The Possibility We Were Bandying About...

[UConnDan97]

Ok. I'll play.

Would you rather spend eternity in CUSA II and risk destroying the Athletic Department?

Or would you sign a 5-10 year GOR and spend up to a decade playing in sexy new conference with schools in the fastest growing regions in the US?

If I could guarantee you the sexy new conference would you really pass on that for a 80% chance of death and irrelevance or the slim chance of the ACC?

Are we really going to be that pathetic? I think you guys are being overly optimistic about the ACC.

We've been passed over at least twice. Maybe even three times? Show some ****ing pride! They don't want us.

Then I guess I'm just very confused as to the differences in the two groupings of schools. The article made it sound like the difference in schools would be minimal (i.e., losing Tulane and Houston for UNLV, etc.). Do we even know what the proposed final grouping of schools is? If we don't, why are you so confident it's the right move???

 

[ZooCougar]

Not stupid. Just don't have a crystal ball. There are pitfalls with staying and pitfalls by playing the bluff! Both can backfire in UConn's face. Either choice is an AO slam dunk and not a Tim Duncan slam dunk!

I hope it's not even a bluff. We should do this. If the worst case is this new conference, then it's better than the Big East.

 

[UConnDan97]

Bigger is better here also because it finally kills off MWC and CUSA as threats.

C-USA is dead already. You want to kill off the Mountain West? Just invite Fresno now, and they're dead, too...

 

[ZooCougar]

Then I guess I'm just very confused as to the differences in the two groupings of schools. The article made it sound like the difference in schools would be minimal (i.e., losing Tulane and Houston for UNLV, etc.). Do we even know what the proposed final grouping of schools is? If we don't, why are you so confident it's the right move???

No. Of course this thing isn't fully developed yet. Have some patience, maintain an open mind. Let this develop.

Good grief.

 

[tzznandrew]

C-USA is dead already. You want to kill off the Mountain West? Just invite Fresno now, and they're dead, too...

It's not really dead if we don't take Houston, SMU, and ECU. Houston was undefeated through most of last year. Keep them, they're dead dead.

 

[The Funster]

We set this up with two possibilities. Force one of the power 5 conferences to take us. If the CW is that "they'll be be there when we want them" then you take that option off the table for them. The fallback position is that we form a conference that at least helps our athletics from eroding and keeps us positioned for a future bid.

 

[ZooCougar]

I agree with this.

B1G will not happen.

ACC is hanging on tenterhooks, unless the ESPN comes to the rescue with $$$, and if that happens, get out the shanks.

Obviously this is in the earliest possible stage. So let's just exercise some patience.

 

[UConnDan97]

No. Of course this thing isn't fully developed yet. Have some patience, maintain an open mind. Let this develop.

Good grief.

What the hell are you saying "good grief" for??? I'm keeping an open mind. I haven't poo-poo'd the idea. You're the one selling it from a mountain top! I'm still trying to digest the concept...

 

[ZooCougar]

We set this up with two possibilities. Force one of the power 5 conferences to take us. If the CW is that "they'll be be there when we want them" then you take that option off the table. The fallback position is that we form a conference that at least helps our athletics from eroding and keeps us positioned for a future bid.

I am in violent agreement with you as well.

 

[UConnDan97]

It's not really dead if we don't take Houston, SMU, and ECU. Houston was undefeated through most of last year. Keep them, they're dead dead.

I assumed, based on your post, that you envisioned the C-USA as a threat to the NBE in its current form. That's what I was responding to. In our current form, the C-USA is dead...

 

[noeynox]

Make it huge. Break into 4 Pods (regionally), have two semi finals and a conference final (I know this will require rules changes from the NCAA). Try to lure in any attractive school outside the Power 5. See if the TV money is worthwhile, try to get that additional BCS bid.

If the money was worthwhile, you can cherry pick the best teams from all the conferences not in the power 5, because all those leagues are tied into TV deals that pay peanuts. Maybe Mike Aresco is the guy to pull this off, with his TV contacts.

Alot of content there for a network looking for content. Plenty of teams to fill out schedules. At least kick the tires on out of the box ideas, because sitting back hoping and praying is a recipe for disaster.

 

[ZooCougar]

What the hell are you saying "good grief" for??? I'm keeping an open mind. I haven't poo-poo'd the idea. You're the one selling it from a mountain top! I'm still trying to digest the concept...

Come one Dude. You expect a fully developed scenario and this thing is maybe less than 36 hours old? Why do I think this could be the best attainable outcome?

For starters.

It's not the Big East. Full Stop.

