UConn to Big XII Imminent?

[Hoophound]

I don’t believe anything is going on but the only way I see it happening is if men’s and women’s basketball can join asap. Then football gets some kind of 5 year plan before joining. Get 5-6 games a year to ramp up football for 5 years before joining fully. Unfortunately football is looked upon as a red headed step child after some of those dark years.

But men’s and women’s bball would be at the top of Big 12 right from the start.

I don't think fielding a competitive team in the B12 would be as hard as people think. If you have good coaches, you'll build a squad and compete. The portal will make it much easier to pull in players more quickly. Remember, we can get better players when they know they'll be playing in the B12. Its a selling point.

 

[noeynox]

I don't think fielding a competitive team in the B12 would be as hard as people think. If you have good coaches, you'll build a squad and compete. The portal will make it much easier to pull in players more quickly. Remember, we can get better players when they know they'll be playing in the B12. Its a selling point.

Its similar to how they said it would take us a decade to compete in the Big East. Then it didn't. The AAC was a rug pull landing and not really comparable to what we were in the BE or what we could be in the Big12.

 

[That Guy]

Pretty safe to assume these rumors were complete bs once again? There hasn't been any smoke whatsoever since these Locked On guys threw the rumor out there and I feel like if something was actually in the works then there would be other sources putting the word out there by now.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Pretty safe to assume these rumors were complete bs once again? There hasn't been any smoke whatsoever since these Locked On guys threw the rumor out there and I feel like if something was actually in the works then there would be other sources putting the word out there by now.

Standard operating procedure should be to view this (and any similar rumor) as click bait until the rumored conference makes an official public announcement that includes a start date.

 

[noeynox]

Standard operating procedure should be to view this (and any similar rumor) as click bait until the rumored conference makes an official public announcement that includes a start date.

Was the rumor in any way consistent with the "palpable buzz" you mentioned, or was this that far out of left field?

 

[UConn Dan]

There was a post made on August 14 in the Big 12 thread about hearing rumblings of Big 12 move coming from people connected with UConn AD. The lockedon Big 12 / Zanetto pod was posted late August 19 / early AM August 20. Sooooo maybe there’s more to this

 

[ZooCougar]

“Imminent”

 

[jostar1]

According to Ross Dellenger on July 9, 2024, there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn.

"And while there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn, their candidacy remains uncertain".

After reshaping the conference, what's next for Brett Yormark and Big 12? 'You could say we are still open for business'

The Big 12 boss says he's a "disruptor" and there's no doubting that with all new schools in his league and the ideas he's floating. The league's expansion may not be done yet.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[CL82]

According to Ross Dellenger on July 9, 2024, there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn.

"And while there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn, their candidacy remains uncertain".

After reshaping the conference, what's next for Brett Yormark and Big 12? 'You could say we are still open for business'

The Big 12 boss says he's a "disruptor" and there's no doubting that with all new schools in his league and the ideas he's floating. The league's expansion may not be done yet.

sports.yahoo.com

Let me quote that whole paragraph that discusses Yormark as a disruptor.

From within his own league, there is often pushback to ideas that some describe as innovative and others call extreme. For instance, a plan to add Gonzaga was left on the cutting room floor. And while there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn, their candidacy remains uncertain.

What I find interesting about that is the notion that the Gonzaga potential edition is dead while an addition of Connecticut is still being considered. That's 1,000,000 miles away from being a sure thing, but it is good news, I guess, that we still continue to be viewed as a possible candidate for admission to the conference.

 

[JMick]

Let me quote that whole paragraph that discusses Yormark as a disruptor.

From within his own league, there is often pushback to ideas that some describe as innovative and others call extreme. For instance, a plan to add Gonzaga was left on the cutting room floor. And while there is a renewed interest from Yormark in adding UConn, their candidacy remains uncertain.

