Realignment talks starting again...

[j66kicker]

Houston & BYU win Big 12 football coaches poll for favorite expansion candidates. Each coach got 2 votes - for their #1 o& 2...

Houston -5
BYU - 5
Cincinnati - 4
Memphis - 4
Colorado State - 1
UCF - 1

UCONN - 0
USF - 0

ESPN poll: Big 12 coaches favor Houston, BYU

 

[ucbart]

The hiring of Paul Pasqualoni as the football coach officially sealed UCONN's fate as a mid major for forever and ever and all of eternity. That IMO, was the worst hire in the history of the UConn athletic department. Maybe they were desperate, but I would have gone with a young guy that had energy rather than a coach who ran the once proud Syracuse football program in the gutter. This recent news gives us hope, but don't kid yourselves. We aren't going to the Big 12, the B1G or the ACC. I think Diaco is great, but he was hired about 8 years too late. Enjoy the basketball success while it lasts....because once Geno and Kevin leave, the run is over. Sad but true folks.

 

[Kibitzer]

The turnaround was the ACC announcement that it had a start date for its TV network. That will make the B12 the only P5 conference without its own network. To keep up financially, the B12 needs to expand.

According to SI, B12 will definitely add two for sure and soon -- and possibly four.

UConn is apparently on the cusp if 2 are absorbed and in the mix if it's 4.

Lots of chicanery in play. It now -- finally -- appears likely that UConn will get a divorce from the dreaded AAC.

Where to? When? No one -- NO ONE! -- at this point knows. All conjecture by a host of speculators.

Stay tuned.

 

[TitleTown]

IMHO he only way that UConn will get out of the current mid major they are playing in is if FSU and Clemson leave the ACC for the SEC and the ACC essentially becomes a basketball first conference like the old Big East was.

 

[Vowelguy]

IMHO he only way that UConn will get out of the current mid major they are playing in is if FSU and Clemson leave the ACC for the SEC and the ACC essentially becomes a basketball first conference like the old Big East was.

The SEC has no interest in Florida St or Clemson, since neither bring new markets to the conference.

 

[UConnNick]

IMHO he only way that UConn will get out of the current mid major they are playing in is if FSU and Clemson leave the ACC for the SEC and the ACC essentially becomes a basketball first conference like the old Big East was.

FSU and Clemson aren't going anywhere anytime soon due to the ACC's GOR. They're locked into that until sometime in the middle of the next decade.

Basketball is not going to overtake football as the biggest moneymaker for the P5 conferences, so if the ACC remains a P5, it's going to make its decisions about membership based only on football. The reason the old Big East doesn't exist anymore is because the leadership of that conference (Tranghese/Marinatto) stubbornly refused to acknowledge that it was all about football and nothing else, until it was way too late in the game. By then they had already alienated all of the football playing members. They put the interests of the small Catholic basketball schools ahead of everybody else because most of them had previously worked in the Providence College athletic dept. They were all motivated by doing what was best for PC and the other Catholic basketball schools. That's why UCONN is where we are now.

 

[HoopsFan21]

FSU and Clemson aren't going anywhere anytime soon due to the ACC's GOR. They're locked into that until sometime in the middle of the next decade.

Basketball is not going to overtake football as the biggest moneymaker for the P5 conferences, so if the ACC remains a P5, it's going to make its decisions about membership based only on football. The reason the old Big East doesn't exist anymore is because the leadership of that conference (Tranghese/Marinatto) stubbornly refused to acknowledge that it was all about football and nothing else, until it was way too late in the game. By then they had already alienated all of the football playing members. They put the interests of the small Catholic basketball schools ahead of everybody else because most of them had previously worked in the Providence College athletic dept. They were all motivated by doing what was best for PC and the other Catholic basketball schools. That's why UCONN is where we are now.

The new ACC GOR locks those teams up until 2036, I believe.

 

[easttexastrash]

She's admitted that she has absolutely no fashion sense at all, and that it is her friends that lay out her outfits for her. NOW...she may need to look into some of these "friends"...

Personally, I relish the idea of a NC game, UConn vs Baylor, with Mulkey wearing the Lamé jacket!

Hopefully she will leave the tag on again so that Geno will have an excuse to help her remove it.

 

[easttexastrash]

Can one of the moderator please move this thread to the realignment board. There are some very well informed posters over there than are more than willing to school us.

And deny the WCBB fans the opportunity to discuss without football being the only point of view by which comments are generated? I like seeing how WCBB fans see all aspects of the realignment from a unique perspective.

 

[easttexastrash]

The TV sets in and around NYC/NE are perfectly cable of and already do broadcast college football, therefore there is no lack of product. Additional college football content from UCONN or Rutgers etc. does not create a new market it simply provides new product to a fixed market. Any new product must be competitive in the market. Competiveness =$$$ for product owners-which is why I say someone would have figured out (improved or created) such a product by now. Despite the malfeasance of the Rutgers administration, do you believe that UCONN can create a better CFB product than Rutgers or Maryland?

