Probably a crazy question...

[UConnSportsGuy]

...but if the ACC called today with an offer to join the conference, would you accept?

Up until this point I would have said it is a no brainer--there is no decision to make..you accept before you hand up the phone. But given recent developments, I am not so sure it is a 100% slam dunk.

It is not unrealistic to envision a scenario now where the Big East gets a contract with a larger per team payout than the ACC and has a tie in with NBC (and their sports and regional channels). If that is the case, it is not unreasonable to think that some of the ACC teams (FSU, VT, etc) look to the SEC or B12 and leave the ACC.

I am not convinced that the ACC would be our best choice. Right now, I think the only way that we take an ACC invite is if Notre Dame is also coming. Otherwise, I think the only way we bail on the BE is if the B1G comes calling (which is obviously a long shot at best at this point).






And another point to be made is the change in thinking I have had around the setup of the BE (some non-football schools). In the traditional TV model it has been a negative for the conference. However, in the shifting landscape of the TV and sports programming world, it is now actually a positive. For football, you can have your football schools and have your TV programming with the limited football schedule (only 12 games, once a week). But for basketball and the other sports, where it is all about providing quality content and programming for TV channels, it actually works to the positive. Being able to provide much more quality content for basketball and the such while also delivering big markets (Georgetown-DC, Villanova-Philly, DePaul/ND-Chicago, Marquette-Milwaukee, St Johns-NYC, etc) is huge. I would argue the setup of the BE is actually a positive in the future TV/Content world (although it would be even better if we had the WVU, Syracuse, Pitt instead of Navy, Boise St, SDSU, etc).

And I will just throw this out there too. The BE currently has 13 football teams once Navy joins. Are they holding out hope that the ACC implodes and saving those 3 spots for some of those programs?!




PS... Observer, I am pretty sure I know your opinion on this...so no need to respond or give your thoughts on this one!

 

[WestCoastHusky]

First, we definitely should wait for the new BE TV numbers before any decision. There is a good chance the new BE TV deal would surpass the ACC TV deal with much better exposure. Also, if we can keep our tier-3 rights we could generate another $5M to $10M additional revenue on top of our BE TV payout. It would be nuts to join a conference that will be on the bottom of payout for the next 16 years.

Yes, ACC is screwed for the next 16 years with their new ESPiN deal. There will be instability within the ACC once FSU/Clemson/VT/Gtech etc. realize there are more money by leaving. We would be stupid to jump into a situation like that.

Of course, if B1G calls, we will take that call.

 

[pj]

And I will just throw this out there too. The BE currently has 13 football teams once Navy joins. Are they holding out hope that the ACC implodes and saving those 3 spots for some of those programs?!

I think the remaining spots to 16 would be Army and Air Force (service academies get high TV ratings) and BYU to round out a western pod (Boise/SDSU/Air Force/BYU).

But, if ACC teams became available, that equation could change.

 

[Dann]

i say yes to the acc if 16 with the phone call was nd. i think nd brings enough $$ to the table where the acc stays together and were in. if not then i sit back and say give me a minute to think about it. i want to play sports with big public's. i don't care if thats md/unc/uva or umass/ohio/del or the in between like temple/ville/cincy/usf right now. f the private schools that don't get it, dont care about it or are just slow.

 

[Waquoit]

If you care at least one tiny bit about the men's basketball team, you know the program that made this all possible, the answer is "yes".

 

[whaler11]

Depends, if you say no does Rutgers get to say yes? Louisville?

Who is 16? If it's Notre Dame or Louisville there is no choice.

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Depends, if you say no does Rutgers get to say yes? Louisville?

Who is 16? If it's Notre Dame or Louisville there is no choice.

So basically, this explains the situation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner's_dilemma


You are probably right. That is basically what drove the lastest defections in my opinion.

 

[06029]

Depends, if you say no does Rutgers get to say yes? Louisville?

Who is 16? If it's Notre Dame or Louisville there is no choice.

Why do people think 16 is the magic number? No league beyond the BE in BB has gone to 16. It barely works in BB, it would be a mess in FB from a scheduling perspective. Even if you increase to 9 league games and you have 2 8 team divisions, that means you will be playing some teams in the conference once every 5+ years. And the answer to the original question is yes no matter the conditions (unless it is for half a revenue share). Same if the B1G calls or the B-12 or The Pac12 or the SEC.

