Yormark confirms that the big 12 was in expansion talks with Connecticut and Gonzaga but indicates neither program is being pursued any longer.

[jostar1]

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says UConn wasn’t added ‘only because dream scenario unfolded’

By KELS DAYTON | wdayton@courant.com | Hartford Courant
PUBLISHED: August 16, 2023 at 11:08 a.m. | UPDATED: August 16, 2023 at 3:47 p.m.

Yormark said the Big 12 was “done” with expansion, at least for now. But he also hinted that what many UConn fans have been scratching their heads about — the fact that basketball seemingly never even receives a passing thought in conference realignment discussions — may be eventually subject to a market correction.

“I’m a firm believer that basketball is undervalued. When you think about our aggregate audience that we deliver to our media partners annually between basketball and football, basketball today is growing. It’s about 25 percent of that total audience. We’re not getting 25 cents on the dollar for basketball,” Yormark said.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to further leverage basketball, especially in that next media cycle. I have gone on record saying, maybe we bifurcate basketball and football (meaning negotiating media rights deals separately), maybe we don’t. We’ll have the optionality for sure to do it, and we’ll see where we can create the most value.”

If the Big 12 and other conferences eventually choose to seek out different deals for basketball and football media rights, it could mean that schools like UConn and Gonzaga would become more valuable additions.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says UConn wasn’t added ‘only because dream scenario unfolded’

UConn was left on the outside looking in on conference realignment once again, and Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said on a podcast Wednesday that the reason was because “a dream scenario&…

www.courant.com

 

[giddyup]

Irritating that UConn is paired with Gonzaga in these discussions. Gonzaga is more like a Villanova or other BE school. UConn has so much more to offer as a college both athletically and academically as a flagship state school. UConn's fanbase in CT, the rest of New England, and New York City is so much more valuable from a TV revenue standpoint. I guess it is what it is until the football team can turn some heads.

This is convenient rewriting of history by an opportunistic slime-ball. We are nothing like Gonzaga, unless you want to confuse reality with BS

 

[UCFBfan]

Was it really your dream to be a part of the Big 12?

We're going to be fine and we're going to win more championships.

Big 12? No. Any spot that secures our financial future as a sports program? Yes. People who think we can continue to just win championships at this level in for a rude awakening when we can't afford a Dan Hurley or get a replacement for Geno. But keep thinking that everything will be ok.

 

[CL82]

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says UConn wasn’t added ‘only because dream scenario unfolded’

"Dream scenario?" It ended up being a nightmare scenario for Connecticut, Stanford and California.

 

[John]

Was it really your dream to be a part of the Big 12?

We're going to be fine and we're going to win more championships.

and football?

 

[WestCoastHusky]

"Dream scenario?" It ended up being a nightmare scenario for Connecticut, Stanford and California.

Have you not notice realignment is all about me, me, and more me? No one gives rat's ass about another school or the college sports in general.

It is just cutthroat out there.

 

[superjohn]

and football?

Football won't be winning any championships.

 

[Forte]

Football won't be winning any championships.

Not as an Indy no ... but in a BCS conference our football did win championships

 

[CL82]

Not as an Indy no ... but in a BCS conference our football did win championships

 

[superjohn]

Not as an Indy no ... but in a BCS conference our football did win championships

I was talking about national championships. Football won't be winning them and they won't be winning conference championships either. I hope they stay healthy and build off of last year, need a gaudy record.

 

[peyton1211]

we need to get on phone with oliver luck, "New Pac 10" Pacific to Atlantic Conference
UConn
stanford
memphis
cal
tulane
oregon st
washington st
san diego st
smu
usf

 

[Hoophound]

we need to get on phone with oliver luck, "New Pac 10" Pacific to Atlantic Conference
UConn
stanford
memphis
cal
tulane
oregon st
washington st
san diego st
smu
usf

We may be on the phone, but that’s not an easy sell vs the Big East.

 

[Bongo Fury]

And get someone to pay for it. The BE pays pretty well for non FB but it is not enough.