What I find interesting about that is the notion that the Gonzaga potential edition is dead while an addition of Connecticut is still being considered. That's 1,000,000 miles away from being a sure thing, but it is good news, I guess, that we still continue to be viewed as a possible candidate for admission to the conference.

I think it's obvious Yormark wants us and the presidents and/or networks don't

 

[CL82]

I think it's obvious Yormark wants us and the presidents and/or networks don't

I don't know if it's obvious, but that seems likely to me. Being back-to-back champions helps, but a winning football season might actually help more.

 

[RedStickHusky]

“Imminent”

You keep using that word....

 

[UConnJim]

I think it's obvious Yormark wants us and the presidents and/or networks don't

Or, UConn is being used again to attract the interest of potential ACC defectors.

 

[Hamms30]

Or, UConn is being used again to attract the interest of potential ACC defectors.

I could see that, but it seems like everyone is locked into the ACC at least for this season into next year as of right now. So why would they make that play now as if trying to pressure on schools at a time where they can't act on it? Like, why not make that move in Feb/March after the football season when things are picked back up again during the offseason?

 

[UConnJim]

I could see that, but it seems like everyone is locked into the ACC at least for this season into next year as of right now. So why would they make that play now as if trying to pressure on schools at a time where they can't act on it? Like, why not make that move in Feb/March after the football season when things are picked back up again during the offseason?

School can act on an invite at any time even with GORs. The only question is when can you leave.

 

[JeepCSC]

We talking horseshoes and hand grenades or college basketball?

Fine, 3 titles by 3 teams in the last 9 tournaments.

 

[ZooCougar]

You keep using that word....

Narrator: “it was anything but that word”

 

[AllHusky]

Or, UConn is being used again to attract the interest of potential ACC defectors.

I would think any real traction for UConn to the B12 or the ACC would force some folks to go to DEFCON 2 or 3 regarding their own REALIGNMENT, as it would represent a reduction of the seats left for when the music stopped

 

[Kolumbo]

Fine, 3 titles by 3 teams in the last 9 tournaments.

I'll give UVA some credit. UNC and puke are always top 2 teams in the conference. The rest of the conference is balast.

 

[Tdaley]

I don't think fielding a competitive team in the B12 would be as hard as people think. If you have good coaches, you'll build a squad and compete. The portal will make it much easier to pull in players more quickly. Remember, we can get better players when they know they'll be playing in the B12. Its a selling point.

I think this is a great post and a misunderstood point when these talking heads discuss realignment. With Mora and Big 12 Revenue, there is a really good chance that we would be competitive in football even in the the Big 12. I'm not sure that there are very many schools that have done more with less than Uconn with their sport's programs.

 

[AllHusky]

I think this is a great post and a misunderstood point when these talking heads discuss realignment. With Mora and Big 12 Revenue, there is a really good chance that we would be competitive in football even in the the Big 12. I'm not sure that there are very many schools that have done more with less than Uconn with their sport's programs.

Competitive in 3 years

 

[UCsports]

The best chance UConn has of getting into the big 12 is if Yorkmark can also add football schools with UConn in order to satisfy the presidents and fan bases of certain big 12 schools that want to solidify the big 12 from a football power perspective.

Part of the renewed interest in UConn could be that the big 10 and SEC are not showing much interest in schools like FSU and Clemson. This means that there could be football powers added to the big 12 in the future and adding UConn (and maybe Duke) with them could be the way yormark gets his dream basketball conference.

 

[billybud]

UConn Total Revenue currently exceeds that of Houston and Cincinnati....it is football that lags..basketball is the clear #1 sport. But football will be even more expensive to be upper level competitive...

Now, with virtual pay for play, having money available for NIL, scholarships, and House settlement payments means really high investments to compete at the CFP level.

Ohio State football players received "around $20 million" in name, image and likeness (NIL) money from collectives and brand affiliates this past year, a number believed to be the highest in the sport, Ohio State AD Ross Bjork told Yahoo Sports. Ohio State athletes are required by the school to disclose their agreements within 30 days of receiving NIL compensation, which helps shed light on the total amount of money given to the athletes within the program.

