UConn needs a plan

[nelsonmuntz]

The basketball thing is tricky because of the autobids. I wonder if breaking the football conference affiliation alone is enough to break the TV contract. To be honest, I like the idea of doing something similar in hoops almost better than doing it in football. If UConn could take Cincinnati and affiliate with the top 7 or 8 A 10 schools, it would be a better league than the one we are in. You would have a core schedule within your "conference", but then schedule top non-league games year to year in an effort to maximize SOS and avoid 200+ RPI games.

At the prices the conferences are getting now, I have to think you could sell locally and with online subscriptions for more than you could get nationally. Tulane may have close to $0 value nationally, but there must be some value to local broadcasters. A lot of these channels run movie reruns during Saturday afternoon.

It would take a lot of work to put something like this together, but the leagues need to do something, and I honestly think this is where the market is going anyway. Does the AAC want to be the last league selling their content in a traditional manner to ESPN?

 

[junglehusky]

I think the costs are too high to produce your own content on a budget. Look at FS1. How many times have you seen complaints on social media about their crappy production values? I've seen several live broadcasts where it sounded like the audio was being relayed by two cups and a string. People expect a certain level of competence and if you can't deliver they're not going to watch.

Now I do believe UConn has the capability to produce something adequate, and maybe UConn is one of the better placed schools who could invest in that production capability. Maybe those costs go down with tech innovations over the next 8-10 years. But what happens when UConn goes to visit a tier 2 school? "Hey Tulsa we don't really want to associate with you or distribute any conference money to you, but could you spend xx million dollars to build a professional production studio so that our fans can watch the game?"

 

[CL82]

In a shocking development, the Big 12 decided that adding a school making $2 a year from its media deal wouldn't add >$25 million to the Big 12.

This post is pretty logic-free even for Nelson. Sometimes I worry that he's had a stroke.

 

[pepband99]

Then we are dead, and we would be better off downgrading the entire athletic program.

...and there it is. Kill the whole thing. UConn becomes NYU without the NY. That's unlikely to end well.

 

[hardcorehusky]

UGGH - if Nelson thinks UCONN has had its head in the sand for 4 years about future revenue, then he couldn't be more wrong than he normally is. There are lots of plans, contingent plans, etc. The problem is the tide shifts the sands every year.

4 years ago- Big East breaks up - UCONN, Cinnci, USF and Temple have a new conference that was unnamed. What media company is going to give a league, that just called up UCF, Houston, Tulane, Tulsa,etc a big contract like the P5?
Aresco cuts a deal that maximizes exposure- win for ESPN, bad for conference dollars, great for exposure.

Then.....

UCF beats Baylor
Houston becomes good and beats Florida State
UCONN wins National Title
UCONN women win all titles

Navy is added for football and brings its strength and prestige.

Now the deal sucks, the teams are becoming more competitive because of the exposure and the conference as a whole is trending upward and UCONN and Cinnci are not going backwards.

Maybe the AAC should work on making their digital network more accessible to raise revenue over the next few years. But here is where things get interesting-

If the conference keeps the upward trajectory over the next few years- the AAC is not going to be looked at like the MAC, CUSA or MWC financially - they will be in the middle beween the P5 and the lower tier. I think they will be like the old Big East - and the bump will go from $2 m a team to $12-$18 m a team. Not P5 - not G5.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This post is pretty logic-free even for Nelson. Sometimes I worry that he's had a stroke.

So UConn got invited to the Big 12? Awesome.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The reality is UConn's leadership does have a plan. That Waylon knows little about the plan and does not agree with what he does know is of little consequence.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

UConn should have three plans
1. Start winning football games in bunches.
2 Get into a P5 conference
3. If you haven't yet accomplished number 2 refer to number 1

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The reality is UConn's leadership does have a plan. That Waylon knows little about the plan and does not agree with what he does know is of little consequence.

So your takeaway from all this is to attack me? There are a million "UConn to the Big 10" fantasy threads for you to jump in. If you have nothing to add to this discussion, stay out of it.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

UConn should have three plans
1. Start winning football games in bunches.
2 Get into a P5 conference
3. If you haven't yet accomplished number 2 refer to number 1

1 does not lead to 2, and 1 does not solve UConn's biggest problem, revenue.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

UGGH - if Nelson thinks UCONN has had its head in the sand for 4 years about future revenue, then he couldn't be more wrong than he normally is. There are lots of plans, contingent plans, etc. The problem is the tide shifts the sands every year.

4 years ago- Big East breaks up - UCONN, Cinnci, USF and Temple have a new conference that was unnamed. What media company is going to give a league, that just called up UCF, Houston, Tulane, Tulsa,etc a big contract like the P5?
Aresco cuts a deal that maximizes exposure- win for ESPN, bad for conference dollars, great for exposure.

Then.....

