Why would ESPN deliberately try to destroy UConn athletics?

[JeepCSC]

This is my rough understanding of what has transpired. Feel free to tell me where I err.

- Miami was the center of of the 2003 expansion, and they wanted BC and Syracuse. Virginia threw it's considerable weight around and got VPI in over Syracuse.

- Syracuse was always in the ACC's mind since 2003, so when time came a decade later, the ACC reached for them. UConn was well-positioned, but BC pushed Pitt for their own reasons and no one felt the need to push back.

- In the aftermath of Maryland leaving, UConn again was well-positioned. But this time FSU was calling the shots and they demanded Louisville for football reasons.

Granted I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I'm unsure where ESPN fits in outside the obvious of helping lay the dynamite to blow up the BE. I don't think they've been blocking UConn's exit, simply have been bowing to school politics which have conspired against UConn.

 

[MattMang23]

This is my rough understanding of what has transpired. Feel free to tell me where I err.

- Miami was the center of of the 2003 expansion, and they wanted BC and Syracuse. Virginia threw it's considerable weight around and got VPI in over Syracuse.

- Syracuse was always in the ACC's mind since 2003, so when time came a decade later, the ACC reached for them. UConn was well-positioned, but BC pushed Pitt for their own reasons and no one felt the need to push back.

- In the aftermath of Maryland leaving, UConn again was well-positioned. But this time FSU was calling the shots and they demanded Louisville for football reasons.

Granted I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I'm unsure where ESPN fits in outside the obvious of helping lay the dynamite to blow up the BE. I don't think they've been blocking UConn's exit, simply have been bowing to school politics which have conspired against UConn.

Tax credits.

 

[politics]

surprised we're this deep into thread and no mention of ex-ESPN exec John Wildhack now back at alma mater Syracuse as AD.

 

[jostar1]

This is my rough understanding of what has transpired. Feel free to tell me where I err.

- Miami was the center of of the 2003 expansion, and they wanted BC and Syracuse. Virginia threw it's considerable weight around and got VPI in over Syracuse.

- Syracuse was always in the ACC's mind since 2003, so when time came a decade later, the ACC reached for them. UConn was well-positioned, but BC pushed Pitt for their own reasons and no one felt the need to push back.

- In the aftermath of Maryland leaving, UConn again was well-positioned. But this time FSU was calling the shots and they demanded Louisville for football reasons.

Granted I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I'm unsure where ESPN fits in outside the obvious of helping lay the dynamite to blow up the BE. I don't think they've been blocking UConn's exit, simply have been bowing to school politics which have conspired against UConn.

October 10, 2011
An article in The Boston Globe on Sunday became the talk of college athletics, as it reported just how brazen and blatant Boston College’s blocking of Connecticut’s move to the Atlantic Coast Conference was.
“We didn’t want them in,” Boston College’s athletic director, Gene DeFilippo, told The Globe. “It was a matter of turf. We wanted to be the New England team.”
The most stunning comment in the article was DeFilippo’s public admission that ESPN guided the A.C.C.’s decision to add Syracuse and Pittsburgh last month. “We always keep our television partners close to us,” DeFilippo told The Globe. “You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV — ESPN — is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.”
DeFilippo’s comments give credence to the popular theory that ESPN encouraged Pittsburgh and Syracuse’s exit from the Big East in the wake of the Big East’s turning down ESPN’s billion dollar television deal in May during an exclusive negotiating window. ESPN has a billion dollar deal with the A.C.C., making that move either savvy business or collusion, depending on one’s perspective.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/10/s...-next-level.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=sports

 

[Jimdish255]

Preaching to someone who markets services to them.

Point is, that very few major corps in CT are run by Uconn grads and that makes ESPN one of the crowd and not unique. ESPN makes cold calculating decisions and where the execs went to school has no impact on their decisions.

Everybody's cold and calculated until they throw back a few and tell you what they really think. But if that is the case we need to present a consequence that makes our A.D. being held captive by their business plan a little less financially appealing.

