UConn to Big XII Imminent?

[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.

 

[hardcorehusky]

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.

Here is a comparison: go sit at a game at the Yale Bowl and then go to the Rent. Went to see the Army game a few years ago at the Bowl and had to throw out a pair of pants due to the wood splinters ripping my pants! Never had that problem at the Rent!!

 

[CL82]

Hooos has 60 plus dates a year

Uh, huh. I see.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

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?

Yormark has a history in the NE
He also was smart enough to realize that BB was extremely undervalued at 20 or even 30% of their base contract of around $35 million .
The Big East contract of $7,000,000 per team was vindication .
That conference gets lower ratings and like all conferences that number is a mean . Some teams ie UConn who brings two teams are worth significantly more than others Its pretty simple math , either basketball is worth at Market 50% of their contract or by taking it to market separately even,
if you decrease your current contract by 30% you can increase the conference revenue by 20~30%

 

[AZHuskiePop]

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.

With the way the ACC has been run
Duke , NCS , Pitt , Cuse , will be in the Big 12 .
it will go to 24 teams and tha ACC will be in shambles

 

[gtcam]

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.

If football is so valuable, why is KU rated so high? They had what, a few good seasons in the last 1/2 century?
There is no basketball program in the country that can touch UConn - mens or women - over the past 3 decades.
I would take UConn's athletic teams' overall success over KU any day, anytime.
The only place UK may outweigh UConn is in the athletic director position - UConn has had a few duds in a row, including Benedict (who rides on the coattails of UConn basketball). Remember - it took Lew Perkins (former UConn AD) to pull UK athletics out of the doldrums.
KU is over hyped due to mens basketball alone.
KU makes more money than UConn because of the B12 media package - not because they are KU. Ask most KU fans if they would rather win back to back titles vs pulling in X amount of and I bet it is the title they want.
KU basketball is good - very good - but there's a lot of suspicious air still surrounding Self and the program.
Your fan support statement is completely false and quite idiotic.

 

[noeynox]

Here is a comparison: go sit at a game at the Yale Bowl and then go to the Rent. Went to see the Army game a few years ago at the Bowl and had to throw out a pair of pants due to the wood splinters ripping my pants! Never had that problem at the Rent!!

Better than having to throw out your ass!!!

 

[Kolumbo]

Yormark has a history in the NE
He also was smart enough to realize that BB was extremely undervalued at 20 or even 30% of their base contract of around $35 million .
The Big East contract of $7,000,000 per team was vindication .
That conference gets lower ratings and like all conferences that number is a mean . Some teams ie UConn who brings two teams are worth significantly more than others Its pretty simple math , either basketball is worth at Market 50% of their contract or by taking it to market separately even,
if you decrease your current contract by 30% you can increase the conference revenue by 20~30%

I'll admit I usually have to read your posts at least twice, but I think I generally get the gist

 

[Stinger92860]

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

Where did you see this?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Uh, huh. I see.

lol hoooops!

 

[JohnFSilver]

Where did you see this?

Careful that was in Connecticut. The UConn women outdraw the nets and mets ratings wise in Connecticut .

 

[CL82]

Careful that was in Connecticut. The UConn women outdraw the nets and mets ratings wise in Connecticut .

I believe UConn woman had the second or third most highly watched basketball game across the entire country this past year. That includes both men's and women's college, and NBA.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I believe UConn woman had the second or third most highly watched basketball game across the entire country this past year. That includes both men's and women's college, and NBA.

Yeah, I posted it on the other thread. There is a Caitlin Clark effect involved there too. But women's hoops is garnering more interest and UConn would help the Big XII there for sure (and they'd help us, the Big East sucks for WBB).

 

[superjohn]

I believe UConn woman had the second or third most highly watched basketball game across the entire country this past year. That includes both men's and women's college, and NBA.

Because of Caitlin Clark.

 

[CL82]

Because of Caitlin Clark.

No doubt, but the women's basketball championships actually have drawn well for years. For the 2023 national championship, the men's national championship game was the most watched basketball game in the country, including NFL.

(Love her or hate her, Clark's impact on women's basketball has been huge.)

 

[JohnFSilver]

No doubt, but the women's basketball championships actually have drawn well for years. For the 2023 national championship, the men's national championship game was the most watched basketball game in the country, including NFL.

(Love her or hate her, Clark's impact on women's basketball has been huge.)

