UConn & FS1’s Media Marriage: Beyond 2025

[ConnHuskBask]

What needs to happen is a new Northeast FCS league.
Everything is moot then.
All of a sudden the parameters for recruiting and away games changes.
Georgetown’s stadium is the perfect size to host all the dignitaries that might posit their nephews come to Storrs, in exchange for a sizable athletic donation.
Those Nova-UConn rivalry games might have playoff implications... which is something UConn doesn’t have now.

UConn will disband football before playing FCS.

 

[Waquoit]

Prepare for an unpopular opinion on the BY.
ECU should have been in the Old Big East long prior to its implosion.

You actually think the BY didn't debate (and reject) ECU real time? Admittedly, there were some like you that felt when you get the chance to lock up the 5th best team in Carolina, you gotta do it.

 

[UConnJim]

Comparing ECU to Cincy and UL is ridiculous. Cincy and UL have very substantial followings both locally and nationally. They both have winning traditions in sports on a national level. ECU is popular in Eastern North Carolina and won a few football games over a few years, many years ago.

I agree that ECU has not had much success in basketball and they were a bad basketball add to the AAC. I have friends who went to ECU and they are a football school with relatively strong football traditions. From 2007 to 2016, ECU football average about 44k to 45k per game which is pretty good considering who they were playing. From a football standpoint, they are probably the third most supported team in North Carolina.

Here some football attendance numbers relative to Louisville and Cincy:

2008: ECU 42k, Louisville 40k, Cincy 32k
2009: ECU 42k, Louisville 33k, Cincy 40k
2010: ECU 50k, Louisville 51k, Cincy. 35k
2011: ECU 50k, Louisville. 49k, Cincy 32k
2012: ECU. 47k, Louisville. 50k, Cincy. 29k

I had no problem adding ECU to the AAC FOR football as they had one of the biggest fanbases that made sense to add to the AAC, but their basketball team was a significant drag on the AAC.

From a TV contract standpoint, I would say that both Cincy and Louisville have more name recognition than ECU.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The AAC should have been a 9 team football conference that play a true round robin and an 11 team basketball conference that played a true round robin:

FB: UConn, Cincinnati, Temple, USF, UCF, Memphis, Houston, Memphis and SMU

BB: Same 9 as above plus Wichita State and say Dayton.

Less is more should have been the mantra.

 

[Hoophound]

Adding multiple undeserving schools was less about content and more about having cover when the conference was raided again. It proved unnecessary.

 

[Guapo]

proximity to WVU made it a solid addition that

your lack of college sports knowledge is outpaced only by your tenuous grip on geography

 

[MJ1]

Oops, you listed Memphis twice.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The AAC went with the long term deal to lock up the ESPN audience and exposure - just as much, if not moreso, than dollars.
That’s why the American took less not to go to the open market.
Their deal affects ESPN’s ability and willingness to offer television windows elsewhere (it takes another bidder off the table)
With the subsequent expansion of the CFP it was paramount to lock in that relationship with ESPN for the AAC.

They did not take less. They got an awful deal behind a paywall with production costs for a thousand years because Mike Aresco wanted to be able to say the word "billion."

 

[BapeKidd88]

Adding multiple undeserving schools was less about content and more about having cover when the conference was raided again. It proved unnecessary.

And yet the AAC this year has 2 Super Regionals, 1 Final Four, and 1 NY6... (This year)

Seems to me they are doing pretty good..

When UConn got divorced from Football post season (no bowl ties or access point into the CFP) that was a mistake. The NBE only has FCS teams, horrid baseball, and basketball that is overly dependent on Villanova, who by the way has trended back to the mean.

What did the NBE do this year? Did it beat any P5’s in the tournament? Maybe they should’ve picked stronger Catholic schools? Will Norte Dame take Butlers call or will they laugh?

 

[BapeKidd88]

By the way, Butler has a football team. They could be a good opponent in the future fir UConn.

 

[BapeKidd88]

They did not take less. They got an awful deal behind a paywall with production costs for a thousand years because Mike Aresco wanted to be able to say the word "billion."

Hasn’t streaming become the standard now? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have the full package of ESPN channels.
Billion is better than 500 million with a pro rata share to hand out for Halloween.

