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

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Playing PC totally gets the juice flowing. Let me circle that date on the calendar. Can't wait to play Seton Hall, too. Oh, and DePaul. Gotta revive the 80s and 90s.

Can we add Merchant Marine Academy and Coast Guard to the schedule? Gets my juice flowing.

Halftime show of UConn vs Seton Hall: Fuller House on the Jumbotron or maybe the Will and Grace reboot

 

[UconnU]

Is Butch a huge troll or is he for real? Impossible to tell.

 

[whaler11]

Word from behind enemy lines.

@jimmyserrano has asked me to tell the basketball fans to themselves

 

[Rocktheworld]

Word from behind enemy lines.

@jimmyserrano has asked me to tell the basketball fans to themselves

His is the voice we need right now lmaooo

 

[Excalibur]

True but there was hope for football and a P-5 invite. 3 years latter and hope was gone.

Oh, I agree entirely. This move was a white flag. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was the wrong move.

The Big East and the American are both going to the same place. From a basketball standpoint, the Big East will take longer to get there. Choosing to ride that and give up on the larger realignment game may or may not be wrong. I suspect that this will look like a good move for 7-10 years. Beyond that, who knows.

 

[HungryHuskies]

I want a video of UConn maintenance taking down the AAC member banners from the rafters in Gampel

 

[gampelcrazies]

I want a video of UConn maintenance taking down the AAC member banners from the rafters in Gampel

They should sell tickets for that

 

[Rico444]

Word from behind enemy lines.

@jimmyserrano has asked me to tell the basketball fans to themselves

Now we just need to hear from kalr

 

[StunningSteve]

They should sell tickets for that

I think 4 classes of Midshipmen would buy tickets to that.

 

[Austin316]

If we were in the ACC, closest drive would be BC, everywhere else is a distance.

BC and Providence is basically the same distance from Storrs. It’s actually closer for me to get to PC than BC. We’re not in the ACC, we didn’t get an invite, so not sure what ur point is. St. John’s, Georgetown and Nova are also commutable.

 

[UofCT]

They should sell tickets for that

Would outsell a UConn / Tulane basketball game

 

[StunningSteve]

Would outsell a UConn / Tulane basketball game

I think most in the AAC wish UConn well. Its an exciting time.

 

[djct1999]

I think most in the AAC wish UConn well. Its an exciting time.

Nothing wrong with leaving gracefully and yes, we DON'T want to be here.

 

[djct1999]

Would outsell a UConn / Tulane basketball game

Sadly, last year it would outsell a UConn/Cincy football game.

 

[Adios]

This is my fear “can’t pull off ticket sales”. What were ticket sales last year? The stadium was 75% empty every game. If it’s still like this 5 years from now is it going to be blamed on the Big East move?

Oh, now you think of that.

 

[Adios]

Nothing wrong with leaving gracefully and yes, we DON'T want to be here.

I am not sure if anyone does. It was as if we're tasked to associate with the AAC.

 

[Adios]

You're the same guy who gets it up for NESCAC and Yale-Penn football.

That stuff can be fun. Traditions that's been there for a while and aren't changing. Nice campuses and neat facilities. Those conferences are obviously powerful at their levels.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Word from behind enemy lines.

@jimmyserrano has asked me to tell the basketball fans to themselves

Meant to ask for a Serrano wellness check!

 

[WrenchFan69]

I want a video of UConn maintenance taking down the AAC member banners from the rafters in Gampel

Sell beer at it and we've just covered the exit fee in a night

 

[Adios]

BC and Providence is basically the same distance from Storrs. It’s actually closer for me to get to PC than BC. We’re not in the ACC, we didn’t get an invite, so not sure what ur point is. St. John’s, Georgetown and Nova are also commutable.

That no one would be complaining about distance in the ACC?

 

[Guapo]

That no one would be complaining about distance in the ACC?

Give it a rest, man. UConn is going to the Big East and football is remaining FBS.

I’m not sure how anyone can be as upset about that as you are.

 

[Iconoclast]

I was an insider here many, many years ago. I haven't posted here in over half a decade, but decided to check in on Friday, when I got word UConn was going to get an invite. And honestly, a lot of the responses/reactions are surprising. So I wanted to offer some feedback and maybe a ray of hope for those that feel this is the wrong move.