Clark is a goldmine for ratings. Hope it continues. Women’s basketball is a growth sport as well.

 

[FearThePups]

I said this before :
I was semi living in the Kentucky around 2000.
I stopped in the break room and sat with the inner core 1/2 dozen UK fans who had accepted me into their ranks.
I mentioned that UConn was spending $100,000,000 to join the Big East in football which was a top conference at the time. I was a little
skeptical of the move. That was the first time I was told that doing it was a no brainer as UK made a lot more money from football than basketball which shocked me.
Fast forward to a couple of years later , I hadn’t given the issue much thought as I was heavily involved in work.
I did go on an early November Cruise out of San. Juan and my wife and I and a bunch of people , I assume Connecticut residents , were delayed at the airport awaiting our return to Bradley .
It was a Saturday and the announcer was giving US college football scores over terminal PA
When UConn 30 Navy 0 was announced a loud roar went up and I thought to myself maybe I was wrong and the people of CT ( the most passionate sports fans in the country ) will make this team theirs just like basketball. I don't mean just the folks at Storrs
I mean the bar owner in New Haven or the Teacher in Trumbull the average Connecticut sports fan .
We all know things happened to hurt that dream but it doesn’t mean that the desire isn’t still there.
We‘re Yankee, Red Sox , Mets , Giants , Pats. Bruins , Rangers , Islander fans
But their Logo‘s say NY , Boston or something else not Connecticut .
I think that’s why us old Whaler Fans are still bitter because they were ours and it were taken away.
I always thought that if the right set of events happened ,Connecticut residents would embrace that event in a big way.
It may happen but even if it never does it doesn’t mean it the spark never existed.

Very well said. peace.

 

[FearThePups]

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

Be better...

You’d see more of the same with modern UConn in a major conference. The reason we are not valued is our football team isn’t any good. You can debate and justify all you want but that’s a red herring. I submit you erroneously think that the program will get better if we are in a major conference rather than going to a conference where we are already respectable. I agree being in the B12 would be better for us, but we can’t leave and not see any additional revenue sharing until 2031. Kind of defeats the purpose if we aren’t even close to a level playing field monetarily with the other league members. But first, Yormark needs to convince 12 of the 16 ADs to vote yes. And we absolutely need to get a premium share for both mens and women bb brands.

 

[John]

You’d see more of the same with modern UConn in a major conference. The reason we are not valued is our football team isn’t any good. You can debate and justify all you want but that’s a red herring. I submit you erroneously think that the program will get better if we are in a major conference rather than going to a conference where we are already respectable. I agree being in the B12 would be better for us, but we can’t leave and not see any additional revenue sharing until 2031. Kind of defeats the purpose if we aren’t even close to a level playing field monetarily with the other league members. But first, Yormark needs to convince 12 of the 16 ADs to vote yes. And we absolutely need to get a premium share for both mens and women bb brands.

Even with a modest bump in revenue sharing the move makes sense since the basketball affiliation will be better than where we are now, plus a generous runway to get up to speed in football

 

[Viet Vet]

Lost in the contrast (as opposed to the comparison) of football to basketball is the squad size; hence the number of players needed to replace those who leave.

A basketball team typically has 12 players, perhaps 7-9 get meaningful playing time. If you can recruit (whether from high school or the portal) four each year you can reload.

Football requires a meaningful squad of at least 50 really good players: eleven each on offense and defense, plus situation subs; special teams (long snappers, punters, place kickers, nickel defenders, etc). It takes many more recruits to build/maintain a competitive program in football than basketball. Mora has a much more difficult job than any basketball coach to advance from uncompetitive to mediocre, let alone to national prominence.

 

[noeynox]

You’d see more of the same with modern UConn in a major conference. The reason we are not valued is our football team isn’t any good. You can debate and justify all you want but that’s a red herring. I submit you erroneously think that the program will get better if we are in a major conference rather than going to a conference where we are already respectable. I agree being in the B12 would be better for us, but we can’t leave and not see any additional revenue sharing until 2031. Kind of defeats the purpose if we aren’t even close to a level playing field monetarily with the other league members. But first, Yormark needs to convince 12 of the 16 ADs to vote yes. And we absolutely need to get a premium share for both mens and women bb brands.

