Big East Expansion

I think we would be fine without Uconn but adding them would be a great piece for the conference. Kind of like the 2014 Miami Heat adding Ray Allen, which is a good analogy cause of where he played college ball. The Heat were already of course great, but Ray Allen was a vital piece that added a lot. It'd be the same adding UConn.

Also I wasn't paying as much attention when they left the Big East and I haven't been to a game where their fans are, so I don't hold the same hatred a lot of others do.
 
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[quote="Moose" post=307580][quote="ctstorm" post=307575][quote="Moose" post=307552][quote="ctstorm" post=307551][quote="Room112" post=307546][quote="Moose" post=307545]Uconn football is on a respirator at this point.[/quote]

It is. And unfortunately they don't have any plans to end it because of the large investment they placed into it. The program is costing the school Monday at this point. Sas[/quote]


The investment includes some pretty hefty donations from alumni (probably not you) and friends that would not be too pleased.[/quote]

You guys as residents and grads I'm sure follow it a lot more closely than I do. But if something keeps hemorrhaging money something has to give. Donations aside.[/quote]


Not talking about the pocket change like what I give to St. John's, but rather 6 and 7 figure donations from folks who give to other parts of the school too. The plan to upgrade was not spur of the moment but was put in place back in the early 1990's.[/quote]

I know we're not talking Red White type pregame donations. But are the numbers public on how much they are losing? If significant year after year it would make sense to pay back the donations on a certain level to save in the long run. Again hardly my area of expertise. Just falling on what common sense here if I was running a business.[/quote]


I understand your point but this is not a simple business decision. Last figures I saw, the University subsidizes the football team with $7.5 M. This is not supposed to be tax or tuition money but of course it is all fungible. UCONN has had football since the late 1800's, so I doubt they would consider eliminating it, but I have no idea how much would be saved by dropping to a lower division. There is also a LOT of schmoozing donors at tailgate parties and other intangibles. I'm sure you and I are the only ones still reading this thread, :) but the bottom line is that there are millions of reasons why they will not drop FB. Whether they should re-join the Big East is a different and more interesting question.
 
I love our current home and home format, love rewarding those that took the risk with us, and most importantly that we went back to our identity of a basketball first conference. I also hate UCONN almost as much as Syracuse, who deserve to burn in Hell. That being said, we were lucky that FOX launched their cable endeavor and overpaid the new BE for programming. I’m all in favor of adding UCONN and Wichita State. I like Dayton, St. Louis, and VCU, but I don’t see the BEC adding to its value (and bringing ESPN, CBS, and NBC to bid for television rights against FOX) with any other deal. UCONN should sign a ridiculous opt out clause, but these two programs would be terrific revenue additions while keeping the integrity of a basketball first conference.
 
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[quote="ctstorm" post=307606][quote="Moose" post=307580][quote="ctstorm" post=307575][quote="Moose" post=307552][quote="ctstorm" post=307551][quote="Room112" post=307546][quote="Moose" post=307545]Uconn football is on a respirator at this point.[/quote]

It is. And unfortunately they don't have any plans to end it because of the large investment they placed into it. The program is costing the school Monday at this point. Sas[/quote]


The investment includes some pretty hefty donations from alumni (probably not you) and friends that would not be too pleased.[/quote]

You guys as residents and grads I'm sure follow it a lot more closely than I do. But if something keeps hemorrhaging money something has to give. Donations aside.[/quote]


Not talking about the pocket change like what I give to St. John's, but rather 6 and 7 figure donations from folks who give to other parts of the school too. The plan to upgrade was not spur of the moment but was put in place back in the early 1990's.[/quote]

I know we're not talking Red White type pregame donations. But are the numbers public on how much they are losing? If significant year after year it would make sense to pay back the donations on a certain level to save in the long run. Again hardly my area of expertise. Just falling on what common sense here if I was running a business.[/quote]


I understand your point but this is not a simple business decision. Last figures I saw, the University subsidizes the football team with $7.5 M. This is not supposed to be tax or tuition money but of course it is all fungible. UCONN has had football since the late 1800's, so I doubt they would consider eliminating it, but I have no idea how much would be saved by dropping to a lower division. There is also a LOT of schmoozing donors at tailgate parties and other intangibles. I'm sure you and I are the only ones still reading this thread, :) but the bottom line is that there are millions of reasons why they will not drop FB. Whether they should re-join the Big East is a different and more interesting question.[/quote]

Interesting points nonetheless. Also that stadium is a shithole IMO.
 
I wonder how much value yukon actually brings to media? They sponge off of the already existing Big East media markets so it is not like a Dayton or St. Louis who would bring in new audience share. This is all assumptions that yukon bring so much value. They also leach off of the primary recruiting grounds of Big East schools so it is all good for Yukon bball but not so much for existing Big East members. Every assumption of value added promise of yukon is questionable. They have a good recruiting class but they've had several the past few years and are low to middle of the pack AAC. Big difference between Jim Calhoun yukon of the Big East and present day realities. Assuming that Hurley will make them relevant again is also just that. He hasn't done anything there yet despite the grass is so much greener crowd here.
 