 

[whaler11]

Why do people think 16 is the magic number? No league beyond the BE in BB has gone to 16. It barely works in BB, it would be a mess in FB from a scheduling perspective. Even if you increase to 9 league games and you have 2 8 team divisions, that means you will be playing some teams in the conference once every 5+ years. And the answer to the original question is yes no matter the conditions (unless it is for half a revenue share). Same if the B1G calls or the B-12 or The Pac12 or the SEC.

It's not magical. It's just 15 is stupid and they already have 14.

 

[Rondogg]

Yes, I take the ACC, gets us back with our BE friends and allows us to play BB vs UNC, Duke, Pitt and Syr every year. It also gets us back to our true main rival BC. Even if VT and FSU left, we would be in a better position.

 

[John Greene]

Yes, I take the ACC, gets us back with our BE friends and allows us to play BB vs UNC, Duke, Pitt and Syr every year. It also gets us back to our true main rival BC. Even if VT and FSU left, we would be in a better position.

Not to hijack his subject but I see the sentiment stated above that BC is "our rival" fairly often here. It always makes we wonder where this opinion came from. To the best of my knowledge we have never beaten them in football while totally dominating in MBB & WBB for the last 10-15 years we played. They are a religious affiliated school we are not. We are about twice their size and get the vast majority of our students from the state of CT. Other than being a couple of hour drive apart, why do so many here see them as a rival? I can see RU or even Umass as natural rivals but not BC.

 

[Hoophound]

Not to hijack his subject but I see the sentiment stated above that BC is "our rival" fairly often here. It always makes we wonder where this opinion came from. To the best of my knowledge we have never beaten them in football while totally dominating in MBB & WBB for the last 10-15 years we played. They are a religious affiliated school we are not. We are about twice their size and get the vast majority of our students from the state of CT. Other than being a couple of hour drive apart, why do so many here see them as a rival? I can see RU or even Umass as natural rivals but not BC.

Hatred.

 

[John Greene]

Hatred.

Even hatred has to have a basis. They left the BE what, 8 years ago. We sued them over it. Don't remember exactly what the outcome was but it was not a disaster for UConn. If, as many seem to believe, the BE is better of with the new teams joining the conference why the hatred? Just for clarification I am not among those who believe that we are better off (too many second tier schools for my taste) but, with all the talk about a big payday coming, it does appear to be the majority opinion among frequent posters.

 

[Hoophound]

Even hatred has to have a basis. They left the BE what, 8 years ago. We sued them over it. Don't remember exactly what the outcome was but it was not a disaster for UConn. If, as many seem to believe, the BE is better of with the new teams joining the conference why the hatred? Just for clarification I am not among those who believe that we are better off (too many second tier schools for my taste) but, with all the talk about a big payday coming, it does appear to be the majority opinion among frequent posters.

Because we hate them. It is what it is. Proximity often creates rivalry organically and for no specific reason.
They hate us too.

 

[whaler11]

Even hatred has to have a basis. They left the BE what, 8 years ago. We sued them over it. Don't remember exactly what the outcome was but it was not a disaster for UConn. If, as many seem to believe, the BE is better of with the new teams joining the conference why the hatred? Just for clarification I am not among those who believe that we are better off (too many second tier schools for my taste) but, with all the talk about a big payday coming, it does appear to be the majority opinion among frequent posters.

Um their fans? Their president? Their AD?

 

[John Greene]

Because we hate them. It is what it is. Proximity often creates rivalry organically and for no specific reason.
They hate us too.

Probably right. I guess that asking for logic or reasons on an internet board destroys the whole purpose of the board. By the way "it is what it is" is fast becoming my most hated cliche. Don't ask why, I just hate it.

 

[John Greene]

Um their fans? Their president? Their AD?

Wasn't aware that they had so many fans in CT these days. As far as their pres and ad are concerned if they are in the process of taking BC down the athletic tubes, why not just cheer them on?

 

[whaler11]

Wasn't aware that they had so many fans in CT these days. As far as their pres and ad are concerned if they are in the process of taking BC down the athletic tubes, why not just cheer them on?

I'd also like to beat them to a pulp along the way. What few fans they have are annoying.

 

[John Greene]

I'd also like to beat them to a pulp along the way. What few fans they have are annoying.

Unless they, Calhoun and Auriema have changes of heart the only pulping that may occur between us for some time is on the ice after we join HE. Unfortunately for several years we are likely to be the pulpee.

