UConn and the New York Market

[whaler11]

I think a great east coast bball rivalry would add a lot of value to a B1G competing with the ACC for east coast fans/viewers/recruits. UConn vs Maryland could be a showcase game. How would adding such a game to its inventory help B1G hoops recruiting, popularity, etc. on east coast vs. ACC? I don't know but my view is that it would be pretty valuable.

My post was re: MBB but applies equally to WBB.

Maybe they can rig a trophy together out of stuff in Geno'a s garage to give to the winner.

 

[Point6]

Maybe they can rig a trophy together out of stuff in Geno'a s garage to give to the winner.

C'mon, this would not be fake! At least I already hate Maryland (from the Williams years) and I grew up there. In any event, if we do need stuff for a trophy, we should probably go pick through Edsall's garage.

 

[Seaa Blue]

You've got the wrong four letter m word.

Math is the issue.

Until someone figures out how to stop the revenue slide that the cable networks are in the midst of nobody is expanding.

Picking up a small slice of New England's most talented students and placing graduates in New England are important numbers to the presidents of the Big Ten. How important? Not sure.

 

[upstater]

Yeah Lol, away games from Cincinnati to Florida to Utah, and it's going to take our soccer teams, baseball team, field hockey team, lacrosse team, women's softball, and tennis teams and golf teams, ice hockey teams, and Volleyball teams, and wrestling team, seven years and $7 million just to play their away games. My god, when will they have time to study?

OK< stay in the AAC I guess

 

[Ldandy]

You've got the wrong four letter m word.

Math is the issue.

Until someone figures out how to stop the revenue slide that the cable networks are in the midst of nobody is expanding.

I'm a long term proponent of UConn to The B1G, as I believe that your profile matches up very well with the rest of the conference. Land Grant University, strong academics, high profile M/W Programs, good Olympic Sports, plus the addition of hockey. The fact that you are located in a major media market is also a great selling point IMO. That said just as you noted above math is the issue. With B1G Media Rights escalating to nearly absurd levels of around 40+ million a year, it is incredibly difficult to outline a scenario where an addition of UConn would not be dilutive to the overall conference revenue stream. The only one I can imagine would be one where Texas wanted to join and they needed a readily available partner to go with The Horns. In that scenario I think you would be evaluated in a pool of teams including OU, KU, and maybe Mizzou.

 

[Ldandy]

Maybe they can rig a trophy together out of stuff in Geno'a s garage to give to the winner.

No need. You guys can have this POS. I'll personally remove it from our trophy case and drive it to Storrs, CT.

 

[IMind]

We are only 7 years away from being in this conference:

West Virginia
Kansas
Kansas St.
Baylor
TCU
Iowa St.
Cincinnati
UConn
UCF
USF
Houston
Navy or Memphis (probably Navy, though BYU is possible as well.)

That's almost definitely what the administration is hoping for. Still... I just wonder if anyone can really be convinced to take Texas Tech. I can see OK and OK State working out as a pair.. but I guess Texas is worth it.

 

[IMind]

Yeah Lol, away games from Cincinnati to Florida to Utah, and it's going to take our soccer teams, baseball team, field hockey team, lacrosse team, women's softball, and tennis teams and golf teams, ice hockey teams, and Volleyball teams, and wrestling team, seven years and $7 million just to play their away games. My god, when will they have time to study?

Umm.... hockey won't play in the conference, they play in hockey east... field hockey and lacrosse don't play in the AAC they play in the Big East. We don't have a volleyball or wrestling team. Golf, Track & Field, Cross country, Tennis, and Rowing don't really play home and homes... they basically play a regional schedule, then go to the conference championship. Baseball pretty much already plays a national schedule. Only soccer, football, baseball, softball, and basketball have a real home and home type travel schedule. The whole "travel" cost myth is overblown. If you play NCAA sports at a top tier level your travel costs are through the roof no matter how close most of your conference mates are.

Plus there's a fairly decent chance this will be a "P5" conference... it'll probably still be called the Big 12... but yeah we can stay in the AAC with Tulane and ECU if you want.