 

[UCONNJACK]

ECU is like the 5th most popular basketball school in the state, and even lower for football...they aren't getting popular unless Duke/UNC/NC State/Wake Forest/Coastal Carolina all fall off the face of the Earth.

Coastal Carolina is in South Carolina.

 

[BapeKidd88]

It’s widely accepted that UConn is the biggest loser in realignment, having just surpassed Southern Miss.

Giving up the equity UConn put into football and the evolving CFP system since 2013 was just revealed to be financial suicide. On top of the equity lost in moving to a small school Olympic sports leagu, UConn had to pay over 17 million and locked into a 30 million dollar exit fee, only to find out that it won’t have any access to the over 2 billion dollar pool of money the 12 team CFP will generate.

That 42+ Million dollar Athletics budgetary shortfall on DBs watch will only be chipped away at by slashing. Selling 2200 basketball seats means nothing in the bigger picture of college sports revenue (that lion share of which got locked behind the CFP Pay Wall.)

Again, I’m sorry if speaking those words may be uncomfortable to some. BUT many of us said it was a stupid move before the St John’s blogger put Benedict in the pot of scalding water. It was only after that that people had to fall in line or be shamed (a phenomenon we are seeing a lot in this country today)

 

[Pudge]

We (UCONN) make more on TV in Women's Basketball than you make in AAC Football. Spend the first hours of your Wednesday contemplating that.

 

[Get a Job]

And yet the AAC this year has 2 Super Regionals, 1 Final Four, and 1 NY6... (This year)

Seems to me they are doing pretty good..

When UConn got divorced from Football post season (no bowl ties or access point into the CFP) that was a mistake. The NBE only has FCS teams, horrid baseball, and basketball that is overly dependent on Villanova, who by the way has trended back to the mean.

What did the NBE do this year? Did it beat any P5’s in the tournament? Maybe they should’ve picked stronger Catholic schools? Will Norte Dame take Butlers call or will they laugh?

Yeah, 'Nova stinks. They even fell out of the top 5 in the AP poll for a few weeks last season! For shame!

 

[Guapo]

Just remember kids, @BapeKidd88 thinks ECU is close to WVU.

that’s the level of intellect or sincerity we’re dealing with here

 

[Hoophound]

It’s widely accepted that UConn is the biggest loser in realignment, having just surpassed Southern Miss.

Giving up the equity UConn put into football and the evolving CFP system since 2013 was just revealed to be financial suicide. On top of the equity lost in moving to a small school Olympic sports leagu, UConn had to pay over 17 million and locked into a 30 million dollar exit fee, only to find out that it won’t have any access to the over 2 billion dollar pool of money the 12 team CFP will generate.

That 42+ Million dollar Athletics budgetary shortfall on DBs watch will only be chipped away at by slashing. Selling 2200 basketball seats means nothing in the bigger picture of college sports revenue (that lion share of which got locked behind the CFP Pay Wall.)

Again, I’m sorry if speaking those words may be uncomfortable to some. BUT many of us said it was a stupid move before the St John’s blogger put Benedict in the pot of scalding water. It was only after that that people had to fall in line or be shamed (a phenomenon we are seeing a lot in this country today)

UConn is the biggest loser because we lost P5 status. No other reason. The AAC sucks in terms of excitement and fanbases. If you can’t see the immediate benefits of Indy football and Big East basketball sitting right in front of you, you don’t want to see them. Football and basketball recruiting are on fire, fan interest is up and there is excitement around athletics again. We don’t need a football conference, we need to win football games.

 

[CashewCrew]

Oops, you listed Memphis twice.

Also, Rutgers and Louisville were part of the AAC at that time.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Hasn’t streaming become the standard now? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have the full package of ESPN channels.
Billion is better than 500 million with a pro rata share to hand out for Halloween.

ESPN+ has fewer than 14 million subscribers, and it carried more than half of the AAC men's basketball schedule last year. FS1 has more than 80 million, and CBSSN has more than 60 million. And we don't have to pay to put our games on there.

 

[Guapo]

Coastal Carolina is in South Carolina.

