What if we had not gone to the NBE and stayed in the AAC | The Boneyard

What if we had not gone to the NBE and stayed in the AAC

HuskylnSC

HuskylnSC

North is a direction; South is a lifestyle
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Would we have been invited to the New Big 12 an have a share of their football money? UConn, while giving away easy conference victories in football, would have increase Big12 visibility into the biggest market in the country. Just thinking out loud
 
Houston, Cincinnati & UCF, the 3 AAC teams that were invited to join the Big 12, all had something UConn does not have, a successful, money making football program. I seriously doubt that UConn would have been invited to join the Big 12 had the Huskies remained in the AAC.
 
One other issue relative to the Big 12. Texas, literally, and Oklahoma are the “bell cows” of the Big 12. Without the 2 flagship schools, it’s hard to make the case that the Big 12 should continue to be considered a P-5 conference. The loss of TX & OK will ultimately impact conference tv revenue.

Considering the penalty costs associated with leaving the AAC, along with additional travel costs, the only AAC team that really stands to gain could be Houston.
 
HuskylnSC said:
Would we have been invited to the New Big 12 an have a share of their football money? UConn, while giving away easy conference victories in football, would have increase Big12 visibility into the biggest market in the country. Just thinking out loud
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Never would've happened.

We might as well be wondering aloud "what if the Earth had spun off its axis yesterday and landed in a giant galactic bowl of jello?" Could be a fun thought exercise but has zero connection to reality.
 
I agree with Oldude. There is no way that Uconn would be invited to join the Big 12, or is it 8 or 9, with the football program in the state It's in. The move to the Big East came at just the right time. If Houston, Cincinnati, and Memphis leave the AAC that would gut the league. Basketball drives the sports bus at Uconn. There are other top sports such as soccer and field hockey but basketball is the leader. There are still some historic rivals in the Big East that excite the fan base and with the Huskies OOC schedule it makes for a very interesting season.
 
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CocoHusky said:
That "biggest market in the country" being anywhere in the NE USA is entirely overstated and pure urban legend.

bhamnow.com

Birmingham declared top ESPN market for 12th consecutive year | Bham Now

The Birmingham TV market was ranked number #1 in terms of viewership for ESPN’s flagship network in 2020.
bhamnow.com
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I've been saying this to my friends back East for years, Coco. The markets in NE USA are quite segmented and the market shares often are diluted and scattered because the cities offer so much variety and interests... unlike a city like Birmingham where, as the article points out, is viewing one thing and only one thing...
 
tchalla1 said:
I've been saying this to my friends back East for years, Coco. The markets in NE USA are quite segmented and the market shares often are diluted and scattered because the cities offer so much variety and interests... unlike a city like Birmingham where, as the article points out, is viewing one thing and only one thing...
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When the Big10 added Rutgers, the argument was that Rutgers would open up the NE market to Big10 football. But the reality has been somewhat different. Rutgers had a relatively small football following, some 600,000 diehard fans. Compare that to tOSU and it’s millions of passionate football fans.

At the same time, the NE has always been more oriented towards pro sports than college sports. A study several years ago rated the NE as 73rd among 77 major college football markets.
 
Plebe said:
Never would've happened.

We might as well be wondering aloud "what if the Earth had spun off its axis yesterday and landed in a giant galactic bowl of jello?" Could be a fun thought exercise but has zero connection to reality.
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I'll say. The earth spins? :eek:

But sounds like the next Marvel Movie
 
CL82 said:
No, it wasn't. The argument was that RU would make the BTN tier 1 content within the NYC DMA plus another few million people in NJ who aren't in the NYC DMA. It did exactly that.
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My reference to the NE was a little loose. Your reference to the BTN’s access to the NYC DMA is accurate. With that said, the number of viewers watching the BTN on Saturdays in the fall in the NYC DMA & NJ have not met projections. Ultimately, that’s a problem for the Big10.
 
