Some Comments from Swofford

[The Viking]

In 10 years we will have our answer on where we will be. In 10 years we will be in a power conference or we will be in the "modified" big east.
If we can't get in by the time all these GOR's are set to expire, I would imagine we're done with football. If we do get in, well then we're in.

But if we don't fit in by then, then it's time to go back to our roots, play Northeast basketball with many of our former Northeast partners and play in MSG like it's our home away from home again. Not to mention being a strong force in the Hockey East every year.

Anyway, the world will not end within 10 years, our future will be resolved one way or the other and we can shut down this damn realignment forum.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

You just proved my point. An extra $1.8M isn't going to close that gap. Additionally, the football team was profitable or lost money while generating $11M in revenue depending upon whose data you believe. So if you downgrade football, what do you gain? Maybe you cut coaching salaries. You still end up with less fan interest, less revenue and the lion's share of the expenses. You would also halve the advertising revenue and donor support for the sport. Lastly, consider that the AAC's playoff payout, as well as other AAC payouts, more than make up the delta between the TV contracts. Your proposal is a net loss.

Football has 85 scholarships ,and accounts for a like number of women's scholarships. Coaches salaries ,travel and anything associated with it.
For many dropping football is a real consideration as is dropping other sports to save football.
We do not fit the NBE model. They don't want to compete with a a State Flag Ship school. That's a dead issue.
Creation of own model is a more likely scenario.

 

[Broman]

There are really two separate problems here:

1) Football (This would never happen, but with the P5 being rooster suckers, you have to do something different).

You need the top 12 teams outside of the P5 to band together period, end of story, if you want it to work. Make it a relegation league based on the prior 3 years conference schedule or RPI ranking. Nobody cares about traveling large distances for football since its only 6 games a year and football has the most money. Think about the TV revenue the following league would make in football...it would generate better matchups which would give much more $, and you can pay everyone $2 mil, and those in the top league get more since they are generating the additional revenue.

West
BYU
Boise State
Nevada
Colorado State
Houston
San Diego State

East
Cincinnati
UCF
UConn (assuming PP never existed...FYI I thought Diaco sucked at UC when he was DC, so I hope he does well for you guys...)...
ECU
Northern Illinois
Marshall

Slot in the other conferences on an as needed basis.

2) Olympic Sports

Olympic Sports need to be more regional and can make do with smaller conferences. similar to what is now, although the American and Mountain West need to start a scheduling alliance to help with non-conference. And frankly you could redraw the conferences such that the american no longer has perennial bottom dwellers in it such as ECU, and make a basketball league that makes sense geographically.

In Conclusion:

Of course nobody wants to actually work together on this and make the best of crappy situations, so we will likely be stuck with the status quo, but if we want TV money, you have to create quality games between teams that seem to exude quality based on reputation and that networks want to get into a bidding war in order to broadcast, meaning you have to put your top teams all in the same conference and not dilute them out, which is the current scenario. NIU vs UC is $$$. the current games against dregs (see Tulane, Kent State) are worth nothing. So you need to consolidate top teams to make entertainment value to get significant increases in cash value that can be disperesed in a way that nobody is worse off.

 

[Stinger92860]

I like the out of the box thinking. However you are missing one important fact. UConn basketball, men and women, is not regional. Basketball for us is a national brand.

 

[Ldandy]

I think the NBE - money & all - is heading to a status very close to the A10 & CAA. Granted, they recruited a little & MSG had a nice draw for their tourney. Nostalgia. Their Brand will be sinking.

We are where we are. Football is important & we have a decent regional market. Need to creep further into NE & metropolitan NYC. And, of course, Diaco needs to succeed. Crossed my fingers on that guy.

I agree. The small private schools relevancy was heightened because they were frequently matching up with major universities. Gtown, Nova, and St John's are a lot more attractive as programs to both TV viewers and recruits when they are matched up against Cuse, UCONN, Pitt, Ville, ND etc. When all they have is each other, interest will consist of alums of those schools, and basketball junkies. Depaul v. Providence anybody?

 

[Sea Goat]

Motion to terminate this thread - any seconds?

Swofford is a lying POS - him and his whole family.

 

[Fishy]

You realize how pathetic this whole board sounds with posts like this?

Trust me, you're the most pathetic motherf---er in the thread.

You're a one-trick pony and dumb one at that - go away.

 

[noeynox]

Anybody catch last week's Big East Fox ratings? No?

0.0

This conference sucks, but at least it exists on television.

The Big East doesn't.

0.0, can't be real. Fox must be having buyers remorse on that deal. Their other programming gets good ratings on their networks.

