UCONN back to Big East?

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I have been on vacation and haven't posted on this topic...

This is the single dumbest thing the Big East could do. The great thing about the current BE is the symmetry - private schools without big-time football. We all have similar missions and resources.

The issue with UConn isn't football - it is the fact that it is the flagship public school in the state. Why would we invite them into the league - which will create a resources mismatch with every other school? Having access to taxpayer funds is a game-changer compared to private schools that have to institute a capital campaign for any major improvements.

For that reason alone, we shouldn't go anywhere near UConn. It will be a tremendous mistake to bring them into the league.

Any why is UConn in this predicament in the first place? Because no other conference wants them. They have no media market, their basketball team is mediocre, and their football team is god-awful. Remember that the ACC chose BC over UConn back in the days of the first raid on the Big East - when UConn hoops was much better than it is now - precisely because BC has a true media market and UConn does not.

Why would we throw UConn a lifeline? They would have left the old Big East in a nanosecond if they had anywhere to go - and they will leave again as soon as they have a chance. Let them rot on the vine in that silly polyglot conference.
 
[quote="RedmanMike" post=352959]Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I have been on vacation and haven't posted on this topic...

This is the single dumbest thing the Big East could do. The great thing about the current BE is the symmetry - private schools without big-time football. We all have similar missions and resources.

The issue with UConn isn't football - it is the fact that it is the flagship public school in the state. Why would we invite them into the league - which will create a resources mismatch with every other school? Having access to taxpayer funds is a game-changer compared to private schools that have to institute a capital campaign for any major improvements.

For that reason alone, we shouldn't go anywhere near UConn. It will be a tremendous mistake to bring them into the league.

Any why is UConn in this predicament in the first place? Because no other conference wants them. They have no media market, their basketball team is mediocre, and their football team is god-awful. Remember that the ACC chose BC over UConn back in the days of the first raid on the Big East - when UConn hoops was much better than it is now - precisely because BC has a true media market and UConn does not.

Why would we throw UConn a lifeline? They would have left the old Big East in a nanosecond if they had anywhere to go - and they will leave again as soon as they have a chance. Let them rot on the vine in that silly polyglot conference.[/quote]

I agree with you but it is all about $$$$. like or not having UConn in the conference will bring in higher attendance during conference games and the BE tourney.
 
I get why it’s happening, money, and it is what it is. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Sitting amongst UCONN fans is an awful experience, win or lose. I have never seen another team, pro or college, who attract such a disgusting group of followers. And now you get stuck with these guys at the conference tournament again too, which devalues that as an entertainment event.

If constant taunting, profanity, and out of control drunkenness is your thing you will love this.

I went to the UCONN/Syracuse game two years ago as a good friend was staying at my house to see it. Syracuse grad. And I’m no fan, not close, of Syracuse but as soon as the UCONN idiots started in that night I sure became one for a night.

Syracuse won that game and on the way out numerous UCONN fans made various aggressive comments to us (my friend had a SU polo on) and we also got the finger. All because a guy had a shirt on.

It was a reminder of just what a lowlife crowd they attract as I lived through years of that during SJU games. I was younger than, now I’m too old for that shit.

The best thing about the new BE is that they weren’t in it.

Ugh.
 
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UConn would be the only football school in our conference. They will no longer drive the ship in the conference. Basketball only schools have all the power now. So I don't get why so many are freaking out over the possibility of them leaving down the road. There's zero instance where they can hurt us...only help us. They brought in a top 25 class...that's not taking advantage of us, that's them doing their job well. That happened in the American...they will recruit well regardless. We have to focus on ourselves only. We are not oppressed by other programs, we oppress ourselves with stupidity (see Repole's rant that outlines it). Time to be honest...we need another national brand with recent big time success. Right now it's Villanova and no one else knows a Big East team outside of them nationally. Without this move, if Nova has a terrible year we are screwed royally. Adding another top notch program gives much more respect and prestige. Not to mention lots of money.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=352963]UConn would be the only football school in our conference. They will no longer drive the ship in the conference. Basketball only schools have all the power now. So I don't get why so many are freaking out over the possibility of them leaving down the road. There's zero instance where they can hurt us...only help us. They brought in a top 25 class...that's not taking advantage of us, that's them doing their job well. That happened in the American...they will recruit well regardless. We have to focus on ourselves only. We are not oppressed by other programs, we oppress ourselves with stupidity (see Repole's rant that outlines it). Time to be honest...we need another national brand with recent big time success. Right now it's Villanova and no one else knows a Big East team outside of them nationally. Without this move, if Nova has a terrible year we are screwed royally. Adding another top notch program gives much more respect and prestige. Not to mention lots of money.[/quote]