The question is, how many more people in the NY area are going to watch football games because of the new teams that UCONN would play? Do fans in NY really care about watching Texas, OU, Okie Lite or Baylor play, especially if those teams put a whooping on UCONN on a consistent basis?

 

[cbraarj]

The question is, how many more people in the NY area are going to watch football games because of the new teams that UCONN would play? Do fans in NY really care about watching Texas, OU, Okie Lite or Baylor play, especially if those teams put a whooping on UCONN on a consistent basis?

I will Oklahoma fan since grammar school.That is just Football!

 

[iamcbs]

The University of Connecticut actually wins games. How's that for facts?

I guess $$$ mean more to you than embarrassment.

What does that even mean? UConn actually wins games, they're aren't even in the top 5 of the AAC in FB. That's a fact!!

 

[iamcbs]

UConn resides in the #30 media market in the country just ahead of Columbus OH and just below Nashville and San Diego hence my comment about it being in a bigger TV market than half of the P5 teams. In addition to that, Connecticut is also a small part of the NYC media market. Drive northeast of campus and you will find yourself in the Boston media market which is #8. I thought TV markets were a consideration for this realignment thing at one point?

TY for the clarification, your comment makes more sense now.

 

[CocoHusky]

The question is, how many more people in the NY area are going to watch football games because of the new teams that UCONN would play? Do fans in NY really care about watching Texas, OU, Okie Lite or Baylor play, especially if those teams put a whooping on UCONN on a consistent basis?

I'm pretty sure UCONN football would be able to give Kansas a good game though.

 

[BigBird]

The B1G is about to sign its 2nd TV Contract with Fox Sports, it is projected to be over $500 million and around $44.5 million per school, by Commissioner Jim Delaney. If that's regret, please put me down for some.

I get what Butch is saying, I think. The B10 made a mistake when it selected Rutgers, and they know it. That they have made big TV money since then doesn't make it less of a mistake. It just eliminates the most feared consequence. But, there are other consequences. While Maryland has not been outstanding since the expansion, neither have they been an embarrassment. The same cannot be said of Rutgers. If Delaney and his massive ego had it to do over again, it might not be UConn that gets picked (who knows?), but I am of the opinion that Rutgers would not be the first choice.

 

[BigBird]

The concept of a NYC or NE market for CFB is a myth IMO. If you draw a 250 mile circle around NYC there is not a college football program (PSU?) that has perennially ranked in the top 20/25 of CFB or has figured in the National championship picture for how long? 30 years. 40 years. Never. If such a market exists it would have been highly exploited before now.

I don't agree. The media money game does not end with market size, but it does begin there. I'd rather have 2% of the NYC market than to have 85% of Rantoul, Illinois. Having potential access to a huge population is typically preferrable to a smaller one. Even if TV CFB is not a big draw in NY, as you claim, it does not mean that a conference would not enrich itself by going there. This is why media people look at both ratings and share statistics. They do not describe the same things.

I would also point out that you highlighted and disagreed with one-half of my statement, seeming to pass by the important second clause. The UConn name is known and appreciated in the NY region (right?), so if a conference absorbs UConn and goes into that market, they are certainly not starting from scratch. There is a known and appreciated anchor institution. That is an important consideration.

Where I would agree with you, I think, is that you consider the NYC market to be complex and not easily swayed. If that is your position, you are certainly right.

 

[BigBird]

The concept of a NYC or NE market for CFB is a myth IMO. If you draw a 250 mile circle around NYC there is not a college football program (PSU?) that has perennially ranked in the top 20/25 of CFB or has figured in the National championship picture for how long? 30 years. 40 years. Never. If such a market exists it would have been highly exploited before now.

I don't agree. The media money game does not end with market size, but it does begin there. I'd rather have 2% of the NYC market than to have 85% of Rantoul, Illinois. Having potential access to a huge population is typically preferrable to a smaller one. Even if TV CFB is not a big draw in NY, as you claim, it does not mean that a conference would not enrichen itself by going there. This is why media people look at both ratings and share statistics. They do not describe the same things.

I would also point out that you highlighted and disagreed with one-half of my statement, seeming to pass by the important second clause. The UConn name is known and appreciated in the NY region (right?), so if a conference absorbs UConn and goes into that market, they are certainly not starting from scratch. There is a known and appreciated anchor institution. That is an important consideration.

Where I would agree with you, I think, is that you consider the NYC market to be complex and not easily swayed. If that is your position, you are certainly right.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

Rutgers also is in New Jersey and up here in the Northeast it is a hotbed for D1 football recruits.It is and only has been about football.If CBB had any pull do you really think the Big East would have broken up?The BE would have 7 of the 8 NC since 2013.It is all about FB.Yes Uconn made the Fiesta Bowl but lost by 40 to an average Oklahoma team by there standards..

