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

[Jbirdp5]

Fox is getting out of college football to some degree, he is right. They just sold the RSN's, abandoned the Big 12 CCG, etc..

I believe they are upping to two national games every week next year. One a noon start after their pregame show

 

[Caronimo]

When do we boot DePaul from the Big East?

 

[Kmart]

And with the good news in we have Chief - 37 and Kmart-1

 

[B12]

I believe they are upping to two national games every week next year. One a noon start after their pregame show

They will likely always have some college football on Fox but they have changed gears the last 5 years and it seems they are backing off sports in general.

Hard to be in college sports when you sell the RSN's where all the games were aired. They used to be heavily involved with 20+ RSN's showing college sports, but that is all gone.

Anyone expecting Fox to pay big $ for college sports is going to be disappointed. At best they will be in for a few big games on FOX and some filler for FS1 during the season, but they won't be a primary rights holder for P-5 TV deals on the next round IMO.

 

[UCDaveD]

The American conference should have started a TV network!? What!? The ACC and Big 12 can barely support networks.

You can't make this freaking Spartacus up.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

But Omaha is actually pretty cool.

Other than during the College World Series ...

 

[uconnphil2016]

Yeah the whole UConn to the Big East thing was quiet until Edsall's tweet, no idea why he did that

Because the dude is probably having a breakdown

 

[Purple Stein]

When do we boot DePaul from the Big East?

Have to get rid of the non-football schools first, but I’d start with St. John’s.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Of course Houston is, what, the third most popular team in Houston so...

3rd? Dubious at best ... line’s pretty long after UT/A&M and the likes of LSU, Tech, OU, OSU ...

 

[UC1995]

To be published next year:

“Both UConn and Cincinnati had been under consideration for a Big Ten invite, but when UConn left for the New Big East it confirmed the concerns about its football program and made Cincinnati the easy choice.”

The biggest lie anyone ever told you was that cincy and UConn were up close getting somewhere in realignment. B1G hates that they expanded to New Jersey, Maryland and Nebraska. They have no passion for hem just like we found no happinesss with what we were left with.

B1G was never going to call us and if AAC didn’t work for us due to distance good luck trying to sell us to Big 12.

 

[whaler11]

Yes, UConn should make decisions because of Base Ball.

Perhaps we should do a deep dive on the needs of the track and golf teams.

 

[Adios]

Princeton has 28 national championships in football. Even they had the good sense to realize #29 was not around the corner and dropped down to FCS.

In other words, a Fiesta Bowl appearance nearly a decade ago (when we were in the old Big East, then a power conference) isn’t super relevant to our prospects for success going forward in the AAC.

But Princeton is still in the Ivy League....

 

[uconnphil2016]

Welcome back UConn!!!

I have vivid memories of watching our teams go against the likes of Chris Smith, Ray Allen, Marcus Williams, Rudy Gay. In my lifetime, I consider you our biggest rival.

When the big east was actually the big east, we didn’t even care about you. This new big east is garbage and I don’t care about Villanova at all. Cared about cuse, pitt, wvu. It’s sad that we’ve become so small time.
Look forward to kicking your arses again.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Because Gampel is always filled to capacity.

Senior night this past year was hilarious. Couldn’t pay students to fill up their section

 

[Adios]

The biggest lie anyone ever told you was that cincy and UConn were up close getting somewhere in realignment. B1G hates that they expanded to New Jersey, Maryland and Nebraska. They have no passion for hem just like we found no happinesss with what we were left with.

B1G was never going to call us and if AAC didn’t work for us due to distance good luck trying to sell us to Big 12.

Was told by a buddy of Delany we had a chance. Must have been lying.

 

[uconnphil2016]

The AAC is going to get poached in the next round of expansion. We will certainly lose UCF and USF and probably Houston, Memphis or Cincinnati. There is no future for us in the AAC. Let's move on before the AAC ship sinks.

The thing people don’t understand is that they’re not going to get poached to become a part of the cartel, but to make up the leftovers for the best of the rest. Programs like wake, BC, cuse, etc aren’t gonna make the cut when P5 consolidates bc they don’t generate the revenue necessary to make them worth their spot. Whichever P5 league dissolves—one of the big 12, PAC 12, or ACC, the best of G5 will be scrambling to get in with the leftovers. My idea has always been that we position ourselves not to join the cartel, but the next group of programs who are about to get screwed this decade.

 

[whaler11]

Was told by a buddy of Delany we had a chance. Must have been lying.

do you not realize people will tell you what u want to hear?

 

[superjohn]

Yes, UConn should make decisions because of Base Ball.

Perhaps we should do a deep dive on the needs of the track and golf teams.

Just when I thought the football board was the height of delusion the UConn baseball fans arrived.

