Thoughts on UConn and Big East

[Fordham_57]

There are rumors of UConn moving back to the Big East. I know they're unsubstantiated rumors and probably not realistic, but I'm just curious as to the UConn fan base's thoughts regarding that possibility.

As a Seotn Hall and Big East fan, I remember well UConn's glory days in the Big East and would welcome them back with open arms. I know football is a fly in the ointment, but.....

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

I think the consensus of UConn fans is that while moving back to the Big East would be a step up for basketball, it would be a tacit admission that the football program, which UConn has worked so hard for years to upgrade, sucks and is not worthy of much more than second tier status. A possible compromise is to stay in the AAC for football but the AAC would never agree to that and the AAC is no great football conference anyway. UConn fans are hoping for a P5 invite, which seems dubious at best and I am skeptical of it. I wouldn't mind going back to the Big East, which is a good fit for UConn basketball, if something that makes sense can be figured out for the football team. There is no question the Big East is better than the AAC in basketball and will upgrade our teams's RPI. We are not happy with RPI deflating games against awful teams like Tulane, which plays in a high school gym.

 

[Dr.O1]

Acc or b10 are my top picks and then b12

 

[the Blades]

FWIW :

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

You guys remind me of the two characters in Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot", which is about two guys waiting endlessly for a character named Godot to arrive. Godot never arrives. Similarly these P5 conference affiliations have been discussed for several years and nothing has happened. At some point the Big East has to be looked at again- we have to deal in reality and not wishful thinking like characters in this play:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot

Will Godot arrive before a P5 invite????????

 

[Shaggydog84]

You guys remind me of the two characters in Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot", which is about two guys waiting endlessly for a character named Godot to arrive. Godot never arrives. Similarly these P5 conference affiliations have been discussed for several years and nothing has happened. At some point the Big East has to be looked at again- we have to deal in reality and not wishful thinking like characters in this play:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot

Will Godot arrive before a P5 invite????????

If I remember correctly, you had once mentioned your focus was on the hoops team & have had even more interest in the women's hoop team than our football program...so i take your comments with a grain of salt....

I'm not sure there's anything more to say on the subject that Blades...or anyone else hasn't opined on. All i know is conference realignment will take breaks but i'm not convinced "godat" isn't going to come again. For the good of not only the football program but the entire university, I hope u r wrong. Although there may be some add'l quan going into the BE, it pales to what P5 schools are cashing in. So, my last comment here b4 i digress is this...If you think that going into the BE is the best option for UC in the long term, i couldn't disagree with you more. One can argue the option to go to the BE will be there for years to come for the huskies....why make that decision now with other possibilities out there.

Just MHO

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Shaggy I hope I am wrong too but I deal in facts and not wishful thinking. These discussions have been going on for 4-5 years and the facts are nothing has happened. Nor does it look like anything is close to happening. Those are the facts. They are "Waiting for Godot".......

 

[the Blades]

The only thing that's been certain in the last 15 years of CR is more uncertainty...

And here is another rehash regarding the new Big East that we've talked about for years too, on this board:
Thoughts on UConn joining the new Big East?

 

[the Blades]

Also: Experts Say UConn Should Have Backup Plan As Big 12 Meets Monday To Tackle Expansion

Big East mention, but beware of the Courant writer getting "expert " quotes from someone who says he doesn't know about Uconn's football team.....
you can't be much of an expert without figuring in Uconn's football team( that CT spent about $150-200 million to upgrade) into the equation.

"I would say that their best hope would be to pursue something along those lines and somehow try to re-affiliate with the Big East," Riske said.
"I don't know what that would mean for their football program.

"I find the entire process that is going on as somewhat destructive of college sports," said Allen Sack, professor emeritus of sports management at the University of New Haven. "The Power Five dominate and I believe will make it almost impossible for the others to compete. …What does that mean for UConn? It means from an economic viewpoint it's good news if they get in."

 

[the Blades]

Front page Courant story today:
Covers alot of angles, a bunch of quotes from the AD and the continued uncertainty:
* The Uconn fans who could care less about FB angle
* The new Big East ( Midwest) hoops conference with Xavier, Depaul, Butler, Creighton and it ain't what it used to be.
* The Uconn, USF, Cincy ...each getting about $10 mil a year from exit fees, etc and the reality of it ending in 2017-18 angle

UConn Huskies:
Emotional Rescue? Big 12 Decides UConn's Future Monday, And Connecticut Will Feel It

"I feel the weight of our history and tradition and our fan base and how badly everybody wants to be able to compete at that [Power Five] level," Benedict said. "I feel the weight of the financial impact that it would have on our institution"

Writer adds:
"Although there have been a few reports that have made the UConn-Big East marriage inevitable, it's not the feeling I've gotten. Could it happen? Sure. I also get the feeling that the fastest cars being driven toward the Big East right now are by people who love basketball most and are equally interested in what UConn can do for the Big East."

