Big 12 will make significant push for UConn (merged)

[Urshurak]

We’ll find out what the damage would be this year. Last year UConn got creamed by Top 10 Michigan, but to be fair, they lost their starting QB early in the game and replaced him with a true freshman. This season, the Huskies are taking on Tennessee. If UConn is healthy, we’ll see how they might measure up in the SEC

True. I can't talk....went to Texas A&M....who lost to App State...SIGH

 

[Rowdy831]

For UCONN they really can't join a conference that doesn't get significant TV revenue. They will have to pay a ton to travel and they will also need to expand their recruiting efforts in Football so that sport can pay some of the bills. The Big 12 has a lot of good draws in each of the sports and could be a competitive improvement especially for the Men's and Women's BB teams.

If there is any chance of getting into the Big Ten I would wait and try to get in with them. The money in the Big Ten is massive and it would really benefit UCONN in a lot of ways. Adding USC and UCLA might make it possible to add a couple in the East.

 

[CL82]

If there is any chance of getting into the Big Ten I would wait and try to get in with them

There doesn't appear to be any realistic chance of that happening. In any event being in the big 12 would not for close the opportunity to move up to the big two as we saw with Oklahoma and Texas.

 

[uconnfan68]

Right now, at this moment, does UConn have a offer to join the Big 12? If it does, will this proposal be available for the public to review?

Until this officially happens, all this talk is just speculation and perhaps, hopeful thinking by some and negative thinking for those that contend that UConn is best off in the Big East.

It seems that it looks like that "money" will be be the deciding factor on both sides of the equation.

I'll guarantee you'll never get to review it. And it's almost always the money that makes the difference.

 

[uconnfan68]

For UCONN they really can't join a conference that doesn't get significant TV revenue. They will have to pay a ton to travel and they will also need to expand their recruiting efforts in Football so that sport can pay some of the bills. The Big 12 has a lot of good draws in each of the sports and could be a competitive improvement especially for the Men's and Women's BB teams.

If there is any chance of getting into the Big Ten I would wait and try to get in with them. The money in the Big Ten is massive and it would really benefit UCONN in a lot of ways. Adding USC and UCLA might make it possible to add a couple in the East.

They just added Rutgers and Maryland, in addition to longtime Penn St. If they're looking east again, it will be for UVA and UNC.

 

[Waquoit]

simply buy your tickets only from the school and then attend the game.

That's what I did. But can you really blame someone who could get better seats for a fraction of the price?

 

[Waquoit]

One more consideration to think about before you get up and do your happy dance...............Exit Fees.

“We didn’t join the Big East to leave,” UConn athletic director David Benedict said back in May, 2020.

Exit fees, while not nothing, aren't going to scuttle this deal. It's not worth worrying about, much less puttiing in bold. And of course we joined the Big East to leave. Everyone knows that was AD-speak from our AD.

 

[HopJim]

Me too

View attachment 89596

Not sure "traveling well" is the issue. With all respect to my football friends, even with a depleted group of schools, UConn would likley have an issue for several years making a significant bowl game, if any. Most of the teams that are forecasted to remain are football schools and while we can take most on any given day in basketball, can't say I would bet much money on our anticipated football record.

 

[CL82]

Not sure "traveling well" is the issue. With all respect to my football friends, even with a depleted group of schools, UConn would likley have an issue for several years making a significant bowl game, if any. Most of the teams that are forecasted to remain are football schools and while we can take most on any given day in basketball, can't say I would bet much money on our anticipated football record.

You know that they made a bowl game this past year, right?

 

[HuskyNan]

Not sure "traveling well" is the issue. With all respect to my football friends, even with a depleted group of schools, UConn would likley have an issue for several years making a significant bowl game, if any. Most of the teams that are forecasted to remain are football schools and while we can take most on any given day in basketball, can't say I would bet much money on our anticipated football record.

You know that they made a bowl game this past year, right?

And beat a ranked team and more FBS teams than the previous 10 years combined. This with 80% of a healthy roster

 

[CL82]

And beat a ranked team and more FBS teams than the previous 10 years combined. This with 80% of a healthy roster

And those 20% who were injured were primarily in offensive skill positions.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

The Big 12 won't be any better once their 1st and 3rd place team leave the conference.

If UConn joins then?

 

[BBallF]

We don't belong in the Big 12. We belong where we are, in the Big East. It certainly didn't;t hurt the men's team last year.

 

[HuskyNan]

We don't belong in the Big 12. We belong where we are, in the Big East. It certainly didn't;t hurt the men's team last year.

