Possible Big 12 Invite rumors

[bendm]

The B1G picked the LA schools off, and may possibly find another pair or two (Stanford, Cal, Oregon, Washington). The SEC doesn’t go past Texas, and I don’t think they’re planning to go further. That leaves a huge chunk for the B12. The east is pretty much picked over, except us. The only viable places for us would be B1G or ACC, but I’m not sure how much of the ACC will be left if the SEC and B1G take their picks.

UConn is obviously only getting invited to big12 to balance out an eastern division or pod with Colorado on the other side. That’s just the way it is there’s nothing to be skeptical about.

But to your point, it would be nice if eventually the leftover acc schools have no option but to merge with the big12 and create a stronger eastern presence.

 

[bendm]

Won’t the BiG 12 money eventually dry up after Oklahoma and Texas football are gone from Big 12?

They negotiating their new $30 million plus tv deal after Texas and OU announced they were leaving

 

[gsmooth]

Look at their home slate and compare it to ours.

Something tells me our attendance would be a great deal better playing real teams...

Well, there isn't exactly a danger of a stampede at the ticket office for Sacred Heart and UMass. I hope the latter can become a good competitive regional rivalry with UMass improving and not with UConn going down to their level.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Won’t the BiG 12 money eventually dry up after Oklahoma and Texas football are gone from Big 12?

Seems like the Big 12 is a dying conference. The last few years in Big East have been awesome. I hope we don’t blow it chasing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Big12 money is actually increasing - even with the loss of OU-TX.

 

[freescooter]

Won’t the BiG 12 money eventually dry up after Oklahoma and Texas football are gone from Big 12?

Seems like the Big 12 is a dying conference. The last few years in Big East have been awesome. I hope we don’t blow it chasing a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Yeah. Not exactly. They have a deal that is $31 million minimum through 2027, I believe. Texas and Oklahoma leave in 2024. They have a new and very aggressive commissioner. They are talking about separate contracts for basketball and football. They have taken the prime spots from the NEWBIE on Fox. They even have first dibs on the best of the basketball only schools on the board. the NEWBIE is being pressured to add a team to generate additional money. Who is left? UMass? St Louis? Dayton?

 

[HuskyHawk]

I think if you're operating under the assumption that they want to go West and would only take us because they need another school to add with Colorado, that's a bad sign. We really don't want to be out on an island and if future expansion happens, have to start traveling even further west. We would probably need assurances that the future plans include adding teams on the east coast

That’s my assumption based on the fact that even when they had Colorado, Nebraska and Missouri, but after they lost Arkansas, they saw where the SEC was going and hoped to expand southwest. It was pretty well known even back in the 90s. SEC has now poached both schools from states considered “the south”, Arkansas and Mizzou, plus the two eastern most Texas schools and OU, which really is more of a southwestern school.

There are no other eastern schools for them to add, so if we go, we’re on an island unless you count WVU and Cinci. That’s inevitable.

 

[Billy Jack]

Having a real team to play real teams is key. We can’t look at the last 10 years as a barometer. We had horrible coaches and an unappealing schedule. The only reasonable reference point for performance on the field and in the stands is during the Big East years. We were a pretty good program with a full stadium. The B12 would provide a similar quality schedule (better, actually) and Jim Mora is no slouch.

There is no reason to think a formidable UConn team playing a B12 schedule would look anything like the AAC years. It would look much more like the Big East years.

You’re not thinking like a university president.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Why do they want Utah so badly? They've had some nice football seasons but is locking down the state of Utah really that important? I've traveled a lot and been to a lot of sports bars all over. I've never actually met or seen an Utah fan.

It was the fastest growing state in the country between 2010-2020 censuses. They definitely like sports. As I said, if they could drop BYU and take Utah, I’m sure they’d rather do that. Since 2003 Utah has failed to go to bowl game twice. From a league strength of schedule point of view for the playoff, that’s huge.

Basketball struggled after Majerus but has been ok since they hired Krystkowiak.

 

[Billy Jack]

They want Utah for the ticket revenue? Yea…..

People in that part of the country care about college football. They show up. That’s the point. Here? Not so much.

 

[CL82]

I understand that bolded is the media narrative, but why do we insist on flogging ourselves with it on a UConn board.

These schools have research advantages...but that only matters for the B1G, which isn't interested. From a sports and national brand standpoint UConn is ahead of these schools. Colorado and Zona have been terrible in football. Terrible. The states are marginally bigger, but aren't ever mentioned with the phrase "could bring the NY/Boston market." Colorado shares its market with four pro sports teams, as does Zona...which also shares with ASU. Speaking of which, ASU is the second school in the state. UConn should be considered miles ahead of them.

Oh and UConn does that thing where it wins a major national championship in March every six years or so.

UConn is a better program/option than a lot of current P5 teams. We don't have to accept a narrative that UConn should be behind the likes of these schools. We should stop fighting over the scraps at Longshanks table and invade York or something...

Absolutely, you should go and quit your job because you don't except the narrative that you actually need money to have housing and food.

 

[Nebraskan18]

No idea if this is just a troll or not but ‍♂️

 

[ElGreco]

They want Utah for the ticket revenue? Yea…..

 

[ElGreco]

People in that part of the country care about college football. They show up. That’s the point. Here? Not so much.