Just as an fyi, my clients are people at ABC/ESPN, Fox, CBS, inside the Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Big Ten (but not the Pac-12 or NBE). So while I'm not privy to every detail, I know & understand a lot of the mechanations of realignment.

First, for those believing UConn shouldn't have given up the P5 dream..that dream was never going to come to fruition. Unfortunately, P5 realignment is all about dollars. And dollars are delivered by eye balls. Simply put, UConn doesn't deliver the eye balls necessary to justify the paycheck they'd receive from a conference like the ACC or Big 12. The Big 12 vetted UConn heavily a number of years ago. What they learned was UConn's value to their TV partners (ABC/ESPN/Fox) was well less than the paycheck they would have to pay UConn as an equal member. This is why the Big 12 came out and announced they were vetting schools, then opted to not expand. Point blank, their partner networks came back and said the per team payout would drop if they added UConn, UCF, USF, BYU, Houston, Cincy, or Memphis (the 7 schools they vetted). Networks run all kinds of numbers when it comes to TV...regional viewership, national viewership, cross-promotional viewership (i.e. fans of other teams that watch your games b/c they either hate you or your Ws/Ls impact their team), etc. UConn's numbers are way too low, with very little prospect of ever getting them up. It's just a small fan base where it counts (football). And in case anyone's thinking the obvious, yes, I would imagine the ACC regrets some of their expansion decisions. The ACC makes less money today on a per member basis than it'd have made had they not expanded with BC, Syracuse and Pitt. Those were really poor additions and the TV numbers in their regions and within their fan bases has been abysmal.

Second, the NBE has outperformed their TV contract handily. And not only have their TV #s been way better than forecast, they've won 2 National Championships in the last 4 years. So the conference's contract is way under-valued. The problem is, they signed a long-term contract that doesn't expire until spring 2026. The only way their contract can be opened back up for revaluation by Fox, is if there is a change in their membership. Adding UConn allows the Big East to bring their contract up to market value based on the Big East's performance on TV the past 5-6 years + UConn's value. So that contract is going to seriously, seriously jump in value. And, UConn is going to provide a significantly greater boon to the NBE's TV payout than they ever would have in the ACC or Big 12, simply b/c if you look at the historical ratings for basketball, the highest annual TV rating (b-ball) for most programs in the OBE was against UConn. The NBE adding UConn for basketball would be a poor man's version of the Big Ten adding Notre Dame for football. There's so much history & bad blood there, the ratings will be outstanding. So if you're looking at the current AAC payout and comparing it to the current NBE payout, and thinking "this sucks, what the **** are they thinking?!?!.....when the dust settles, UConn will make MORE money in the NBE (+ whatever they do for football) than they were making in the AAC.

From a financial perspective, this is going to be a huge win for UConn. The big question is how this affects ticket sales for football. But looking at recent attendance data, I assume UConn's leadership felt a move of the football program out of the AAC couldn't hurt that revenue stream enough to off set the huge jump they'll get from the NBE side.

Lastly, I get that when you're emotionally invested and grew up a die hard fan, the NBE feels like kissing your sister. But outside the region, the NBE is very, very well respected. It's not a little brother conference in the eyes of college sports fans. I'm in TX and can tell you the NBE is respected right alongside the ACC. Adding UConn is only going to bolster that. And from a perception & recruiting standpoint, it will be a HUGE benefit for UConn. Obviously, coaching is key #1, but it just became a lot easier for Hurley to sell the program to recruits. There was no chance for UConn to flourish in any sport in the AAC. Sure, they could win some games in football and basketball, the same as UCF, etc. But UCF is still pulling in peon recruits on the level of the worst P5 programs, even with two straight years of elite production. So all UConn could ever hope for is to be a big fish in a small pond, who's TV viewership numbers are too small to ever get a P5 call up. At least in the NBE, UConn basketball can get back to being one of the flagship programs in college basketball. That wasn't going to happen playing Tulane and SMU.

Also, you can expect the NBE to stay at 11 teams. They're going to want a round robin schedule, which is doable with 11, but problematic with 12.

This confirms that the ACC raid of the Big East was all about basketball jealousy. They took a bath just so they could destroy our traditions. Screw 'em!

 

[WrenchFan69]

Edsall just retweeted this. Not great lol

 

[JMick]

Edsall just retweeted this. Not great lol

god does Randy not realize he's part of the problem? what is he doing?

edit: I don't see it... maybe a mistake?