 

[huskyrob1]

OK< stay in the AAC I guess

The AAC is not quite as bad geographically speaking as this final Big 12 in 7 years, but bad enough that it is an issue right now with Susan Herbst and the BOT's. I know this for a fact. DB has a ton of pressure on him concerning this, with travel costs, classroom makeup time for student athletes, etc. If you add up each distance from Storrs, of Kansas, K State, BYU, Iowa State, SMU, Baylor, Texas, OK, OK St, etc, the total is alot more than if you do the same for the present AAC. The UCONN BOT's and the president would never approve UCONN for inclusion in the Big 12 for all sports, maybe football only but that's also a stretch.

 

[HuskyinWRNY]

We are only 7 years away from being in this conference:

West Virginia
Kansas
Kansas St.
Baylor
TCU
Iowa St.
Cincinnati
UConn
UCF
USF
Houston
Navy or Memphis (probably Navy, though BYU is possible as well.)

Something tells me we'll lose out on this to. CR is just going to be a constant nightmare.

 

[huskyrob1]

Umm.... hockey won't play in the conference, they play in hockey east... field hockey and lacrosse don't play in the AAC they play in the Big East. We don't have a volleyball or wrestling team. Golf, Track & Field, Cross country, Tennis, and Rowing don't really play home and homes... they basically play a regional schedule, then go to the conference championship. Baseball pretty much already plays a national schedule. Only soccer, football, baseball, softball, and basketball have a real home and home type travel schedule. The whole "travel" cost myth is overblown. If you play NCAA sports at a top tier level your travel costs are through the roof no matter how close most of your conference mates are.

Plus there's a fairly decent chance this will be a "P5" conference... it'll probably still be called the Big 12... but yeah we can stay in the AAC with Tulane and ECU if you want.

Get your facts straight, we do have a volleyball team, they play in the Fall.

 

[upstater]

The AAC is not quite as bad geographically speaking as this final Big 12 in 7 years, but bad enough that it is an issue right now with Susan Herbst and the BOT's. I know this for a fact. DB has a ton of pressure on him concerning this, with travel costs, classroom makeup time for student athletes, etc. If you add up each distance from Storrs, of Kansas, K State, BYU, Iowa State, SMU, Baylor, Texas, OK, OK St, etc, the total is alot more than if you do the same for the present AAC. The UCONN BOT's and the president would never approve UCONN for inclusion in the Big 12 for all sports, maybe football only but that's also a stretch.

More money in the Big12--so that answers your travel cost problem. This B1g12 is better than the old BE, which was offered $13m a year by ESPN a decade ago. A lot more than the current AAC? First off, I didn't list Okla homa for a reason. Nor SMU. But really what is the difference between Tulsa and Kansas? Not much. We travel to Florida now. The Texas schools are a wash because we travel there now. Swap out Tulane for Iowa St. West Virginia for Memphis.

Point is, similar travel--but more money.

 

[upstater]

That's almost definitely what the administration is hoping for. Still... I just wonder if anyone can really be convinced to take Texas Tech. I can see OK and OK State working out as a pair.. but I guess Texas is worth it.

Pac12 will either be Pac16 or else SEC takes the Oklahomas.

 

[huskyrob1]

More money in the Big12--so that answers your travel cost problem. This B1g12 is better than the old BE, which was offered $13m a year by ESPN a decade ago. A lot more than the current AAC? First off, I didn't list Okla homa for a reason. Nor SMU. But really what is the difference between Tulsa and Kansas? Not much. We travel to Florida now. The Texas schools are a wash because we travel there now. Swap out Tulane for Iowa St. West Virginia for Memphis.

Point is, similar travel--but more money.

Not similar travel add it all up, and money is not the only issue. For the last time....LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE!!!!
It's the wear and tear and loss of classroom time for all the students in these sports. Football is easy to arrange away games, they're almost always on the weekend. Basketball away games can be scheduled similarly, but soccer, baseball, Volleyball, tennis, swimming and diving, softball, etc are scheduled anytime during the week. Cost is a big issue but this effect on the student athlete is a huge concern for a school that calls itself an institution of higher learning. I can tell you right now that Susan Herbst and BOT's is not going to sacrifice this just so the football team can make an extra $5 Millon a year. Forget the Big 12!!!!

 

[IMind]

Get your facts straight, we do have a volleyball team, they play in the Fall.

That's it? I miss one team on the web site? You're crazy.