 

[huskidork]

we need to get on phone with oliver luck, "New Pac 10" Pacific to Atlantic Conference
UConn
stanford
memphis
cal
tulane
oregon st
washington st
san diego st
smu
usf

so the American conference except we're even more so on a Island by ourselves having to go out to California, Washington, or Oregon every other year , like at least the American had Navy and Temple lol

 

[giddyup]

so the American conference except we're even more so on a Island by ourselves having to go out to California, Washington, or Oregon every other year , like at least the American had Navy and Temple lol

It would pull in $20M a year per team which would be still way better than the BE even with nightmare travel. Playing Cal and Stanford would be great. Problem is they will bolt at the first opportunity to do so.

 

[superjohn]

It would pull in $20M a year per team which would be still way better than the BE even with nightmare travel. Playing Cal and Stanford would be great. Problem is they will bolt at the first opportunity to do so.

Wait, what? You're not even talking about just football? You think this would be good for UConn and you think playing Cal and Stanford would be great?

It would be horrible for UConn and both Cal and Stanford absolutely suck in both revenue sports.

 

[pj]

"Dream scenario?" It ended up being a nightmare scenario for Connecticut, Stanford and California.

The B12's dream was to be a regional football conference with Mountain-Plains schools rather than a national all-sports conference on both coasts. Otherwise hard to see why you take Arizona State and Utah ahead of Stanford and UConn.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I was talking about national championships. Football won't be winning them and they won't be winning conference championships either. I hope they stay healthy and build off of last year, need a gaudy record.

Using your logic more than half of the current BE members should leave the conference as realistically they'll never win national championships and it isn't very likely they'll win conference championships.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Big 12? No. Any spot that secures our financial future as a sports program? Yes. People who think we can continue to just win championships at this level in for a rude awakening when we can't afford a Dan Hurley or get a replacement for Geno. But keep thinking that everything will be ok.

Anyone who wants to base conference realignment decisions on linear TV contracts is in for a rude awakening when they realize what every insider in the industry already knows: that streaming is going to completely change the model.

 

[superjohn]

Using your logic more than half of the current BE members should leave the conference as realistically they'll never win national championships and it isn't very likely they'll win conference championships.

My logic on what?

 

[giddyup]

Wait, what? You're not even talking about just football? You think this would be good for UConn and you think playing Cal and Stanford would be great?

It would be horrible for UConn and both Cal and Stanford absolutely suck in both revenue sports.

They are elite academic institutions. I still think it matters who you associate with. Throw in Rice and Tulane you’ve got a pretty nice egghead conference.

 

[History Geek]

They are elite academic institutions. I still think it matters who you associate with. Throw in Rice and Tulane you’ve got a pretty nice egghead conference.

I think a nice egghead conference that competes one notch below the big boys in football with the ability to win nattys in not football would be great. And yes, I think we would be a good fit for such a conference.

 

[WestCoastHusky]

we need to get on phone with oliver luck, "New Pac 10" Pacific to Atlantic Conference
UConn
stanford
memphis
cal
tulane
oregon st
washington st
san diego st
smu
usf

If the media money is there like close to 20M per year, we should at least explore it.

It would be ideal if we are in it as FB only while leaving everything else in the Big East.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

My logic on what?

You appeared very dismissive (stated was the B-12 your dream) about the idea that it would benefit the school. When the benefits to the football program were used to justify the idea of the move you responded that the football program would never win the national championship.

This line of reasoning would lead one to believe that your point us there is no reason to be a member of a conference where membership should allow a school to compete for a national championship if an individual school will never win one. There are quite a few BE schools who are in the same boat for men's basketball.

Perhaps they're fooling themselves by believing they belong (using what you had posted).

 

[Sea Goat]

Yormark is clearly very pro UConn. My belief is that if he could have found a way to make the money work, he would have gotten UConn into The Big 12. He still may, it just might be 5-10 years from now.

For that wish and a prayer, we have to prop up football somehow and keep the athletic department running with a pittance in conference money.

 

[SU1968]

I don't think we were being played. I just think that the collapse of the Pac 12 happened more quickly and more completely than anticipated.

I honestly don't think that you were being played. Yomark was the new kid on the block in the B12 and his New York City-centric vision didn't connect with the view of the presidents of midwest and mountain state universities.

 

[CL82]

I honestly don't think that you were being played. Yomark was the new kid on the block in the B12 and his New York City-centric vision didn't connect with the view of the presidents of midwest and mountain state universities.

Yep. I still think he would've gotten us across the finish line, but for the collapse of the Pac 12.