"ESPN is a corporate giant in our state. ESPN has gotten big tax breaks. If it eventually comes out that ESPN has restructured a deal to give the Big 12 more money not to expand — Sports Illustrated calls this the most likely possibility — that will only add to hard feelings in Connecticut."

 

[the Blades]

The Cuse grad who works for SI put out a where do they go from here story, here's what he says about :

UConn: There’s been a popular media theory floated that UConn could explore moving to the Big East in basketball and then move football somewhere else. That’s highly unlikely, as the $10 million and 27-month wait that’s required to leave the AAC is virtually untenable. (Cutting back the 27-month window would cost more money.) UConn would have paid it knowing there was a Power Five payday on the other end, as it would have made the money back quickly. That wouldn’t be the case going to the Big East. UConn is one of many schools facing difficult financial decisions, as it’s nearly impossible to fund football on the AAC’s modest television contract. (The AAC deal runs through 2020 and pays just $126 million from ESPN for the entirety of the deal. There’s a secondary deal with CBS, but the spending significantly outweighs the income for most AAC schools.)

AAC: One can imagine a few employees of the American Athletic Conference clinking glasses of celebration in Providence on Monday night. The outlook for the league looked bleak in August. But is sitting tight good enough? “We are not going to sit back and be identified as irrelevant and accept status quo,” said a source in the league. “We don’t want to be labeled by others as not adding value. It’s not true. We expect our leaders in the league to find solutions.” Could that mean the AAC looks at adding schools before its next television negotiation? That likely depends on whether the AAC can find value in the new media market—Facebook, Google, Twitter, Amazon, etc. Would attempting to lure a brand name like BYU or Air Force change the financial paradigm on a deal? BYU would be unlikely to go, but much will depend on what the marketplace looks like in a few years. All we know is that it should look much different, but speculation beyond that is tricky.

Maybe it's time for Aresco to start earning his overpaid " p-5 level " ($1.6M in 2013 ) salary...

 

[the Blades]

Aresco's pep talk (sort of) to the AAC:
Orlando Sentinal- Mike Aresco says AAC ready to move on after Big 12 opts not to expand

 

[TripleDribbleMan]

Here is an ESPN article which appears to be trying to make the Big 12 look bad and conspiratorial:

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ted-decision-decline-expansion-earlier-divide

The video accompanying the article features two talking head "experts" who both say the Big 12 "signed its own death certificate" and "is done"

 

[the Blades]

Here is an ESPN article which appears to be trying to make the Big 12 look bad and conspiratorial:
http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...ted-decision-decline-expansion-earlier-divide
The video accompanying the article features two talking head "experts" who both say the Big 12 "signed its own death certificate" and "is done"

I got a kick out of the Do's and Don't talking points that the Big 12 instructed their members on talking about...( like don't mention we got paid off by TV not to expand...hmmm) Also regarding the talking heads, you would think former Heisman trophy winner Desmond Howard would know that the Big 12 is now allowed
to have a FB conference championship game with only 10 teams. Since the P-5 just voted to allow 10 team conferences to hold one. ( it was an NCAA requirement
to have 12 teams, that is why the AAC needed to add Navy to have a FB CCG) But it's wonderful when the NCAA allows the P-5 to make up rules that only benefit them...

 

[UconNell_rivals]

There are rumors of UConn moving back to the Big East. I know they're unsubstantiated rumors and probably not realistic, but I'm just curious as to the UConn fan base's thoughts regarding that possibility.

As a Seotn Hall and Big East fan, I remember well UConn's glory days in the Big East and would welcome them back with open arms. I know football is a fly in the ointment, but.....

I think the consensus of UConn fans is that while moving back to the Big East would be a step up for basketball, it would be a tacit admission that the football program, which UConn has worked so hard for years to upgrade, sucks and is not worthy of much more than second tier status. A possible compromise is to stay in the AAC for football but the AAC would never agree to that and the AAC is no great football conference anyway. UConn fans are hoping for a P5 invite, which seems dubious at best and I am skeptical of it. I wouldn't mind going back to the Big East, which is a good fit for UConn basketball, if something that makes sense can be figured out for the football team. There is no question the Big East is better than the AAC in basketball and will upgrade

our teams's RPI. We are not happy with RPI deflating games against awful teams like Tulane, which plays in a high school gym.

This UConn fan doesn't think moving back to the BE as a step up for basketball. In what universe? Moving back is backward not forward. We upgrade our RPI with whom we play out of conference. We do not fit in the NBE which is a Catholic conference and private schools.

I have NOT given up on our football team nor am I ready to throw football under the bus. Our bb needs FB to succeed, that's what will protect our BB.

All this for an additional $2 million a year. NO