Report: UConn Going To Big East For 2020-2021 Season

[Madmannsucks]

I just don't get the people dismissing the Big East. They've been a very good basketball conference for several years now much to the dismay of some BY posters, have Nova winning multiple championships, and now the conference is going to improve even more with our addition - all the while as WE improve in recruiting because of this move.

This is a huge win-win for hoops for not just us but for the BE conference as a whole.

Hurley has already done well in recruiting, now he gets to tell kids in the northeast/mid-atlantic they get to stay in their footprint and have games at MSG? Compared to the alternative sales pitch, that's huge.

And I'm sure Syracuse isn't in love with this move. Gone are their comments to recruits we have in common that if you go to UConn you have a schedule loaded with schools far away with little basketball tradition.

Not so much that. Seems like they are giving up on football, which is the current bus driver in college sports. Having said that, I get why this happened, since the AAC in my opinion mishandled the contract and accepted a lower offer than their performance warranted. They did not pay a billion dollars because no one was watching.

 

[Pudge]

See Warren Buffet anywhere? He's the $$ man.

Gave it all to the Gates Foundation

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Doesn’t bother me.

In the aac we got the worst crews and time slots

HE WAS TALKING ABOUT PLAYING ON ESPN BECAUSE WE’RE GOING TO BE IN THE BIG EAST

 

[upstater]

I purposely included the exact top teams freescooter referenced in comparison to the "nobodies" who were added. Those "nobodies" Marquette, Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are as good at basketball as those powers he referenced.

Gotcha

 

[Pudge]

If you are sitting there - UCONN hoop fan - thinking this is clear cut decision

It ain’t. It has huge ramifications. And not simply about that football game. Ok. You get to sit in the Garden. Guarantee you’ll be sleeping through that 2:30 BET game on Thursday that doesn’t involve the Huskies.

 

[husky429]

LOL.

I'm well aware how ratings "work". But Fox bid the NBE contract based on their expectation of the ratings. Hence why the contract is so small. The ratings the NBE has pulled in have exceeded Fox's expectations. So, when UConn signs to join as the 11th member, it will trigger the Fox contract to be renegotiated at today's values. The contract will jump noticeably in value as a result of the NBE outperforming their contract + the addition of UConn.

Also, I'm not conflating anything. You're reading about everything in the press on a lag. No different than looking at the stars at night. The light you're seeing was emanated a billion years ago. You're just now seeing the effects though. Same deal with realignment. Much (but not all) happens long before you hear a word. For instance, the ACC engaged ESPN about a conference network first, then Notre Dame, then Pitt/Syracuse. But, Pitt/Syracuse happened first, Notre Dame was a year later, and the Grant of Rights the following year, with the ACC Network was agreed to 3 years after that.

I have no need for e-cred or bragging rights. I just stopped by after a 6 year absence to see what people thought, was surprised to see so many grumbling, and decided to offer insight. My original posts in 2012 prove I'm not a regular Joe guessing at this stuff. If you want to pitch a fit, quibble, grow a pair of balls and try to knock me down a peg or two, be my guest. It doesn't matter to me. TheBoneyard isn't my life or my interest. I'm signing off in a couple of minutes to watch Argentina in the Copa America and after that, you won't see me any more.

Good luck with the move. I probably won't think about coming back to gloat, but do me a favor and tip your hat to me when the NBE contract is reworked and you see the value jump significantly. THAT is the area of this conversation I am an expert on. But for very obvious reasons, I'm not going to pull back the curtain. I'm not going to say anything that violates a NDA. You'll see though. UConn just took a very good step forward financially, even if you don't see it yet.

All the best.....

Thanks for the insights. A vocal minority is being pretty obnoxious, but it's fair to say most appreciate it!

 

[browndog319]

You can only watch content on ESPN+ if you have an approved streaming TV supplier. You can’t have Sling Blue. You can subscribe to ESPN+ but the content is limited.

 

[The Viking]

Not so much that. Seems like they are giving up on football, which is the current bus driver in college sports. Having said that, I get why this happened, since the AAC in my opinion mishandled the contract and accepted a lower offer than their performance warranted. They did not pay a billion dollars because no one was watching.

I get the football angst, but there are people who diss the current big east - probably out of anger obviously.

 

[upstater]

???

Who said the only ESPN+ content was what was on CBSSN?

I didn't say that.

