OT: Realignment?

[CL82]

Some people are against a move to the big 12 if we are not all in for football. I am just curious if people would be more interested moving bball and Olympic sports only if there was some sort of scheduling alliance between UCONN and the Big 12.

Oh, gotcha. From my perspective the issue with being a full member is getting a full share of conference earnings. A schedule alliance doesn’t help that.

 

[Viet Vet]

$$$. All the Olympic sports are dependent upon football (basketball to a lesser extent) revenues. Like it, or not, football will always drive the bus. While I personally love our soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, et al, teams travelling by bus to BE venues, and Hockey East opponents within a 4-hour (OK, Maine is 6) drive for fans, the bucks to support those teams will always be generated by football. It's a fact. Deal with it. If we have to fly our field hockey/soccer/lacrosse/tennis/track teams to Stillwater, OK to play Oklahoma State in order to survive as a competitive DI program................so be it.

I wish UConn basketball could continue long-term as a Big East member, but the conference's shelf life (for us as a football school) is limited. Unless football becomes a monster independent able to negotiate a TV contract along the lines of Notre Dame (won't happen), our future financial stability is contingent upon alignment with a P5 conference.

Adapt or die.

 

[LoyalFanCT]

i am not thrilled with going to B12, but if UConn does, the football team is going in a decent enough direction that it could be competitive with many of the B12 teams.

 

[businesslawyer]

The big east is the best fit for our basketball… we out recruit all the ex big east schools in the money conferences…and our basketball team is better then those teams…the money we will make in our next big east tv contract will be find for our basketball programs… the problem is our football… if we get invited to a money conference it could be at the expense of our basketball

It will be at the short term expense of basketball. But for it to be in the long term interest of basketball, you have to assume that the Big East isn’t going anywhere.

Look, if my choice is stay as is and move everything but football to the Big XII, and not moving but have the world around us stying the same, I would pass and stay. But what happens if we say no and the XII takes ‘Nova, St John’s and Georgetown instead? What if we say no and the football power conferences eventually get tired of the NCAA? I don’t want to be in the XII for hoops, but we can’t turn it down assuming the future won’t be different than the present.

I can’t believe I’m even typing this, because there is no reason to think the Big XII or anyone else is anywhere near giving us this kind of choice.

 

[CL82]

It will be at the short term expense of basketball. You have to assume that the Big East isn’t going anywhere.

Look, if my choice is stay as is and move everything but football to the Big XII, and from our move everything will stay the same around you, I would pass and stay. But what happens if we say no and the XII takes ‘Nova, St John’s and Georgetown instead? What if we say no and the football power conferences eventually get tired of the NCAA? I don’t want a to be in the XII for hoops, but we can’t turn it down assuming the future won’t be different than the present.

I can’t believe I’m even typing this, because there is no reason to think the Big XII or anyone else is anywhere near giving us this kind of choice.

There’s been a lot of online burn about this. But you can never tell if that means that there’s some fire to go along with all that smoke, or if one guy came up with a very vaguely plausible expansion idea, and a bunch of others ran with it.

I largely agree with your post, but as with everything the devils in the details, and the details include the dollar amount. For it to make sense financially versus what is the Big East is likely to get in its next media deal, the basketball only share would need to be something significantly greater than $10 million. I assure worth 15 million would get it done. The problem is that that is worth significantly more than 20% of what the big 12 is getting and 20% seems to be the value basketball rights versus all sports.

 

[John]

The big east is the best fit for our basketball… we out recruit all the ex big east schools in the money conferences…and our basketball team is better then those teams…the money we will make in our next big east tv contract will be find for our basketball programs… the problem is our football… if we get invited to a money conference it could be at the expense of our basketball

not getting invited to a money conference will be at the expense of our basketball (actually at the expense of the entire athletic department)

 

[Kolumbo]

There is the potential of the decoupling of football and olympic sports, at least in a perfect world where people understand how galactically stupid it is for olympic sports to follow football all over the map. While I am really liking the Big East, we have to accept that it could be picked apart again. The last thing we want to do is pass up an opportunity only to have programs like Villanove, SJU and Georgetown leave. That would be catastrophic. If an opportunity with the Big XII presented itself, we'd almost be forced to take it, like it or not. Fool me once...

 

[FfldCntyFan]

There is the potential of the decoupling of football and olympic sports, at least in a perfect world where people understand how galactically stupid it is for olympic sports to follow football all over the map. While I am really liking the Big East, we have to accept that it could be picked apart again. The last thing we want to do is pass up an opportunity only to have programs like Villanove, SJU and Georgetown leave. That would be catastrophic. If an opportunity with the Big XII presented itself, we'd almost be forced to take it, like it or not. Fool me once...

I don't think this is true and if it is it will spell the end of most olympic sports on a collegiate level.

With the exception of a individual few niche situations, none of these sports generate close to enough revenue to support themselves. People b!tc# about football constantly but football plays an enormous role in the existence of track & field, swimming & diving, wrestling (where it exists), gymnastics (where it exists) even tennis and baseball/softball.

I know it would make things appear to be far more fair in intercollegiate sports if having a football program that power conferences would like to add wasn't part of the equation.

It is part of the equation however and not because someone arbitrarily decided to claim football is far more valuable than all other sports combined. It has actually proven it historically.

 

[Kolumbo]

I don't think this is true and if it is it will spell the end of most olympic sports on a collegiate level.

