UConn Headed To Big 12?? That's The Unofficial Report

[GirlBoo1020]

There's a whole lot of presumptions in that statement.

Why would you believe that the basketball programs would be "killed" in the big 12? Right now the men's basketball program is widely viewed as the best program in college basketball. How moving to the big 12 change that?

Similarly, the women's basketball program is widely considered to be the best women's basketball program of all time. Move to the big east was never a good one for women's basketball because the big east conference, overall, hurts are ranking due to we competition. Part of the reason why our preseason is so difficult is to offset that.

The big 12 is widely perceived to be the strongest men's basketball conference. Playing in it would create potential for great matchups including, hopefully, an annual home and away game with Kansas. Games with perennial top 20 program Houston and reuniting an old sort of rivalry with Cincinnati would also be good for the men's program.

Similarly the big 12 would set up games for Connecticut versus Iowa, Baylor and reunite us with old conference mate UCF.

I understand that you don't care that in your hypothetical we are by the big 12 conference somehow fails infive years of big 12 membership (Which I believe is unlikely to the point of ridiculousness) would be worth $200 million to Connecticut. Reasonable people, however, I think would agree that $200 million to the university, into the state of Connecticut is enormously valuable.

Let's say that your hypothetical about the demise. The big 12 is correct, but you're off by five years. Then that 200 million becomes 400 million. The difference between what we make in the big east and what we would make in a power conference is enormous. More importantly, if the big 12 is somehow destroyed by the consolidation of power between the big 10 the SEC, certainly the big east would be destroyed before hand. In essence, affiliation with the power conference means that the universities athletic programs continue to remain viable. Those of us who have been fans for decades and want to be fans for many decades more realize that making 4 1/2 million dollars currently isn't sustainable. Think about this, our entire big east media distribution doesn't even pay for Dan Hurley salary.

You seem to misunderstand me. I am not saying the Big 12 will kill the basketball programs but being in the Big 12 when the Big 10 and SEC pull away from the NCAA will. No NCAA, no NCAA tournament will kill college basketball almost completely but I don't see UConn being part of the group of basketball schools those schools DO include, IF they include anyone else, when they create whatever it is they will have to create to replace the NCAA tournament, unless they are affiliated with a strong basketball conference which ,whatever leftovers from the Big 12 will be left will not make.

Again 200 million, 400 million 1 billion dollars going to the university or the state of connecticut or the united states of america or the king of england doesn't make an iota of difference to me. THe athletic department will essentially be killed off by this move in under a decade.

Now you may think the Big 10 and SEC pulling away in all sports in unlikely. I'll entertain a non dooms day option for a moment because I think them pulling away in just football is potentially more likely. In which case, I think conferences would realign to make more sense regionally for non-football sports, in which case UConn could easily be left in the dust having alienated any conference that would make sense for UConn.

I just don't see any way going to the big 12 is anything but a death sentence for UConn athletics long term, even if maybe they do get to update a dorm or two because of the pay days.

 

[maple]

It depends on what schools are left over and how much damage is done to the basketball programs by the time it happens. I think UConn likely has better odds to land in a good situation in the Big East than the Big 12 if the Big 10/SEC do in fact pull away.

If that was true then we never would have ended up in the AAC in the first place. We’ve been struggling all these years to get a seat at the table because we got stuck in the old BE while everyone else was getting into a P5.

Getting into the B12 would do zero damage to the UConn basketball brand. It would only enhance it.

Edited to add: If the P5s ever pull away from the NCAA (and that’s a big if), it would only be for football.

Edit 2: Even in this hypothetical solution, UConn gains nothing from being in the BE. Literally nothing, unless we want to give up completely and be a basketball only school. Which is the true way to irrelevance.

 

[CL82]

You seem to misunderstand me. I am not saying the Big 12 will kill the basketball programs but being in the Big 12 when the Big 10 and SEC pull away from the NCAA will. No NCAA, no NCAA tournament will kill college basketball almost completely but I don't see UConn being part of the group of basketball schools those schools DO include, IF they include anyone else, when they create whatever it is they will have to create to replace the NCAA tournament, unless they are affiliated with a strong basketball conference which ,whatever leftovers from the Big 12 will be left will not make.

Again 200 million, 400 million 1 billion dollars going to the university or the state of connecticut or the united states of america or the king of england doesn't make an iota of difference to me. THe athletic department will essentially be killed off by this move in under a decade.

Now you may think the Big 10 and SEC pulling away in all sports in unlikely. I'll entertain a non dooms day option for a moment because I think them pulling away in just football is potentially more likely. In which case, I think conferences would realign to make more sense regionally for non-football sports, in which case UConn could easily be left in the dust having alienated any conference that would make sense for UConn.