Because they are a state school. And State school means they have significantly better financial resources than the other 10 schools. And if they drop football in any way shape or form they will take even more money tossing it at basketball. We are playing behind the 8 ball.

I did hear from someone about our TV contract outperforming right now. And the research shows adding Uconn on top of the current measures will be even more lucrative. He was going to send me the link and I will share when I have it. If that's the case great. Don't give them an equal share for X amount of years. Because the TV deal has been outperforming without them.
 
[quote="Moose" post=352966][quote="Mike Zaun" post=352963]UConn would be the only football school in our conference. They will no longer drive the ship in the conference. Basketball only schools have all the power now. So I don't get why so many are freaking out over the possibility of them leaving down the road. There's zero instance where they can hurt us...only help us. They brought in a top 25 class...that's not taking advantage of us, that's them doing their job well. That happened in the American...they will recruit well regardless. We have to focus on ourselves only. We are not oppressed by other programs, we oppress ourselves with stupidity (see Repole's rant that outlines it). Time to be honest...we need another national brand with recent big time success. Right now it's Villanova and no one else knows a Big East team outside of them nationally. Without this move, if Nova has a terrible year we are screwed royally. Adding another top notch program gives much more respect and prestige. Not to mention lots of money.[/quote]

Because they are a state school. And State school means they have significantly better financial resources than the other 10 schools. And if they drop football in any way shape or form they will take even more money tossing it at basketball. We are playing behind the 8 ball.

I did hear from someone about our TV contract outperforming right now. And the research shows adding Uconn on top of the current measures will be even more lucrative. He was going to send me the link and I will share when I have it. If that's the case great. Don't give them an equal share for X amount of years. Because the TV deal has been outperforming without them.[/quote]

The Big Ten did exactly this when admitting Rutgers and Maryland. They received a reduced revenue share for many years, increasing in small increments annually until they will receive full shares of the pie around their 7th year as conference members.

The difference is that Rutgers brought the NY area market and Maryland brought the DC area market to the Big Ten Network, sending their income soaring to new heights. The Big East will get no such "bump" by bringing Yukon into the fold.
 
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[quote="RedmanMike" post=352959]Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but I have been on vacation and haven't posted on this topic...

This is the single dumbest thing the Big East could do. The great thing about the current BE is the symmetry - private schools without big-time football. We all have similar missions and resources.

The issue with UConn isn't football - it is the fact that it is the flagship public school in the state. Why would we invite them into the league - which will create a resources mismatch with every other school? Having access to taxpayer funds is a game-changer compared to private schools that have to institute a capital campaign for any major improvements.

For that reason alone, we shouldn't go anywhere near UConn. It will be a tremendous mistake to bring them into the league.

Any why is UConn in this predicament in the first place? Because no other conference wants them. They have no media market, their basketball team is mediocre, and their football team is god-awful. Remember that the ACC chose BC over UConn back in the days of the first raid on the Big East - when UConn hoops was much better than it is now - precisely because BC has a true media market and UConn does not.

Why would we throw UConn a lifeline? They would have left the old Big East in a nanosecond if they had anywhere to go - and they will leave again as soon as they have a chance. Let them rot on the vine in that silly polyglot conference.[/quote]

Redman Mike -
thanks for your poignant post -
I CAN'T STAND UCONN!
Why give them a significant break?
Don't get it.
 
