UCONN to new Big East

[uconnell]

Dana O'Neil, formerly of ESPN and now with The Athletic, has a positive take (written from the perspective of men's basketball):

O’Neil: UConn is going home, and the Big East will be better for it

There is a delicious irony alive here today, a beautiful one if you’re a basketball fan. Throughout the mayhem of conference realignment, the sport got dragged around like an annoying sibling, left to float whichever way the fickle winds of football’s fate chose to blow. Remember when Kansas —...

theathletic.com

For UConn, this is the ultimate rescue operation, the offer saving the university from itself. Snookered by the lure of a Fiesta Bowl bid in 2011, the basketball-proud institution decided to become a football school — except not a very good one — and found itself standing on the fault line of the conference realignment tectonic plate. The highs of that bowl-bid season have slowly eroded into one low followed by another, the school tethered to a stadium that sits 25 miles from campus and nearly empty on most fall Saturdays. In the meantime, the basketball program, built on storied rivalries with Georgetown and Villanova, was pushed out of its natural fit and into forced marriages with the likes of Tulsa, Houston and Tulane. Not surprisingly, it hasn’t gone well.​

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Not so much storied rivalries with Gt and Villanova as Cuse,Wv, Pitt etc.
20 games won’t leave us much room to play teams other than the Big East.

 

[j66kicker]

That may be. So what does the state do with a 90 million dollar stadium the taxpayers bought?

Accounting 101: Do not consider sunk costs when making an investment or project decision.

 

[uconnell]

That's correct. There will be zero competitive improvement. Lately we've been blasting DePaul by 40+ points, and they're one of the best teams in the NBE. The only real potential benefit will be if the NBE consistently manages a higher overall RPI. For NCAA seeding purposes, there may be years where a marginally slight RPI or SOS improvement could mean getting a slightly better seed, but it still won't do much good if we're being compared with P5 teams. Overall, it's a lateral move at best competition wise.

If even that.

 

[uconnfan68]

That may be. So what does the state do with a 90 million dollar stadium the taxpayers bought?

If they had built a dome they’d have no worries. Big enough for baseball, hockey, football, and basketball, and soccer and lacrosse too.

 

[uconnell]

I’m sorry, but there is a “huge” difference in the quality of women’s basketball. Just look at the Massey ratings.

I am not familiar with the NBE wbb as to whom they play ooc. I really think they don’t play the same teams (ND USC!Baylor etc. that is why their RPI is so high?

 

[Kurebeach5]

No.
1AA loses more money than 1A.

I find this hard to believe. With the reduced number of scholarships and reduced travel, how could it possibly be more expensive ?? Towards the end of their 1-AA days they were losing 800,000 a year, one-tenth of last year's total.

 

[Plebe]

I am not familiar with the NBE wbb as to whom they play ooc. I really think they don’t play the same teams (ND USC!Baylor etc. that is why their RPI is so high?

Are you saying that their RPI is higher because they play lesser OOC competition? It doesn't really work that way, but even if it did:

DePaul has played ND and UConn pretty much every year since the demise of the old BE. Marquette recently completed a home-and-away with ND as well, and also played Mississippi State last year.

 

[uconnell]

I find this hard to believe. With the reduced number of scholarships and reduced travel, how could it possibly be more expensive ?? Towards the end of their 1-AA days they were losing 800,000 a year, one-tenth of last year's total.

True but what was their tv contract like$$ wise?

 

[DefenseBB]

Accounting 101: Do not consider sunk costs when making an investment or project decision.

...unless you are a baseball GM who signed an overage player to huge contract and the player is batting .167 with an .537 in which you keep sending him out there...

 

[Boreifs]

I am not familiar with the NBE wbb as to whom they play ooc. I really think they don’t play the same teams (ND USC!Baylor etc. that is why their RPI is so high?

I said Massey, not RPI. Huge difference

 

[Carnac]

I just peeked in on the football board. They're going nuts over there. They're on the verge of going to DEF-CON 4. Lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth. The room is definitely divided. With the uncertainty right now of where/if the FB program will be playing in 2 years looming in the air, most of them are very concerned. Right now, today, they have no idea where UConn football will call home. Speculation is running rampant. The word "independent" came up a lot.

Several posters mentioned the basketball fans once or twice. We're not thought of very highly there. One poster intimated that it seemed as though if this goes through, it will be every man (team) for himself, and BB fans were only interested in how such a move would ultimately help or hurt their program.

