This is absolutely true and probably the thing that is keeping UConn out of the Big 12...
...But ESPN has some essentially wholly owned conferences. If ESPN likes UConn enough - and UConn football is good enough to curtail griping from certain members of these conferences - ESPN may pull the trigger on UConn.
Taking away the bargain Fox is currently getting on UConn also doesn't hurt the equation for ESPN. Fox should of course realize this, and with game theory and such start to weigh the option of losing UConn altogether.
Fox currently owns UConn's most valuable part (basketball). The question is whether ESPN would be willing to pay for the whole package, and if Fox is willing to let that happen and potentially lose UConn altogether. Football improvement dramatically helps that whole package equation.
ND<NIU<Buffalo < UConn=UConn number ! indy program
Fox pays UConn $0
Fox pays the Big East $77,000,000
It's up to the Big East how that money is distributed to each member.
The question is what is UConn”s membership in The Big East really costing Fox ?
I’ll be generous the Big East - UConn is between $5-6million per team
Even on the high side UConn is coasting Fox $17million a year or more just for Basketball
Plan A
Put us in the Big 12 for basketball only give e us $17million and the expense
side would be a wash.
However businesses don’t make decisions based on cost alone
Their dilemma is if we go to Fox in the Big 12 true we will make them a greater return on the same investment so adding
us as a basketball only seems like a no brainer until you calculate the downside risk.
The reason they can”t pull the trigger is right now the Big East is us . Even with a pay cut that investment could tank unless another Eastern Team like Nova,GT, or St John’s could pick up the slack. A 25% ROI could turn into a loss.
Worst case for Fox is we go to an ESPN league so Fox has a dilemma.
Our women’s program is worth a lot more to ESPN because they own the tourney and nothing like some high ratings regular season games to create excitement.
Notice football hasn’t entered the picture yet