Here is what I was mentioning. Also some comments in there again refuting the notion that the BE is an afterthought.

https://the-boneyard.com/threads/re...-2020-2021-season.144653/page-40#post-3191974

Second, the NBE has outperformed their TV contract handily. And not only have their TV #s been way better than forecast, they've won 2 National Championships in the last 4 years. So the conference's contract is way under-valued. The problem is, they signed a long-term contract that doesn't expire until spring 2026. The only way their contract can be opened back up for revaluation by Fox, is if there is a change in their membership. Adding UConn allows the Big East to bring their contract up to market value based on the Big East's performance on TV the past 5-6 years + UConn's value. So that contract is going to seriously, seriously jump in value.
 
[quote="Moose" post=352973]Here is what I was mentioning. Also some comments in there again refuting the notion that the BE is an afterthought.

[URL]https://the-boneyard.com/threa...-2020-2021-season.144653/page-40#post-3191974[/URL]

Second, the NBE has outperformed their TV contract handily. And not only have their TV #s been way better than forecast, they've won 2 National Championships in the last 4 years. So the conference's contract is way under-valued. The problem is, they signed a long-term contract that doesn't expire until spring 2026. The only way their contract can be opened back up for revaluation by Fox, is if there is a change in their membership. Adding UConn allows the Big East to bring their contract up to market value based on the Big East's performance on TV the past 5-6 years + UConn's value. So that contract is going to seriously, seriously jump in value.[/quote]

Moose, totally get your point on the state school vs. private advantage with funds, however look at this:

[URL]https://www.midmajormadness.co...ics-college-basketball-2016-gonzaga-mid-major[/URL]

St. John's spends $8,323,127.00 and Virginia spends $8,555,125.00. Similar amounts, but two extremely opposite results. UConn spends $9,575,666.00 and that's helped greatly by the huge payday they got from us taking the Big East name. That's about to run out if I'm not mistaken. So is it really that large a difference? Georgetown spends over $17 mil and they have done almost nothing for the past 10 years. Maybe there's something I'm missing...it's not like they're Duke or Texas. We spend over a mil more than Maryland and have quite opposite results. UConn is not some juggernaut that will steamroll us. I know this is different, but the Knicks are a perfect example that having more money cannot beat a well-run program much of the time.
 
Matt Norlander
I was told Big East presidents already held their call this morning to formally vote and approve for UConn to rejoin the league.

The next step, as @CBSSports previously reported, will be for UConn’s Board of Trustees to vote this into action. That’s scheduled for Wednesday.

Zach B
Expectation is a BE press conference Thursday in the City
 
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interesting numbers.....I'm wondering does that include the cost of modern training facilities and game arenas. Without having time to go to the primary information, the article specifically references operating costs. It doesn't mention capital expenditures which may give a larger competitive advantage.
 
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[quote="Mike Zaun" post=352976][quote="Moose" post=352973]Here is what I was mentioning. Also some comments in there again refuting the notion that the BE is an afterthought.

[URL]https://the-boneyard.com/threa...-2020-2021-season.144653/page-40#post-3191974[/URL]

Second, the NBE has outperformed their TV contract handily. And not only have their TV #s been way better than forecast, they've won 2 National Championships in the last 4 years. So the conference's contract is way under-valued. The problem is, they signed a long-term contract that doesn't expire until spring 2026. The only way their contract can be opened back up for revaluation by Fox, is if there is a change in their membership. Adding UConn allows the Big East to bring their contract up to market value based on the Big East's performance on TV the past 5-6 years + UConn's value. So that contract is going to seriously, seriously jump in value.[/quote]

Moose, totally get your point on the state school vs. private advantage with funds, however look at this:

[URL]https://www.midmajormadness.co...ics-college-basketball-2016-gonzaga-mid-major[/URL]

St. John's spends $8,323,127.00 and Virginia spends $8,555,125.00. Similar amounts, but two extremely opposite results. UConn spends $9,575,666.00 and that's helped greatly by the huge payday they got from us taking the Big East name. That's about to run out if I'm not mistaken. So is it really that large a difference? Georgetown spends over $17 mil and they have done almost nothing for the past 10 years. Maybe there's something I'm missing...it's not like they're Duke or Texas. We spend over a mil more than Maryland and have quite opposite results. UConn is not some juggernaut that will steamroll us. I know this is different, but the Knicks are a perfect example that having more money cannot beat a well-run program much of the time.[/quote]

Thanks for pulling up Zaun but I can't buy it. Like it said in there most of the schools show the same rev and same expenses. SJU is a private school and most private schools will not reveal the actual numbers. Creative accounting is a common theme with college athletic departments.
 