Also that the BB fans didn't care that much about the football program, or how a move back to the NBE could leave them on the outside looking in without conference affiliation. One poster said right now UConn is attractive as UTEP and New Mexico St. Everyone from the university president and the board of regents to the ball boys were mentioned. Several of them expressed very little faith in the administration to do the right thing.

That we were only concerned about how that move would effect "us." I don't think too many of them took the time drop in to read some of the comments and concerns many posters here have expressed about the FB program, and that do genuinely care about the future of UConn football.

"The biggest remaining question surrounds what happens with UConn's football team. The Big East does not have football, and it's unlikely UConn would remain in the American with just football, sources told ESPN. Sources said the football program is expected to play in the American in 2019, but could go independent after that or join another conference." Lots of unanswered questions right now, and they're worried.

 

[Alydar]

Yes, but not as it relates to UConn.

The teams that can challenge UConn are not in the Big East any more than they are in the AAC. There was an idea that USF could, most seasons, be good enough to make playing them the toughest challenge in the AAC and that they might generally make the NCAA's. There was also the idea that one or 2 other teams were well enough coached that they could at least look like they were on the court when they played UConn.

It is not hugely different in the BE. You replace USF with DePaul. Marquette is undergoing coaching change and is problematical right now. The rest vary, but for those that were in the oBE I don't think they are any better really than they were then. And how many games did you lose in the oBE (not to teams that are not in the nBE)?

Agree. Except for Notre Dame and Rutgers UConn dominated the OBE. But they lost far more games.

The difference for the men though is huge. It should help recruiting immensely.

 

[Plebe]

Not so much storied rivalries with Gt and Villanova as Cuse,Wv, Pitt etc.
20 games won’t leave us much room to play teams other than the Big East.

As I pointed out elsewhere, just because the men will play a 20-game schedule doesn't necessarily mean the women will. Several conferences have their women play fewer games than the men.

And whatever the number of conference games, this will remove both DePaul and Seton Hall from the nonconference docket.

 

[diggerfoot]

Several posters mentioned the basketball fans once or twice. We're not thought of very highly there. One poster intimated that it seemed as though if this goes through, it will be every man (team) for himself, and BB fans were only interested in how such a move would ultimately help or hurt their program.

Yeah, I peeked in on the football forum as well. I understand why they should think that way, but the reality is reversed. First, as far as WBB, teams play us better the more familiar they become, which is only natural. Yet we have NEVER lost an AAC game, with the closest being Tulane. Tulane would never, ever play us so close if we played them the first time in 5-10 years. Now that we only play BE teams occasionally they do not do well against us at all, but did better when in the same conference. DePaul played us closer. St. John's beat us. Villanova beat us. So I disagree that because we are so superior the BE amounts to a lateral move.

However, let's assume it is a lateral move competitively. UConn might as well be in one conference as the other. The fact is schools have proven they can do well in sports outside a P5, with the exception of football. With competition being equal, a smaller geographic footprint still means less expense, better lifestyle for the student athlete and better fan rivalries ... hence every other sport has an automatic benefit except football. So in reality it is the football folks that have a myopic view, because football matters so much they assume the same disadvantage must be true for all sports. It's not. Being in a more regional conference is better for all other sports. Yes, I'd prefer the ACC over the NBE, but staying in the AAC has an automatic disadvantage for every other sport except football.

 

[hoophuskee]

Yes, but not as it relates to UConn.

The teams that can challenge UConn are not in the Big East any more than they are in the AAC. There was an idea that USF could, most seasons, be good enough to make playing them the toughest challenge in the AAC and that they might generally make the NCAA's. There was also the idea that one or 2 other teams were well enough coached that they could at least look like they were on the court when they played UConn.

It is not hugely different in the BE. You replace USF with DePaul. Marquette is undergoing coaching change and is problematical right now. The rest vary, but for those that were in the oBE I don't think they are any better really than they were then. And how many games did you lose in the oBE (not to teams that are not in the nBE)?

I don't understand the point you are trying to make. But if it's what I think- then imo you are wrong. If you are trying to suggest that USF was a challenge to UCONN in regards to winning the conference that imo is just so wrong. They never had a legit change of winning the division vs UCONN.

Sure they can on a given night might be able to win one game - that can happen in college sports. Heck Tulane almost took down number 1 UCONN.