My apology to the original poster for being the cause of a hijacked thread. With that I sign off for another week.

 

[Hoophound]

Probably right. I guess that asking for logic or reasons on an internet board destroys the whole purpose of the board. By the way "it is what it is" is fast becoming my most hated cliche. Don't ask why, I just hate it.

I don't like it either but it is what it is. You can't ask a question that has a million little answers and expect somebody to bother to list them.

We are close neighbors and our fan bases don't like each other.

We have been wildly successful in basketball with a Boston bred coach, they suck at basketball.

We are trying to best them in football and it is working.

They used to call us dumb, but now our academics are very strong.

We sued them.

We think they blocked us from the ACC because their own AD said they did.

They don't think CT is part of New England.

We think they have obnoxious accents.

A lot of UConn fans are Yankee, Ranger and Knick fans.

A lot of UConn fans were Whaler fans.

It is fun to hate each other.

 

[HuskyFan16]

BC just kinda blows, no other way to put it really. Everything about them screams insecure, whiny bitch. As a UConn fan I feel inclined to align my tastes and preferences with the leadership of my school, say ... Jim Calhoun for example. I have no way of knowing this but my gut says Calhoun suffers distaste and holds no preference towards insecure, whiny .

 

[whaler11]

Unless they, Calhoun and Auriema have changes of heart the only pulping that may occur between us for some time is on the ice after we join HE. Unfortunately for several years we are likely to be the pulpee.

My apology to the original poster for being the cause of a hijacked thread. With that I sign off for another week.

Or if say they were... In the same conference.

 

[Danzz]

We don't hesitate, we jump immediately no matter which team is #16 and no matter what TV revenue is.. The BE is a clusterfrick. The ACC isn't ideal geographicly but it still makes more sense than the BE.

 

[Sky ball]

They Hate us and we Hate Them? Who are US and Them - Boneyarders and Eagleoutsiders? So do you think 40,000 fans in the Rent or Alumni hate each other? I bet the NORMAL fan of both schools do not - just us obsessed internet posters.

 

[Marty Jackson]

...but if the ACC called today with an offer to join the conference, would you accept?

Up until this point I would have said it is a no brainer--there is no decision to make..you accept before you hand up the phone. But given recent developments, I am not so sure it is a 100% slam dunk.

It is not unrealistic to envision a scenario now where the Big East gets a contract with a larger per team payout than the ACC and has a tie in with NBC (and their sports and regional channels). If that is the case, it is not unreasonable to think that some of the ACC teams (FSU, VT, etc) look to the SEC or B12 and leave the ACC.

I am not convinced that the ACC would be our best choice. Right now, I think the only way that we take an ACC invite is if Notre Dame is also coming. Otherwise, I think the only way we bail on the BE is if the B1G comes calling (which is obviously a long shot at best at this point).
This is a great question... I agree with you and don't think it's a slam dunk anymore. The BE with this new hire is making a statement. Whereas in the past it was a slam-dunk, I think it really depends on the situation.
There are always going to be the BE haters that simply say "The BE sucks". but for the last week or so, things are starting to change in a positive way.

There's a lot left to play out here, but finally there is a positive vibe around the BE. Maybe Spackler was right that the BE leadership finally gets it.

I'm really bullish on this hire. They needed a home-run, and from everything I'm reading, I think they got it.





And another point to be made is the change in thinking I have had around the setup of the BE (some non-football schools). In the traditional TV model it has been a negative for the conference. However, in the shifting landscape of the TV and sports programming world, it is now actually a positive. For football, you can have your football schools and have your TV programming with the limited football schedule (only 12 games, once a week). But for basketball and the other sports, where it is all about providing quality content and programming for TV channels, it actually works to the positive. Being able to provide much more quality content for basketball and the such while also delivering big markets (Georgetown-DC, Villanova-Philly, DePaul/ND-Chicago, Marquette-Milwaukee, St Johns-NYC, etc) is huge. I would argue the setup of the BE is actually a positive in the future TV/Content world (although it would be even better if we had the WVU, Syracuse, Pitt instead of Navy, Boise St, SDSU, etc).

And I will just throw this out there too. The BE currently has 13 football teams once Navy joins. Are they holding out hope that the ACC implodes and saving those 3 spots for some of those programs?!




PS... Observer, I am pretty sure I know your opinion on this...so no need to respond or give your thoughts on this one!