False. Coastal Carolina is the 51st state

 

[Guapo]

ESPN+ has fewer than 14 million subscribers, and it carried more than half of the AAC men's basketball schedule last year. FS1 has more than 80 million, and CBSSN has more than 60 million. And we don't have to pay to put our games on there.

I wouldn’t bother engaging; he’s obviously bored and trolling

 

[CL82]

I wouldn’t bother engaging; he’s obviously bored and trolling

I respect a decent troll. Sadly he isn't a particularly good one. Sounds young.

 

[Waquoit]

When UConn got divorced from Football post season (no bowl ties or access point into the CFP) that was a mistake.

The AAC celebrated Houston's FF loss more than they celebrated UConn's natty. There's an old saying, "never go to the track with somebody that doesn't want to see you win." I think it can be expanded to "Never play in a conference that doesn't want to see you win." UConn made the right decision.

 

[HuskyFich]

Coastal Carolina is in South Carolina.

False. Coastal Carolina is the 51st state

lmao, technically you are right. spitting distance from ocean isle. I think you understood my point though….

 

[pj]

The only thing it lacks is football. The problem is that the market value for football games is significantly more valuable than the market value for basketball games. Don’t get me wrong, I think the move was the best thing for us, by a wide margin, but a basketball only conference, even a very good one, will always make much less money than in all sports conference.

$6 million for non-football sports rivals what the P5 programs make. UConn owns its football rights and if it can build a fan base can monetize those. It's up to UConn to be entrepreneurial and build a football program.

 

[MU in MKE]

$6 million for non-football sports rivals what the P5 programs make. UConn owns its football rights and if it can build a fan base can monetize those. It's up to UConn to be entrepreneurial and build a football program.

Don't quote me, but between the Fox Sports contract, rights to sell Womens games to SNY, reduced costs for all sports travel to conference schools, and increased revenue in a renewed MBB program I think UConn is about equivalent monetarily to where they'd be if in the AAC. That's without capitalizing on FB independence, getting a new higher contract in a couple years, or counting the production costs avoided for ESPN+ programming (and the intangibles that come with not having to stream MBB games and having all games nationally televised).

 

[Guapo]

Don't quote me, but between the Fox Sports contract, rights to sell Womens games to SNY, reduced costs for all sports travel to conference schools, and increased revenue in a renewed MBB program I think UConn is about equivalent monetarily to where they'd be if in the AAC. That's without capitalizing on FB independence, getting a new higher contract in a couple years, or counting the production costs avoided for ESPN+ programming (and the intangibles that come with not having to stream MBB games and having all games nationally televised).

That’s a question for @Storrs South

 

[Storrs South]

That’s a question for @Storrs South

Haven't look at the spreadsheet in awhile and things will change once new CFP playoff comes into play, but more or less @MU in MKE nailed it. The money over the course of that AAC deal is about the same (especially when you compare where P5 money is).

However, this assumes UConn doesn't get more money in future deals with CBS Sports Network and FS1 or any other deals that may come about not being locked into ESPN.

It also (at least until end of FS1 deal in 2025) ensures linear cable visibility for all revenue sports at UConn (football, MBB, WBB). It also doesn't include the effects of increased fan interest, ticket sales, donations, and not NIL marketability of being the Big East and on and on and on.

It's a long winded way of saying yes the money is about the same but the Big East provides the upside potential.

The one clarification point is yes if UConn stayed in AAC WBB games would only be on ESPN+ or ESPN linear, however with current Big East arrangement, it isn't UConn selling to SNY anymore. FS1 owns the WBB content and is sublicensing to SNY so that's no additional money for UConn, it's already baked into the existing contract between FS1 and the Big East.

The hope stemming back to the original article is that between the additions of not one but two national powers in MBB and WBB that the money does see a substantial uptick in value comparatively to the existing contract...but we will see.

 

[Pudge]

The BIG problem for the AAC - as WE loudly cried when they did that deal - it was too frigging long a Term. With no flexibility to earn up on new valued cash flow streams in a era that technology is booming in streaming and 39 other ways

 

[freescooter]

For schools with such modest ambitions it's pretty impressive they've rated the 4th best conference post realignment ahead of the SEC and PAC.

LOL. Yeah. Keep telling yourself that. How many different teams have gone to the Finsl Four again? LOL