UConn to new Big East? What happens to Husky football?

[ZachCT12]

 

[ZooCougar]

the xcel energy center is in minnesota...

it’s just the XL Center.

Exactly. Who gives a crap.

 

[CL82]

We aren't a football school.

We have no idea what the payouts will be now in the Big East but we do know that we were locked into a horrific long term deal with ESPN, were going to be playing a lot of games behind a paywall, and the fact that aside from Cincinnati nobody in their right mind cared about any opponents.

Let's wait and see what happens with football. This is an absolutely huge move for hoops. And I say that having been a season holder for nearly a decade when I lived in the state and having went to 4 bowl games, so I'm certainly far from a hoops only fan.

The AAC wasn't sustainable and at least here, we have something to look forward to every winter/spring.

Don't doubt your fan cred in the least CBH. But the Big media deal is about 60% of the AAC deal and FS1 and FS2 aren't close to having games on ESPN and ESPN2. They are roughly equivalent to getting a game on ESPNU as someone else pointed out.

Agree with everything else you said though. Let's see what the deal actually is. If the Big East deal gets bumped up to the $$ of the current AAC deal, we can sell our T3 to SNY and Fox can help us schedule it's a definite win in my view despite the reduced visibility.

 

[CL82]

It ain't over. Just might take longer now.

Ironically, as we know, had Randy not left (or taken the ND series), we'd be in the ACC.

Don't know about either one, but I wonder about them both from time to time.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Don't doubt your fan cred in the least CBH. But the Big media deal is about 60% of the AAC deal and FS1 and FS2 aren't close to having games on ESPN and ESPN2. They are roughly equivalent to getting a game on ESPNU as someone else pointed out.

Agree with everything else you said though. Let's see what the deal actually is. If the Big East deal gets bumped up to the $$ of the current AAC deal, we can sell our T3 to SNY and Fox can help us schedule it's a definite win in my view despite the reduced visibility.

I wouldn't cite the TV deal as being an advantage to the AAC. The per year take home may be higher right now on paper but consider a few things. The AAC deal doesn't start until 2020, and it locks in the AAC until 2032. That's a hell of a long time.

I would imagine the Big East gets a bump by taking UConn and that doesn't include anything for football or possible women's basketball coverage on SNY. The Big East deal also ends in 2025 I believe.

So, again, there is a lot to unpack here. A lot of which we don't even know about. Hopefully our administration has an inkling but I have more faith in certain posters here than the clowns in charge in Storrs.

 

[CL82]

I wouldn't cite the TV deal as being an advantage to the AAC. The per year take home may be higher right now on paper but consider a few things. The AAC deal doesn't start until 2020, and it locks in the AAC until 2032. That's a hell of a long time.

I would imagine the Big East gets a bump by taking UConn and that doesn't include anything for football or possible women's basketball coverage on SNY. The Big East deal also ends in 2025 I believe.

So, again, there is a lot to unpack here. A lot of which we don't even know about. Hopefully our administration has an inkling but I have more faith in certain posters here than the clowns in charge in Storrs.

Agree with all of that. Also keep in mind that under the new AAC deal we'd be responsible for our own production costs so that $7.2M gross upside is significantly reduced.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Agree with all of that. Also keep in mind that under the new AAC deal we'd be responsible for our own production costs so that $7.2M gross upside is significantly reduced.

Good point. Also I think that payout figure included projected bowl revenue.

For those that haven't watched FS1 coverage of the Big East, I think you'll enjoy it. I've watched a handful of Seton Hall games as living in NJ I'm friends with some alums and it's nice to watch the coverage and the game be the story and not just a 2 hour advertisment for the next ACC game.

I'm ultimately going to try and enjoy first class regional hoops and for all we know football may not even be a thing come 30 years into the future given all the concussion stories in recent years.

 

[Redding Husky]

No, they know we said screw you. First decision that wasn’t made for us.

I hope you’re right. But in Texas and the rest of the country outside CT, we’re seen as quitters.

 

[Redding Husky]

Have no idea what you’re talking about. We aren’t walking away or giving up. We are trying a different approach.

The media says we’re giving up on football. That’s the version of events America is being told.

 

[huskymedic]

The media says we’re giving up on football. That’s the version of events America is being told.

Can you link what you're seeing - something beside the Wolken USA Today piece?

I haven't seen a mainstream media article (not some Memphis blogger) that directly says that (been a lot flying around so I could have missed it).

 

[Chia Pet]

This is gross. Efff basketball and basketball fans. Enjoy playing in that crap XL Energy Center that is never full. I’m basically done with UConn when this happens.

Later dude

 

[Redding Husky]

Can you link one article besides the Wolken USA Today piece?

I’ve seen some others that mention it or hint at it, but they don’t make it the centerpiece of the article.

If you look at the AAC forum, all posters interpret this as UConn giving up on football. Even if they’re generally ignorant, that’s how the country sees it.