I said the ESPN+ deal ended the CBSSN. There are no games going to CBSSN now. That's over.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The big east is where we belong! I say this not to relive the glory days. The decision makers of UCONN athletics gambled in hopes of the football program blossoming into a powerful football program. Which in turn would reap the benefits of getting an invitation from a P5. Well... it didn't work. The football program has been a full fledged FBS member since 2002 with very little success. Isn't that long enough with this experiment?
I am not raising a pitchfork and say burn the football program to the ground. The best move for them IMO is to go independent and re-evaluate in 2 to 3 years.
We are known for our basketball. The fan base will be energized, recruiting the northeast will become easier, new memes of Danny will emerge, etc etc.

Nah, the ACC is where we belong. But certain interests kept us out. First BC, possibly people miffed by that moron Blumenthal, then by Clemson and FSU. It’s the only conference where we fit.

We did belong in the old Big East. It was pretty much ideal, although the Florida schools weren’t a great fit, and we messed up not getting Penn State.

In a sane world, there would be a cap on conference size at 10. Then we could be with the correct peer institutions. UConn, BC, Syracuse, Rutgers, Penn State, Pitt, WVU, Cincinnati, Maryland, and hell, throw UMass a bone unless we could get VT back.

 

[mdkhusky]

You realize we’ll never play on ESPN again?

Lol yes we will

 

[StepbackCity]

 

[HuskyHawk]

That's about what I figured. I follow realignment closely. No school added value, which is why they did not expand. Sorry but if Houston, Cinci, or UConn added value to a p-5 they would be in one. They made the average value go down so nobody was added.

Big 12 gets just under 40 million per school, and no AAC schools have that much value.

Do you really think UConn is worth 40 million in the Big 12 but just settled for 5 million in the NBE?

If so WOW, that is delusion.

You must also think that the AAC is going to lose it's deal with ESPN and get a much lower payout over this, When in reality it probably makes both the AAC and NBE a stronger conference.

I’m a Kansas alumn, so a Big 12 fan. Texas is worth $40M and then some. OU is worth $40M. KU? Iffy, lots of NCAA credits. WVU maybe...borderline. Nobody else in the Big 12 is worth $40M independently. Not even close. The whole premise flies in the face of how we got here.

I’m not sure how old people here are but I go back to before conferences negotiated TV rights. Each school did it independently. The sum of those, even if done today, wouldn’t equal half of what the conferences get. What they are buying is an ecosystem. When you go into a bar in the south, it’s an SEC bar. Mississippi State isn’t worth jack squat on its own. They only matter because they are in the SEC and part of the ecosystem.

The failure the Big12 made was in believing the lies from ESPN. All their expansion targets were AAC teams, which, because the ecosystem is new and scattered, were paid far below actual value. TV ratings backed that up. So ESPN had two options, grow the Big 12 ecosystem and extend it to several big markets, but pay a lot or, keep valuable teams in those markets at pennies on the dollar because they aren’t in conference with string connections. The big 12 got played. Now it’s probably going to get poached and dissolve. Morons.

 

[FartMan69]

Who's back of the week: THE University of Connecticut Huskies.
To all you losers/haters of which there are a loud minority and have repeatedly said going to the Big East was a pipe dream and waiting for another rejection letter from any P5 was the smart move:
:

 

[Tenspro2002]

Best news in a long time. Awesome. Just awesome. We never should have sacrificed basketball on the alter of crappy football.

Altar.

You really need to pick up a style guide.

 

[CL82]

LOL.

I'm well aware how ratings "work". But Fox bid the NBE contract based on their expectation of the ratings. Hence why the contract is so small. The ratings the NBE has pulled in have exceeded Fox's expectations. So, when UConn signs to join as the 11th member, it will trigger the Fox contract to be renegotiated at today's values. The contract will jump noticeably in value as a result of the NBE outperforming their contract + the addition of UConn.

Also, I'm not conflating anything. You're reading about everything in the press on a lag. No different than looking at the stars at night. The light you're seeing was emanated a billion years ago. You're just now seeing the effects though. Same deal with realignment. Much (but not all) happens long before you hear a word. For instance, the ACC engaged ESPN about a conference network first, then Notre Dame, then Pitt/Syracuse. But, Pitt/Syracuse happened first, Notre Dame was a year later, and the Grant of Rights the following year, with the ACC Network was agreed to 3 years after that.