I just don't see any way going to the big 12 is anything but a death sentence for UConn athletics long term, even if maybe they do get to update a dorm or two because of the pay days.

I share your concern for the evolving state of college athletics. As it drifts more towards a pure business model and less from an academic activity model I find it more difficult to remain engaged by it.

That said, I think you're missing the point when you so emphatically state well money doesn't matter. It does. It is critically necessary to be able to maintain the program. Without it, we will eventually wither and die as an athletic program well, at least as a relevant athletic program.

 

[Bone Dog]

I might be able to convince the wife to travel to either AZ or UT so that I can see UConn play live. The only game I ever saw was in Reno when they had Gabby's homecoming game.

Either one would be a 6 hour drive for me. That's doable.

 

[packwrap]

You seem to misunderstand me.


Now you may think the Big 10 and SEC pulling away in all sports in unlikely. I'll entertain a non dooms day option for a moment because I think them pulling away in just football is potentially more likely.

With current Ncaa tourney contract, and proposed House settlement payments to former athletes running to 2033, the big conferences can't pull away til then.

If just SEC and Big 10 move on their own, UConn has a much better chance to join there coming from Big12 than Big East (not to mention money difference).

I agree with you that there will be a split. I just think it will be all of the p4. That will leave a new basketball tourney with 64 big schools and no cinderellas.

Sadly ncaa tourney would then become a second tier event for smaller D1 schools.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

If that was true then we never would have ended up in the AAC in the first place. We’ve been struggling all these years to get a seat at the table because we got stuck in the old BE while everyone else was getting into a P5.

Getting into the B12 would do zero damage to the UConn basketball brand. It would only enhance it.

Edited to add: If the P5s ever pull away from the NCAA (and that’s a big if), it would only be for football.

And that that is another reason UConn should be worried. Because if there were to happen, the conferences would realign in non football sports to maximize interest and regional rivalries and the most logical conference for UConn to end up in would most likely not take them back. A death sentence either way the cookie crumbles.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

With current Ncaa tourney contract, and proposed House settlement payments to former athletes running to 2033, the big conferences can't pull away til then.

If just SEC and Big 10 move on their own, UConn has a much better chance to join there coming from Big12 than Big East (not to mention money difference).

I agree with you that there will be a split. I just think it will be all of the p4. That will leave a new basketball tourney with 64 big schools and no cinderellas.

Sadly ncaa tourney would then become a second tier event for smaller D1 schools.

They have a 0% chance to end up there regardless of what conference they are in. They need to be planning for what happens when they pull away from the NCAA. I had thought it was the P4 that would pull away but no chance the ACC survives which imo also ends any chance of the Big 12 surviving.

A new basketball tournament with 64 big schools and no Cinderallas will spell the end of college basketball imo. Its a nonviable product imo. Will sink it to the level of college soccer or baseball. A niche interest but not much beyond that. Would be a shame for it to happen so soon after womens basketball finally gains traction in culture.

 

[maple]

And that that is another reason UConn should be worried. Because if there were to happen, the conferences would realign in non football sports to maximize interest and regional rivalries and the most logical conference for UConn to end up in would most likely not take them back. A death sentence either way the cookie crumbles.

I think you seem to be operating under the assumption that UConn, particularly basketball, is not a well regarded brand. Or that in 5 years it will not be well regarded. That simply isn’t true.

If we are simply talking basketball in this hypothetical situation, there are so many other programs that would die almost immediate deaths. UConn doesn’t even crack the top 50. So many schools have built their name and brand on football alone and have nothing or next to nothing when it comes to MBB & WBB (let alone other sports). Forget regional rivalries. There’s only a handful of WBB teams that command huge audiences wherever they go (and have for over a decade plus).

None of this is going to happen anyway, since the P5s know they can do whatever they want in the college football world. No need to get rid of the NCAA when they already get practically anything they want. It’s one less thing for them to manage.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

I share your concern for the evolving state of college athletics. As it drifts more towards a pure business model and less from an academic activity model I find it more difficult to remain engaged by it.

That said, I think you're missing the point when you so emphatically state well money doesn't matter. It does. It is critically necessary to be able to maintain the program. Without it, we will eventually wither and die as an athletic program well, at least as a relevant athletic program.

I am sure money matters. It does not matter to ME as a fan. All i am saying that money will not go to athletics because there very well not be any athletic department left because of the reason it came in. So sure great UConn gets a nice pay day and maybe the State of CT benefits overall but they are gonna have to use it to turn Gample into an indoor garden because there will be no basketball use for it anymore.