If we add one team, we could still play the other ten schools twice. Dayton would give us a school that fits the conference profile, makes sense geographically, usually has strong basketball, a great campus arena and an enthusiastic following. They would guarantee the tourney is sold out and would give SJU another MSG game during the season.
 
[quote="Jack Williams" post=307602]I think we would be fine without Uconn but adding them would be a great piece for the conference. Kind of like the 2014 Miami Heat adding Ray Allen, which is a good analogy cause of where he played college ball. The Heat were already of course great, but Ray Allen was a vital piece that added a lot. It'd be the same adding UConn.

Also I wasn't paying as much attention when they left the Big East and I haven't been to a game where their fans are, so I don't hold the same hatred a lot of others do.[/quote]

Allowing UCONN back in the BEC, gives me bad dreams of the nightmare variety, but I see the $eco$ benefits of them rejoining the conference and additional expansion, if sensible, 5 of VCU, Dayton, Wichita State, St. Joe's, LaSalle and Fordham???
Raiding the A-10, lol.
But, WHEN UCONN is back in the BEC, we've gotta continue to be 'relevant'...because they sure the hell will be!
 
I attended the Eastern Regional finals at MSG in 2014; Iowa St vs UConn and MSU vs UVa. Iowa St led in the 2nd half but UConn came back and won. The Iowa St fans were the nicest you will ever come across; the MSU and UVa fans were classy as well. The UConn fans stood out as arrogant a$$holes that did not surprise me, but somewhat shocked the fans of the other schools. They weren't only obnoxious to the opposing players, they were also obnoxious to the fans of the three other schools. I never want to see that team nor their low class fans in the Big East again. I like the current 10 school league, but if expansion is necessary, Dayton and St Louis are much better fits.
 
[quote="Manhattan1" post=307564]Key is they want to sell the garden out for every session. Uconn in the big east will do that.
Simply $$ decision, I am all for it. Better games at MSG for us.[/quote]

They sell out the Garden anyway. Each school gets a 1/12 share as does the conference and MSG. Any unsold seats through the schools get redistributed. Now just because they sell out doesn't mean there's a fanny in every seat. pukon joining would have no impact on this.
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=307610]I wonder how much value yukon actually brings to media? They sponge off of the already existing Big East media markets so it is not like a Dayton or St. Louis who would bring in new audience share. This is all assumptions that yukon bring so much value. They also leach off of the primary recruiting grounds of Big East schools so it is all good for Yukon bball but not so much for existing Big East members. Every assumption of value added promise of yukon is questionable. They have a good recruiting class but they've had several the past few years and are low to middle of the pack AAC. Big difference between Jim Calhoun yukon of the Big East and present day realities. Assuming that Hurley will make them relevant again is also just that. He hasn't done anything there yet despite the grass is so much greener crowd here.[/quote]

EXACTLY! It's a win win for Uconn and lose lose for St, John's. MSG can shove it also if they are behind it. It was supposed to be our court in our city. Never allow state schools in again. Wichita State? Once Marshall leaves they become crap. Uconn? Fool me once, twice yada yada. If Mullin and Ewing, along with Wright at Villanova become the forces like in the old Big East we will be fine because Xavier, Butler and Providence run top shelf programs every year.
If it happens it won't be to our benefit but as Paultzman inferred it is out of our hands.
 
[quote="Moose" post=307588][quote="Adam" post=307585][quote="Manhattan1" post=307583][quote="Moose" post=307578][quote="Manhattan1" post=307564]Key is they want to sell the garden out for every session. Uconn in the big east will do that.
Simply $$ decision, I am all for it. Better games at MSG for us.[/quote]

They are already doing that. Splitting up 19k tickets among 10 teams isn't hard. And that's before companies get their hands in the jar.[/quote]

They are not selling out the garden every session, it was only 3 out of 5. Also Semi Finals and Finals walk up sales sold out the Garden the day of game. If you had a xavier /marquette final you may only have 15,000 fans tops. You bring in UCONN earlier they will scoop tickets up early and the event will be a guarantee sell out prior to the tournament starting which we have not done yet.[/quote]

To be clear, selling out 3/5 is excellent and better than any other conference. We're not going to do much better than that.

That said, attendance was in large part due to a very strong showing by Nova. Attendance the past 2 years saw a huge uptick after Nova's Title a few years ago.

Without Nova's dominance, I'm not sure the extension happens. They'll have down years like this year where they may not make the BET finals. Like you said, just need to hope we don't get stuck with two midwestern teams.[/quote]

It helps having people within MSG who care and have an affinity for the BE. Joel Fisher is one of those people. In addition for the years prior Scott O'Neill is a big Nova guy. Provided the BE doesn't have an absolute disaster this relationship will continue for my lifetime and beyond.