 

[noeynox]

I take 50% chance of the ACC.

You really think the ACC has a 80% chance of staying together over the next 5 years?

We are always at risk of getting passed up again. BC will always block us, as will Miami. You can now add Syracuse to that mix. You have to realize, mother fuggers are trying to freeze us out.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I don't understand all the talk about NCAA credits and exit fees. They are one time revenues. Yes, you would rather have them than not have them but they are totally, totally irrelevant to the long term success of our athletic programs compared to who our conference mates are.

But at present they are approximately $180,000,000. You don't pass up your share of that to form a conference that frankly, sucks and doesn't solve any of your problems.

 

[UConnDan97]

Come one Dude. You expect a fully developed scenario and this thing is maybe less than 36 hours old? Why do I think this could be the best attainable outcome?

For starters.

It's not the Big East. Full Stop.

I don't expect the idea to be fully developed, which is the main reason why I'm not trying to sell it!

I like the idea of UConn finding out what kind of deals might be out there from groups like NBCSports, etc., and what kind of value we may be able to extract from the marketplace. I'm VERY happy about the fact that the two school symbols that the article chose to use to headline the article were UConn's and Cincy's, rather than USF's or someone else. It means that on a national level, people still recognize that we are the ones who drive the value! UConn has to weigh all its options, and I hope that the administration is hard at work doing just that.

But I'll wait to make a judgment on the idea until I see the details....the place where the devil often resides....

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Break down the situation.

1) Once the Catholic 7 notify the Big East they are leaving, the only voting members are USF, UConn, Cincinnati and maybe Temple (the "Football 4"), until July 1. Those 4 can do whatever they want after that in terms of revising bylaws, including exit fees. They also get to keep everyone else's exit fees. While there is some case law supporting a claim by the departing schools to get their exit fees back, a lawsuit is unlikely because of the threat of a countersuit by the Football 4.

2) Tell Tulane that they are sorry it didn't work out, but Tulane is no longer invited. Tulane may justifiably sue, so the Football 4 may have to dissolve the league rather than rescind Tulane's invitation.

3) Form the league they want with the best of the rest. There are NO legacy attachments. Goodbye Tulane. ECU, you are on the cusp, but will probably make the cut.

4) Sign a GOR contingent on a minimum revenue threshold. If the NNL (New New League) generates $10MM per school, then the GOR is in effect. If it generates $4MM per school, everyone is free to trade. A network, particularly NBC, will want some level of commitment, but this will also force NBC to make a meaningful financial commitment of their own. Ignore the ESPN and CBS articles. An all sports league with the schools on the docket will still get a meaningful payday. Rutgers and Louisville were not THAT valuable that their loss will cost the Big East half its revenue.

5) I would go big. If this is going to be an all sports league, I would go to at least 14, and maybe 16.

6) I would also make this performance based in terms of revenue split. The schools that win and generate TV appearances get a disproportionate share of the revenue.

7) the GOR is important because it will force action by the ACC or Big 10. Remember how they said "UConn will always be available". Well, we need to change that situation. If the ACC sees that UConn and Cincinnati are about to sign a GOR, it will force action on their part.

 

[tzznandrew]

I assumed, based on your post, that you envisioned the C-USA as a threat to the NBE in its current form. That's what I was responding to. In our current form, the C-USA is dead...

The conference idea mentioned suggested jettisoning ECU, SMU, and Houston. I think we should take them, and go to 16 or 18.
East

1. UConn
2. Cincy
3. ECU
4. Temple
5. USF
6. UCF
7. Memphis
8. Tulane
9. Tulsa

West

1. Houston
2. SMU
3. SDSU
4. Boise
5. Nevada
6. UNLV
7. New Mexico
8. Fresno St.
9. San Jose St/Utah St.

That's not terrible travel for the western schools. Most of them have had recent success in football. They make sense. And we play one (or none) a year in football, two in basketball. We meet in the championship game or the tournament.
That conference has the best non-BCS teams. It has some semblance, in each division, of geographical consistency. Each division wouldn't be terrible in basketball either.
The end.

edit: I'm too lazy to look it up, but I bet I missed a team currently attached to the BE.

 

[ZooCougar]

We are always at risk of getting passed up again. BC will always block us, as will Miami. You can now add Syracuse to that mix. You have to realize, mother fuggers are trying to freeze us out.

Exactly. Most of us here are naive. UConn has always identified with underdogs and assumed that our competitors were interested in nurturing and promoting us. It's the other way around, and they hold grudges.