With UCONN back in the Big East, they will be able to recruit better regionally. Those comparing the Ollie years as indicative of their current trajectory are mistaken, in my opinion.

Consider what a 4 star recruit that both St. John and UCONN are going after could be told:

Connecticut Huskies School History
Location: Storrs, Connecticut

Conference Champion: 29 Times (Reg. Seas.), 8 Times (Tourn.)
NCAA Tournament: 33 Years (59-30), 5 Final Fours, 4 Championships
NCAA Champion: 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014

The narrative of playing in the Garden will be reduced since we played only 4 Garden home games last season, and typically play no more than 6. UCONN will play us there, and probably one other regular season game. Friends and family of a NYC recruit can see all home games in Hartford, plus Seton Hall, SJU, and maybe even Providence and G Town.

In short, they just reclaimed their regional identity. Competitively I feel they will outrecruit us significantly. They simply have a better story to tell, with a head coach much better known in this region and perhaps nationally too

While I like a competitive BE schedule, I just don't see how this helps us get to the tourney each year, which I think is a goal. All the other business related and revenue related things, I agree with - those are positives for the conference. Plus I really dislike their fans.
 
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[quote="Paultzman" post=352979]Matt Norlander
I was told Big East presidents already held their call this morning to formally vote and approve for UConn to rejoin the league.

The next step, as @CBSSports previously reported, will be for UConn’s Board of Trustees to vote this into action. That’s scheduled for Wednesday.


One can only hope that President Bobby and Joe Oliva were not part of the Big East negotiating team. SJU has just surrendered its best recruiting advantage vs UConn.

Zach B
Expectation is a BE press conference Thursday in the City[/quote]
 
Like it or not, UConn has recruited better than us probably for the better part of the past 20 years regardless of which conference they're in. That won't change. More times than not they will get the guys we want. We need to accept that until we show we have sustainable success again. It's not like they've ignored the tri-state area in the AAC and suddenly they're back involved. They've been in our backyard recruiting and will continue to be.
 
[quote="Mike Zaun" post=352988]Like it or not, UConn has recruited better than us probably for the better part of the past 20 years regardless of which conference they're in. That won't change. More times than not they will get the guys we want. We need to accept that until we show we have sustainable success again. It's not like they've ignored the tri-state area in the AAC and suddenly they're back involved. They've been in our backyard recruiting and will continue to be.[/quote]

We just need to step up and do our thing. It’s time for us to put together a real program for once. We are worrying about UConn because we can’t get it done? It’s time to get that monkey off our back.
 
There have been many informative posts on this subject, both pro and con. Since it appears to be a done deal and also seems that Conn comes out the biggest winner I hope that Ackerman realizes that Conn has access to state money and as some poster pointed out they got money from the big east for the name rights which I had completely forgotten.
They cannot go back to their fan base without a done deal so Ackerman should get big bucks for their admission but I don't think that is how it will shake out.
 
UConn is an absolute home run addition. Why are some people acting like they need the Big East to recruit well? They have recruited very well the past few years and this upcoming year (#21 in the nation). Have you guys been rooting against Seton Hall, Providence, and Villanova the past few years? Is Villanova's top 5 recruiting class a threat to us? Is Ed Cooley a threat? Seton Hall? Of course not. All of us have rooted for them over the past few years despite their close proximity to St. John's. We also owe them for keeping this new Big East alive.

Count me as one of those who would much rather see UConn's inevitable success happen in the Big East rather than the AAC. Will be interesting to see what our next TV contract looks like.

For once we're the winners in conference realignment. This move is coming from a position of strength rather than necessity. Let's just enjoy it rather than overthink what the presidents already voted for.
 
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Key in assuring UCONN doesn't use this as a stepping stone, will be the exit fee.

Maryland paid $30MM to leave ACC, out of i think $50MM. I think BE will be somewhere in the range.

gio
 
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