(yes i am being dramatic as I am sure some sports would remain but more at the level of Sacred Heart or Holy Cross level)

 

[maple]

I am sure money matters. It does not matter to ME as a fan. All i am saying that money will not go to athletics because there very well not be any athletic department left because of the reason it came in. So sure great UConn gets a nice pay day and maybe the State of CT benefits overall but they are gonna have to use it to turn Gample into an indoor garden because there will be no basketball use for it anymore.

The state would not benefit from any money earned by UConn being in a P5. That would go to UConn.

Collegiate athletics is not going to go away any time soon. They are far too important for schools and the county in general. Dissolution of college athletics would decimate almost all the major league sports. Not to mention the impact on the Olympics.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

I think you seem to be operating under the assumption that UConn, particularly basketball, is not a well regarded brand. Or that in 5 years it will not be well regarded. That simply isn’t true.

If we are simply talking basketball in this hypothetical situation, there are so many other programs that would die almost immediate deaths. UConn doesn’t even crack the top 50. So many schools have built their name and brand on football alone and have nothing or next to nothing when it comes to MBB & WBB (let alone other sports). Forget regional rivalries. There’s only a handful of WBB teams that command huge audiences wherever they go (and have for over a decade plus).

None of this is going to happen anyway, since the P5s know they can do whatever they want in the college football world. No need to get rid of the NCAA when they already get practically anything they want. It’s one less thing for them to manage.

No I am not operating under that assumption at all. Realignment has nothing to do with how well regarded the UConn brand is and never has. That seems to be the incorrect assumption YOU are making.

No one cares about UConns brand and people aren't going to save UConn because they deserve to be saved. In fact a lot of people will gleefully watch the university sink and that is what I am predicting will happen if they go to the Big 12. It's the reason they ended up in the AAC in the first place instead of the ACC. If you want history to repeat itself, go to the Big 12.

And P5s will inf act leave the NCAA because they are the middle man, collecting money that they could be dividing amongst themselves.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

The state would not benefit from any money earned by UConn being in a P5. That would go to UConn.

Collegiate athletics is not going to go away any time soon. They are far too important for schools and the county in general. Dissolution of college athletics would decimate almost all the major league sports. Not to mention the impact on the Olympics.

I am talking about what would happen at UConn if they were to go to the Big 12. Other schools would operate more closer to normal because they would land in a conference that makes sense for them. I do not think The Big East would take UConn back if football schools only pulled away from the NCAA and then UConn would be at the whims of the ACC to save them which is far from a sure thing.

 

[maple]

No I am not operating under that assumption at all. Realignment has nothing to do with how well regarded the UConn brand is and never has. That seems to be the incorrect assumption YOU are making.

UConn isn’t in P5 right now because we’ve had terrible leadership who allowed the old BE to fall apart and couldn’t secure us a seat anywhere else. And because football absolutely sucks and has for a while now (and we should have jumped to FBS years before we did). That’s it.

Also being in a “lesser” P5 helps you get to a “better” P5. What in the world could the Big East possibly give us? Can you honestly tell me that you want to see UConn WBB continue to play the scrubs of the BE when they could be playing in an actual conference with real competition?

Being in a P5 would improve UConn football by leaps and bounds and that matters. Stay independent just makes us worse and puts us at every possible disadvantage, the most of which is the lack of $ and lack of conference.

And for the record, I was saying that UConn’s brand IN BASKETBALL is alive and well. If we are talking about a hypothetical situation where football is basketball removed and basketball drives the bus, then yes, UConn’s brand and success matters.

 

[CL82]

I am sure money matters. It does not matter to ME as a fan. All i am saying that money will not go to athletics because there very well not be any athletic department left because of the reason it came in. So sure great UConn gets a nice pay day and maybe the State of CT benefits overall but they are gonna have to use it to turn Gample into an indoor garden because there will be no basketball use for it anymore.


(yes i am being dramatic as I am sure some sports would remain but more at the level of Sacred Heart or Holy Cross level)

OK, here's my last shot at this: without money there are no athletics. So, yeah, if you're a fan money does matter for you because that's what allows the athletics to take place.

Feel free to have the last word.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

OK, here's my last shot at this: without money there are no athletics. So, yeah, if you're a fan money does matter for you because that's what allows the athletics to take place.

Feel free to have the last word.

Again you don't see to be understanding what i am saying. If there is no athletics, why do i care about how much money the University has? Great the school has 400 million dollars to tear down Gampel and put up a mathematics building. Maybe it will go to funding cancer research? Those would be good things but from a fan of UConn womens basketball and other sports, I don't consider it a win.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Wow, things got busy while I was away!