CocoHusky said:
That "biggest market in the country" being anywhere in the NE USA is entirely overstated and pure urban legend.

bhamnow.com

Birmingham declared top ESPN market for 12th consecutive year | Bham Now

The Birmingham TV market was ranked number #1 in terms of viewership for ESPN’s flagship network in 2020.
bhamnow.com
Expand ...

Birmingham is one metro area. The Boston to Washington corridor has 50 million people. I guess it comes down to how one defines "market". Now maybe the NE influence is overstated but I don't see how it fits the "urban legend" paradigm.

As of 2010, the region contained over 50 million people, about 17% of the U.S. population on less than 2% of the nation's land area, with a population density of approximately 1,000 people per square mile (390 people/km2), compared to the U.S. average of 80.5 per square mile.
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Northeast megalopolis - Wikipedia

The only thing that it doesn't have is powerful college football programs and that is mostly due to pro football, with 6 NFL franchises compared to zero in Alabama.
 
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oldude said:
My reference to the NE was a little loose. Your reference to the BTN’s access to the NYC DMA is accurate. With that said, the number of viewers watching the BTN on Saturdays in the fall in the NYC DMA & NJ have not met projections. Ultimately, that’s a problem for the Big10.
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I don’t know that to be true, but I do know it to be irrelevant. By being tier 1 content the BTN was bought by every cable subscriber in the NYC DMA regardless of viewership and at a premium rate. (That includes Fairfield County by the way.) Because of that, Rutgers was the right choice for the Big Ten financially.

Everyone who talks about how Rutgers hasn’t performed on the field in on the court and how they are not a favorite of other fans, both accurate by the way, is missing the actual dynamics that motivated the offer.

Ironically in an article linked in another post, I read that Rutgers is in worse financial difficulties now then when they joined the big 10. With their deficit being as high as $70 million in a single year.
 
CL82 said:
I don’t know that to be true, but I do know it to be irrelevant. By being tier 1 content the BTN was bought by every cable subscriber in the NYC DMA regardless of viewership and at a premium rate. (That includes Fairfield County by the way.) Because of that, Rutgers was the right choice for the Big Ten financially.

Everyone who talks about how Rutgers hasn’t performed on the field in on the court and how they are not a favorite of other fans, both accurate by the way, is missing the actual dynamics that motivated the offer.

Ironically in an article linked in another post, I read that Rutgers is in worse financial difficulties now then when they joined the big 10. With their deficit being as high as $70 million in a single year.
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Tier 1 cable subscribers are just 1 source of revenue for BTN. Individuals can also purchase games individually as live streamed events, and BTN also sells ad revenue. Live streaming and ad revenue are far more dependent on ratings than Tier 1 subscription revenue.

Under the agreement with member schools, BTN shares a percentage of all three revenue streams with member schools. While BTN revenue continues to lead all conferences, last season revenues fell by $40 million, resulting in a decrease of approximately $1.3 million per member institution.
 
oldude said:
Tier 1 cable subscribers are just 1 source of revenue for BTN. Individuals can also purchase games individually as live streamed events, and BTN also sells ad revenue. Live streaming and ad revenue are far more dependent on ratings than Tier 1 subscription revenue.

Under the agreement with member schools, BTN shares a percentage of all three revenue streams with member schools. While BTN revenue continues to lead all conferences, last season revenues fell by $40 million, resulting in a decrease of approximately $1.3 million per member institution.
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All true, but all not relevant to why Rutgers was invited to join the conference.
 
With the AAC fragmenting into nothingness and the Big 12(?) moving steadfastly toward mediocrity, could this be a good time to invite UCF and South Florida to join the Big East? Actually, with the emphasis at both schools being football, that is probably an idiotic question.
 
Alydar said:
Birmingham is one metro area. The Boston to Washington corridor has 50 million people. I guess it comes down to how one defines "market". Now maybe the NE influence is overstated but I don't see how it fits the "urban legend" paradigm.