 

[don356]

Broman your league config is actually pretty good even for bball if you add Memphis and maybe Temple. You put Uconn, Cincy, Memphis, Temple, SDiego St, & Houston with Sampson and that's a pretty strong bball core. I know times are low given the fball debacle, but don't believe that this recent configuration is going to benefit some of these teams who have jumped. My feeling is that it's better to be in a league where you can compete year in and year out, than be buried in a p5 with no hope...........see rutgers.

 

[pj]

Rutgers can compete in the B1G. I don't know about BC, Cuse, or Pitt in the ACC though. If UConn rises and the B1G continues its penetration of the Northeast, they might simply slip out of everyone's mind.

 

[don356]

If your idea of competing in the big 10 is finishing in good years 4th or 5th in your division then you're correct. However, if you think they will butt heads with osu, msu, and likely um when they rebound you're kidding yourself. Flood is not up to that, and they're athletic dept. is a bunch of bunglers. Acc fball isn't that strong. However, the schools you've mentioned will likely to bump along. Pitt probably has the best chance of competing regularly.

 

[Fishy]

Rutgers is in the Big Ten forever.

Trying to project what their ceiling is or wondering if their current coach is up to it doesn't make any sense - they have all the time in the world and all the resources of the Big Ten at their disposal.

I don't know how they'll look in the Big Ten in ten or twenty years, but I'm very sure it's a lot better than we will look in the AAC.

 

[Broman]

Broman your league config is actually pretty good even for bball if you add Memphis and maybe Temple. You put Uconn, Cincy, Memphis, Temple, SDiego St, & Houston with Sampson and that's a pretty strong bball core. I know times are low given the fball debacle, but don't believe that this recent configuration is going to benefit some of these teams who have jumped. My feeling is that it's better to be in a league where you can compete year in and year out, than be buried in a p5 with no hope......see rutgers.

The problem is that being associated with the G5 instead of the P5 costs schools $20 million plus a year. I think UC for example currently takes $15 million in student fees to pay for sports. Now people with excess money will always spend it in stupid ways (http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/2013/college-football-locker-rooms/) that add no value, and of course you might have to pay more for coaches, etc., but overall an infusion of 15-20 million a year into the athletic program would do a lot to help any University's bottom line, especially with state funding cuts and how they are already milking NIH and NSF dry (that's a whole different topic about the research funding bubble that is collapsing...). That's the criminal part about it...based off some arbitrary conference alignments, you create a class system that puts $$ in certain public schools at the expense of others when its really probably only 5-10 schools that drive the preponderance of the revenue.

 

[Broman]

I like the out of the box thinking. However you are missing one important fact. UConn basketball, men and women, is not regional. Basketball for us is a national brand.

Duh. But you want to be able to drive to a bunch of men's basketball games ideally and thus a regional conference makes more sense and you can schedule big non-conference games, especially with a scheduling agreement with the other conferences. You will never catch me trying to insinuate that UConn hasn't established itself as the top college basketball brand in the nation, especially since UNC was and UK is professional basketball (I'm counting the days until Caliper gets nailed for major violations...).

 

[uconnbill]

Why do you say that? Because we shouldn't ask the question or because I should have known that UConn already tried this and was turned down?

Again I will ask why are you always putting football down and as if it shouldn't exist? I love a response

 

[UConn9604]

On just the capital projects alone - UConn has spent $91 million on the Rent and another $48 million on the Burton/Shenkman training complex for a total of $139 million and that does not include coaches' salaries, scholarships, travel, gear, etc. No way is UConn walking away from that investment. Plus, as I have stated before, recent history points to that the football/basketball power teams will continue to dominate in basketball, too. Since 2000, there have been 60 Final Four slots (15 years) and only 8, or 13% of those slots were taken by programs that did not also play D1 football (Marquette '03, George Mason '06, Georgetown '07, Villanova '09, Bulter '10, Butler '11, VCU '11, Witchita St '13). None of those won the title. The last basketball team to win the title that did not also play D1 football was in 1985 with Villanova, nearly 30 years ago. UConn has to survive in football in order to succeed in basketball.

Technically, we were the last ones to win the title without a D-I program (1999).

Your valid point, however, mirrors everything that Lew Perkins shouted for years until The Rent was approved.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Trust me, you're the most pathetic motherf---er in the thread.

You're a one-trick pony and dumb one at that - go away.

You realize you are doing the same thing in the Big East thread on the basketball board? I can't figure out where you and I even disagree on this issue.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Absolutely right. I again call for that futile and stupid gesture. Bolting to the MAC is the sort of out-of-the-box thinking we need right now...as is petitioning the NFC East for membership. But I know we can do better. Anybody know if bombing Pearl Harbor is still on the table?