First of all as someone that was at that game ,I want to clear up some of your ridicules trolling.
I was sitting in a section with mixed Oklahoma and UConn supporters
When the final qtr started we were down by 14 but driving deep into Oklahoma territory,A touchdown a that point would have put tremendous pressure on them and their fans were Squirming .We failed to convert and they scored and A pick six ended our hopes and made the final score less indicative of the game . We also had two other drives stopped one at their 20(Edsall probsbly should have taken the FG)
and on their one yard line late in the game.
Were they the better team ,of course ,they were, they were pre-season number one
They were the B12 champs and their QB was a future NF L er . They were also motivated by recent notable bad bowl performances
They had routed FSU by almost the same score as our game.
UConn's Jordon Toddman had more yards rushing than the entire Okla team
We had and incredible 495 yds of total offense. I don't know if you actually have any football knowledge but those numbers don't point to the game you mentioned especially since they were primarily accumulated when the game was still in reach.
Oklahoma late scores by their first team made the final look much more one sided thst if was.
Our lack of a top notch QB was the difference in the game.

 

[cbraarj]

Uconn played their A game and Oklahoma played their C game and still lost by 28 pts.You dont know me or what I know.So dont attack me personally because im right about realignment and you dont know what to say.By the way Oklahoma has been my favorite team since 1973.Every time there is talk about realignment people always think it has something to do with CBB and it doesnt.That is why Loiusville is in the ACC and Uconn is not.It is all about Football and always will be.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I will Oklahoma fan since grammar school.That is just Football!

Love the Sooner Boomers!

 

[Buzzyboy]

You just lack the basic understanding of what drives decision-making in the NCAA, look at the expansion/realignment over the past 5 years. UConn hasn't even been discussed by any conference and it's because their FB program isn't relevant. Your statement that Connecticut is in the top half of TV Markets is confusing, I don't know exactly what point you're attempting to convey. If you're saying that because it's in the NY/NJ market then I think I understand. Improve the FB program significantly, the way the WCBB has improved, and there will be opportunities.

What kind of program has Rutgers ever had? Aren't they in the Big 10 now. They've had access to a lot of talented athletes in New Jersey and yet, for all intents and purposes they've rarely been relevant in Division 1 football. Has there been any growth in their program since they've gotten in the Big 10 and what kind of support are they getting in their home state? Not a whole lot, from what I gather.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Uconn played their A game and Oklahoma played their C game and still lost by 28 pts.You dont know me or what I know.So dont attack me personally because im right about realignment and you dont know what to say.By the way Oklahoma has been my favorite team since 1973.Every time there is talk about realignment people always think it has something to do with CBB and it doesnt.That is why Loiusville is in the ACC and Uconn is not.It is all about Football and always will be.

UConn didn't play their A game but probably played better than you thought they were capable of and maybe UConn and their offense had something to do with the Sooners looking like they were playing their C game. More to do with your own perceptions on how the game would go though a couple of events late in the game turned a relatively close game into the point spread that you mentioned that suggested a blowout game.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Uconn played their A game and Oklahoma played their C game and still lost by 28 pts.You dont know me or what I know.So dont attack me personally because im right about realignment and you dont know what to say.By the way Oklahoma has been my favorite team since 1973.Every time there is talk about realignment people always think it has something to do with CBB and it doesnt.That is why Loiusville is in the ACC and Uconn is not.It is all about Football and always will be.

No one here thinks it has anything to do with CBB. What we think is that it can only help in some measurable way because what UConn has with respect to CBB (men's + women's) doesn't exist anywhere else on the planet. Football-wise, over the past six seasons UConn is 29-45 (.392) overall, 2-9 (.182) vs. ranked teams, and 7-13 (.350) vs. teams that are in P5 conferences today. Not a great football record, but I'm betting that if you look at the bottom of the P5 conferences there are teams as bad or worse over the same time period. Teams from schools not nearly as good academically as UConn and teams with a media market that is nowhere near the value of UConn's.

 

[j66kicker]

First of all as someone that was at that game ,I want to clear up some of your ridicules trolling.
I was sitting in a section with mixed Oklahoma and UConn supporters
When the final qtr started we were down by 14 but driving deep into Oklahoma territory,A touchdown a that point would have put tremendous pressure on them and their fans were Squirming .We failed to convert and they scored and A pick six ended our hopes and made the final score less indicative of the game . We also had two other drives stopped one at their 20(Edsall probsbly should have taken the FG)
and on their one yard line late in the game.
Were they the better team ,of course ,they were, they were pre-season number one
They were the B12 champs and their QB was a future NF L er . They were also motivated by recent notable bad bowl performances
They had routed FSU by almost the same score as our game.
UConn's Jordon Toddman had more yards rushing than the entire Okla team
We had and incredible 495 yds of total offense. I don't know if you actually have any football knowledge but those numbers don't point to the game you mentioned especially since they were primarily accumulated when the game was still in reach.
Oklahoma late scores by their first team made the final look much more one sided thst if was.
Our lack of a top notch QB was the difference in the game.

I was there (I'm an Oklahoma alumnus) and I wasn't squirming. I was wondering why UCONN got invited to the Fiesta Bowl in the first place.

 

[triaddukefan]

I was there (I'm an Oklahoma alumnus) and I wasn't squirming. I was wondering why UCONN got invited to the Fiesta Bowl in the first place.

Because the Big East was a joke that year in Football.