I'm far from the ticket process but I thought in the past each school would divvy up the 19k after sponsors and you would have to buy the entire strip. So not sure how that would only allow for certain sessions to be sold out and others not so much?[/quote]

That's how it is done, but there has to be a lot more to it than that.

I could be wrong, but I believe they look at who actually shows up. If people show up, that means food/drink/merch sales. Maybe the BE buys all the tickets from MSG, but only recently have we truly started selling it out by packing the arena.
 
This appears to be getting quite a bit of attention now, and the timing of everything can't be a coincidence.

Have any of you insiders (Paultz, Happy, etc) heard anything?
 
[quote="Moose" post=307609][quote="ctstorm" post=307606][quote="Moose" post=307580][quote="ctstorm" post=307575][quote="Moose" post=307552][quote="ctstorm" post=307551][quote="Room112" post=307546][quote="Moose" post=307545]Uconn football is on a respirator at this point.[/quote]

It is. And unfortunately they don't have any plans to end it because of the large investment they placed into it. The program is costing the school Monday at this point. Sas[/quote]


The investment includes some pretty hefty donations from alumni (probably not you) and friends that would not be too pleased.[/quote]

You guys as residents and grads I'm sure follow it a lot more closely than I do. But if something keeps hemorrhaging money something has to give. Donations aside.[/quote]


Not talking about the pocket change like what I give to St. John's, but rather 6 and 7 figure donations from folks who give to other parts of the school too. The plan to upgrade was not spur of the moment but was put in place back in the early 1990's.[/quote]

I know we're not talking Red White type pregame donations. But are the numbers public on how much they are losing? If significant year after year it would make sense to pay back the donations on a certain level to save in the long run. Again hardly my area of expertise. Just falling on what common sense here if I was running a business.[/quote]


I understand your point but this is not a simple business decision. Last figures I saw, the University subsidizes the football team with $7.5 M. This is not supposed to be tax or tuition money but of course it is all fungible. UCONN has had football since the late 1800's, so I doubt they would consider eliminating it, but I have no idea how much would be saved by dropping to a lower division. There is also a LOT of schmoozing donors at tailgate parties and other intangibles. I'm sure you and I are the only ones still reading this thread, :) but the bottom line is that there are millions of reasons why they will not drop FB. Whether they should re-join the Big East is a different and more interesting question.[/quote]

Interesting points nonetheless. Also that stadium is a shithole IMO.[/quote]

You can blame the New England Patriots for that.
 
We don’t need UConn back in the conference as long as they have 1A football. That school and program are only out for themselves. We are doing well as things are. If they drop to 1AA football, I’ll be ok with that addition. I would like to see SJU add Yukon and Cuse to their MSG slate as often as possible. Both are great rivalries for us and both full the Garden seats. We have a good new AD now and I feel like we are in better hands with all of these issues at this point.
 
[quote="MCNPA" post=307625]We don’t need UConn back in the conference as long as they have 1A football. That school and program are only out for themselves. We are doing well as things are. If they drop to 1AA football, I’ll be ok with that addition. I would like to see SJU add Yukon and Cuse to their MSG slate as often as possible. Both are great rivalries for us and both full the Garden seats. We have a good new AD now and I feel like we are in better hands with all of these issues at this point.[/quote]


Coming off my UCONN-angst.
Adopting Paul's 'model', maybe adding Dayton and VCU makes $$sense$$ as well...?
 
[quote="Paul Massell" post=307610]I wonder how much value yukon actually brings to media? They sponge off of the already existing Big East media markets so it is not like a Dayton or St. Louis who would bring in new audience share. This is all assumptions that yukon bring so much value. They also leach off of the primary recruiting grounds of Big East schools so it is all good for Yukon bball but not so much for existing Big East members. Every assumption of value added promise of yukon is questionable. They have a good recruiting class but they've had several the past few years and are low to middle of the pack AAC. Big difference between Jim Calhoun yukon of the Big East and present day realities. Assuming that Hurley will make them relevant again is also just that. He hasn't done anything there yet despite the grass is so much greener crowd here.[/quote]

Realistically the only thing you can for certain count on them for is they will fill seats during the BE tourney. Do we even need their help with that since we've done it without them? Not sure. Someone else brought up they would bring a certain rivalry back to the Big East which has been missing.

The thing to remember about Connecticut is there are no pro sports teams so them and the women are the #1 show in town. They do get great support in the state.
 
Well glass half full if we add pukon at least I'll get 1 more msg home game added to the season ticket package

Glass Half Empty-The Bronx Pale Ale line will be way to long with Pukon fans

F That
 
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[quote="Adam" post=307622]This appears to be getting quite a bit of attention now, and the timing of everything can't be a coincidence.

Have any of you insiders (Paultz, Happy, etc) heard anything?[/quote]

Someone posted a link to The Boneyard and there was speculation Hurley knew something was in the works before taking the job. That seems like a shot in the dark though.
 
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