 

[djct1999]

#EnjoyCharlotte

 

[Kolumbo]

This is my rough understanding of what has transpired. Feel free to tell me where I err.

- Miami was the center of of the 2003 expansion, and they wanted BC and Syracuse. Virginia threw it's considerable weight around and got VPI in over Syracuse.

- Syracuse was always in the ACC's mind since 2003, so when time came a decade later, the ACC reached for them. UConn was well-positioned, but BC pushed Pitt for their own reasons and no one felt the need to push back.

- In the aftermath of Maryland leaving, UConn again was well-positioned. But this time FSU was calling the shots and they demanded Louisville for football reasons.

Granted I'm not fully aware of all the issues, but I'm unsure where ESPN fits in outside the obvious of helping lay the dynamite to blow up the BE. I don't think they've been blocking UConn's exit, simply have been bowing to school politics which have conspired against UConn.

First round was Miami and VPI at a 45 degree angle. BC came a year later.

 

[pj]

This was posted on Landthieves a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was interesting because it was the first time I've read the theory that the lawsuit ticked off ESPN:

"That's essentially true, although I would quibble with the destruction part. ESPN did pick it apart. But, they did so because at the time the BTN was still independently owned and Delany was eyeballing those markets. So ESPN picked off what they perceived to be the most likely targets of the Big 10 and stored them in the only conference in which they owned 100% of the rights and one that was the the lowest paid of the power conferences, the ACC. They took Syracuse to keep the BTN directly out of New York. They took Pittsburgh rather than W.V.U. because they both are in that market area but Pitt was AAU. They took Boston College because of the large market and the number of Big 10 alums in the area. Miami was a market move but was not a move against the BTN as much as it was the taking of what was then a stronger brand. Remember, Delany had balked at an ESPN offer as well and that was part of the impetus for the BTN. ESPN figured that by sewing up that product they would gain more leverage over the Big 10, and if not it would prevent them from expanding into a more profitable area for marketing. But anyway you choose to look at it ESPN clearly muscled conferences and schools.

When the B.C. president spoke about these matters a lid suddenly shut off all talk directly implicating the WWL. UConn's lawsuit was more of an offense to ESPN than it was to ACC although the ACC was pretty ticked too. Naming the ACC was a round about way to implicate ESPN without naming one of the important businesses in the state of Connecticut directly. I would say since that move hasn't helped the Huskies. So not only did the Big East suffer the ire of the Mouse, but so has the Big 10, and Connecticut."

If ESPN was trying to block B10 expansion, they did a lousy job. The two best Big East properties for the B1G were Rutgers and UConn. They got Rutgers and UConn is still available.

 

[Jimdish255]

If ESPN was trying to block B10 expansion, they did a lousy job. The two best Big East properties for the B1G were Rutgers and UConn. They got Rutgers and UConn is still available.

Can't blame them for not wanting Rutgers back then. But it does highlight the possibility that all these Cuse grads maybe don't have such a great business savvy despite the calculating and objective analysis we give them credit for. Aside from Cuse Hoops, the schools they expanded with in the NE haven't had a great market or athletic impact. You have to place some responsibility on the ACC Presidents themselves, but to the extent that ESPN guided the decision it was a lot of wishful thinking and looking in the rear-view mirror instead of anticipating future value. The leagues need to realize that networks will dress up a proposal to make it appear it is in their best interest, but the primary interest they serve is their own.

 

[CTMike]

The state of CT did not elect ESPN. It is a company. We did elect Gov. Malloy -- so we should be demanding answers from him -- and find out what he is doing in connection with ESPN.

If Malloy has been a secret BCU operative this entire time it would be so ruthless that I'd almost have to respect it.

 

[SubbaBub]

CR has been going on long enough that we might need a history of CR thread, but I ain't creating it.

But in short,

Miami - Left for a better FB conference (the one with FSU in it)
BC - Saw Miami was leaving and said, we need to follow them.
VT - same as BC once Syracuse did the noble thing and tried to save the Big East.