Northeast megalopolis - Wikipedia
The only thing that it doesn't have is powerful college football programs and that is mostly due to pro football, with 6 NFL franchises compared to zero in Alabama.
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The urban legend part is there is an "untapped & unfulfilled "college football market in the NE united states and there just isn't. There might be 50 millions people in the corridor between Washington and Boston but there are also 6 professional football teams.
 
CocoHusky said:
The urban legend part is there is an "untapped & unfulfilled "college football market in the NE united states and there just isn't. There might be 50 millions people in the corridor between Washington and Boston but there are also 6 professional football teams.
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That's what I said. And the reason goes back to the 50's when pro football started to get popular everywhere but the segregated south.
 
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Who cares about ESPN's largest market. New York far and away is the largest tv market in America. That is where advertising dollars are and where money is made. Advertisers are not flocking anywhere to advertise in Birmingham. ESPN is not a major player by any stretch in the ratings game. A very bad example and comparison.
'
 
I see no way for UConn or the Big 12 to benefit from a league wide relationship. I felt like posting something and it was either this or posting another "How many minutes is Dorka going to play?" I figured of the two questions this was least likely to get me shot. :)
 
CL82 said:
I don’t know that to be true, but I do know it to be irrelevant. By being tier 1 content the BTN was bought by every cable subscriber in the NYC DMA regardless of viewership and at a premium rate. (That includes Fairfield County by the way.) Because of that, Rutgers was the right choice for the Big Ten financially.

Everyone who talks about how Rutgers hasn’t performed on the field in on the court and how they are not a favorite of other fans, both accurate by the way, is missing the actual dynamics that motivated the offer.

Ironically in an article linked in another post, I read that Rutgers is in worse financial difficulties now then when they joined the big 10. With their deficit being as high as $70 million in a single year.
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To be 100% fair, Rutgers is looking better in sports since joining the B1G. Last season, men's basketball was relevant for the first time in a long time. Greg has football moving in the right direction although there may very well be a ceiling. I'm not sure WBB factors in to "what matters", but in all likelihood Rutgers will remain competitive but non-contending for the remainder of the CVS era. NCAA's, potentially. Deep runs, unlikely. Conference championships, doubtful.

But Rutgers Wrestling is "something", Women's Soccer has history, I have noticed some individual track references and things looking up in Field Hockey (or was it Women's LAX?), bit being around RU anymore I can't and don't try to keep up, but I think, on average, joining the B1G has been a good thing for most sports.

And as someone mentioned somewhere, I know RU is financially awful. Greg's return to football has increased interest, and if men's basketball continues to have even modest success - that would be great.
 
Alydar said:
Birmingham is one metro area. The Boston to Washington corridor has 50 million people. I guess it comes down to how one defines "market". Now maybe the NE influence is overstated but I don't see how it fits the "urban legend" paradigm.


Northeast megalopolis - Wikipedia

The only thing that it doesn't have is powerful college football programs and that is mostly due to pro football, with 6 NFL franchises compared to zero in Alabama.
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The Ivy league has 51 football national championships. U. Penn is the southernmost school, and Cornell is the westernmost. Sounds like the northeast to me.
 
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uconnfan68 said:
The Ivy league has 51 football national championships. U. Penn is the southernmost school, and Cornell is the westernmost. Sounds like the northeast to me.
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Technically the “Ivy League” has never won a national championship in football. The Ivy League was formed in 1954. Cornell won a national championship in 1939, the last team that currently makes up the Ivy League to do so.
 
uconnfan68 said:
The Ivy league has 51 football national championships. U. Penn is the southernmost school, and Cornell is the westernmost. Sounds like the northeast to me.
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I say this in good humor; get in your wayback machine, you are off 100 years. ;) Back in the 30's you could make more money playing in college than as a pro.
 
FYI, today the Big12 formally extended membership offers to the 4 schools previously mentioned: BYU, Houston, Cincinnati & UCF.
 
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