I have no need for e-cred or bragging rights. I just stopped by after a 6 year absence to see what people thought, was surprised to see so many grumbling, and decided to offer insight. My original posts in 2012 prove I'm not a regular Joe guessing at this stuff. If you want to pitch a fit, quibble, grow a pair of balls and try to knock me down a peg or two, be my guest. It doesn't matter to me. TheBoneyard isn't my life or my interest. I'm signing off in a couple of minutes to watch Argentina in the Copa America and after that, you won't see me any more.

Good luck with the move. I probably won't think about coming back to gloat, but do me a favor and tip your hat to me when the NBE contract is reworked and you see the value jump significantly. THAT is the area of this conversation I am an expert on. But for very obvious reasons, I'm not going to pull back the curtain. I'm not going to say anything that violates a NDA. You'll see though. UConn just took a very good step forward financially, even if you don't see it yet.

All the best.....

As soon as you "explained how Notre Dame picked Syracuse to join with them, you kind of lost all credibility. You did get one checklist spot on though:

Troll life cycle

☑ Start reasonable
☑ Misstatements
☑ Indigent reply when correct
☑ Personal Attacks
☑ Storm off in huff.

 

[UC1995]

So I am located in the Midwest, and not linked up very strong in New England. But I was at an event yesterday and got to talk to some Big East basketball coaches and they believe Gonzaga will be next and there will be 6 east teams and 6 west teams.

I think that would put the Big East second behind the ACC basketball wise.

Gonzaga doesn’t need big east. They don’t recruit our area and their division is similar to what we have in big east. Not to mention travel cost

 

[djct1999]

If you are sitting there - UCONN hoop fan - thinking this is clear cut decision

It ain’t. It has huge ramifications. And not simply about that football game. Ok. You get to sit in the Garden. Guarantee you’ll be sleeping through that 2:30 BET game on Thursday that doesn’t involve the Huskies.

Still better than sitting in a 4/5 empty XL Center for an AAC semifinal.

 

[djct1999]

Gonzaga doesn’t need big east. They don’t recruit our area and their division is similar to what we have in big east. Not to mention travel cost

Its not an issue of need. It could be an issue of net profit. No one will say no to a sizeable bump in pay.

 

[tzznandrew]

Still better than sitting in a 4/5 empty XL Center for an AAC semifinal.

I got cheap tickets in 2015 for the AAC title game was literally two rows off the court. Nobody cared.

 

[UconnU]

A few random thoughts.

- Hurley took this job knowing that he wouldn’t be coaching in the AAC much longer. May have even been aware we were heading back to the BE when he took the job.

- The TV contract was the final straw. The administration was pissed, immediately sending out surveys and asking for feedback. SNY was VERY popular amungst the base.

- Donors wanting back was a big factor. Uconn lags its peers big time in donations. Which is why they have been doing gimmicky things to pick up donations like “the coaches road show”. The donors hated the AAC.

- I bet we see a big jump in attendance. We have an older fan base that loves nostalgic things like old big east rivalry games, if we had a game against PC or Georgetown last year it would have easily sold out. Also, now opposing teams fans will make the drivable trip to Hartford/Storrs to see their teams.

 

[djct1999]

A few random thoughts.

- Hurley took this job knowing that he wouldn’t be coaching in the AAC much longer. May have even been aware we were heading back to the BE when he took the job.

- The TV contract was the final straw. The administration was pissed, immediately sending out surveys and asking for feedback. SNY was VERY popular amungst the base.

- Donors wanting back was a big factor. Uconn lags its peers big time in donations. Which is why they have been doing gimmicky things to pick up donations like “the coaches road show”. The donors hated the AAC.

- I bet we see a big jump in attendance. We have an older fan base that loves nostalgic things like old big east rivalry games, if we had a game against PC or Georgetown last year it would have easily sold out. Also, now opposing teams fans will make the drivable trip to Hartford/Storrs to see their teams.

UConn has a loyal fanbase. I used to love back in the day when announcers would always say at away venues,"UConn travels well". We do. You play hard, we show up. The last few years in this travesty of a conference turned even the most loyal apathetic. This will change quickly. This state, this fanbase loves its Huskies.

 

[LBird33]

Does this mean we get Joe D back ?

 

[whaler11]

Doesn’t bother me.

In the aac we got the worst crews and time slots

I’m going to really miss 2pm on ESPNU on SUPER BOWL SUNDAY