UConn to Big XII Imminent?

[B12]

Those are the biggest brands in BB.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

In the last year with a full conference distribution (2017-2018) the difference in the losses from football relative to men's basketball was 3.5M... which corresponded to the difference in the cost of the scholarships that UConn charged the athletic department for those two sports. With a conference home, football losses dramatically decrease (and at least for that year, were attributable to the cost of scholarships, not a real expenditure).


To be clear I'm a fan of all UConn sports, I wouldn't be in favor of sacrificing any of them for the benefit of another. I do think that UConn made the right (albeit unusual) choice to leave the AAC when it did and Men's Basketball has definitely benefited from the move. That said, I don't think that any of the people in power for college athletics holds the Big East as a must keep/must save/must have. That's part of why the TV rights deal got split so many different ways to come up with the money that they did get. The fact that the Big East teams did not get the benefit of the doubt when compared to the MWC schools is alarming, at least it should be for those who feel like the league's perception will save the Big East when the power schools look to further their own interests... because ultimately no one is worried about saving the MWC.

No one is worried about saving the Big 12 schools either.

 

[B12]

"The Big East was great and all but was really not a power conference for all practical purposes."

Your words. If you only meant that for one season in football you didn't do a good job of explaining it.

I meant once all the good teams left and the backfilling began with teams like USF. The Big East was really not a power conference toward the end.

 

[superjohn]

With all due respect sir that's simply not accurate.

The Big 12 is a national conference with teams that are well known. Much more well known than small private bible schools. The B12 simply have more alumni, fans, etc. as large public programs and rich privates.

IMO KU is a bigger brand than UConn. That's why KU makes 30+ million for TV and UConn makes 6.5.

UConn has certainly had a lot of success, that is for sure. But they lack the fan support, boosters, finances, etc to really compare to programs like KU, UNC, etc

There is a reason UConn is still not in a power conference. TV partners did not miss the valuation on UConn. UConn is simply not that valuable overall due to FB being 75% of the TV value.

You're talking out of your arse. The Big 12 has a bunch of schools that are the lesser schools in their geographic area and with AAC teams and Pac 10 teams mixed in. Most people have no idea who is in these conferences. I'm all about getting a Big 12 invite because of how things have changed and because it seems somewhat stable because the other conferences have no interest in these schools.

I said UConn would be the best basketball program in the conference immediately.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I would much prefer seeing Uconn football play Baylor, Iowa State, TCU in East Hartford vs the current schedule of Merrimack, Buffalo, Temple

Me too, theoretically, but with current talent level it is a not close 0-3 vs maybe 2-1 or 3-0.

 

[JohnFSilver]

And who would pay for that? Fox, who refuses to fund UConn's move because they have us on pennies to the dollar? Or ESPN, who has had two chances to grab the northeast basketball market and said "too rich for my taste"?

No one outside of UConn moves the needle enough to make it financially worth it for the B12 and we've seen how that has gone.

Agree, right now, but 15 years ago did we seriously think that smu and ucf would be in power conference and UConn he only true independent in all of college football?

 

[JohnFSilver]

I think Uconn FB will ultimately be competitive at that level. The showed it when they were competitive in a power FB conference before. Flashback to the Big East championship, winning seasons, frequent sell outs, multiple bowl wins, wins at Notre Dame, Baylor, Iowa St, etc.

True, it takes significant investment to get back there & that investment would be tough to justify it if you don’t have a guaranteed pathway to P4. But if they get & accept an invite, you can assume the athletic dept. thinks the investment is well worth the rights to future P4 revenues. Yes, there’s risk but not a lot because the B12 has excellent men’s and women’s BB too. Plus the long term alternative probably means being left out of the mix of major college sports.

Finally I don’t see the Rent as “an embarrassment of a football stadium”. With some upgrades, it can serve as a decent power conference stadium for 10+ years. The main problem is it’s not on campus but they don’t need to address that now.

How is the rent an embarrassment? That is silly. Stadium is fine. The people who complain about the rent should be students. everyone else, it is very convenient and decent place to view a game.

 

[B12]

You're talking out of your arse. The Big 12 has a bunch of schools that are the lesser schools in their geographic area and with AAC teams and Pac 10 teams mixed in. Most people have no idea who is in these conferences. I'm all about getting a Big 12 invite because of how things have changed and because it seems somewhat stable because the other conferences have no interest in these schools.

I said UConn would be the best basketball program in the conference immediately.

One of us is.

It's not even debatable.

One is a national conference with huge public schools, several flagships, and a couple of rich privates. More people will watch the CU vs Nebraska game than the top 5-10 Big East games put together. Notice how the Big East is not competitive on TV, that's another indication of which conference is better. The Big 12 has more TV viewers than the Big East does in BB, so all the FB viewers are just lapping the Big East as far as exposire.

One is a regional bible college conference with one flagship. Most college fans don't even know what state the Big East schools are in. Go ask fans where Depaul is and people will have no idea. Butler, fans will have no idea.

UConn is riding high, which is great.

And I pointed out that schools like KU are bigger programs, more fans, more TV viewers, more $, etc.