UCF beats Baylor
Houston becomes good and beats Florida State
UCONN wins National Title
UCONN women win all titles

Navy is added for football and brings its strength and prestige.

Now the deal sucks, the teams are becoming more competitive because of the exposure and the conference as a whole is trending upward and UCONN and Cinnci are not going backwards.

Maybe the AAC should work on making their digital network more accessible to raise revenue over the next few years. But here is where things get interesting-

If the conference keeps the upward trajectory over the next few years- the AAC is not going to be looked at like the MAC, CUSA or MWC financially - they will be in the middle beween the P5 and the lower tier. I think they will be like the old Big East - and the bump will go from $2 m a team to $12-$18 m a team. Not P5 - not G5.

I agree with you to some extent about the on-field success, but I strongly disagree that ESPN is ever going to give the AAC an 8 digit per school TV contract. ESPN has a dying business model, and the smart money is scrambling to disintermediate ESPN as quickly as possible. I think here is still a ton of money in TV content, just not much in being a broadcaster of it. If the AAC ever wants to generate $10+ million per school, it needs to control its own content.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

1 does not lead to 2, and 1 does not solve UConn's biggest problem, revenue.

More winS=more Ticket sales = more revenue
Better bowls mean much more revenue ,
Winning creates more viewership which means more revenue
Winning increases corporate sponsorship which equals more revenue
More people at games =more concession sales means more revenue
Winning increases brand which results in lucrative contract which means more revenue.
Winning increases likelihood of future more lucrative media contracts
In other words "winning isn't everything it's the only thing"

.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

So your takeaway from all this is to attack me? There are a million "UConn to the Big 10" fantasy threads for you to jump in. If you have nothing to add to this discussion, stay out of it.

I was not attacking you, merely commenting on your lack of insight and incessant whining. I can assure you that more is being done now to position our university for the future than was done from inception through the day Herbst was hired. I also can state with confidence that if the school's leadership was 1/10 as focused and driven a decade ago as the current leadership is we would need be on the outside looking in.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I agree with you to some extent about the on-field success, but I strongly disagree that ESPN is ever going to give the AAC an 8 digit per school TV contract. ESPN has a dying business model, and the smart money is scrambling to disintermediate ESPN as quickly as possible. I think here is still a ton of money in TV content, just not much in being a broadcaster of it. If the AAC ever wants to generate $10+ million per school, it needs to control its own content.

For the sake of argument lets look at your idea:

1) Do you believe that a sufficient number of current AAC members would play the above gambit without iron clad assurances that the (currently) more attractive members would agree to be locked into the conference for an extended period of time?

2) Do you believe that there would be any way to sell any tiers of the broadcast rights without the same iron clad assurances?

It appears to me that your proposal would guarantee UConn second rate status for at least a couple of decades.

 

[CL82]

So UConn got invited to the Big 12? Awesome.

No it didn't. Be strong buddy and do your therapy. You'll get through this.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I agree with you to some extent about the on-field success, but I strongly disagree that ESPN is ever going to give the AAC an 8 digit per school TV contract. ESPN has a dying business model, and the smart money is scrambling to disintermediate ESPN as quickly as possible. I think here is still a ton of money in TV content, just not much in being a broadcaster of it. If the AAC ever wants to generate $10+ million per school, it needs to control its own content.

No, it probably won't be $10m. But Aresco turned down more money in order to guarantee coverage on key channels. He traded money for exposure. The deal ends in 2020. Given that the ratings have far exceeded expectations, and the on field performance has been solid, the money will go up. At present, I'd ballpark it as something closer to $6M plus retained T3 rights or $8-9M a school if T3 included.

You say the status quo won't work. But what really won't work is doing anything except accepting a P5 invite if it comes, before the AAC contract renewal. During that renewal we absolutely have to play hardball and explore every option to maximize revenue for UConn. I think Benedict and Herbst are well aware. The AAC payout is likely to exceed what the Big East brings in, so moving there as you constantly suggest, solves nothing.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

No, it probably won't be $10m. But Aresco turned down more money in order to guarantee coverage on key channels. He traded money for exposure. The deal ends in 2020. Given that the ratings have far exceeded expectations, and the on field performance has been solid, the money will go up. At present, I'd ballpark it as something closer to $6M plus retained T3 rights or $8-9M a school if T3 included.

You say the status quo won't work. But what really won't work is doing anything except accepting a P5 invite if it comes, before the AAC contract renewal. During that renewal we absolutely have to play hardball and explore every option to maximize revenue for UConn. I think Benedict and Herbst are well aware. The AAC payout is likely to exceed what the Big East brings in, so moving there as you constantly suggest, solves nothing.

I don't believe Aresco turned down more money for exposure. ESPN had the right to match any deal that NBC or whoever else offered.

ESPN simply matched what was negotiated with NBC.

The AAC in the next round of negotiations needs to secure a deal with exposure and let's our teams retain our Tier 3 rights.