 

[upstater]

I'm not so sure we're all moving to streaming individual channels very fast. YTTV or Hulu+ or Fubo maybe, but I'm over here w/ a free trial of MGM+ and I'm absolutely convinced this company does not want me watching their channel. They are throwing every road block possible at me on the Roku platform.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

If Yormark does what he’s shooting to do: uncouple bball from football, and as a consequence, boosts the value of bball to football up from 20/80 to a more favorable ratio- UConn becomes more valuable to the P5(4). If he continues to shift things, UConn could find itself to be a very attractive. Timing wise, this would ideally happen before the ACC GOR is up.

Yormark is on to something the brain dead folks at Storrs should be pushing for . semi autonomy for the 32 D1 basketball conferences
The elephant in the room is Basketball schools are completely getting shafted in their association with the NCAA tournament and there is no outcry .
The men’s basketball tournament earns a billion dollars yet
the distribution pool for participating conferences is about $175,000,000 or less than 20% . By comparison the power football schools keep over 80% of their playoff money
Last year the Big East earned 15 units @$338,000 per unit or about $5,000,000 a year for 6 years or $30,000,000 and The Big East is thrilled .
Yet that number per unit at 80% is about $1,500, 000 per unit
would have been $22,000, 000 or $132,000,000 over six years
The Big East could be dividing $80,000,000 to $100,000,000 annually varying with tournament success .
That‘s without changing the tournament and all 32 D1 conference’s participation.
That’s not Power conference money but it makes Basketball a much more important player .
Huggins in a one of his rants indicated this and I ran the numbers
The question is why basketballs schools allow themselves to be exploited ?
Those that think the chief beneficiary is the NCAA corporate office are mistaken . They distribute half the sum $500,000,000 to 1200 member schools for no apparent reason
They also help finance multiple championship , however many are partially covered by a $35,000,000 a year deal with ESPN that includes the NIT, Baseball, Softball , The men’s tournament overseas rights and the gem , the women’s Basketball tournament that is currently valued at about $80,000,000 as a stand alone which turns that tournament as a nice profit maker. The current deal expires this coming year and should at least triple .
It turns out BB is a pretty lucrative sport however the schools that make the money aren’t compensated equitably.
The huge impact of getting $7,000,000 a year for each Big East team is significant and makes a BB school much more attractive in CR . Excluding conferences that earn one or even two units annually is also totally unnecessary . The benefits out weight the cost .

 

[Patman]

Yormark is on to something the brain dead folks at Storrs should be pushing for . semi autonomy for the 32 D1 basketball conferences
The elephant in the room is Basketball schools are completely getting shafted in their association with the NCAA tournament and there is no outcry .
The men’s basketball tournament earns a billion dollars yet
the distribution pool for participating conferences is about $175,000,000 or less than 20% . By comparison the power football schools keep over 80% of their playoff money
Last year the Big East earned 15 units @$338,000 per unit or about $5,000,000 a year for 6 years or $30,000,000 and The Big East is thrilled .
Yet that number per unit at 80% is about $1,500, 000 per unit
would have been $22,000, 000 or $132,000,000 over six years
The Big East could be dividing $80,000,000 to $100,000,000 annually varying with tournament success .
That‘s without changing the tournament and all 32 D1 conference’s participation.
That’s not Power conference money but it makes Basketball a much more important player .
Huggins in a one of his rants indicated this and I ran the numbers
The question is why basketballs schools allow themselves to be exploited ?
Those that think the chief beneficiary is the NCAA corporate office are mistaken . They distribute half the sum $500,000,000 to 1200 member schools for no apparent reason
They also help finance multiple championship , however many are partially covered by a $35,000,000 a year deal with ESPN that includes the NIT, Baseball, Softball , The men’s tournament overseas rights and the gem , the women’s Basketball tournament that is currently valued at about $80,000,000 as a stand alone which turns that tournament as a nice profit maker. The current deal expires this coming year and should at least triple .
It turns out BB is a pretty lucrative sport however the schools that make the money aren’t compensated equitably.
The huge impact of getting $7,000,000 a year for each Big East team is significant and makes a BB school much more attractive in CR . Excluding conferences that earn one or even two units annually is also totally unnecessary . The benefits out weight the cost .

I think you misunderstand the situation. the member schools who are not involved with big time football are perfectly happy with that relationship. IT IS THEIR ASSOCIATION AFTER ALL. You're saying the NCAA should leave the NCAA and become the NCAA.