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

[ThetaZoo]

Not the best written piece. On one hand he is saying it wasn't right for UConn to move to the big east a couple years ago because of high exit fees and lost revenue but now it is even though he states we will have high exit fees and lost revenue now in the immediate future. Huh? It is definitely a basketball and Olympic sport move but not because it is the perfect time. I know nobody really knows the new terms will be with Fox and if the BE contract allows for a bump in revenue because of UConn being added so why even talk about contracts. The timing of this isn't perfect as we didn't even time this allowing for 27 month notice to the AAC. Just a poorly written article.

Agreed. Reads like a hastily written article.

 

[B12]

You clearly don't know how the TV money works.

I mean, under your reasoning, UConn was more valuable than all the ACC schools back when the BE earned more per school than the ACC.

But it doesn't work that way. It matters who you play. That's what drives ratings.

You're also looking at average payout for the B12, not individual school. Texas gets a lot more, we all know that. Not to mention that the payout is $34m average, not $40m.

Texas is the behemoth. Sure, you can average a big number when they take their huge cut.

Also, let's face it, when Texas leaves, what is Kansas St worth? Iowa St? These schools split a state which has fewer residents than Connecticut and a lot less affluence.

Not to mention the fact that even a school like WV didn't get a sniff from the ACC when the ACC was trying to grab UConn.

You guys can't have it both ways. You can't brag about the value of your schools (unless you're Texas or Oklahoma) when actual conferences have preferred schools like UConn, and UConn itself, over you when it came to media market.

LOL.

So you know how TV money works and that UConn if in the Big 12 brought the value up, which would put UConn in the 40 million range. But you decided to instead drop football and join a religious basketball conference for 4-5 million a year. Good grief dude do you have any business sense? Work for the government? That makes zero sense.

Last year Big 12 distribution was 37 million. UConn was never in a position to add value, same with Houston, Cinci, UCF, etc...

That is delusion at it's finest.

Media market?? Nobody watches so it doesn't matter how many people there are. Or the average income. Again you are just doing the same old song an dance. Might as well mention average income to go full retard.

WVU is a big time AD with a nearly 100M AD budget. They are likely going to end up in the ACC to maximize value for ESPN. You clearly dont' like it but it's true, they are valuable for TV. Did you see how many million TV viewers they had last, year.

But if you want to believe UConn is more valuable than WVU because you think the ACC preferred UConn go for it. I think the ACC will end up with WVU in a couple of years .

Nobody preferred UConn to the existing p-5. Why would you even say that? You come off as extremely insecure and out of touch with reality. UConn is a great school, great tradition in some sports, so stop being so insecure.

So where is UConn on this list? I would guess somewhere around #100 with a few million combined from the few games that made national TV. Likely near the bottom of the AAC. WVU had 27 million viewers.

P5 SCHOOLS - END OF SEASON
MOST VIEWERS (NATIONAL GAMES)
1. Alabama - 114.364
2. Ohio State - 86.970
3. Clemson - 74.633
4. OKLAHOMA - 65.147
5. Georgia - 63.410
6. Notre Dame - 61.159
7. Michigan - 54.946
8. TEXAS - 50.710
9. LSU - 49.793
10. Washington - 42.313
11. Penn State - 37.297
12. Auburn - 34.278
13. Florida - 30.654
14. Northwestern - 27.360
15. WEST VIRGINIA - 27.183
16. Texas A&M - 27.081
17. Michigan State - 26.427
18. Wisconsin - 23.788
19. Florida State - 22.979
20. Mississippi State - 22.728
21. Southern Cal - 21.723
22. TCU - 21.532
23. OKLAHOMA STATE - 21.026
24. Iowa - 20.686
25. Miami - 20.019
26. Virginia Tech - 19.422
27. Nebraska - 18.456
28. Washington State - 18.226
29. Kentucky - 17.038
30. Oregon - 17.035
31. Syracuse - 16.552
32. Purdue - 15.903
33. Pittsburgh - 15.828
34. IOWA STATE - 15.394
35. Missouri - 15.103
36. Stanford - 14.738
37. Tennessee - 14.725
38. TEXAS TECH - 13.760
39. Mississippi - 13.518
40. Maryland - 12.830
41. UCLA - 12.317
42. South Carolina - 11.626
43. Utah - 11.188
44. BAYLOR - 11.080
45. Indiana - 10.837
46. Arizona State - 10.480
47. Colorado - 10.364
48. Louisville - 10.049
49. NC State - 9.959
50. Arizona - 9.560
51. Boston College - 9.458
52. California - 9.017
53. Georgia Tech - 8.468
54. Virginia - 8.332
55. Wake Forest - 8.121
56. KANSAS STATE - 8.041
57. Vanderbilt - 7.948
58. Minnesota - 7.386
59. Duke - 6.727
60. Arkansas - 6.010
61. KANSAS - 5.889
62. Oregon State - 4.850
63. Rutgers - 3.038
64. North Carolina - 2.610
65. Illinois - 2.454