Pitt - ACC/ESPN decided the BE had to go and told Pitt it will be you or someone else. They went.
Cuse - Same as Pitt. (The Uncle Flippy comments from BC fit in here.

WVA - Found a lifeboat good for them
UL - Given our lifeboat at the behest of FSU, Miami, BC and Clemson. Good for them.

RU - B1G asked.
TCU - You don't look anything like your profile pic, BE. Thanks Texas.

C7 - rightfully decided to cut bait with FB schools once the idea of sharing a conference with ECU and Tulsa became apparent.


Non-Big East moves.

Nebraska - F Texas, Hello B1G dollars and academic ties.

Colorado - F Texas, Hello California
Utah - Wait, you want us? Hi, P12.

Texas A&M - F Texas, Hello SEC
Missouri - Are you sure B1G? No? Hello SEC and oh yeah, F Texas.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The American is viable for ESPN as long as UConn is in it.

That scares me.

Which is precisely why I think they leaked to Blauds that they'd consider leaving it if they don't get in the B12 and the AAC is gutted. It was a message. Supposedly, the American is ESPNs most profitable college property. Ratings exceeded any expectation and the cost is negligible.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

...

ESPN is not deliberately trying to destroy UCONN-they are business people looking to maximize value and minimize cost for quality content.. it sucks, but it is what it is

This is what I don't get about the whole "ESPN hates us" meme. No serious business seeks to cripple its partners because, in the end, it will come back and bite THEM in the ass. If a deal isn't good for both parties, it is bad for both. Oh, one party might profit in the short term but, over time, that is a losing strategy.

 

[CL82]

CR has been going on long enough that we might need a history of CR thread, but I ain't creating it.

But in short,

Miami - Left for a better FB conference (the one with FSU in it)
BC - Saw Miami was leaving and said, we need to follow them.
VT - same as BC once Syracuse did the noble thing and tried to save the Big East.

Pitt - ACC/ESPN decided the BE had to go and told Pitt it will be you or someone else. They went.
Cuse - Same as Pitt. (The Uncle Flippy comments from BC fit in here.

WVA - Found a lifeboat good for them
UL - Given our lifeboat at the behest of FSU, Miami, BC and Clemson. Good for them.

RU - B1G asked.
TCU - You don't look anything like your profile pic, BE. Thanks Texas.

C7 - rightfully decided to cut bait with FB schools once the idea of sharing a conference with ECU and Tulsa became apparent.


Non-Big East moves.

Nebraska - F Texas, Hello B1G dollars and academic ties.

Colorado - F Texas, Hello California
Utah - Wait, you want us? Hi, P12.

Texas A&M - F Texas, Hello SEC
Missouri - Are you sure B1G? No? Hello SEC and oh yeah, F Texas.

Disagree a bit.

BCU was actively working on their exit while they held leadership positions in the conference. They were proactive about leaving, not reactive.

Pitt was the second choice to UConn in round 3 of the eviseration of the Big East. One wonders about how we would feel about ESPN, if BCU hadn't lobbied against us in committee.

The whole F Texas thing is spot on.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

CR has been going on long enough that we might need a history of CR thread, but I ain't creating it.

But in short,

Miami - Left for a better FB conference (the one with FSU in it)
BC - Saw Miami was leaving and said, we need to follow them.
VT - same as BC once Syracuse did the noble thing and tried to save the Big East.

Pitt - ACC/ESPN decided the BE had to go and told Pitt it will be you or someone else. They went.
Cuse - Same as Pitt. (The Uncle Flippy comments from BC fit in here.

WVA - Found a lifeboat good for them
UL - Given our lifeboat at the behest of FSU, Miami, BC and Clemson. Good for them.

RU - B1G asked.
TCU - You don't look anything like your profile pic, BE. Thanks Texas.

C7 - rightfully decided to cut bait with FB schools once the idea of sharing a conference with ECU and Tulsa became apparent.