 

[whaler11]

The thing people don’t understand is that they’re not going to get poached to become a part of the cartel, but to make up the leftovers for the best of the rest. Programs like wake, BC, cuse, etc aren’t gonna make the cut when P5 consolidates bc they don’t generate the revenue necessary to make them worth their spot. Whichever P5 league dissolves—one of the big 12, PAC 12, or ACC, the best of G5 will be scrambling to get in with the leftovers. My idea has always been that we position ourselves not to join the cartel, but the next group of programs who are about to get screwed this decade.

oh so being in the american is getting into position to be in the second group after the first group leaves.

and the way you do that is by losing at the only two sports that matter.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

I don't know if it has been said in the 941 post above...

But do we realize the built-in competitive advantage that Connecticut has over the other Big East schools? It will be the only flagship state university, only school with over 25,000 students, largest fanbase, and a whole state backing it. It's a matter of time before UConn climbs the ladder to the top tier of the league and consistently stays there. I have no doubt!

 

[navery12]

Yes, UConn should make decisions because of Base Ball.

Perhaps we should do a deep dive on the needs of the track and golf teams.

Has anyone actually said this? I have a guess of who would be saying this though

 

[B12]

The AAC is going to get poached in the next round of expansion. We will certainly lose UCF and USF and probably Houston, Memphis or Cincinnati. There is no future for us in the AAC. Let's move on before the AAC ship sinks.

To who? There are no spots for those schools in the p-5. None.

Schools like OU are looking at the B1G making 54 million per year. Adding any of those makes the problem worse. Thats why it will not happen. There used to be a chance, but that's over.

There will not be any more g-5 schools moving up. More than likely the Big 12 loses OU, KU, and UT first and then the PAC takes a few. The AAC will probably be a national conference with Boise, SDSU, service academies, and the best commuter AD's in the country at that point. Maybe even BYU, Baylor, and Liberty at that point.

 

[Walker11]

O

Was told by a buddy of Delany we had a chance. Must have been lying.

Ugh...yeah. Stop embarrassing our alma mater. Jesus....

 

[John]

I don't know if it has been said in the 941 post above...

But do we realize the built-in competitive advantage that Connecticut has over the other Big East schools. It will be the only flagship state university, only school with over 25,000 students, largest fanbase, and a whole state backing it. It's a matter of time before UConn climbs the ladder to the top tier of the league and consistently stays there. I have no doubt!

King of the midgets

 

[FromTheInside]

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.

 

[Adios]

do you not realize people will tell you what u want to hear?

They don't tell me what I want to hear. Which, I've come to learn, is not surprising.

 

[Adios]

O


Ugh...yeah. Stop embarrassing our alma mater. Jesus....

I am sorry I contacted people you haven't. Ugh...yeah.

What a moron.

 

[FromTheInside]

Was told by a buddy of Delany we had a chance. Must have been lying.

Your buddy was lying. I can tell you with 1,000% insider certainty there was a 0.00% chance of UConn ever getting a call from the Big Ten. N-O-N-E. The Big Ten reached out to Nebraska, Texas, Rutgers, Maryland, and Virginia. There was never a scenario in which UConn was seriously considered. UConn's TV numbers were investigated in key DMAs, no different than Missouri and a few others. But those numbers eliminated UConn from consideration before the Big Ten reached out to a single program. Rutgers was the runaway winner for what they were looking for (even though Rutgers, as an athletics program, sucks).

 

[upstater]

To who? There are no spots for those schools in the p-5. None.

Schools like OU are looking at the B1G making 54 million per year. Adding any of those makes the problem worse. Thats why it will not happen. There used to be a chance, but that's over.

There will not be any more g-5 schools moving up. More than likely the Big 12 loses OU, KU, and UT first and then the PAC takes a few. The AAC will probably be a national conference with Boise, SDSU, service academies, and the best commuter AD's in the country at that point. Maybe even BYU, Baylor, and Liberty at that point.

There are more schools in the B12 than just Oklahoma and Texas. And no one wants those schools.

 

[Adios]

Your buddy was lying. I can tell you with 1,000% insider certainty there was a 0.00% chance of UConn ever getting a call from the Big Ten. N-O-N-E. The Big Ten reached out to Nebraska, Texas, Rutgers, Maryland, and Virginia. There was never a scenario in which UConn was seriously considered. UConn's TV numbers were investigated in key DMAs, no different than Missouri and a few others. But those numbers eliminated UConn from consideration before the Big Ten reached out to a single program. Rutgers was the runaway winner for what they were looking for (even though Rutgers, as an athletics program, sucks).

Ever hear of the Chicago Tribune? Let's say he's very well positioned there. So convince yourself all you like.

Amazing how hard this board tries to make believe or buy into lies.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

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.

Thanks for the analysis and insight. I was certainly asking what he!l are we doing returning to NBE, but you raise some strong points and in the know. Feeling just a little bit better.