 

[superjohn]

The division amongst our "fans" is some of the most stupid behavior I've ever seen in collegiate athletics. And I say that as a UConn grad. Who cheers for success in all sports, as well as the school growing itself.

Big Ten fans who hang here are even blown away at our stupidity. I assume Big East fans know more about success in college athletics and development than Big Ten fans. Should have stayed the course. Other AAC schools have been paying the price to maintain the conference, as well.

We'll get to the "promised land" one day, but definitely not in my lifetime.

Bridgeport is the next Manhattan.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

King of the midgets

I wouldn't look at it that way. Because the Big East has been a TOP3 conference pretty much every year (except this past year where they lost so much talent but still were TOP5). So if you are at the top of the Big East that means you are likely to be top 4 seed when the NCAA Tournament comes around. The same cannot be said about the AAC. The Big East has relatively small schools, but they all have great basketball programs. I think its a good fit for Connecticut.

The Big East will now have 6 out of the 8 original members of the 1980s

 

[FromTheInside]

Yeah calling BS on this. You have shown yourself to be ignorant as to how ratings work, and wrong on the timeline on numerous issues. Profoundly so.

Again your timing is off. You are conflating different expansion periods. If you actually had any expertise in the area whatsoever, you'd realize that.

Thank you for your interest in UConn Athletics.

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.....

 

[superjohn]

I wouldn't look at it that way. Because the Big East has been a TOP3 conference pretty much every year (except this past year where they lost so much talent but still were TOP5). So if you are at the top of the Big East that means you are likely to be top 4 seed when the NCAA Tournament comes around. The same cannot be said about the AAC. The Big East has relatively small schools, but they all have great basketball programs. I think its a good fit for Connecticut.

The Big East will now have 6 out of the 8 original members of the 1980s

This idea that it's all nostalgia is nonsense. Big East had two #1 seeds in 2018.

 

[upstater]

LOL.

So you know how TV money works and that UConn if in the Big 12 brought the value up, which would put UConn in the 40 million range. But you decided to instead drop football and join a religious basketball conference for 4-5 million a year. Good grief dude do you have any business sense? Work for the government? That makes zero sense.

Last year Big 12 distribution was 37 million. UConn was never in a position to add value, same with Houston, Cinci, UCF, etc...

That is delusion at it's finest.

Media market?? Nobody watches so it doesn't matter how many people there are. Or the average income. Again you are just doing the same old song an dance. Might as well mention average income to go full retard.

WVU is a big time AD with a nearly 100M AD budget. They are likely going to end up in the ACC to maximize value for ESPN. You clearly dont' like it but it's true, they are valuable for TV. Did you see how many million TV viewers they had last, year.

But if you want to believe UConn is more valuable than WVU because you think the ACC preferred UConn go for it. I think the ACC will end up with WVU in a couple of years .

Nobody preferred UConn to the existing p-5. Why would you even say that? You come off as extremely insecure and out of touch with reality. UConn is a great school, great tradition in some sports, so stop being so insecure.

So where is UConn on this list? I would guess somewhere around #100 with a few million combined from the few games that made national TV. Likely near the bottom of the AAC. WVU had 27 million viewers.