Non-Big East moves.

Nebraska - F Texas, Hello B1G dollars and academic ties.

Colorado - F Texas, Hello California
Utah - Wait, you want us? Hi, P12.

Texas A&M - F Texas, Hello SEC
Missouri - Are you sure B1G? No? Hello SEC and oh yeah, F Texas.

VT and Miami went because they had the votes. BCU, at first, did not. The football schools in the ACC initially rejected the Eagles. But Swofford and ESPN wanted 12 instead of 11, and the ACC sort of owed BCU for being their Big East mole.

 

[upstater]

This is what I don't get about the whole "ESPN hates us" meme. No serious business seeks to cripple its partners because, in the end, it will come back and bite THEM in the ass. If a deal isn't good for both parties, it is bad for both. Oh, one party might profit in the short term but, over time, that is a losing strategy.

Mega corporations are filled with short-term employees who look at the bottom line, and are compensated well. Look at Roger Goodell, the author of an NFL lockout/strike in 2021. Meanwhile, he makes $40 million a year for the next 5 years. So what does he care that his short term decisions are leading to negative outcomes?

 

[MattMang23]

VT - same as BC once Syracuse did the noble thing and tried to save the Big East.

Be careful not to give the fruits too much credit here. Save for the Virginia governor threatening UVA, Cuse would have been glad to leave with Miami.

 

[J187Money]

CR has been going on long enough that we might need a history of CR thread, but I ain't creating it.

But in short,

Miami - Left for a better FB conference (the one with FSU in it)
BC - Saw Miami was leaving and said, we need to follow them.
VT - same as BC once Syracuse did the noble thing and tried to save the Big East.

Pitt - ACC/ESPN decided the BE had to go and told Pitt it will be you or someone else. They went.
Cuse - Same as Pitt. (The Uncle Flippy comments from BC fit in here.

WVA - Found a lifeboat good for them
UL - Given our lifeboat at the behest of FSU, Miami, BC and Clemson. Good for them.

RU - B1G asked.
TCU - You don't look anything like your profile pic, BE. Thanks Texas.

C7 - rightfully decided to cut bait with FB schools once the idea of sharing a conference with ECU and Tulsa became apparent.


Non-Big East moves.

Nebraska - F Texas, Hello B1G dollars and academic ties.

Colorado - F Texas, Hello California
Utah - Wait, you want us? Hi, P12.

Texas A&M - F Texas, Hello SEC
Missouri - Are you sure B1G? No? Hello SEC and oh yeah, F Texas.

HOF post.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

ESPN screwed over the AAC and UCONN with its incredible sweet media deal. Of course, they want to keep UCONN dirt cheap while overpaying for schools like WF and BCU. SNY was paying UCONN almost as much for our women bball tier-3 as ESPN is paying UCONN for all of our media rights. We are being royally screwed right now by ESPN simply by associating with the AAC.

UCONN has to leave ESPN if it wants a better deal. If we don't get into the B12, UCONN needs to sign with another company ASAP to get out of this bad contract. BE/FOX looks fine for non-FB sports. For FB, UCONN should talk to better teams in the MWC and AAC to form a nationwide FB-only conference if we can get a better deal for all parties. At minimal, we should explore this possibility.

 

[06029]

VT and Miami went because they had the votes. BCU, at first, did not. The football schools in the ACC initially rejected the Eagles. But Swofford and ESPN wanted 12 instead of 11, and the ACC sort of owed BCU for being their Big East mole.

Actually, the NCAA denied the ACC's request to hold a football conference championship game with only 11 teams. It was voted against by the B1G who at time did not believe in championship games, the Big 12 because they had 12 and felt everyone else should, the SEC because they always vote no unless they think of it first and the BE because, we know why. That forced the ACC go to 12 quickly and it was Cuse and BC on the table and they chose BC.