 

[GirlBoo1020]

UConn isn’t in P5 right now because we’ve had terrible leadership who allowed the old BE to fall apart and couldn’t secure us a seat anywhere else. And because football absolutely sucks and has for a while now (and we should have jumped to FBS years before we did). That’s it.

Also being in a “lesser” P5 helps you get to a “better” P5. What in the world could the Big East possibly give us? Can you honestly tell me that you want to see UConn WBB continue to play the scrubs of the BE when they could be playing in an actual conference with real competition?

Being in a P5 would improve UConn football by leaps and bounds and that matters. Stay independent just makes us worse and puts us at every possible disadvantage, the most of which is the lack of $ and lack of conference.

And for the record, I was saying that UConn’s brand IN BASKETBALL is alive and well. If we are talking about a hypothetical situation where football is basketball removed and basketball drives the bus, then yes, UConn’s brand and success matters.

UConn isn't in a P5 right now because it pissed on enough schools when they left the Big East that they didn't get an invite to the ACC when the time came a decade later. There is no P5 anymore if you haven't noticed, the Pac 12 is gone.

You are thinking very short term. Yes the Big East isn't great for UConn Women right now. But if non football conferences realign for Olympic with the P2 pull away and the Big East reconfigures with schools like Notre Dame, Syracuse, Rutgers, Virginia Tech etc it becomes a very different conversation doesn't it.

Being in a P4 before it becomes a P2 doesn't do anything for UConn long term because the Big 10 and SEC will never take them. UConn football will never be in a power conference again. That is just the reality. The only thing it serves to do is make people feel a little safer until the P2 pull away and alienate potential allies and options until the inevitable happens. Basically UConn will just have to hope and pray the P2, which has been what is being worked towards for 3 decades at this point doesn't manifest because if the inevitable happens, they are squarely out of luck in all sports, not just football. Sad.

 

[maple]

UConn isn't in a P5 right now because it pissed on enough schools when they left the Big East that they didn't get an invite to the ACC when the time came a decade later. There is no P5 anymore if you haven't noticed, the Pac 12 is gone.

Fine P4, have it your way. You knew what I was talking about.

Other schools left the BE before UConn did they kept UConn out of other conferences. Like I said, terrible work from those in charge.

 

[GirlBoo1020]

Fine P4, have it your way. You knew what I was talking about.

Other schools left the BE before UConn did they kept UConn out of other conferences. Like I said, terrible work from those in charge.

They did keep UConn out of other conferences. That is literally what happened. They voted against adding UConn.

 

[maple]

They did keep UConn out of other conferences. That is literally what happened. They voted against adding UConn.

That’s exactly what I was saying. I’m typing on my phone so I probably missed a word somewhere. I’m literally not arguing that’s what happened. I know that’s what happened. Again, whose fault was it? The people in who were in charge.

Anyway, I’m done now. If the Big 12 came with an offer for UConn and we turned them down then that would be insanely stupid.

 

[huskyblooz]

If we get an offer from the Big12 or even a watered down ACC, we should take it.
Too much $ out there. And we cant look at the present. The future of college sports is the P3 or 4.
Love the Big East. But, we need to jump on board.

 

[CL82]

Again you don't see to be understanding what i am saying. If there is no athletics, why do i care about how much money the University has? Great the school has 400 million dollars to tear down Gampel and put up a mathematics building. Maybe it will go to funding cancer research? Those would be good things but from a fan of UConn womens basketball and other sports, I don't consider it a win.

I understand what you are trying to say. I just think it's oblivious to fairly obvious point.

 

[Slick]

We need the money. Everyone on this board is excited about the new big east TV Package. It’s chump chang compared to football

 

[Alydar]

It's time to admit that college sports are now professional. So how do other pro sports leagues operate? They each operate independently from the other sports. The Yankees and Red Sox play in the Amer. Leage east and yet the Giants and the Patriots are in different conferences. Imagine a league/conference for just college basketball? The media would love it. Let the top teams play each other twice in the reg. season.

The College Football League
The College Basketball League
Divide leagues into divisions. Run playoffs like the pros. Do or die in a single elimination tourn. is exciting but not the best way to pick a champion.
And let schools dump football while retaining their status in the basketball league.

Why not? The conference structure is outdated. Leave the NCAA with the lesser sports.

 

[ted920]

Because I do not work at UConn and them having 200 million dollars and no competitive athletic programs doesn't do anything for me. Great Uconn has 200 million dollars but the basketball programs are essentially killed. Yay?

Why would UCONN be killed? Ye of little to no faith. UCONN is an outstanding university and tremendous athletic program. Will always have some level of success. No reason to think that we can't enjoy significant success in B12.