So in the new Big East, you'd have either/or both Marquette and DePaul being just as good as USF year over year. And then you'd have about another 5-6 teams that might have that one super night for example that Nova or St Johns had a long time ago upsetting UCONN. In the AAC you had Tulane almost get UCCONN and about 2-3 others who were maybe not so bad that they might do it on one magical night. This new BE would have 5-6 (over-and-above Marq and DePaul) that could have that 1 magical night.

Thus this NBE - the competition UCONN would face is far superior. This past year according to the poster Plebe the Massey rating had NINE teams in the AAC ranked 96 or worse. While the NBE had only two ranked outside the top 100. **There is no way this new conference is not much better than the current one. IMO it is so clear that the competition in this NBE is far superior than the AAC. And then if we were to believe other teams get a boost from UCONN then the NBE is that much stronger even if they can't take down UCONN for the division.

 

[Boreifs]

Last year, if UConn was in the Big East, that conference would have been fifth in the Massey power ratings, ahead of the SEC.

 

[Rocket009]

That may be. So what does the state do with a 90 million dollar stadium the taxpayers bought?

Use it for UCONN men's and women soccer and UCONN field hockey - give those teams a chance to play in front of thousands - they are certainly good enough. And the stadium is already built, so complaining about it seems a little late in the game. What do you propose to do with it?- keep waiting for an invitation to a P5 conference?

 

[Plebe]

I strongly recommend people read the following post from the MBB board, which gives a thorough rundown of the financials behind this move, for both the BE and UConn:

Report: UConn Going To Big East For 2020-2021 Season

The AAC is going to get poached in the next round of expansion. We will certainly lose UCF and USF and probably Houston, Memphis or Cincinnati. There is no future for us in the AAC. Let's move on before the AAC ship sinks. The thing people don’t understand is that they’re not going to get...

the-boneyard.com

 

[UConnNick]

Use it for UCONN men's and women soccer and UCONN field hockey - give those teams a chance to play in front of thousands - they are certainly good enough. And the stadium is already built, so complaining about it seems a little late in the game. What do you propose to do with it?- keep waiting for an invitation to a P5 conference?

Do you realize what kind of crowds we draw for FH? I attended a game a few years back. Beautiful, mid-Sept. day and there were maybe 100 there, and that's generous. We were playing Temple.

Soccer draws more, but if things continue the same way, the state charges us rent to play there. We're not going to regularly play any games there if we're losing money each time.

 

[zls44]

Soccer draws more, but if things continue the same way, the state charges us rent to play there. We're not going to regularly play any games there if we're losing money each time.

There's the small matter of the new $8m stadium they're building, too

 

[Vowelguy]

. The fact is schools have proven they can do well in sports outside a P5, with the exception of football.

You do realize that many p5 schools are now getting 50+M in revenue?

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

Did you skip over Plebe's comparison chart (easy to do once these threads get long). There is a huge difference between the two in WBB: Mean Massey for AAC = 143; Mean NBE = 71. Huge! And UConn would in turn being pulling up the NBE even higher, rather than its Herculean effort of pulling up the AAC.

On edit: I don't know if this would be much of a factor or not, we do fairly well with OOC scheduling already, but it's got to be more appealing to a good OOC school scheduling and losing to us with what our rating will be in the NBE over the AAC.

No, I missed it. I'll go back and look. Other than Marquette, I couldn't think of another good WBB program in the BE.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Will UConn owe the AAC any dollars with this Pullout?

 

[diggerfoot]

You do realize that many p5 schools are now getting 50+M in revenue?

?? I have to guess at what you think is the relevance of that in response to my comment. First, I think you are one of the posters that brings the most to the Boneyard; you really enhance the place. I'm not sure why we often are at odds. Perhaps I subconsciously feel you are a little quick with the contrarian trigger? Maybe I should check myself.

But for now ... ... The sentence you responded to was about competition, not revenue. Many football folks think a move to the NBE hurts all sports competitively, because it hurts football competitively. That's not true. Only football is severely handicapped by not being in a P5 conference. Also, not even the football folks want to stay in the AAC, they just think it is a better stepping stone to a P5. In our current situation that is no more certain or knowable than a move to the NBE, but I understand them thinking that way.