Do you not see that the reason Cincinnati and Houston and UCF thrived in the AAC was because they were hiring guys like Frost, Heupl, Fickel, and Herman while UConn football was trying to do it ultra cheaply by bringing Randy back with his bogus clause contract? No surprise that Big 12 presidents want to know there is a commitment to compete in football like there is in basketball. The school seems ready to do it.

 

[Bongo Fury]

Do you not see that the reason Cincinnati and Houston and UCF thrived in the AAC was because they were hiring guys like Frost, Heupl, Fickel, and Herman while UConn football was trying to do it ultra cheaply by bringing Randy back with his bogus clause contract? No surprise that Big 12 presidents want to know there is a commitment to compete in football like there is in basketball. The school seems ready to do it.

Guessing they had good QBs as well. I remember Pete Lembo was hot when UConn hired Diaco. But yes I appreciate their success in the AAC

 

[B12]

If football is so valuable, why is KU rated so high? They had what, a few good seasons in the last 1/2 century?
There is no basketball program in the country that can touch UConn - mens or women - over the past 3 decades.
I would take UConn's athletic teams' overall success over KU any day, anytime.
The only place UK may outweigh UConn is in the athletic director position - UConn has had a few duds in a row, including Benedict (who rides on the coattails of UConn basketball). Remember - it took Lew Perkins (former UConn AD) to pull UK athletics out of the doldrums.
KU is over hyped due to mens basketball alone.
KU makes more money than UConn because of the B12 media package - not because they are KU. Ask most KU fans if they would rather win back to back titles vs pulling in X amount of and I bet it is the title they want.
KU basketball is good - very good - but there's a lot of suspicious air still surrounding Self and the program.
Your fan support statement is completely false and quite idiotic.

It's entertaining watching insecure fans pretend.

Did you notice that UConn did not have a single game among the top rated TV games last season. Yea, that's the issue here. UConn can put together a good BB or WBB team but the fan support is simply not showing up on TV. Not to mention the AD is completely broke and relying on a huge subsidy to offset the lack of TV $ and rich boosters.

If UConn has great fan support why are the TV ratings so bad?
Why is the AD so broke?

That's the issue. You can say I am wrong but you can't argue with the reality of the situation. TV ratings do not lie, nor do AD finances. So do you want to dive into that, I can post lots of data. But you will get mad.

UConn is a great BB/WBB school but has major issues which have left it in a really bad spot in realignment.

 

[B12]

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.

The TV ratings are clear.

UConn did not have any of the top rated regular season games last season in spite of being the best team in the country. You can change the subject to personal chatter but it wont' change that reality. UConn has major fan support issues that show up on TV and in donations to the AD.

Here are the facts. Nobody watches Big East BB like they do the P-4. The data is clear.

 

[B12]

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.

Its' funny watching insecure fans try to defend their school. You guys always change the subject to personal chatter, and once I post facts the "troll" whining starts.;

UConn made a lot of mistakes when it comes to running it's AD. KU did not make those mistakes.

The reality is KU is in the best BB conference and has an AD that is in good shape.

So here are KU's TV ratings. Feel free to show us how UConn compares.

FINAL (Listed in the millions of viewers)

TOTAL
462.23 - SEC (109)
442.84 - Big Ten (164)
329.68 - Pac 12 (96)
267.28 - Big 12 (146)
231.01 - ACC (108)
62.55 - AAC (89)
46.75 - MWC (51)
31.64 - Sun Belt (76)
24.20 - MAC (57)
15.59 - CUSA (30)

AVERAGE PER SCHOOL
33.016 - SEC (7.8)
31.631 - Big Ten (11.7)
27.473 - Pac 12 (8.0)
19.091 - Big 12 (10.4)
16.501 - ACC (7.7)
4.468 - AAC (6.4)
3.896 - MWC (4.3)
2.260 - Sun Belt (5.4)
2.017 - MAC (4.8)
1.732 - CUSA (3.3)

AVERAGE PER GAME
4.241 - SEC
3.434 - Pac 12
2.700 - Big Ten
2.139 - ACC
1.831 - Big 12
0.917 - MWC
0.703 - AAC
0.520 - CUSA
0.425 - MAC
0.416 - Sun Belt

BIG 12
69.92 - Texas (13)
32.70 - Oklahoma (12)
24.65 - Oklahoma State (12)
17.54 - Kansas (11)
17.37 - Iowa State (11)
17.06 - TCU (10)
16.98 - West Virginia (10)
16.07 - Kansas State (10)
14.49 - BYU (11)
12.43 - Texas Tech (11)
9.81 - UCF (12)
7.04 - Houston (10)
5.77 - Cincinnati (8)
5.45 - Baylor (5)