I know you used the MAC to try and illustrate that my position is silly, but the AAC is just a hair better than the MAC in football in Sagarin or Colley. So we might as well have joined the MAC, although the MAC actually has a higher basketball RPI than the AAC right now.

 

[pnow15]

The entire concept of the P-5 concept is antithetical to the American tradition. Probably against antitrust laws as well.
That being said, isn't the designation of P-5 a little self serving and premature.
This somehow suggest that these are the best teams without even stepping on a field.
Take away ten schools and the rest of the other schools in the P-5 looks very ordinary to me.
So, really this is just an attempt by a few elite programs to dominate the television market and money.
So, why not let these few programs stop pretending that they are college teams and announce they are semi-pro teams playing in a college town. Does anyone believe these are student-athletes?
Good news for UConn; if it continues to win championships in one of the two major income producing sports, it puts the lie to the term Power 5 and someone will have to take us in.
Then we can be part of this unholy alliance.

 

[sub legacy]

USF, UCF, Cincy, BYU and UConn. Our biggest assets are success and tv market. Our biggest problem, geography.

I'm a little surprised more people don't mention Boise State in that regard.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I'm a little surprised more people don't mention Boise State in that regard.

Boise St has football; but, is not known is other sports (content), academics (ranked #63 in West REGIONAL universities), and a small TV market (market rank #111).

 

[hoophuskee]

I think there are a few G5 teams that can move. Any P5 will be a better fit than the AAC. I really thought that UConn would be going to the ACC in my lifetime, but it doesn't appear to be the case any longer. Never give up hope though.

Why do you say this? I'm not arguing with you - but why is ACC basically "no shot?"

 

[buddy]

Why do you say this? I'm not arguing with you - but why is ACC basically "no shot?"

I always thought they would be the landing site. However, unless ND is forced to join, there is no need for them to expand. If they were to expand, I think there is too much animosity toward UConn from former BE brethren. If Cinci and Memphis go the the B12, then maybe UConn would still be a possibility, but I believe this southern leaning conference would likely choose one of the Florida schools. UConn football has deteriorated so badly this year that it has really tainted the perception of UConn as a P5 candidate. I hate to be negative, but those are my thoughts.

 

[UConn9604]

I always thought they would be the landing site. However, unless ND is forced to join, there is no need for them to expand. If they were to expand, I think there is too much animosity toward UConn from former BE brethren. If Cinci and Memphis go the the B12, then maybe UConn would still be a possibility, but I believe this southern leaning conference would likely choose one of the Florida schools. UConn football has deteriorated so badly this year that it has really tainted the perception of UConn as a P5 candidate. I hate to be negative, but those are my thoughts.

Just five seasons ago, Louisville football was Kragthorped. Just two seasons ago, Louisville football made Paul Pasqualoni look like Bill Parcells at Papa John's. Things change.

Our current status is hardly permanent. We can and will rise again in football, and win a few more basketball championships along the way.

 

[hoophuskee]

I always thought they would be the landing site. However, unless ND is forced to join, there is no need for them to expand. If they were to expand, I think there is too much animosity toward UConn from former BE brethren. If Cinci and Memphis go the the B12, then maybe UConn would still be a possibility, but I believe this southern leaning conference would likely choose one of the Florida schools. UConn football has deteriorated so badly this year that it has really tainted the perception of UConn as a P5 candidate. I hate to be negative, but those are my thoughts.

Which of the BE breathren other than BC hate us? WOuld Maimai still hate us? Why would they even care about us? I heard two different POV on Cuse. Pitt od htey hate us?

Whatother Florida schools could beat us out? USF? Really? Would the teams from SOuth Carolina and Florida want another Florida team?

 

[buddy]

Which of the BE breathren other than BC hate us? WOuld Maimai still hate us? Why would they even care about us? I heard two different POV on Cuse. Pitt od htey hate us?

Whatother Florida schools could beat us out? USF? Really? Would the teams from SOuth Carolina and Florida want another Florida team?

The president of Miami stated that she would never schedule a game with UConn as long as she was there (she is retiring) Syracuse has bad mouthed UConn in the past. I don't think Pitt hates UConn. I don't know. But..they were backstabbers during BE negotiations with ESPN before the final collapse. Join the three former BE schools with the southern football schools and you have enough votes to keep UConn out. A sleeping giant in Florida is UCF. They could be candidates. They have over 50,000 students and an academic and demographic profile similar to Louisville.