Should UConn be wary of a B12 agreement that keeps them in conference for decades?

[kingdobbs]

Here are some relevant questions. Who was the partner with Nebraska for the B10? Could Vanderbilt or another school leave the SEC and go to the B10? Could Navy go football only to the ACC? These are just some of the questions this site needs to consider. More fundamentally, what if the BIG or the ACC decide to expand in five years. Assume UConn is in the B12 and bound by a GOR. Could UConn lose out to other schools not under a GOR?

No one was the partner for Nebraska because the Big Ten was already at eleven members at the time it invited Nebraska.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Lost as last year's easter egg.

(just language preppin' y'all for the upcoming SEC bid per other poster)

SEC could use some hoops upgrades...just saying.

 

[BoatShow]

Quite the opposite. UConn should be wary of a Big12 where Texas and OU DON'T sign a GOR.

 

[kibblesnbits]

The questions are legit. However, in an era of declining state support for higher education (a nationwide trend that is just beginning to hit CT, but will probably accelerate given other competing fiscal issues), the university can only subsidize the athletic department for so long. If the ACC or B1G come calling in 5 to 10 years or more, particularly the latter, they may only find the carcass of what used to exist. The Big 12 may be the final opportunity to keep the bulk of the AD intact. Even then we may see an agreement where a few of Olympic sports are either dropped or moved to more regional leagues in order to placate Big 12 members that may not want to send teams this far. I could imagine a scenario where our "Big 12" membership consisted primarily of Football, MBB & WBB, softball and baseball (the last two being so there will be competition all academic year). That would mean dropping or finding homes for sports such as volleyball, tennis, soccer (B12 only offers women's soccer anyway), women's lacrosse, etc. In some sports, such as rowing, golf, etc. the B12 only offers an end of year tournament so UConn could technically be a member while competing locally most of the year if it wants to send a team 1000 miles to compete in a post-season event. It's sub-optimal, but at least it would be a home where they can survive financially.

 

[Hoophound]

We can't be wary of the Big 12, grant of rights or not. If there is no grant of rights, we will simply be in a better conference playing better teams for more money until Texas and Oklahoma leave. If we produce results in that environment we will have a much better chance of getting invited to another power conference.

All of the really tough decisions occur if we don't get into the Big 12. Back to Big East? Stay in AAC? Recruit other "best of the rest" schools to form a new conference? Maybe even try independence in football?

The one possibility that I hope exists is that either the Big Ten or the ACC have plans for us in the future and will help incubate our football program. By that I mean, help us with scheduling and allow us to sell viewership rights in our region somehow so we can make money. Otherwise, there aren't any really good options and we'll need to face that.

 

[CTMike]

I'd kill to have these kinds of P5 problems than the ones we are facing now.

 

[coachcap]

My first thought when I read this column yesterday was "HUH? Where did this line of thought come from?"
My immediate 2nd thought from the Cheech & Chong short skit response of the Japanese kamikaze pilot after being told for the first time that he would fly his plane into the American Carrier "blowing up himself & all aboard."
"Honorable Admiral San, You out of your mind!"