 

[B12]

How is the rent an embarrassment? That is silly. Stadium is fine. The people who complain about the rent should be students. everyone else, it is very convenient and decent place to view a game.

It's an embarrassment and could be the reason UConn is not in a real conference.

That model simply does not work unless it's only for a limited amount of games like Arkansas.

USF had the same issue, but even they are building an on campus stadium in hopes of making the jump up.

 

[JohnFSilver]

I meant once all the good teams left and the backfilling began with teams like USF. The Big East was really not a power conference toward the end.

Appreciate the insight, but there is not a single perennial national title contender in the big 12.

it is a great basketball league with solid football. But, none of those teams are what would be termed regular national players.

baylor, tcu, those teams have one offs now and then, but neither are of the relevance that Florida state and Clemson are.

don’t get me wrong, good programs, but not a football power In the bunch,

 

[JohnFSilver]

It's an embarrassment and could be the reason UConn is not in a real conference.

That model simply does not work unless it's only for a limited amount of games like Arkansas.

USF had the same issue, but even they are building an on campus stadium in hopes of making the jump up.

You haven’t been up here, have you? stadium isn’t an issue. Why does Iowa state care if it is on campus or not?

you can say it needs more seats, fair, but as far as playing field they play USMNT and USWNT games, as well as other major soccer games, at the stadium. It has hosted major events. It is a legit stadium.

 

[alphasigko]

Appreciate the insight, but there is not a single perennial national title contender in the big 12.

it is a great basketball league with solid football. But, none of those teams are what would be termed regular national players.

baylor, tcu, those teams have one offs now and then, but neither are of the relevance that Florida state and Clemson are.

don’t get me wrong, good programs, but not a football power In the bunch,

Texas and Oklahoma obviously blew off the BIG12 to go to the SEC for a reason.

 

[superjohn]

One of us is.

It's not even debatable.

One is a national conference with huge public schools, several flagships, and a couple of rich privates. More people will watch the CU vs Nebraska game than the top 5-10 Big East games put together. Notice how the Big East is not competitive on TV, that's another indication of which conference is better. The Big 12 has more TV viewers than the Big East does in BB, so all the FB viewers are just lapping the Big East as far as exposire.

One is a regional bible college conference with one flagship. Most college fans don't even know what state the Big East schools are in. Go ask fans where Depaul is and people will have no idea. Butler, fans will have no idea.

UConn is riding high, which is great.

And I pointed out that schools like KU are bigger programs, more fans, more TV viewers, more $, etc.

You're just making up arguments that have absolutely nothing to do with what I posted.

It's clear you're a troll account, I'm convinced you're Kobe.

I'll say it again, I pointed out that UConn would be the best basketball program in the conference immediately.

 

[Kolumbo]

Dude, being ranked for a week is not the same as being a top 25 program. That's clearly what he was saying.

You insecure fans always resort to defending and it's really lame. Just be honest. UConn had that one amazing season when the Big East was down but they have never really been a top 25 program.

The same is true for ISU. They had a lucky year, have been ranked at times, but have never been a top 25 FB program like say a TCU, Baylor, UCF, or OSU have been at times over several year periods.

The Big East was great and all but was really not a power conference for all practical purposes. Teams like WVU have also had a lot of trouble since those days in the BE. In fact now that I think about it those Big East teams have really not had much success since then. Cuse, WVU, Pitt, South Florida, and Rutgers are all crap programs since then. Only Louisville and Cinci have had any success. That version of the Big east was G-5, and all were down that year. So it was really not so much about UConn being a legit P-6 team.

Your point is that UConn was never a Top 25 program. That may be true. But you also don't understand UConn's Football History. It cracked the rankings in three years and made a bowl game 4 straight years. That isn't earth shattering but it was a tremendous amount of progress in a very short time and more success than you give it credit for. We all know that The American and Football Independence stalled UConn's progress, but before that, UConn was on a tear.

2000 - First year jump to 1A as an Independent in transition period
2002 - First full year as 1A
2004 - First year in Big East Conference
2007 - Highest ranking 16
2008 - Highest ranking 24
2010 - Highest ranking 25
Bowl games 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2022

2011 - Edsall bolted
2013 - Rug was pulled out as The Big East became The American
2020 - Independence

 

[jostar1]

One of us is.

It's not even debatable.

One is a national conference with huge public schools, several flagships, and a couple of rich privates. More people will watch the CU vs Nebraska game than the top 5-10 Big East games put together. Notice how the Big East is not competitive on TV, that's another indication of which conference is better. The Big 12 has more TV viewers than the Big East does in BB, so all the FB viewers are just lapping the Big East as far as exposire.

One is a regional bible college conference with one flagship. Most college fans don't even know what state the Big East schools are in. Go ask fans where Depaul is and people will have no idea. Butler, fans will have no idea.

UConn is riding high, which is great.

And I pointed out that schools like KU are bigger programs, more fans, more TV viewers, more $, etc.

I don't know why you feel the need to come on a UConn board and trash UConn's brand, fan base, and market.

Endeavor, a sports and media branding company and Big 12 consultant, led the discussion with details on what adding UConn would mean for the conference. Per Dennis Dodd, "Endeavor is supportive of a UConn addition."

