To AD Dave: The New Big East Is Not the Old Big East

[Fairfield_1st]

Why does it matter where they play? The Big East doesn't have revenue sharing like Big Ten football. The more important consideration is the attractiveness of the matchups, and the NBE is far more attractive than the AAC. There are 3 NBE teams ranked including UConn, whereas the AAC has 1. The TV contract is also better in terms of pay, I believe, and definitely in terms of televised exposure versus frequently behind a paywall.
Also, you know the athletic department "loss" is an accounting thing, right? There are a variety of factors that go into it, including the payment of Civic Center rent from UConn to the CRDA, essentially passing money between CT departments. They also consider the "lost" revenue of scholarships, charging the full cost of the scholarship against the school.

 

[Palatine]

Why does it matter where they play? The Big East doesn't have revenue sharing like Big Ten football. The more important consideration is the attractiveness of the matchups, and the NBE is far more attractive than the AAC. There are 3 NBE teams ranked including UConn, whereas the AAC has 1. The TV contract is also better in terms of pay, I believe, and definitely in terms of televised exposure versus frequently behind a paywall.
Also, you know the athletic department "loss" is an accounting thing, right? There are a variety of factors that go into it, including the payment of Civic Center rent from UConn to the CRDA, essentially passing money between CT departments. They also consider the "lost" revenue of scholarships, charging the full cost of the scholarship against the school.

Football drives the bus.

 

[Zissou]

All major conferences have private schools. The Big East is unique in that private schools reconfigured the conference and then expanded keeping the profile as a majority of private schools (9-2).

Stanford, Duke, ND, Nova, BC, Baylor, etc. even the AAC has its private schools.

There are “flagship” schools that are powerhouses athletically, and others that are not. It isn’t the best way to group programs. UConn has the best athletic programs of all of the New England flagship universities, but that doesn’t mean much. Being a Big East conference member holds more athletic prestige than being a flagship.

 

[Kolumbo]

All major conferences have private schools. The Big East is unique in that private schools reconfigured the conference and then expanded keeping the profile as a majority of private schools (9-2).

Stanford, Duke, ND, Nova, BC, Baylor, etc. even the AAC has its private schools.

There are “flagship” schools that are powerhouses athletically, and others that are not. It isn’t the best way to group programs. UConn has the best athletic programs of all of the New England flagship universities, but that doesn’t mean much. Being a Big East conference member holds more athletic prestige than being a flagship.

The B1G is probably the best structured conference because it is all public universities plus Northwestern. UConn has the best athletic programs of all flagships in New England plus NY and NJ. The only public university in the Big East, 10-1. Being a state flagship brings the athletic prestige which allows it to join a good athletic conference, whether it's the Big East or other.

 

[billybud]

UMass, Maine, URI, Vermont, Delaware are all flagships....but not athletic powerhouses..

 

[npignatjr]

All major conferences have private schools. The Big East is unique in that private schools reconfigured the conference and then expanded keeping the profile as a majority of private schools (9-2).

Stanford, Duke, ND, Nova, BC, Baylor, etc. even the AAC has its private schools.

There are “flagship” schools that are powerhouses athletically, and others that are not. It isn’t the best way to group programs. UConn has the best athletic programs of all of the New England flagship universities, but that doesn’t mean much. Being a Big East conference member holds more athletic prestige than being a flagship.

In one sport, one team

 

[npignatjr]

Football drives the bus.

UConn's football team drives a stretch Yugo now. Sold out for MBB

 

[Kolumbo]

UMass, Maine, URI, Vermont, Delaware are all flagships....but not athletic powerhouses..

Well, there's hockey.

Most athletic powerhouses are public universities, but not all public universities are athletic powerhouses.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Football drives the bus.

AAC Football Bus

 

[billybud]

Ahhh...the breeze of fandom is wafting through this thread like perfume at a prom.