P5 SCHOOLS - END OF SEASON
MOST VIEWERS (NATIONAL GAMES)
1. Alabama - 114.364
2. Ohio State - 86.970
3. Clemson - 74.633
4. OKLAHOMA - 65.147
5. Georgia - 63.410
6. Notre Dame - 61.159
7. Michigan - 54.946
8. TEXAS - 50.710
9. LSU - 49.793
10. Washington - 42.313
11. Penn State - 37.297
12. Auburn - 34.278
13. Florida - 30.654
14. Northwestern - 27.360
15. WEST VIRGINIA - 27.183
16. Texas A&M - 27.081
17. Michigan State - 26.427
18. Wisconsin - 23.788
19. Florida State - 22.979
20. Mississippi State - 22.728
21. Southern Cal - 21.723
22. TCU - 21.532
23. OKLAHOMA STATE - 21.026
24. Iowa - 20.686
25. Miami - 20.019
26. Virginia Tech - 19.422
27. Nebraska - 18.456
28. Washington State - 18.226
29. Kentucky - 17.038
30. Oregon - 17.035
31. Syracuse - 16.552
32. Purdue - 15.903
33. Pittsburgh - 15.828
34. IOWA STATE - 15.394
35. Missouri - 15.103
36. Stanford - 14.738
37. Tennessee - 14.725
38. TEXAS TECH - 13.760
39. Mississippi - 13.518
40. Maryland - 12.830
41. UCLA - 12.317
42. South Carolina - 11.626
43. Utah - 11.188
44. BAYLOR - 11.080
45. Indiana - 10.837
46. Arizona State - 10.480
47. Colorado - 10.364
48. Louisville - 10.049
49. NC State - 9.959
50. Arizona - 9.560
51. Boston College - 9.458
52. California - 9.017
53. Georgia Tech - 8.468
54. Virginia - 8.332
55. Wake Forest - 8.121
56. KANSAS STATE - 8.041
57. Vanderbilt - 7.948
58. Minnesota - 7.386
59. Duke - 6.727
60. Arkansas - 6.010
61. KANSAS - 5.889
62. Oregon State - 4.850
63. Rutgers - 3.038
64. North Carolina - 2.610
65. Illinois - 2.454

You really prove here you don't know how it works.

Without Texas and Oklahoma, you're nothing.

No one lives in your state.

And often you have 2 schools there.

I'll say it again: UConn used to be paid more per year than Florida State.

Do I believe UConn is worth more than Florida State? No!!!

So telling me things like TCU makes $34 or $37m means nada about its value relative to Connecticut.

The real tell is in the school's popularity in its state, its culture, the media market, the fans, etc.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

No more Sunday 5pm games! Or Tuesday 6pm games, either!

Big Mondays again!!

You realize we’ll never play on ESPN again?

 

[gampelcrazies]

You realize we’ll never play on ESPN again?

Doesn’t bother me.

In the aac we got the worst crews and time slots

 

[lange10]

I'm so excited. I've grown up in the American and I've never gotten to see UConn play in the Big East. Closest I've gotten to seeing that is watching Kemba's game winner against Pitt on youtube 10 times every month. Chills. Let's go!

Same. My freshman year was the inaugural year of the AAC. Always thought my 4 years in college would be the entirety of our stint in AAC but was wrong. Recently became a first time season ticket holder and I’m stoked to see packed houses more than once or twice a year now. This is a huge boost for the program in a time of need.

 

[lange10]

Doesn’t bother me.

In the aac we got the worst crews and time slots

Every game will be on TV and local. Our pitch to recruits just got twice as easy. Oh and we’re coming off a top 25 recruiting class.

 

[Towney007]

1. I hope ESPN’s whole campus falls down. Between billing tax payers, setting this whole mess in motion and then the ESPN+ farce, I’ll happily switch to sling blue and watch games on fox. Screw that whole entire network forever.


2. Over the past however many years the Big East has been 2 or 3 in the Kenpom rankings. They have 2 of the last 4 national titles. It’s not nostalgia.

 

[upstater]

The CBS games were only 3 to 6 for the entire AAC conference per year, and they were all on network TV.

ESPN+ ended the CBS Sports Network games.

 

[superjohn]

1. I hope ESPN’s whole campus falls down. Between billing tax payers, setting this whole mess in motion and then the ESPN+ farce, I’ll happily switch to sling blue and watch games on fox. Screw that whole entire network forever.


2. Over the past however many years the Big East has been 2 or 3 in the Kenpom rankings. They have 2 of the last 4 national titles. It’s not nostalgia.

We have people pretending the Big East was always the same when it's had many different looks over the years and people pretending the league is nothing now that Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and West Virginia are gone. They may not have the marquee names of those bigger schools but Marquette, Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are just as good at basketball as those schools.