ACC
60.36 - Florida State (13)
26.86 - Louisville (11)
23.77 - Clemson (8)
18.91 - Miami (7)
18.51 - Duke (7)
12.25 - NC State (8)
11.60 - North Carolina (6)
11.54 - Georgia Tech (6)
9.49 - Syracuse (8)
8.87 - Boston College (6)
8.28 - Pittsburgh (6)
7.97 - Virginia (9)
7.03 - Virginia Tech (6)
5.57 - Wake Forest (7)

BIG TEN
120.14 - Michigan (14)
76.35 - Ohio State (12)
47.56 - Penn State (12)
36.01 - Iowa (12)
28.65 - Nebraska (11)
21.94 - Wisconsin (12)
19.55 - Maryland (12)
18.67 - Minnesota (13)
17.76 - Michigan State (11)
14.72 - Rutgers (12)
14.18 - Indiana (12)
10.31 - Illinois (11)
8.67 - Northwestern (11)
8.33 - Purdue (9)

PAC 12
85.22 - Washington (12)
54.01 - Colorado (9)
47.73 - Oregon (10)
37.45 - USC (10)
24.12 - Oregon State (10)
21.40 - Utah (8)
17.41 - UCLA (10)
12.95 - Washington State (6)
9.14 - Arizona (5)
7.24 - Arizona State (6)
6.59 - Stanford (4)
6.42 - California (6)

SEC
106.18 - Alabama (12)
84.96 - Georgia (14)
38.80 - LSU (10)
37.95 - Mississippi (10)
35.20 - Tennessee (7)
27.82 - Texas A&M (10)
27.52 - Auburn (8)
25.60 - Missouri (6)
25.40 - Florida (8)
15.90 - Kentucky (7)
13.57 - Arkansas (7)
10.80 - South Carolina (4)
10.07 - Mississippi State (5)
2.46 - Vanderbilt (1)

AAC
13.08 - Navy (5)
9.91 - Tulane (12)
7.63 - Memphis (8)
6.61 - South Florida (7)
6.59 - Rice (8)
5.75 - SMU (12)
4.45 - UTSA (7)
2.08 - Temple (6)
1.59 - Tulsa (5)
1.55 - UAB (5)
1.04 - Charlotte (4)
0.86 - North Texas (4)
0.77 - Florida Atlantic (3)
0.64 - East Carolina (3)

CUSA
4.93 - Liberty (3)
3.67 - Western Kentucky (5)
1.72 - New Mexico State (3)
1.62 - Jacksonville State (6)
1.16 - UTEP (4)
1.00 - Louisiana Tech (3)
0.84 - Sam Houston State (3)
0.50 - Florida International (2)
0.15 - Middle Tennessee (1)

MAC
4.41 - Bowling Green (5)
3.82 - Toledo (10)
3.76 - Miami, OH (5)
2.74 - Northern Illinois (6)
2.34 - Ohio (6)
2.24 - Buffalo (5)
1.57 - Eastern Michigan (4)
1.48 - Central Michigan (5)
0.67 - Western Michigan (4)
0.45 - Akron (4)
0.38 - Kent State (2)
0.34 - Ball State (1)

MWC
9.77 - Colorado State (2)
7.70 - Boise State (10)
7.39 - UNLV (5)
4.69 - San Jose State (3)
4.57 - Air Force (4)
3.65 - Wyoming (5)
3.22 - Fresno State (8)
2.32 - San Diego State (6)
1.81 - Utah State (3)
1.21 - New Mexico (3)
0.42 - Nevada (2)

SUN BELT
3.92 - James Madison (9)
3.71 - Troy (8)
3.24 - Georgia State (7)
3.18 - Coastal Carolina (6)
3.01 - Appalachian State (6)
2.92 - Texas State (3)
2.74 - Marshall (9)
2.54 - Arkansas State (2)
2.15 - Georgia Southern (6)
1.83 - Louisiana (6)
1.44 - South Alabama (6)
0.44 - Old Dominion (3)
0.42 - Southern Miss (4)
0.10 - Louisiana-Monroe (1)

INDEPENDENTS
44.77 - Notre Dame (11)
8.20 - Army (3)
1.63 - Massachusetts (3)