 

[npignatjr]

AAC Football Bus

View attachment 63808

U Conn's bus as supplied by the athletic department. AAC usually has multiple teams ranked every year including 1 in the top 10.

 

[CTBballfan243]

U Conn's bus as supplied by the athletic department. AAC usually has multiple teams ranked every year including 1 in the top 10.

The AAC having teams ranked and $2.34 will get you a medium coffee at Dunkin but not much else.

 

[Kolumbo]

UConn has 3 or 4 P5 games scheduled per year which is impressivel. Mixing in some ACC, B1G, SEC, MAC along with Independents and other regional games has a lot more appeal than being in the AAC and should help recruiting. I see UCF and Temple but no other AAC programs so it seems that must be intentional.

 

[CL82]

U Conn's bus as supplied by the athletic department. AAC usually has multiple teams ranked every year including 1 in the top 10.

The American conference ESPN media contract shows its value.

 

[billybud]

The AAC has , maybe, the largest of the G5 media contracts......the biggest helping at the kiddie table....$7 million per school.

 

[Zissou]

The AAC has , maybe, the largest of the G5 media contracts......the biggest helping at the kiddie table....$7 million per school.

And even that’s inflated because they were forced to accept their own production costs. Subtract production costs, high AD travel costs in a sprawling conference, and the loss of TV coverage to streaming, and it’s obvious why UConn walked away from that deal.

 

[whalerfan]

The AAC has , maybe, the largest of the G5 media contracts......the biggest helping at the kiddie table....$7 million per school.

And that $7m is the average. Kind of like the lottery and taking the annuity. They're not getting the $7m right away.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Prefer the indie schedule any day.

 

[billybud]

And even that’s inflated because they were forced to accept their own production costs. Subtract production costs, high AD travel costs in a sprawling conference, and the loss of TV coverage to streaming, and it’s obvious why UConn walked away from that deal.

UConn "walked away" because basketball and football were floundering in the AAC...not competitive at the top of the conference.

We've been through this, but it was maybe the only move to make..

 

[Zissou]

UConn "walked away" because basketball and football were floundering in the AAC...not competitive at the top of the conference.

We've been through this, but it was maybe the only move to make..

It was more of a strategic and financial decision. The snapshot of UConn competitiveness level the AAC really wasn’t a factor. Dan Hurley was already hired and was rebuilding regardless. Big East cred only helps his rebuild.

If the AAC had landed a “P6” TV contract then UConn would have stayed.

 

[billybud]

No such thing as P6...a puff PR move.

But UConn was saving it's most valuable commodity...basketball...which was not doing well in the AAC.

 

[Adios]

The Koch brothers must have had a hand in getting the AAC to take in Wichita State.

 

[Kolumbo]

It was more of a strategic and financial decision. The snapshot of UConn competitiveness level the AAC really wasn’t a factor. Dan Hurley was already hired and was rebuilding regardless. Big East cred only helps his rebuild.

If the AAC had landed a “P6” TV contract then UConn would have stayed.

It was strategic, financial, and competitiveness. If UConn was winning conference championships in football and basketball it absolutely would have stayed in the AAC. There is no way it leaves the best of the G5 if football is winning the conference. So yes, competitiveness was a factor.

 

[Zissou]

If P5 schools get $30M to $45M per year depending on conf, what should a P6 get?

if the AAC landed $20 or even $15M per school, UConn stays. Competitiveness or not, UConn stays for that money.

The AAC, with its TV Exec for commish, failed to land a P6 deal. It’s $7m which is really more like $5M due to new costs.

UConn nets more as a Big East school. A better basketball conference is a bonus.

 

[billybud]

UConn's football and basketball programs (other than women's basketball) were dying on the vine in the ACC...and would have eventually completely withered.

Joining a private school basketball league could save basketball....

...and, of course, the hope was that the Huskies might rebuild football as an independent to where it might be respectable. If Liberty can go 10-1 and to an after Christmas bowl, so could UConn.