 

[Adios]

Bridgeport is the next Manhattan.

Really? Cool.

Don't be a moron and exaggerate my words. Oh wait, nevermind.

 

[upstater]

We have people pretending the Big East was always the same when it's had many different looks over the years and people pretending the league is nothing now that Syracuse, Pitt, Notre Dame and West Virginia are gone. They may not have the marquee names of those bigger schools but Marquette, Xavier, Butler, and Creighton are just as good at basketball as those schools.

That's really a stretch.

They are as good as Pitt and Cincy, but come on, they are not as good as Louisville and Syracuse (even with Cuse's rough year).

 

[superjohn]

That's really a stretch.

They are as good as Pitt and Cincy, but come on, they are not as good as Louisville and Syracuse (even with Cuse's rough year).

There is no question that this decision was driven by nostalgia. Not by fact or reviewing potential. The loudest voices in the room pine for the good old days and have turned MSG into a fetish. They conveniently forget that Syracuse Pitt Notre Dame .west Virginia, in other words the top programs, are gone to be replaced by nobodies. But hey, MSG. Way less money too. But MSG. What are we doing to prepare for Y2K?

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.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

You realize we’ll never play on ESPN again?

Gus + Raf doing the game at a packed Gampel > JT3 and a no name on ESPN calling UConn/ECU at 2 pm on Superbowl Sunday

 

[itgoeslike]

I always felt that if football drove the bus, then it should be treated differently. All sports other than FBS football should be regional/rivalry-based. FBS football should be treated more like a national league of sorts.

Here's a how I would love for the next few years to go down.

UConn joins the NBE and Football establishes a scheduling pact, which eventually evolves into an alliance licensing deal. Football never co-mingles with the NBE and they are separate entities.

2020
UConn joins NBE
Cincinnati joins NBE

FOOTBALL SCHEDULING PACT
UConn
Cincinnati
Army
Navy
BYU
UMass (if not to AAC)

2022
Temple Joins NBE and Football Scheduling Pact

2023
WVU joins NBE and Football Licensing Pact

202x
Syracuse and Pitt join NBE and Football Licensing Pact
Notre Dame joins NBE and has Limited Licensing Pact with Football

In 202x the NBE looks like this for Basketball and Olympic Sports.

NBE EAST
UConn
Syracuse
Villanova
Temple
Georgetown
Providence
St. Johns
Seton Hall
*

NBE WEST
Cincinnati
Xavier
WVU
PITT
Butler
Creighton
DePaul
Marquette
Notre Dame

*I guess we could add BCU in the EAST to get to 18 (should really make them hang out as an island apart from their Southern brothers). Rutgers could be an option in the EAST, if only they weren't Rutgers.

FOOTBALL ALLIANCE
UConn
Cincinnati
Temple
WVU
BYU
Army
Navy
Syracuse
PITT
Villanova
Notre Dame (limited licensing)

Of course there are quite a few IF's...(trying to preempt some of the anticipated responses)
- Would WVU wake away from their payday? Would they if the Big 12 becomes unstable?
- Would members of the NBE object to Temple?
- Would Xavier object to Cincinnati?
- Can the Syracuse, PITT and Notre Dame free themselves from the ACC shackles? As far as money goes, the ACC's only paying out a bit over $20M, when you consider travel savings for Olympic sports, increased ticket sales, alumni giving and a reasonable "alliance" deal it helps close the gap.
- Would Navy leave the AAC?
- Would BYU be willing to share some to get some.
- Would the NCAA Playoffs increase payout and participation for FOOTBALL ALLIANCE?
- Would the ACC try to go on the offensive regarding WVU (or finally consider adding UConn)?

Anyhow, UConn will probably end up getting kicked in the nuts again, but it would be pretty cool if it came around full circle and rivalries and fan participation trumped the football-centric Franken-Conferences. At least until it happens again.

 

[UofCT]

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.....

Makers?

 

[The Viking]

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. And I'm sure Boeheim is jealous as hell that we're back to our roots while he's still stuck in a southern conference (albeit a great one).

 

[RichCTBB]

This shirt is getting some burn tonight

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Gus + Raf doing the game at a packed Gampel > JT3 and a no name on ESPN calling UConn/ECU at 2 pm on Superbowl Sunday

“Back to Big Monday!” Implies us playing on ESPN’s Big Monday.