I don’t know that you appreciate how the college landscape is changing. The PAC-12 and ACC are scrambling to survive, the SEC and Big-10 are becoming powerful super conferences and the Big-12 is trying to keep up with the big boys. Conferences like the Big East, AAC, Atlantic 10, etc will fall into irrelevance. I expect they’ll form a basketball only league of some sort down the road.

Like it or not, football is driving this because that’s where the $$$ is. We can hate it all we want but that won’t change anything. UConn’s becoming a basketball only school has been debated many times but in order to continue having an athletic department without losing $40 million a year means having football

 

[CL82]

We don't belong in the Big 12. We belong where we are, in the Big East. It certainly didn't;t hurt the men's team last year.

Yeah but it totally killed the woman's team (at least using whatever logic you seem to be applying in your post.)

 

[JoePgh]

I don’t know that you appreciate how the college landscape is changing. The PAC-12 and ACC are scrambling to survive, the SEC and Big-10 are becoming powerful super conferences and the Big-12 is trying to keep up with the big boys. Conferences like the Big East, AAC, Atlantic 10, etc will fall into irrelevance. I expect they’ll form a basketball only league of some sort down the road.

Like it or not, football is driving this because that’s where the $$$ is. We can hate it all we want but that won’t change anything. UConn’s becoming a basketball only school has been debated many times but in order to continue having an athletic department without losing $40 million a year means having football

That statement suggests that football is financially profitable for UConn, (or will be with the Big 12's revenue sharing) and that men's and women's basketball are both money losers. I find that hard to believe. How can the 80+ scholarships that the football team requires be more expensive than the 25-30 scholarships needed by the two basketball teams? Also, I have to believe that the collective salaries of the football coaching staff exceed the salaries of both teams' basketball coaches.

My impression is that football is maintained at UConn because alumni care about it even if it loses money. Maybe the real impact is that rich alumni won't donate if they don't have a football team to root for -- is that the real reason why UConn needs a football program?

The other Big East schools seem to have financial stability in their athletic programs without football at all, or with non-serious football programs that will never be nationally competitive. That is also true of schools like Duke.

If the answer is that Big 12 revenue sharing will solve all of UConn's financial problems, then what happens in a few years when the Big 12 bites the dust because it can't compete with the Big 2. Do you then expect the SEC or the Big 10 to accept UConn? Seems most unlikely.

 

[HuskyNan]

That statement suggests that football is financially profitable for UConn, (or will be with the Big 12's revenue sharing) and that men's and women's basketball are both money losers. I find that hard to believe. How can the 80+ scholarships that the football team requires be more expensive than the 25-30 scholarships needed by the two basketball teams? Also, I have to believe that the collective salaries of the football coaching staff exceed the salaries of both teams' basketball coaches.

My impression is that football is maintained at UConn because alumni care about it even if it loses money. Maybe the real impact is that rich alumni won't donate if they don't have a football team to root for -- is that the real reason why UConn needs a football program?

The other Big East schools seem to have financial stability in their athletic programs without football at all, or with non-serious football programs that will never be nationally competitive. That is also true of schools like Duke.

If the answer is that Big 12 revenue sharing will solve all of UConn's financial problems, then what happens in a few years when the Big 12 bites the dust because it can't compete with the Big 2. Do you then expect the SEC or the Big 10 to accept UConn? Seems most unlikely.

The women’s team hasn’t turned a profit in years. Jim Mora makes $1,500,000 a year in salary, Geno makes $3,000,000 a year and Dan Hurley $5,250,000. The two basketball teams play 60-70 games a year; football plays 12-13, 6 are at home. The basketball travel, hotels, and meals alone probably cost as much as the football scholarships.

It’s more than just scholarships. How much do you think UConn got from SNY for tv rights? Whatever it is, it’s not $40 million. Revenue from all TV rights for 2019-2020 was $1,152,816.

 

[Waquoit]

My impression is that football is maintained at UConn because alumni care about it even if it loses money.

No. UConn went D-1 in FB for the sole purpose of getting into a big-time league. At the time, it was thought that was the only way to protect our BB teams. Turns out, our BB teams have protected our FB. But the paradigm has shifted again, getting into a big-time conference is vital at keep competing on the highest level. The status quo won't hold. To use a WBB analogy: The power conferences are like the WNBA and the non-power conferences are like the ABL.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

That statement suggests that football is financially profitable for UConn, (or will be with the Big 12's revenue sharing) and that men's and women's basketball are both money losers. I find that hard to believe. How can the 80+ scholarships that the football team requires be more expensive than the 25-30 scholarships needed by the two basketball teams? Also, I have to believe that the collective salaries of the football coaching staff exceed the salaries of both teams' basketball coaches.