 

[SubbaBub]

It was initially Miami, Cuse, and BC. Cuse backed out, VT stepped in and BC committed to staying, presumably because Cuse stayed. The BE would have survived as a P6 had they done so. But, instead they maneuvered for spot #12 once the NCAA said you need 12 for a CCG. Presumably so another school didn't take it. CR moved at lightning speed back in those days. (Sin #1).

When ESPN decided stripping the BE for parts was the thing to do. BC blocked UConn even though we were preferred over Pitt. (Sin #2). The BE was toast by this point because two teams were leaving.

When it came down to Us v. UL, BC sided with UL (Sin #3). Even if no one was listening to BC by then, their vote could have carried the day with the NC block.

 

[06029]

It was initially Miami, Cuse, and BC. Cuse backed out, VT stepped in and BC committed to staying, presumably because Cuse stayed. The BE would have survived as a P6 had they done so. But, instead they maneuvered for spot #12 once the NCAA said you need 12 for a CCG. Presumably so another school didn't take it. CR moved at lightning speed back in those days. (Sin #1).

When ESPN decided stripping the BE for parts was the thing to do. BC blocked UConn even though we were preferred over Pitt. (Sin #2). The BE was toast by this point because two teams were leaving.

When it came down to Us v. UL, BC sided with UL (Sin #3). Even if no one was listening to BC by then, their vote could have carried the day with the NC block.

Cuse NEVER backed out. The ACC left them out along with BC.

The ACC went public too early with 3 teams. The VA legislature laid down the path that TX is following. UVA said VT and whomever or no one. Not sure who else they got on their side on the vote but the prize at that time was Miami and then they took VT at the same time. BC and Cuse got left behind. It was only after that Cuse professed its unfailing love of the BE. They were prepared to go the first time around. How they got left behind for BC less than a year later has never been fully made clear other than Boeheim maybe convinced the school to stay put for the BB games he knew and loved.

This is why the current Big 12 20 team courtship is a massive cluster fork. Too public, too easy for politicians to get in the way in TX. The B1G and the last round of the ACC expansion is how it should work. Let it be known when it is a done deal. Keep it out of the press.

 

[SAMCRO]

Cuse NEVER backed out. The ACC left them out along with BC.

The ACC went public too early with 3 teams. The VA legislature laid down the path that TX is following. UVA said VT and whomever or no one. Not sure who else they got on their side on the vote but the prize at that time was Miami and then they took VT at the same time. BC and Cuse got left behind. It was only after that Cuse professed its unfailing love of the BE. They were prepared to go the first time around. How they got left behind for BC less than a year later has never been fully made clear other than Boeheim maybe convinced the school to stay put for the BB games he knew and loved.

This is why the current Big 12 20 team courtship is a massive cluster fork. Too public, too easy for politicians to get in the way in TX. The B1G and the last round of the ACC expansion is how it should work. Let it be known when it is a done deal. Keep it out of the press.

This ^^^. Let's not kid ourselves about Cuse, they never did the honorable thing. They were essentially left at the altar due to t Virginia state politics. They then recommitted their loyalty to the BE, along with BC. The ACC petitioned the NCAA to be able to have a CCG with only 11 teams, they were shot down.. after that they went after ND again, ND said no thank you, then they invited BC to be #12 in order to have a CCG.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

Mega corporations are filled with short-term employees who look at the bottom line, and are compensated well. Look at Roger Goodell, the author of an NFL lockout/strike in 2021. Meanwhile, he makes $40 million a year for the next 5 years. So what does he care that his short term decisions are leading to negative outcomes?

Bad apples exist. Mega-anythings are going to have some. None of which makes screwing others a good strategy for the mega-something.

 

[Adios]

ESPN does play a part in UConn being successful. Like I've been saying, all about paying dues. If ESPN sees us as valuable enough to anchor the damn AAC (which is what I was thinking), some "P5" conference will see value in us for their conference, too. We're getting airtime in Big 12 territory for expansion, as one of the top candidates. No ex-Yankee Conference foe has anywhere near as much clout as we do now. I don't think the Big 12 would even care for Syracuse or BC.