This is what your conference commissioner has to say about UConn and brand and market: "Big brands, big markets matter."

 

[UConnDan97]

You just saw what a modern day UConn football can accomplish 4 days ago.

Then your reading comprehension sucks, because we were talking about modern day UConn in a major conference, not as an independent.

Be better...

 

[Kowalski]

Texas and Oklahoma obviously blew off the BIG12 to go to the SEC for a reason.

They moved into one of the top 2 conferences.

The B12 has since added programs and positioned themselves as 3rd best. There was a reason Houston, Cincy, UCF, BYU and the 4 corner PAC schools joined & why programs are expected to blow off the ACC in the future to join.

 

[Bongo Fury]

If you look at this article you see all the highest rated TV games for last season in BB.

Regular season men's hoops has CBS flat, Fox down, FS1 with its best season yet

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

Notice how UConn is not listed.

Didn’t see any Fox games listed. The opponents you play matter. Lots of Sec and B10.

 

[Hamms30]

I would much prefer seeing Uconn football play Baylor, Iowa State, TCU in East Hartford vs the current schedule of Merrimack, Buffalo, Temple

100%.

Counterpoint though, I'd much rather see UConn basketball playing Duke, UNC, Cuse and Pitt instead of a Big12 lineup outside of Kansas or Arizona.

 

[noeynox]

With all due respect sir that's simply not accurate.

The Big 12 is a national conference with teams that are well known. Much more well known than small private bible schools. The B12 simply have more alumni, fans, etc. as large public programs and rich privates.

IMO KU is a bigger brand than UConn. That's why KU makes 30+ million for TV and UConn makes 6.5.

UConn has certainly had a lot of success, that is for sure. But they lack the fan support, boosters, finances, etc to really compare to programs like KU, UNC, etc

There is a reason UConn is still not in a power conference. TV partners did not miss the valuation on UConn. UConn is simply not that valuable overall due to FB being 75% of the TV value.

So Kansas football was that valuable all along when they were winning 1 game a year? Or is it more a function that they were born rich by virtue of always having been in a power conference? We were in a BCS conference so we know that automatic boost that provides in terms of recruiting, revenue, and exposure. Your's is a particularly silly take.

 

[Chin Diesel]

100%.

Counterpoint though, I'd much rather see UConn basketball playing Duke, UNC, Cuse and Pitt instead of a Big12 lineup outside of Kansas or Arizona.

Counter counterpoint.

UNC and Duke > Kansas and Arizona. Marginally better, but they're closer geographically and there's more history in E8 and FF games.

Cuse is a standalone and beats any other team because of history and location.

Baylor, Houston > Pitt or any other ACC team.

WVU=Pitt. Some history but nothing significant other than El-Amin breaking their hearts and Blair almost breaking Thabeet.

The rest is a mixed bag equivalent to arguing over nothing burgers.

 

[JMick]

So Kansas football was that valuable all along when they were winning 1 game a year? Or is it more a function that they were born rich by virtue of always having been in a power conference? We were in a BCS conference so we know that automatic boost that provides in terms of recruiting, revenue, and exposure. Your's is a particularly silly take.

Why are you guys feeding the troll?

 

[HuskyHawk]

If you look at this article you see all the highest rated TV games for last season in BB.

Regular season men's hoops has CBS flat, Fox down, FS1 with its best season yet

www.sportsbusinessjournal.com

Notice how UConn is not listed.

Are you serious with this crap? You do realize that network carriage is the key here? Did you catch this "UConn's semifinal win over St. John's on Friday night drew 1.28 million viewers, which is the best Big East semifinal since the relaunching of the conference"

Meanwhile, UConn teams played in 3 of the team most watched basketball games last year, including the NBA. https://www.sportskeeda.com/college...sketball-games-2024-ft-iowa-vs-south-carolina

I'm a KU grad, you're either a troll (maybe Kobe as @superjohn suggested) or are really uninformed.

 

[UConn Dan]

Are you serious with this crap? You do realize that network carriage is the key here? Did you catch this "UConn's semifinal win over St. John's on Friday night drew 1.28 million viewers, which is the best Big East semifinal since the relaunching of the conference"

Meanwhile, UConn teams played in 3 of the team most watched basketball games last year, including the NBA. https://www.sportskeeda.com/college...sketball-games-2024-ft-iowa-vs-south-carolina

I'm a KU grad, you're either a troll (maybe Kobe as @superjohn suggested) or are really uninformed.

Definitely a troll that I won’t feed. And probably too verbose to be Kobe — he essentially only communicates in GIFs.

 

[JohnFSilver]

We all know the value of UConn but is there a reason Yormark specifically has been so interested in us when nobody else has?

Was UConn WBB really averaging more views than the Nets? Was this during his tenure?

Yormack wants the northeast. Men’s and women’s basketball is undervalued.

Football, even with its ratings, is a 12 times a year endeavor. Hooos has 60 plus dates a year and has high intensity at the local levels.

When they get last drop of blood out of the football stone (and it is coming), you can piece together a compelling basketball tv package.