Any regional conference will have less expense than the AAC. I've stated twice I prefer the ACC to the NBE so, once again, I'm not sure what drives your revenue statement. I can only imagine that you side with the football folks that staying in the AAC gives us a high probability of landing in a P5 while going to the NBE gives us a low probability. Maybe that's true, I don't see the probabilities as differing that much but, in either case, it's not something of which fans can know.

 

[ThetaZoo]

Some website called Digital Sports Desk is reporting that we will be moving to the new Big East for basketball prior to the 2020-21 season. Many of us have never heard of this site, and there is already considerable discussion about it on the men's board, some of which is making it look plausible.

The NBE commissioner Val Ackerman has been asked about this in the past and said we would have to decide what we're going to do with football before they'd consider this. That means dropping it or likely downgrading to FBS. Either of those moves would kill whatever remote chance we'd have of ever joining a P5 league. Long term that would be the death of the UCONN AD as a whole. Staying in the AAC, although a negative for women's BB, is still our best option currently, money, media exposure and competition wise. I don't think the new Big East solves any of our women's BB competition problems, although other than DePaul and Marquette, I'll admit I don't know much about any of the other schools in NBE women's BB.

What killed our chance with the ACC was BC, Pitt, Syracuse and ESPN and our success in bball and football (leading up to the Fiesta Bowl). College athletics and college academics as we all know now is not a meritocracy.

 

[veryolddog]

Based on what has been presented the move to the New Big East would be both a prudent business decision for UConn and for the other sports programs of the University. I graduated from UConn in 1964, and attended some football games. UConn was a perrenial loser in their old league, the Yankee Conference and they have been consistently a loser ever since. People tout the season when they went to the Fiesta Ball but they lost to Oklahoma by such a wide margin, that by the end of the game, Oklahoma was playing with the third string. Football is not going to happen at UConn and as one poster said the hope to get into a P5 conference is only a hope. UConn means basketball. Thanks to Jim Calhoun and Geno A., UConn is on the map as the basketball Capital of the USA. If the Governor, the people and the UConn Board of Directors accept this and support this 150 per cent, its future in competitive basketball will be assured.

 

[huskeynut]

First, and people are not going to like this one bit, all of the carping on the Boneyard is not going to change the decision.

Next, I believe the new AAC contract with ESPN was the straw that broke the camel's back. Shutting down the SNY contract and then moving all Uconn games, football, a both basketball teams, to pay to view streaming was too much. ESPN has never been a friend or supportor of UConn athletics.

Outside of a few seasons under Edsel in his first round as head coach, UConn football has been nothing to brag about. Hathaway and the Rock Star did nothing to improve it. Pasqualoni was a disaster as was Diaco. Now 2 years with Edsel and we have 8 consecutive loosing seasons.

Is this move going to work out in the long run, who knows. At least UConn is being proactive and doing what it feels is in its best interests. The state is in massive debt and the athletic program is running in the red. Something had to be done. Now if we can keep the damn politicians out of this move we might survive.

Finally, UConn is not going to get a P5 bid. You can thank BC, Pitt, Miami, Syracuse and partially ND for that.

Just my opinion.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Column from Mike Anthony this morning I can get behind.

"The fuse on the this-is-who-we-are moment had been burning for a long time in advance of Saturday's flash-bang news that shook up the national college basketball picture and set a university's top athletic pursuits back on course.

UConn was built on basketball and it had become time for the university to protect at all costs its prized assets, the programs run by Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma. It is with that priority firmly established in the past handful of months that led UConn out of the American Athletic Conference and into the Big East, a move that is expected to be formalized and announced in the coming days.

It’s not often that one can relive part of the past while creating opportunity and potential for the future but that’s where UConn is today, walking back into the right neighborhood with a realistic view on what makes present-day sense. "

Mike Anthony: UConn’s move back to the Big East strengthens a brand that is about national championship caliber basketball

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Jeff Jacobs tour de force too.

Jeff Jacobs: Move to Big East could be right call, but questions remain

 

[eebmg]

Jeff Jacobs tour de force too.

Jeff Jacobs: Move to Big East could be right call, but questions remain

Best part

The Big East has a deal with Fox Sports. If UConn football goes independent, annually lines up a bunch of big-money games against Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, etc., at the Meadowlands or Gillette and intersperses those with games at Rentschler against UMass, Villanova, etc., that can be portrayed as a proactive move. Throw in Fox’s potential willingness to allow UConn women’s basketball to be broadcast on SNY — a sore, sort point among the AAC, ESPN and UConn — and good mojo could follow.