 

[billybud]

What may happen is that schools may focus on a non football sports...Like Vanderbilt in baseball, or basketball at Indiana, Duke, etc.

 

[billybud]

With the House settlement - which only really considered revenue-generating sports football and basketball - there will be a huge reshuffling of college athletics and it might be a mess.

It should have just split into 2 separate worlds - Revenue vs Non Revenue....and not at the conference level but the sport level.

Revenue sports pay players, and non-revenue dont. Revenue sports get a large share of the funding..... non-revenue self-fund or play at a club level. etc.

This mess may benefit non power conference...

How the power conferences will interact with non-power conferences will be interesting. For example, take baseball - in the non-power conferences, you don't have to abide by the roster limit but CAN give a higher about of scholarships. So, say a Virginia, has to limit its baseball roster to 34 but UConn doesn't have to... the Huskies can give 34 scholarships but can have 50 players.

There may also be a redistribution of players and more parity in non-revenue sports. 64 teams in D1 lacrosse have no limit on roster size, 11 that have D1 football teams have to limit the roster to 48. Average roster size is between 48 to 60 - UVA 53, ND 60, Maryland 52, etc. Just off of those three teams alone that 21 players that will be "cut" to accommodate the roster limit, where will they go? To the other 64 teams with no limits.

The average lacrosse player get $5K athletic money and the rest is academics and tuition. Some non power league schools with keep operating lacrosse with no impact while the P2 lacrosse scools may be hampered by this ruling.

It will be interesting how this plays out..and if changes are again made.

 

[superjohn]

Flirting?

He should deck whoever “leaked” this to him. And based on the podcast yesterday it’s fairly obvious who it is.

Who leaked it to him?

I assumed he made it up.

 

[huskymedic]

-> Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has renewed his pursuit of expansion target UConn, with league officials set for a meeting next week where the issue will be reintroduced for in-depth discussion, multiple Big 12 administrators and broadcasting sources told The Athletic. <-

->According to the sources, if the Big 12 did accept UConn, its football program would not join the league until the next television rights contract, or at the very least for several years. When UMass joins the MAC next year, UConn will be one of two remaining FBS independents, along with Notre Dame.

In order to feel comfortable adding another school, the current members will want assurance that UConn’s addition would not dilute their shares of league revenue.

The Big 12 is a year away from beginning a new six-year deal with ESPN and Fox that will pay its members an average of $31.7 million per school. The deal was agreed to before the former Pac-12 schools’ additions, but ESPN was required to pay a pro-rata share to the four Power 5 members. UConn, however, would not be guaranteed the same deal. <-

 

[Johnjp0628]

Has any of our insiders really discredited this take? Its seems like the lack of a response from them is interesting too.

 

[SinBin]

Not sure how credible this is, but I found this and supposedly published about 4pm Friday afternoon.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5719604/2024/08/23/big-12-expansion-uconn-pursuit/

 

[noeynox]

-> Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has renewed his pursuit of expansion target UConn, with league officials set for a meeting next week where the issue will be reintroduced for in-depth discussion, multiple Big 12 administrators and broadcasting sources told The Athletic. <-

->According to the sources, if the Big 12 did accept UConn, its football program would not join the league until the next television rights contract, or at the very least for several years. When UMass joins the MAC next year, UConn will be one of two remaining FBS independents, along with Notre Dame.

In order to feel comfortable adding another school, the current members will want assurance that UConn’s addition would not dilute their shares of league revenue.

The Big 12 is a year away from beginning a new six-year deal with ESPN and Fox that will pay its members an average of $31.7 million per school. The deal was agreed to before the former Pac-12 schools’ additions, but ESPN was required to pay a pro-rata share to the four Power 5 members. UConn, however, would not be guaranteed the same deal. <-