The back story on Rutgers to Big 10 ( plans to capitalize on NY-NJ market)

[Rumrunner]

http://mobile.nj.com/advnj/pm_29222/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=KkV2b5qX

Delany wasted no time in raising the potential of a new television deal for the conference that could capitalize on the New York-New Jersey market, they said.

TV REVENUE

The picture that emerges underscores how the talks focused on raw numbers — namely how to divide the untold bounty anticipated from fresh television contracts among the Big 10 schools.

The Big Ten Network brings each of its schools as much as $24.6 million a year. With greater access to the new college football playoffs beginning in two years, the possibility exists for millions more.

But as a new member of the conference, Rutgers would not receive a full share of the television revenue for six years. The same would hold true for Maryland."



Delaney can't be oblivious to the fact that as much as Rutgers has the NJ market, UConn's ferocity of fans in the CT market is 10x. Additionally th SNY contract is indicative of UConn's actual reach and value in NY.

How's this for a plausible scenario. Delaney needed a mid atlantic school, MD, just as the story cites. Now his ability to surround the NY market would be complete if he gets UConn ( a footprint state). SU is not a footprint type of team. But who knows.

Remember Manuel's words last night in St. Thomas.

"We don't know when they will act."

 

[UC990411]

UConn' ferocity of fans is 10x Rutgers? In basketball yes, but you should make a trip down to Piscataway for a football game next season, you'll feel very different

 

[Rumrunner]

I'm not talking about game day fans.

The appetite to root for, and pay money to watch, the state team on tv.

UConn as to Connecticut is light years from Rutgers as to New Jersey.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Why doesn't Delaney invite Shanghai University - that would bring a few eyeballs to the table.

 

[TRest]

Nobody talks about the watered-down product the conferences keep shoving at the networks to get new deals. The Big 10 will be less palatable for actual B10 fans then it was 2 years ago. The Acc has basically killed itself by adding schools like BC and Miami.

 

[Jax Husky]

Ferocity of fans izs meaningless. Which state has more cable tv subscribers? That is what they are goingafter. Potential market, not actual market. They will have millions who pay for the B1G network that may never wtch a second of programming.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Why doesn't Delaney invite Shanghai University - that would bring a few eyeballs to the table.

23+ million or so Shanghai residents offers a lot of eyeballs, and Shanghai Nighthawks are trying to drum up gridiron interest with some NFL funding. ) A bad excuse for crap music videos, but a perfectly good sporting excuse for post-game pijou. Count on it, some Chinese kid will find his way to playing fairly good quality American football within a decade

 

[UC990411]

I'm not talking about game day fans.

The appetite to root for, and pay money to watch, the state team on tv.

UConn as to Connecticut is light years from Rutgers as to New Jersey.

Not football, sorry. The general fan in this state could care less

 

[Rumrunner]

Tell that to Mark Silverman who couldn't get eastern Penn to carry BTN. The Big Ten's
business model is predicated on footprint states. There are normally dozens of tv distribution outlets. The Big 10 would not add Rutgers unless it knew it had a great chance to get carriage in northern NJ and NY. Do you think NY subscribers will care if there isn't that carriage? No. The Big 10 will run into the same problems as it did in eastern PA.

If Conn's households were told, $3 a month more, forced carry, and northern NJ's households were told the same, who would be more likely to pay?

As far as the NY DMA, Fairfield/Danbury is segmented much like NJ from the city.

http://www.comcastspotlight.com/markets/new-york

If Delaney is trying to capitalize on NY-NJ, doesn't it make sense to reinforce that capitalization by getting a school with its own built-in DMA (Htfd/NH) and one proven (SNY which looked for programming after BTN was taken away from it) to get traction in the NY DMA?

 

[Rumrunner]

Doesn't matter if someone pays $'s for a certain channel whether its watched for football, basketball, hockey, wedding dress design or a lemur family. And you under estimate the # of fans that would want to watch UConn fb in CT.

Not football, sorry. The general fan in this state could care less

 

[Fishy]

If Delaney suggested that Rutgers build a new stadium, what, pray tell, does the Big Ten think of the Rent?

It's not happening.

 

[TheRogers]

You mean the Rutgers AD was full of it yesterday? He said TV markets was not the driving force. B1G wanted Rutgers because (and I kid you not) it was Rutgers. He said it with conviction too......

 

[uconNYC]

Nobody talks about the watered-down product the conferences keep shoving at the networks to get new deals. The Big 10 will be less palatable for actual B10 fans then it was 2 years ago. The Acc has basically killed itself by adding schools like BC and Miami.

Great point. I think the ACC is actually a much stronger conference WITHOUT Pitt, SU, and BC and would generate more dollars because of more attractive match ups.

Miami
FSU
GTech
Clemson
UNC
NCSTate
Duke
Wake
UVA
VT

Pretty solid league with good rivalries and geographic integrity. Also for basketball it would have a true round robin.

 

[RMoore1999]

UConn' ferocity of fans is 10x Rutgers? In basketball yes, but you should make a trip down to Piscataway for a football game next season, you'll feel very different

I went to Piscataway this year. Their ferocity was no greater than ours at the better games at the Rent in past years, and that's with the 10K+ Rutty has (stadium wasn't filled either, btw).

 

[Rumrunner]

A stadium on campus, paid for with bonds secured by Big 10 revenue distribution, much like Baylor is doing.

