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http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...17/big-east-faces-decisions-on-tulsa-new-name
Jeremy Fowler
College Football Insider
Old Big East faces decisions on Tulsa, new name
March 25, 2013 9:45 pm ET
With an ESPN media rights deal and a breakup with the Catholic 7 basketball schools both finalized, the (old) Big East can properly address two issues: Finding a new name, and finding a new school.
A decision could come soon on Tulsa, which garners strong support within the membership to become the league's 12th school, according to a source.
“The decision is on [commissioner] Mike [Aresco]'s desk,” the source said.
If the Big East extends an invite to Tulsa, the school would present the invitation to its board of directors for approval. C-USA schools make roughly $1 million per year in television revenue, so a move to the Big East – which signed a seven-year deal with ESPN worth a projected $20 million annually to be spread among members – seems logical.
________________
For the life of me, I am trying to get a handle on why the rush to add Tulsa. Maybe I am math challenged, but if Navy doesn't come in until 2015, why the need for a 12th member right now?
From Herbst's position, a part of me (much like Herbst allowing the conference to take UConn's preexisting sny deal and its revenue and give it to the new conference), is wondering why is she allowing Tulsa to be added now?
Why not wait a couple of years and see if a more attractive east coast, bigger named school becomes available? How will ODU's upgrade go, Georgia State, FIU? I'm not saying add them now, but at the same time, why add Tulsa now? Tulsa is a distant fourth choice school in Oklahoma, playing in a 30k seat stadium, in a city of only 400,000 people, in a state of only 3.8m. To boot it has a tiny undergrad enrollment under 5k. If you're the fourth choice in a state that small, where's the value?
It can't be regional partners for Houston and SMU. Heck, with Tulane, USF, SMU, Houston, UCF, and USF, that grouping of schools are already a lot closer than Uconn is to any school not named Temple. And it can't be for this championship game idea. Dividing the pie by 12 schools, 11 in 2014 (instead of 10), 12 in 2014 (instead of 11 where Navy since it is keeping its home games should receive no or reduced fb revenue until 2017), can't possibly be made up by a conference championship game that quite frankly will only interest the fans of the participating schools.
So again, the question needs to be asked: is adding Tulsa in UConn's interest? Of course it isn't. So either Herbst is taking a sit on her hands approach to this, or she is being purposefully aloof. I really hope that it is purposefully aloof with the endgame that the makeup of the conference (like the wbb rights) will never impact UConn because UConn is a very temporary member of the new conference.
BUt it is becoming increasingly clear that unlike Texas in the Big 12, UNC (and later FSU) in the ACC, OSU and Michigan in the Big Ten, UConn is not asserting itself. To be outraged at the passivity or heartened, that's the big question.
Jeremy Fowler
College Football Insider
Old Big East faces decisions on Tulsa, new name
March 25, 2013 9:45 pm ET
With an ESPN media rights deal and a breakup with the Catholic 7 basketball schools both finalized, the (old) Big East can properly address two issues: Finding a new name, and finding a new school.
A decision could come soon on Tulsa, which garners strong support within the membership to become the league's 12th school, according to a source.
“The decision is on [commissioner] Mike [Aresco]'s desk,” the source said.
If the Big East extends an invite to Tulsa, the school would present the invitation to its board of directors for approval. C-USA schools make roughly $1 million per year in television revenue, so a move to the Big East – which signed a seven-year deal with ESPN worth a projected $20 million annually to be spread among members – seems logical.
________________
For the life of me, I am trying to get a handle on why the rush to add Tulsa. Maybe I am math challenged, but if Navy doesn't come in until 2015, why the need for a 12th member right now?
From Herbst's position, a part of me (much like Herbst allowing the conference to take UConn's preexisting sny deal and its revenue and give it to the new conference), is wondering why is she allowing Tulsa to be added now?
Why not wait a couple of years and see if a more attractive east coast, bigger named school becomes available? How will ODU's upgrade go, Georgia State, FIU? I'm not saying add them now, but at the same time, why add Tulsa now? Tulsa is a distant fourth choice school in Oklahoma, playing in a 30k seat stadium, in a city of only 400,000 people, in a state of only 3.8m. To boot it has a tiny undergrad enrollment under 5k. If you're the fourth choice in a state that small, where's the value?
It can't be regional partners for Houston and SMU. Heck, with Tulane, USF, SMU, Houston, UCF, and USF, that grouping of schools are already a lot closer than Uconn is to any school not named Temple. And it can't be for this championship game idea. Dividing the pie by 12 schools, 11 in 2014 (instead of 10), 12 in 2014 (instead of 11 where Navy since it is keeping its home games should receive no or reduced fb revenue until 2017), can't possibly be made up by a conference championship game that quite frankly will only interest the fans of the participating schools.
So again, the question needs to be asked: is adding Tulsa in UConn's interest? Of course it isn't. So either Herbst is taking a sit on her hands approach to this, or she is being purposefully aloof. I really hope that it is purposefully aloof with the endgame that the makeup of the conference (like the wbb rights) will never impact UConn because UConn is a very temporary member of the new conference.
BUt it is becoming increasingly clear that unlike Texas in the Big 12, UNC (and later FSU) in the ACC, OSU and Michigan in the Big Ten, UConn is not asserting itself. To be outraged at the passivity or heartened, that's the big question.