With the exception of a individual few niche situations, none of these sports generate close to enough revenue to support themselves. People b!tc# about football constantly but football plays an enormous role in the existence of track & field, swimming & diving, wrestling (where it exists), gymnastics (where it exists) even tennis and baseball/softball.

I know it would make things appear to be far more fair in intercollegiate sports if having a football program that power conferences would like to add wasn't part of the equation.

It is part of the equation however and not because someone arbitrarily decided to claim football is far more valuable than all other sports combined. It has actually proven it historically.

There are about 350 basketball programs and 130 football programs. 4 Big East programs other than UCONN made the dance. That's certainly more than a few niche situations.

 

[CL82]

I don't think this is true and if it is it will spell the end of most olympic sports on a collegiate level.

well, the end of most male Olympic sports, anyway. You will still need to offset football scholarships by an equivalent number of scholarships offered to women.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

There are about 350 basketball programs and 130 football programs. 4 Big East programs other than UCONN made the dance. That's certainly more than a few niche situations.

Basketball (initially just men's but with what Geno's done over the years and other schools catching up, women's as well) are revenue sports.

The niche refers to non-revenue sports that in a few stray situations are able to cover their costs (there may be 20-25 of these situations throughout the country).

 

[Kolumbo]

Basketball (initially just men's but with what Geno's done over the years and other schools catching up, women's as well) are revenue sports.

The niche refers to non-revenue sports that in a few stray situations are able to cover their costs (there may be 20-25 of these situations throughout the country).

I am not really sure what your point is. Why would decoupling be the end of non-revenue sports? Many programs outside of the P5 do very well.
Hockey is clearly one of them
Soccer - 14 of the top 25 are outside of P5

 

[Rufus]

'Nothing to suggest' new Pac-12 media rights deal is near with 15 months left on current contract

 

[noeynox]

There are about 350 basketball programs and 130 football programs. 4 Big East programs other than UCONN made the dance. That's certainly more than a few niche situations.

I don't think it is more than a few niche situations but even if it was, it doesn't disprove his overall point that football drives the bus in overall revenue and especially TV money. My only counter would be that we know that a majority of all schools are in the red when it comes to football. Yet in my lifetime, I've only seen Long Beach State and Pacific drop out of football altogether and Idaho drop from FBS to FCS. So it has to be about more than chasing dollars.

 

[Luna]

Does hockey make money at uconn?… i hear they sell out home games and all the schools are in New England

 

[Kolumbo]

I don't think it is more than a few niche situations but even if it was, it doesn't disprove his overall point that football drives the bus in overall revenue and especially TV money. My only counter would be that we know that a majority of all schools are in the red when it comes to football. Yet in my lifetime, I've only seen Long Beach State and Pacific drop out of football altogether and Idaho drop from FBS to FCS. So it has to be about more than chasing dollars.

what does that have to do with decoupling?

 

[Ha Who]

I don't think it is more than a few niche situations but even if it was, it doesn't disprove his overall point that football drives the bus in overall revenue and especially TV money. My only counter would be that we know that a majority of all schools are in the red when it comes to football. Yet in my lifetime, I've only seen Long Beach State and Pacific drop out of football altogether and Idaho drop from FBS to FCS. So it has to be about more than chasing dollars.

Sounds a lot like state government the revenue keeps pouring in. Where it goes……..

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Does hockey make money at uconn?… i hear they sell out home games and all the schools are in New England

I'm not sure exactly but it might be close to break even/make a little bit of profit.

 

[noeynox]

what does that have to do with decoupling?

I guess nothing, but I don't see anyone but those outside the P5 favoring this decoupling you are talking about. If your current set up is bringing you 50+ million a year I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze to part with what isn't broken. If you're school is broke this makes perfect sense.

 

[Ha Who]

I guess nothing, but I don't see anyone but those outside the P5 favoring this decoupling you are talking about. If your current set up is bringing you 50+ million a year I don't think the juice is worth the squeeze to part with what isn't broken. If your school is broke this makes perfect sense.

Many thought SVB and Signature weren’t broken. Than they asked the taxpayers or as they say FDIC to bail them out.

 

[billybud]

 

[billybud]

There are very active club leagues down here....lacrosse, hockey, soccer, rugby, etc.

These folks are the scholar-athletes...maybe, that is where non revenue sports go. Especially if the "employee rule" takes place.


Example of club lacrosse conference

SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[businesslawyer]

I don't think it is more than a few niche situations but even if it was, it doesn't disprove his overall point that football drives the bus in overall revenue and especially TV money. My only counter would be that we know that a majority of all schools are in the red when it comes to football. Yet in my lifetime, I've only seen Long Beach State and Pacific drop out of football altogether and Idaho drop from FBS to FCS. So it has to be about more than chasing dollars.

Maybe I'm older, but include Vermont, Hofstra and Boston University on the list.

 

[ScottVib]

Northeastern dropped their program in 2009. St. John's dropped theirs (non-scholarship) in 2002

 

[noeynox]

Maybe I'm older, but include Vermont, Hofstra and Boston University on the list.

I meant to say FBS or 1A programs. Only LBSU and Pacific and Idaho downgrading to FCS I can recall. I know some FCS schools have dropped the sport. Siena for example, where their Waterbury's Reggie Greene was their all time leading rusher.