Berry Tramel: Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Big 12 expansion candidates | The Boneyard

Berry Tramel: Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of Big 12 expansion candidates

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CONNECTICUT

Athletic budget: $71.4 million

Enrollment: 31,119

Market: Greater Hartford’s population is 1.21 million. The state of Connecticut has 3.6 million people.

Football stadium: Rentschler Field opened in 2003 at a cost of $91.2 million; current capacity is 40,642.

Fan base: Depressed. UConn seems to be a place that could ignite an entire state, but the Huskies averaged just 27,460 last season, and even in good seasons rarely approach a sellout.

Television attraction: Minimal. UConn basketball, yes. UConn football, no.

Geography: Interesting. No one ever expected the Big 12 to expand into New England. But the league already is in West Virginia. Plus, the ESPN factor can’t hurt — constant exposure in Bristol, Conn., consistently would plug the Big 12.

Academic standing: Excellent. Ranked 58th nationally and is the only flagship university of a state on this list.

Football prowess: Poor. Division I-A only since 2000. Made the Fiesta Bowl against OU in 2010 but is 15-33 since.

Other sports: National powers in men’s and women’s hoops.

http://m.newsok.com/analyzing-the-s...-expansion-candidates/article/5431792/?page=1
 

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Also:

Berry Tramel: Please explain why a 10-team Big 12 won't work?
http://m.newsok.com/article/5431793

Because over the next 20 years it is highly likely that the built in advantage of a wider tv footprint available to the SEC, BIG, ACC and PAC will result in a revenue gap. This, along with conf dependence on two teams to carry all the load for greatness (UT and OU) = instability. A third wrench, at administration of UT doesn't play well with others.
 
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jostar1 said:
CONNECTICUT Athletic budget: $71.4 million Enrollment: 31,119 Market: Greater Hartford’s population is 1.21 million. The state of Connecticut has 3.6 million people. Football stadium: Rentschler Field opened in 2003 at a cost of $91.2 million; current capacity is 40,642. Fan base: Depressed. UConn seems to be a place that could ignite an entire state, but the Huskies averaged just 27,460 last season, and even in good seasons rarely approach a sellout. Television attraction: Minimal. UConn basketball, yes. UConn football, no. Geography: Interesting. No one ever expected the Big 12 to expand into New England. But the league already is in West Virginia. Plus, the ESPN factor can’t hurt — constant exposure in Bristol, Conn., consistently would plug the Big 12. Academic standing: Excellent. Ranked 58th nationally and is the only flagship university of a state on this list. Football prowess: Poor. Division I-A only since 2000. Made the Fiesta Bowl against OU in 2010 but is 15-33 since. Other sports: National powers in men’s and women’s hoops. http://m.newsok.com/analyzing-the-s...-expansion-candidates/article/5431792/?page=1

Have to quibble about selling out in good seasons - we sold out plenty when we were good. Our average attendance was between 38,000-40,000 every year from 2004-2011, including a couple seasons of a perfect 40,000.

Perhaps that's becoming a distant memory and we need another good season soon.
 
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Rutgers was selling 13,000 seats when the BE got reconstituted in 2003. This is all spin.

I also believe that UConn (and UConn football) is de facto Flagship for all of New England. And grabs some of Metro NYC. We just have never quite robustly led our way in marketing.
 

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Have to quibble about selling out in good seasons - we sold out plenty when we were good. Our average attendance was between 38,000-40,000 every year from 2004-2011, including a couple seasons of a perfect 40,000.

Perhaps that's becoming a distant memory and we need another good season soon.

Was just about to quibble about the same thing. I know winning seasons here are a distant memory, but UConn could always bank on consistent sellouts in winning seasons. Games that didn't sell out (i.e. the early "cupcake" portion of the schedule) would draw mid to upper 30 thousand. To me, that is "approaching a sellout". You give UConn fans the formula of a P5 schedule (like we had as a BCS member) with winning season (again, like we had as a BCS member) and you get easy sellouts.

Unfortunately, that is the stigma around UConn football right now. It's easy to clump recent attendance and performance with all of success and progress we had made before Pasqualoni was hired...especially if you live in Texas and aren't at all familiar with UConn. There are very few programs across the country that would continue to sell tickets in years that they 1) win 2 games and 2) play against an AAC schedule. Fortunately for those programs, they will never be exposed in the same way we are right now.
 

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The B12 needs markets far more than it needs football prowess. If they're not considering UConn, it's because they are not serious about maintaining their conference.

Yup. It's amazing how many B12 fans think that status quo is the way to go. While every other power conference is expanding into new markets, generating new fans, and bringing in new (and more) money, the majority of B12 fans would rather sit on their thumbs and be Texas' b1tches.
 

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Yup. It's amazing how many B12 fans think that status quo is the way to go. While every other power conference is expanding into new markets, generating new fans, and bringing in new (and more) money, the majority of B12 fans would rather sit on their thumbs and be Texas' b1tches.
Exactly, PAC, ACC, SEC and B1G have all expanded with adding new markets. New markets are essential. Its not about what new markets do today, its how the position the conf for max revenue and ensuing success in the long run.
 