I know the political firestorm/problems. But why not? The capital fund drive for the bb facility is done. Why not a $50m drive for an on-campus stadium? $150m Big 10 rev bonds, paid ooff in 12 years. That's a $200 m stadium. Too few roads, central ct politicians, budget deficits, graft, corruption, pelto, UCONN Foundation secrecy, spending other people's money, what about the Rent and the starving children and beaten puppies.

But better to be bold in ideas than to say "No, I suck". How big are Herbst's plans?

 

[UConnRock]

NY/NJ's sports focus is 1) a pro sports, total saturation w/ 2 NFL, 2 MLB, 2 NBA, and 2 NHL 2) a college basketball hotbed, and 3) college football. If Rutgers can climb to the top of the B-10 then it will succeed. If not the stadium will be half Rutty fans, and half PSU, Michigan fans.

 

[RMoore1999]

If Delaney suggested that Rutgers build a new stadium, what, pray tell, does the Big Ten think of the Rent?

It's not happening.

" At the outset, Delaney floated the possibility that Rutgers build a new football stadium, the two officials said. The commissioner quickly pulled back when Rutgers pointed out it had recently poured millions into renovations of High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, the officials said. Had the Big Ten insisted on a new stadium, Barchi said, "it would have been a non-starter." "

So to answer your question Fishy, when Delaney asked Susan about building a new stadium on the side of Horsebarn Hill, presumably she replied, "No f#*cking way, Jim. But we'll add 15K to the Rent, so long as you promise me 2 of OHST, MICH, NEBR, WISC or PNST every year...Say "yes", Jimmy, and let's call it day, OK"?

 

[CL82]

"We don't know when they will act."

Matthew 24:36

I was going to post a link to the StarLedger article as well. It's a good article with no real surprises but it is an interesting confirmation of what we all suspected happened.

 

[CL82]

If Delaney suggested that Rutgers build a new stadium, what, pray tell, does the Big Ten think of the Rent?

It's not happening.

The benefit to the university athletically and academically justifies the investment in a new stadium. It it gets us a B1G invite, we build a new stadium on the moon.

 

[RS9999X]

Great point. I think the ACC is actually a much stronger conference WITHOUT Pitt, SU, and BC and would generate more dollars because of more attractive match ups. .

Swofford took a bit of crap when Pitt and SU were added and he came back with a contract that was increased by $4 mil a team more at the expense of granting additional media rights and adding 3 years which combined accounted for over 90% of the new revenue based on the way these backloaded contracts work. He did well in keeping the ACC in the Big 5 and adding ND. That was his coup and the side result of adding SU and Pitt and BC.

The Big-12 doesn't have any interest in UConn which Swofford should view as a positive. Taking Louisville and you get into "what's left for the Big-12 if they want to add two teams"? The answer then is obvious and it isn't Boise or USF.

 

[Rumrunner]

A $200 million state of the art stadium is feasible. $50 m in private money, $150m from bonds. The Big 10 is distributing $24.5m to each member. Even assuming UConn's full distribution would notkick in until several years in, that's an awful big windfall to put towards the stadium.

Corporate suite and PSL demand would skyrocket, with only one of Penn State, Oh State, Mich on the schedule.

And I have a suspicion that private money would be much more than $50m.

The benefit to the university athletically and academically justifies the investment in a new stadium. It it gets us a B1G invite, we build a new stadium on the moon.

 

[RS9999X]

I'm thinking a little more humbly

I'll settle for the XL Center getting either a first class renovation or (preferably) getting moved and for the Rent to get the necessary yearly tweaks and upgrades to remain a good mid-sized 21st Century facility. Add in the Practice fields and new sports centers and that's a pretty good era for UConn starting with Gampel.

 

[Nostical]

While I appreciate what we have, I'm not a fan of the Rent. Hate the open spaces and lack of fans in seats. Sightlines are good but lots of new stadia have them as well. Central location is its only plus-- but simply for ingress and egress, not atmosphere. With on campus stadium, tailgating hours are extended, students become plentiful and the game becomes the place to be. Folks like us and many others would make the more lengthy trek for the "experience". Throw in a winning program playing name brands and you really add to the aura.
If you look at development plans, the town center is already underway and there's a master plan being developed for the campus. There's room for a facility. An invite will certainly stir the conversation.

 

[huskymedic]

While I appreciate what we have, I'm not a fan of the Rent. Hate the open spaces and lack of fans in seats. Sightlines are good but lots of new stadia have them as well. Central location is its only plus-- but simply for ingress and egress, not atmosphere. With on campus stadium, tailgating hours are extended, students become plentiful and the game becomes the place to be. Folks like us and many others would make the more lengthy trek for the "experience". Throw in a winning program playing name brands and you really add to the aura.
If you look at development plans, the town center is already underway and there's a master plan being developed for the campus. There's room for a facility. An invite will certainly stir the conversation.

No doubt on campus would be an atmosphere plus... But how long would the required roadway infrastructure take to get approval? My guess w/ environmentalists and local opposition 5+ years (yet alone the funding).

 

[Rumrunner]

Why is it that every town (169) of them, has a network of bridges, roads and infrastructure? Because someone built them. While having to fight zoning and environmental opposition is a cost of doing business, this isn't like the state and its taxpayers having to pay for it. It is a private entity, or at least that's where the revenues come from. Realistically, either the money from the Big 10 comes into the state, or it doesn't.

No doubt on campus would be an atmosphere plus... But how long would the required roadway infrastructure take to get approval? My guess w/ environmentalists and local opposition 5+ years (yet alone the funding).