The SNY deal for women's hoops alone was almost half of our TV revenue from the AAC deal.

I imagine we could work a deal that the take home is around 5M a program, ESPN exposure, and let's us retain T3 rights.

I think UConn will eventually have to scale back some varsity level participation in order to lessen our sub paid for by student fees, but at the same time our facilities are still relatively new or brand new and aside from coaching expenses, I'm not sure where the huge influx of cash is needed that is going to threaten to kill our AD in its entirety.

 

[mavblues]

So your takeaway from all this is to attack me? There are a million "UConn to the Big 10" fantasy threads for you to jump in. If you have nothing to add to this discussion, stay out of it.

You obviously feel very strongly about this.

Have you contacted the University and offered your assistance and / or suggestions? If so, what was the response? If not, why haven't you?

You keep posting similar things here over and over and I'm not sure what your goal is. Are you hoping to create some sort of populist movement?

Nobody here has the power to implement your suggestions, so why do you keep wasting your time?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

For the sake of argument lets look at your idea:

1) Do you believe that a sufficient number of current AAC members would play the above gambit without iron clad assurances that the (currently) more attractive members would agree to be locked into the conference for an extended period of time?

2) Do you believe that there would be any way to sell any tiers of the broadcast rights without the same iron clad assurances?

It appears to me that your proposal would guarantee UConn second rate status for at least a couple of decades.

So you think the status quo is smart. I am telling you with certainty that it isn't. If you can mathematically explain how staying locked into a long term $2 million a year media contract can cover the $30 million hole in the athletic budget, I am all ears.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

You obviously feel very strongly about this.

Have you contacted the University and offered your assistance and / or suggestions? If so, what was the response? If not, why haven't you?

You keep posting similar things here over and over and I'm not sure what your goal is. Are you hoping to create some sort of populist movement?

Nobody here has the power to implement your suggestions, so why do you keep wasting your time?

Message board poster attacking a message board poster for wasting time posting on a message board. Got it.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

So you think the status quo is smart. I am telling you with certainty that it isn't. If you can mathematically explain how staying locked into a long term $2 million a year media contract can cover the $30 million hole in the athletic budget, I am all ears.

I won't even ask how your define long term as it cannot equate to anything rational.

For the near term the plan is to improve the school's profile, both academically and in athletics as well as increasing outside funding both in research grants and donations. The new tech park and emphasis on STEM will pay dividends in due time.

My question for you: Why do you think there is no plan?

 

[junglehusky]

I won't even ask how your define long term as it cannot equate to anything rational.

For the near term the plan is to improve the school's profile, both academically and in athletics as well as increasing outside funding both in research grants and donations. The new tech park and emphasis on STEM will pay dividends in due time.

My question for you: Why do you think there is no plan?

"UConn is still G5, so they must not have a plan."

 

[mavblues]

Message board poster attacking a message board poster for wasting time posting on a message board. Got it.

I just re-read my original post. There isn't one thing in there that could even remotely be construed as attacking you.

So, I assume the answer is no, you haven't contacted UConn to offer your suggestions / services. You just like to complain on message boards, and you really have no concrete plans to remedy the problem.

Got it.

The reason I asked is that you post a lot, and you get really worked up over this stuff. If you really think you have a workable plan, I think you should share it with the people that have the power to change things.

I post a lot, and almost all of it is garbage because I realize that nothing I do here is going to impact the result one way or the other. Also, I'm really sick of reading how much UConn sucks everywhere else on the interwebs so I come here to relieve stress.

 

[HuskyHawk]

So you think the status quo is smart. I am telling you with certainty that it isn't. If you can mathematically explain how staying locked into a long term $2 million a year media contract can cover the $30 million hole in the athletic budget, I am all ears.

Your argument is logically flawed as I pointed out a few times. Staying with the status quo will not lock UConn into a $2M a year media contract long term. The agreement expires in 3 years. Doing anything before that term is up, aside from taking a P5 invite, would be stupid. We don't know what the future AAC contract will bring. Once we do, then it might or might not make sense to do something radical.

 

[pepband99]

I just re-read my original post. There isn't one thing in there that could even remotely be construed as attacking you.

So, I assume the answer is no, you haven't contacted UConn to offer your suggestions / services. You just like to complain on message boards, and you really have no concrete plans to remedy the problem.

Got it.

The reason I asked is that you post a lot, and you get really worked up over this stuff. If you really think you have a workable plan, I think you should share it with the people that have the power to change things.

I post a lot, and almost all of it is garbage because I realize that nothing I do here is going to impact the result one way or the other. Also, I'm really sick of reading how much UConn sucks everywhere else on the interwebs so I come here to relieve stress.

He won't share a plan because @nelsonmuntz is trolymctrollface. He won't answer questions, but asks more and more of them. He won't live with being attacked, but attacks constantly.

Troll Troll troll......