True, but nationally nobody cares about Utah football

 

[SL Husky]

Utah really doesn't want the Big 12 unless absolutely forced. Utah's Twitter fans have managed to make enemies with all Big 12 fan bases in a very short time, and the Utah administration has indicated it doesn't want the Big 12. Utah literally is willing to go down with the ship if that happens.

 

[superjohn]

It was the fastest growing state in the country between 2010-2020 censuses. They definitely like sports. As I said, if they could drop BYU and take Utah, I’m sure they’d rather do that. Since 2003 Utah has failed to go to bowl game twice. From a league strength of schedule point of view for the playoff, that’s huge.

Basketball struggled after Majerus but has been ok since they hired Krystkowiak.

I didn't realize it's the fastest growing state but it still has less people than Connecticut does and it's nearly 20 times larger than Connecticut. I would imagine BYU has a much larger fanbase than Utah does.

 

[UCONNRPh]

The AD Report said UConn and the Big 12 are talking. "The movement is gaining momentum but not guaranteed to happen. Both sides are still doing their homework."

And it was only 2 weeks ago that Russell Steinberg tweeted that Yormark was recently on campus but that it was "very exploratory" and does not mean anything is imminent.

Why do people think that something was going to happen NOW?

Just out of curiosity, which is your team you care about. Obviously its not UConn

 

[How Sway?!]

No idea if this is just a troll or not but ‍♂️

That was from a couple of days ago. Nothing happened.

 

[Stinger92860]

People in that part of the country care about college football. They show up. That’s the point. Here? Not so much.

So it’s the ticket revenue…and the concession money

 

[CL82]

Every time I open this thread I lose 20,000 brain cells.

Maybe stop drinking sterno while you read The Boneyard?

 

[Durks07]

Maybe stop drinking sterno while you read The Boneyard?

Wait, are you telling me I don't have to drink sterno when reading the boneyard?

 

[champs99and04]

That would be the dumbest thing in the history of dumb things.

Can't tell if you're joking or not.

The reason it could happen is that Fox controls the fate of the Big East in its palms. I know the Big East has indicated that there seems to be mutual interest in a renewal, but Fox still has the leverage right now and won't be afraid to let the ten non-UConn schools in the league know that. From Fox's standpoint, UConn changing conferences would potentially increase the value of its Big 12 contract and allow it to keep the remaining Big East schools on the cheap while negotiating UConn's exit fee down.

Is it dumb? Yes, but contrary to what people here seem to be hoping, I think the Big 12 adding UConn as a full member at this time would be equally dumb. The football program's not ready for that yet, and my hunch is that the league is merely extending an olive branch this time around in the hope of possibly re-visiting the idea more seriously in a couple years. In the meantime, UConn makes for a convenient mutual bargaining chip.

 

[upstater]

The reason it could happen is that Fox controls the fate of the Big East in its palms. I know the Big East has indicated that there seems to be mutual interest in a renewal, but Fox still has the leverage right now and won't be afraid to let the ten non-UConn schools in the league know that. From Fox's standpoint, UConn changing conferences would potentially increase the value of its Big 12 contract and allow it to keep the remaining Big East schools on the cheap while negotiating UConn's exit fee down.

Is it dumb? Yes, but contrary to what people here seem to be hoping, I think the Big 12 adding UConn as a full member at this time would be equally dumb. The football program's not ready for that yet, and my hunch is that the league is merely extending an olive branch this time around in the hope of possibly re-visiting the idea more seriously in a couple years. In the meantime, UConn makes for a convenient mutual bargaining chip.

What do you mean by "not ready yet?" They came from nothing when they joined the BE and had winning records as soon as they joined.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Its like the first ten years of the Rent doesn't exist only the last ten. Winning begets fan interest and fannies in the seats no matter what part of the country you're in. We beat a B12 team with a future pro qb at Memorial.

 

[businesslawyer]

Its like the first ten years of the Rent doesn't exist only the last ten. Winning begets fan interest and fannies in the seats no matter what part of the country you're in. We beat a B12 team with a future pro qb at Memorial.

Iowa State? That was in Ames. Sorry if I’m missing the reference.

 

[pj]

I understand that bolded is the media narrative, but why do we insist on flogging ourselves with it on a UConn board.

These schools have research advantages...but that only matters for the B1G, which isn't interested. From a sports and national brand standpoint UConn is ahead of these schools. Colorado and Zona have been terrible in football. Terrible. The states are marginally bigger, but aren't ever mentioned with the phrase "could bring the NY/Boston market." Colorado shares its market with four pro sports teams, as does Zona...which also shares with ASU. Speaking of which, ASU is the second school in the state. UConn should be considered miles ahead of them.

Oh and UConn does that thing where it wins a major national championship in March every six years or so.

UConn is a better program/option than a lot of current P5 teams. We don't have to accept a narrative that UConn should be behind the likes of these schools. We should stop fighting over the scraps at Longshanks table and invade York or something...

I agree with you that UConn is approximately a peer institution, from a sports perspective, with the Arizona schools and Colorado.

It makes sense for the Pac-12 to be divvied up between the B1G and B12, ending up with 4 superconferences. And Arizona/Colorado/UConn plus either Arizona State or Utah would be a good 4 to add to the B12 in time for the 2027 TV negotiations.