 

[noeynox]

The conference idea mentioned suggested jettisoning ECU, SMU, and Houston. I think we should take them, and go to 16 or 18.
East

1. UConn
2. Cincy
3. ECU
4. Temple
5. USF
6. UCF
7. Memphis
8. Tulane
9. Tulsa

West

1. Houston
2. SMU
3. SDSU
4. Boise
5. Nevada
6. UNLV
7. New Mexico
8. Fresno St.
9. San Jose St/Utah St.

That's not terrible travel for the western schools. Most of them have had recent success in football. They make sense. And we play one (or none) a year in football, two in basketball. We meet in the championship game or the tournament.
That conference has the best non-BCS teams. It has some semblance, in each division, of geographical consistency. Each division wouldn't be terrible in basketball either.
The end.

edit: I'm too lazy to look it up, but I bet I missed a team currently attached to the BE.

I like this. I'd even consider going as big as 24, and breaking down into Pods of six. Perhaps target a school like Ohio, out of the MAC, LA Tech wherever they play, Wyoming, Nevada? I don't know. Like I said outside the box.

 

[ZooCougar]

7) the GOR is important because it will force action by the ACC or Big 10. Remember how they said "UConn will always be available". Well, we need to change that situation. If the ACC sees that UConn and Cincinnati are about to sign a GOR, it will force action on their part.

You're not the first person to say this. But I wish you and everyone else who is thinking like this were working the AD right now.

This is great thinking because we are changing the landscape instead of being subjected to it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The conference idea mentioned suggested jettisoning ECU, SMU, and Houston. I think we should take them, and go to 16 or 18.
East

1. UConn
2. Cincy
3. ECU
4. Temple
5. USF
6. UCF
7. Memphis
8. Tulane
9. Tulsa

West

1. Houston
2. SMU
3. SDSU
4. Boise
5. Nevada
6. UNLV
7. New Mexico
8. Fresno St.
9. San Jose St/Utah St.

That's not terrible travel for the western schools. Most of them have had recent success in football. They make sense. And we play one (or none) a year in football, two in basketball. We meet in the championship game or the tournament.
That conference has the best non-BCS teams. It has some semblance, in each division, of geographical consistency. Each division wouldn't be terrible in basketball either.
The end.

edit: I'm too lazy to look it up, but I bet I missed a team currently attached to the BE.

I think the proposal from the Decourcy article anticipated cutting Tulane loose, which is the right decision although a nasty thing to do to that school. Tulsa is a tiny school that has had a few good coaches but has a lot working against it. I don't think we need both Nevada and UNLV, and Chris Ault is in his late 60's, making that decision a little easier. I like SJSU and USU conceptually because they are in big markets and have had some recent success, but there is competition in both markets and for most of their history, they have sucked. That gets the league back to 14, and then tell UMass they will be added if BYU ever joins.

 

[upstater]

If this has any traction whatsoever, you keep it as small as possible. When the ACC eventually breaks up, then there will be several schools looking for a football home. The ACC won't cut it. They'll be looking to join this MWC/BE thingie. UVa. and GT to B1G, FSU, Clemson, Miami, Ville, Pitt and VT to B12, NC St. and UNC to SEC. At that point, Cuse, BC, Duke and Wake will be left without a boat. They'll want into the MWC/BE. Screw'em. Let them die. ND will place their Olympic sports with the CYO conference. After that, the Pac12 will raid the Big12 for Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas and Okie St. The Big12 will then raid the MWC/BE for Boise St., New Mexico, BYU and Air Force, then the MWC/BE will split, the Eastern schools adding Cuse, BC, Duke and Wake Forest, then the NFL will create a semi-pro league and cable will go ala carte and Mark Emmert will be hauled off to jail for embezzlement.

 

[Wise2]

I like this. I'd even consider going as big as 24, and breaking down into Pods of six. Perhaps target a school like Ohio, out of the MAC, LA Tech wherever they play, Wyoming, Nevada? I don't know. Like I said outside the box.

You can't go that big, too much pie to split up. Nobody will be paying $10 million for Tulane and the other dreck. You need to stick with teams that have value.

 

[nomar]

You know what? I'd do it. At some point, we have to accept that we either have to sit around and wait or take control of our own destiny.

I think that's aiming a little low. I think that option will always be there. I'd rather be in a crappier version of the ACC than that proposed conference.

 

[The Funster]

I think that's aiming a little low. I think that option will always be there. I'd rather be in a crappier version of the ACC than that proposed conference.

And what if the ACC doesn't invite us for 2, 3, 4 years?