UConn would join the Big 12 in a second. They applied to already! If you don't think the Administration would rather be playing games with Kansas, KState, West Virginia and Iowa State than Tulsa, Tulane, and ECU.. of course we'll be in the Big 10 by then, right?

 

[IMind]

Pac12 will either be Pac16 or else SEC takes the Oklahomas.

I was thinking maybe Texas, Texas Tech to the Big 10. If Texas could dump Tech I'm sure the Big 10 would take Texas and Kansas in a second. I could even see a scenario where Ok State and Tech stay put and Texas and Oklahoma move to the Big 10. That's almost definitely the least likely... but if money gets tighter you might see some different stuff... of course if money gets too tight... OK and TX might not go anywhere.

 

[huskyrob1]

That's it? I miss one team on the web site? You're crazy.

UConn would join the Big 12 in a second. They applied to already! If you don't think the Administration would rather be playing games with Kansas, KState, West Virginia and Iowa State than Tulsa, Tulane, and ECU.. of course we'll be in the Big 10 by then, right?

Ummm...OK, whatever you say genius.

 

[Adios]

The Big Ten would not take Texas Tech. And it seems politics will factor into the next realignment, given cultural differences. That definitely is something on the minds of people, since the most powerful colleges tend to be liberal. Besides Liberty, etc (1 bil endowment already?!) We have a Cold War within the US now.

I think the Big Ten should take UConn and Liberty to sew up control of the Bos-Wash megalopolis.

 

[IMind]

Ummm...OK, whatever you say genius.

I'm glad people are starting to recognize my talents.

 

[huskyrob1]

I was thinking maybe Texas, Texas Tech to the Big 10. If Texas could dump Tech I'm sure the Big 10 would take Texas and Kansas in a second. I could even see a scenario where Ok State and Tech stay put and Texas and Oklahoma move to the Big 10. That's almost definitely the least likely... but if money gets tighter you might see some different stuff... of course if money gets too tight... OK and TX might not go anywhere.

Highly unlikely the Big Ten would take Texas or Texas Tech. There are other issues at play here.

 

[huskymedic]

The UCONN BOT's and the president would never approve UCONN for inclusion in the Big 12 for all sports, maybe football only but that's also a stretch.

I can tell you right now that Susan Herbst and BOT's is not going to sacrifice this just so the football team can make an extra $5 Millon a year. Forget the Big 12!!!!

So you are going on the BY record that UConn would turn down a Big12 invite if it came due to travel/time concerns?

 

[upstater]

Not similar travel add it all up, and money is not the only issue. For the last time....LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE!!!!
It's the wear and tear and loss of classroom time for all the students in these sports. Football is easy to arrange away games, they're almost always on the weekend. Basketball away games can be scheduled similarly, but soccer, baseball, Volleyball, tennis, swimming and diving, softball, etc are scheduled anytime during the week. Cost is a big issue but this effect on the student athlete is a huge concern for a school that calls itself an institution of higher learning. I can tell you right now that Susan Herbst and BOT's is not going to sacrifice this just so the football team can make an extra $5 Millon a year. Forget the Big 12!!!!

The travel is not very different.

Floridas are the same. (2 schools)
WV for Temple
Kansas for Tulsa
2 Texas schools in both conferences
Kansas St for Tulane
Navy is Navy
Cincy is Cincy, etc.

Where in the world is the additional travel?

If anything, Iowa St. is closer than Tulsa.

 

[huskyrob1]

So you are going on the BY record that UConn would turn down a Big12 invite if it came due to travel/time concerns?

I could be wrong, but to answer your question, yes. Cost is an issue, but the big issue in my view would be loss of classroom time for the student athletes in the following sports.... soccer, Volleyball, field hockey, softball, baseball, tennis, lacrosse, swimming & diving, Track & Field, golf, etc.,
These sports are usually scheduled during the week and during daylight hours. Look at a geographic map of the present Big 12 and BYU, except for West Virginia, every other team is between 1200 and 2000 miles away. And please stop cherry picking my replies, when you do that you are taking me out of context. There are major concerns right now along these lines for the AAC, and the geographic center of the AAC is quite a bit closer to Storrs than the New Big 12 would be. Maybe football and basketball only (not sure if the Big 12 would even go for that) but not for all sports, like we could get in the Big Ten or ACC.

