm not sure that UCONN to the B12 makes sense for anyone right now. DB has made some pretty good strategic moves of late. Let's hope that continues.

I don't think we are anywhere near the time the B1G and the SEC pull away from the rest of the FBS schools. It could be decades and it could never happen. It makes no sense as all it would really do is create a minor pro league to the NFL (and the NBA) and I think there are a rash of legal and economic issues that will prevent it from ever happening. Maybe the most powerful of issues is that it would alienate sports fans to the point of half the country not caring about college athletics anymore.

 

[metsfan2323]

The Big East won't be raided, but it will also be dirt poor (comparatively) in perpetuity.

Plus the Big East is not immune to a raid. A P5 conference could decide to go hybrid if they want to strengthen their basketball offering.

 

[WestHartHusk]

As of 9:08 AM on 5/17/2023

There are three conferences that won't be raided
1) SEC
2) B10
3) Big East

Everybody else is in a state of flux. The only exception might be the Big East, and the only school that might get plucked is UConn

I'm talking as a fan, a basketball fan. We have all we need to compete

Why the Big 12? To compete against KU in hoops? That conference will look a lot like the AAC soon enough

Since it's unlikely we'll ever be an SEC school, it's B10 or bust

Pointing out the Big East has a bunch of schools that nobody wants to take into their conference isn't a great argument here.

 

[Nebraskan18]

I think the best solution is a combination of the B12 and Big East and ACC

 

[John]

The big east has a electricity about it right now..most of the big east venues are packed… the big east tournament is by far the best in the country…David Benedict better think hard before he puts uconn in the big 12…i can see 10,000 in Hartford for big 12 games

I don't think we should mortgage the entire athletic department for a handful of days in NYC in March for one sport.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Big Ten teams have won only 2 NCAA MBB titles in the last 33 years. Poverty conference for basketball. Underperforms in the tournament every. single. year.

Akin to the AAC.

Would be the death of our MBB program.

Move to the B12 >>>>> Move to the B10

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Big Ten teams have won only 2 NCAA MBB titles in the last 33 years. Poverty conference for basketball. Underperforms in the tournament evvery. single. year.

Akin to the AAC.

Would be the death of our MBB program.

Or, we would sit atop that basketball conference and raise its profile while making much more coin.

 

[superjohn]

This is a hell of a take.

It's also hilarious coming from the one "UConn fan" who absolutely despises UConn basketball.

 

[RedStickHusky]

THIS. Those acting as if we’ll continue to win championships as the financial gap gets greater are delusional. We’re on a raft in the middle of the ocean. We need to jump on the first vessel that sails by. It may not be the yacht we want, but it’s more secure than the damn raft that is the big east

More likely, we'd be jumping on the titanic.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

We won hoop titles in the old Big East, the new Big East, the AAC, and the new new Big East.

So, no, moving to the best basketball conference in America doesn't seem like it'll negatively impact hoops even if it's not what we're used to.

Not to mention the AD seems hell bent on scheduling every attractive ooc game in MSG anyways so we won't even lose that connection.

For football fans this would be a dream to once again be aligned in a top league.

To say you want to turn this down for essentially 6 big hoop games a year (nova pc.. pick any two other ranked opponents) is sheer lunacy.

 

[Nebraskan18]

I think the best solution is a combination of the B12 and Big East and ACC

20 school mega conference:

Schools with every sport: Us, Syracuse, Louisville, Colorado, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State

Every sport but Football: Creighton, Villanova, Butler, Georgetown, Xavier, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Depaul?

 

[Nebraskan18]

20 school mega conference:

Schools with every sport: Us, Syracuse, Louisville, Colorado, Duke, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State

Every sport but Football: Creighton, Villanova, Butler, Georgetown, Xavier, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. Johns, Depaul?

With a conference of 20 schools it could be broken up into 2 divisions geographically.

East Division: Uconn, Cuse, Louisville, Pitt, Georgetown, St. Johns, Providence, Seton Hall, 'Nova, Duke
West Division: Creighton, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Butler, Xavier, Depaul, Marquette, Wake Forest