 

[huskymedic]

I’ve seen some others that mention it or hint at it, but they don’t make it the centerpiece of the article.

If you look at the AAC forum, all posters interpret this as UConn giving up on football. Even if they’re generally ignorant, that’s how the country sees it.

So other AAC fan bases?

 

[Chia Pet]

I hope you’re right. But in Texas and the rest of the country outside CT, we’re seen as quitters.

That doesn’t seem to be the case in Colorado.

Let the rest of our soon to be ex-AAC friends think what they want. At least I’m sure we won’t be beggars like that Big 12 expansion fiasco ever again.

 

[Waquoit]

The media says we’re giving up on football. That’s the version of events America is being told.

What about the fact that we still have a football team?

 

[Waquoit]

I hope you’re right. But in Texas and the rest of the country outside CT, we’re seen as quitters.

The rest of the country says stuff like this "UConn wasn’t really hung out to dry, but rather sat around expecting the Big Ten or ACC would just call them up and offer them a spot, not realizing their athletics facilities are hideous"

 

[Waquoit]

They are people who base their self worth on the success of the school's basketball program, rather than even caring to further develop UConn for their kids.

This a classic case of projection. It's the fans like you that have wrapped themselves up in the cloak of Big Time Football, not UConn football. There's still going be UConn football and it will be probably be just as good and hopefully better than it's been for the last decade. But you won't be able to squint and convince yourself that it's Big Time like you do now. You don't care that the prospects for the teams that pay the freight (and the athletic department and the school) have shot up over night. I'm reminded of that old joke about the elephant keeper at the circus. He's telling a friend about his job:

"Everyday I have to clean up after the elephants. You wouldn't believe how much they go. Sometimes I gotta get the hose and help 'em along. Then you gotta watch out, you could have poop flying everywhere."

"That's sounds awful" says the friend "Have you thought of getting a different job?"

"What? And leave show business?"

 

[Pudge]

Negotiation leverage

I don't know the budget nor the priorities. Nuts. However, I believe NOT being on SNY and being subject to the Conference placing all that content - equal to the other AAC schools - on ESPN+ is a deal breaker. One that we need to punch back.

We have a unique Athletic Structure. I believe we can succeed at Football. But, we need to not be slammed by this conference.

My belief after reading the Hartford Courant article on Benedict

We knew far in advance that SNY was being nudged out. And our WOMEN's BB - worth several million - was free content in that mix to ESPN. $ is clear. Then. What is going on with the huge drop in Fans.

I don't think Dave Benedict is David Gavitt. But ... he better have some of those good points.

 

[Pudge]

The rest of the country says stuff like this "UConn wasn’t really hung out to dry, but rather sat around expecting the Big Ten or ACC would just call them up and offer them a spot, not realizing their athletics facilities are hideous"

As you know W ... I actually have toured campuses.

OUR Football facilities - imho - are far better than some of our regional rivals (cough Syracuse or BC). And Temple? First playing way down Broad Street at the Lincoln is worse than our sole exclusive at the RENT. Wait ... have you seen their Practice facilities? 4 blocks east of Broad Street and not far from the center of the Academics is a woeful field and fencing. A brick bunker building. And the worst block building recently build Student Housing I have seen.

We do not lack in facilities. On here thread by thread I have made the point (to many basketball desirees to BE membership ... YOU DO NOT walk away from several hundred million dollars of investment by the University and State. What is the answer? I have some notion ... but it is awful at the moment. But empty cold dark Rentschler playing some strange SMU team was too.

 

[Waquoit]

As you know W ... I actually have toured campuses.

OUR Football facilities - imho - are far better than some of our regional rivals (cough Syracuse or BC).

That was my point, our facilities aren't hideous but that's what "others around the country" think.

 

[Nostical]

That was my point, our facilities aren't hideous but that's what "others around the country" think.

That's all about lazy "group think. Just like in politics. What we need is clearer messaging and better messengers. I love the platform Orlovsky now has. FOX may now tout us even more than we deserve. That's all good.. We just told the sports world that we're not taking any more of this crap. Now lets get to winning, making a plausible TV arrangement --and getting some good publicity for a change. Ultimately I'm thinking we just might have the last laugh.

 

[noeynox]

No what I'm saying is there's no concrete proof that realignment is dead. Any attempt to claim as such, like Exit 4 is doing, is simply conjecture.

As for the first part of your post....are you saying the solution to dwindling attendance and apathy is to kill football?

The "proof" if there is such a thing, is that payouts in the P5 have gotten so big that, no one outside the P5 is going to add break even money to a TV contract. Networks overpaid to keep their properties/conferences intact. Many schools in the P5 now, BC, SU, Wake, aren't worth what their getting.

Maybe your right, but the reason the rest of the American was giddy about this TV deal because for many of them this is like 7 times what they were getting 7 years ago. We are still behind what we were getting in the Big East.

I'm not a fan of the move, but i do get it.