 

[huskyrob1]

The travel is not very different.

Floridas are the same. (2 schools)
WV for Temple
Kansas for Tulsa
2 Texas schools in both conferences
Kansas St for Tulane
Navy is Navy
Cincy is Cincy, etc.

Where in the world is the additional travel?

If anything, Iowa St. is closer than Tulsa.

I don't know what map you're looking at but the present Big 12 map has FOUR teams in Texas, two teams in Oklahoma, two in Kansas. Add BYU and, not including West Virginia, the geographic center of the conference is in eastern Colorado. Lol

 

[huskymedic]

I could be wrong, but to answer your question, yes. Cost is an issue, but the big issue in my view would be loss of classroom time for the student athletes in the following sports.... soccer, Volleyball, field hockey, softball, baseball, tennis, lacrosse, swimming & diving, Track & Field, golf, etc.,
These sports are usually scheduled during the week and during daylight hours. Look at a geographic map of the present Big 12 and BYU, except for West Virginia, every other team is between 1200 and 2000 miles away. And please stop cherry picking my replies, when you do that you are taking me out of context. There are major concerns right now along these lines for the AAC, and the geographic center of the AAC is quite a bit closer to Storrs than the New Big 12 would be. Maybe football and basketball only (not sure if the Big 12 would even go for that) but not for all sports, like we could get in the Big Ten or ACC.

Not cherry picking, just trying to cut through all the other noise when getting to understanding a point you are making. We went full bore to showcase UConn to the Big12 this summer (and highlighted how travel wasn't an issue) so I just wanted to be sure that's what you are now implying will happen if they turn around and offer UConn a place in the conference.

 

[huskyrob1]

Not cherry picking, just trying to cut through all the other crazy talk when getting to understanding a point you are making. We went full bore to showcase UConn to the Big12 this summer (and highlighted how travel wasn't an issue) so I just wanted to be sure that's what you are now implying will happen if they turn around and offer UConn a place in the conference.

Who is "we"? Benedict had just been hired, Diaco couldn't even manage a football team much less see the problems or even care about all sports (for UCONN) in that league. The fact that it fell through speaks volumes IMO. It's possible for football only or football and basketball only but unlikely IMO.

 

[huskymedic]

Who is "we"? Benedict had just been hired, Diaco couldn't even manage a football team much less see the problems or even care about all sports (for UCONN) in that league. The fact that it fell through speaks volumes IMO. It's possible for football only or football and basketball only but unlikely IMO.

"We" would be Susan Herbst and her leadership team.

 

[CL82]

You've got the wrong four letter m word.

Math is the issue.

Until someone figures out how to stop the revenue slide that the cable networks are in the midst of nobody is expanding.

Much as it pains me to agree with this, I do. Everyone has a favorite metric but no one bothers to try to monetize them. When you do, absent sudden and fiscally unjustifiable largess from ESPN and/or a competitor, the math just does not work.

There are a few scenarios that could pull us out of AAC purgatory, but they are they are long shots. The demise of the Big 12 could well result in our ending up in a best of the rest league which, though an improvement over our current circumstances, wouldn't result in a Big 10 or SEC type deal. One interesting wrinkle is that if the demise of the profitability of ESPN continues and has the result of lowering the value of confernece college game packages, then the value of network subscribers could be come the new cash cow. In that scenario Connecticut becomes a more valuable addition. Nothing that justify a Big 10 invite today, but could be a value proposition down the road if TV money dries up considerably.

 

[CL82]

No need. You guys can have this POS. I'll personally remove it from our trophy case and drive it to Storrs, CT.

View attachment 20004

Well, that would be a step up from option "B."

 

[The Funster]

You've got the wrong four letter m word.

Math is the issue.

Until someone figures out how to stop the revenue slide that the cable networks are in the midst of nobody is expanding.

I'd be willing to bet that conferences will re-regionalize once the money starts drying up. Colleges are going to look up and say, "why are we playing Blahblah U 1500 miles away when we can play Xyz U when they are in the next state?" Conferences won't have the money to fund all the travel for the 2nd and 3rd tier school teams and then they'll realize that all the old rivalries were with teams that are next door. In 20 years UConn could be back with a bunch of BE mates.