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From http://m.newsok.com/article/5431793:

Television strength? Brigham Young moves the television needle. No other candidate does. Not in terms of enhanced traditional network bounty or potential conference network arrangement.

Just out of touch. To traditional advertising-supported networks, BYU's widely distributed audience is helpful. But for a conference network, UConn's intense fan support in several of the largest cable markets would bring more cable subscriber revenue than any school currently in the B12 except Texas and Oklahoma.

The B12 is like someone born into money who thinks he deserves a higher salary for less work because he's always had more income than the other guy. They overrate themselves and underrate their potential partners.
 

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Have to quibble about selling out in good seasons - we sold out plenty when we were good. Our average attendance was between 38,000-40,000 every year from 2004-2011, including a couple seasons of a perfect 40,000.

Perhaps that's becoming a distant memory and we need another good season soon.
Amen to that. I believe the first non-sellout wasn't until 2005 and through 2010 we were averaging ~38k.
 
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What was amazing to me is how our athletic budget dwarfs most of these schools outside the P5.
 
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At least he was spot on about how USF way over reports their attendance.

Although he was off on some stuff we don't look terrible at all. What really sticks in the craw is the "in good seasons don't approach sellouts" utter falsehood.

He tears our football program apart and then says Houston basketball "has been competitive" huh? No Sweet Sixteens in 30 years and two tournament appearances in 25 years. I'll stack our football program up against that any day. Hakeem and Drexler ain't walkin through that door.
 

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UConn's support ends at the CT state borders. people in other parts of New England are not Husky fans.

Unfortunately I have to agree... fandom for the Huskies is not a strong as I would like to see it in greater New England. Largely a product of our substantially decentralized higher ed system and numerous old small colleges.
 

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If UConn were in the B1G, it would have fans throughout New England.

In the AAC, it's struggling to keep fans in Connecticut. (Football is, I mean.)
 
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Looks like Colorado State is all-in on cable and internet access. New on-campus facility will seat only 40 (I think Burton-Shenkman accommodates more). Bet that keeps construction costs down and sell-outs up, though.
 

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If UConn were in the B1G, it would have fans throughout New England.

In the AAC, it's struggling to keep fans in Connecticut. (Football is, I mean.)

I totally agree with that. The region would unite under a UConn in a P5 conference.
 
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If UConn were in the B1G, it would have fans throughout New England.

In the AAC, it's struggling to keep fans in Connecticut. (Football is, I mean.)
Eureka, Huckle Buckle Beanstalk, and Bingo!
 
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That is delusional thinking. UConn has absolutely great support in CT. It really doesn't have much more than casual interest elsewhere in New England. I live in MA and no one here really follows UConn. If the hoops team is on tv or making an NCAA run, regional folks will watch and root for them but do not live and die with the Huskies. It is no big deal if UConn loses. New England is too fractured with multiple states and many colleges for any one school to dominate. Even if UConn were to get into a better conference, that would not change.

Getting casual fans throughout New England would be a major accomplishment. And it's achievable, for lack of alternative college football rooting interests. Florida is the most popular college team in large swathes of New England, for heaven's sake.
 
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I work near T.F. Green Airport and there are 5 season ticket holders in our office. A couple of them have UConn centric Rhody plates ie. UCONN-##
 
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That is delusional thinking. UConn has absolutely great support in CT. It really doesn't have much more than casual interest elsewhere in New England. I live in MA and no one here really follows UConn. If the hoops team is on tv or making an NCAA run, regional folks will watch and root for them but do not live and die with the Huskies. It is no big deal if UConn loses. New England is too fractured with multiple states and many colleges for any one school to dominate. Even if UConn were to get into a better conference, that would not change.
To say "no one" follows UConn is just wrong. The 5 years I lived in Boston showed me that's not true. From what I saw/recall there was a fair amount of alumni interest in greater Boston, and when UConn was winning it drew in the casual fan pulling for the regionally local team. Was it the #1...#5 biggest draw, not even close (after the 4 pro teams it was one of BC/BU/Harvard - depending on the sport) and then UConn. I now live in NYC and can say the same applies. Fair amount of alumni in greater NYC, and when UConn is winning, it pulls in A LOT of casual fans pulling for a regionally local team. Again, it's a pro sports town, then a mish-mosh of UConn, RU, SU, ND, UM, and OSU fans, followed by UT, UF, Duke, etc... fans. The casual fans in Boston and NYC followed a winner (whether it was UConn, BC, SU, or that one season Rutgers won that game on a Thursday night). If teams were down, they lost interest quickly.
 
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Outside of NE there is some hoops support but most of the nation doesn't even realize we play football.
 
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Sorry to disagree. If UConn really had the number of fans and followers outside Ct that many of you claim it does, the Huskies would already be in a Power-5 conference. Rational objective observers understand that UConn's support dramatically drops outside the CT state lines. Given the limits on support and the fact that football drives the bus and Husky football is not strong, we are in the AAC.
True. If only they had support in a major market like Syracuse or Pittsburgh.

That's an oversimified view of an extremely complicated set of events.
 
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