My impression is that football is maintained at UConn because alumni care about it even if it loses money. Maybe the real impact is that rich alumni won't donate if they don't have a football team to root for -- is that the real reason why UConn needs a football program?

The other Big East schools seem to have financial stability in their athletic programs without football at all, or with non-serious football programs that will never be nationally competitive. That is also true of schools like Duke.

If the answer is that Big 12 revenue sharing will solve all of UConn's financial problems, then what happens in a few years when the Big 12 bites the dust because it can't compete with the Big 2. Do you then expect the SEC or the Big 10 to accept UConn? Seems most unlikely.

UConn football is maintained because it has a potential as an added revenue source. Its like you never knew they had many sellouts the first decade in East Hartford.
Duke?, are you kidding? They get $40MM from the ACC + Duke basketball Licensing agreements in the eight figures + donations.
++++++++...

But football needs funding
From USA Today 2022 season. Salary of UConn football coaches.
$3,177,000 total (that's with head coach salary of $1.5MM} Geno almost makes as much the entire football coaching staff.

Sports

College Football

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• • Football Coaches Pay
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Connecticut Football Assistant Coaches' Salaries​

Updated 8:18 pm ET Dec 07, 2022

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  Share

Connecticut​

Independents​

2020 Total Pay figures takes into account reductions due to issues caused by COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 Max Bonus amounts not tallied. 2021 Total Pay does not take into account reductions.
Total Pandemic Reductions shown may actually have been lower due to changes made after publication of 2020 figure. For all notes, see below.

Year	Coach	Total Pay	Scheduled School Pay	Actual School Pay	Contract Year Pandemic Reduction	Total Pandemic Reduction	Max Bonus	Other
2022	Nick Charlton	$375,000	$375,000	$375,000	—	—	$87,500	—
2022	Lou Spanos	$327,608	$327,608	$327,608	—	—	$81,902	—
2022	Gordon Sammis	$185,000	$185,000	$185,000	—	—	$46,250	—
2022	John Allen	$160,000	$160,000	$160,000	—	—	$40,000	—
2022	Dalton Hilliard	$140,000	$140,000	$140,000	—	—	$35,000	—
2022	E.J Barthell	$130,000	$130,000	$130,000	—	—	$32,500	—
2022	John Marinelli	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—
2022	Kenny McClendon	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—
2022	Doug Shearer	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—

 

[HuskyNan]

UConn football is maintained because it has a potential as an added revenue source. Its like you never knew they had many sellouts the first decade in East Hartford.
Duke?, are you kidding? They get $40MM from the ACC + Duke basketball Licensing agreements in the eight figures + donations.
++++++++...

But football needs funding
From USA Today 2022 season. Salary of UConn football coaches.
$3,177,000 total (that's with head coach salary of $1.5MM} Geno almost makes as much the entire football coaching staff.

Sports

College Football

• Scores
• Schedule
• Standings
• Odds
• Rankings
• Statistics
• More
• • Football Coaches Pay
  • Assistant Coaches
  • Strength Coaches
• Basketball Coaches
• NCAA Finances

Connecticut Football Assistant Coaches' Salaries​

Updated 8:18 pm ET Dec 07, 2022

• 
  Share

Connecticut​

Independents​

2020 Total Pay figures takes into account reductions due to issues caused by COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 Max Bonus amounts not tallied. 2021 Total Pay does not take into account reductions.
Total Pandemic Reductions shown may actually have been lower due to changes made after publication of 2020 figure. For all notes, see below.

Year	Coach	Total Pay	Scheduled School Pay	Actual School Pay	Contract Year Pandemic Reduction	Total Pandemic Reduction	Max Bonus	Other
2022	Nick Charlton	$375,000	$375,000	$375,000	—	—	$87,500	—
2022	Lou Spanos	$327,608	$327,608	$327,608	—	—	$81,902	—
2022	Gordon Sammis	$185,000	$185,000	$185,000	—	—	$46,250	—
2022	John Allen	$160,000	$160,000	$160,000	—	—	$40,000	—
2022	Dalton Hilliard	$140,000	$140,000	$140,000	—	—	$35,000	—
2022	E.J Barthell	$130,000	$130,000	$130,000	—	—	$32,500	—
2022	John Marinelli	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—
2022	Kenny McClendon	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—
2022	Doug Shearer	$120,000	$120,000	$120,000	—	—	$30,000	—

Chris Dailey makes $313,000 and Geno has 2 assistants plus another being hired

 

[BBallF]

Yeah but it totally killed the woman's team (at least using whatever logic you seem to be applying in your post.)

I'm applying empirical facts. Danny repeatedly called it the country's toughest conference and it prepared them for the Big Dance in a big way. The Big East is a basketball conference, not football, and the women's side has improved immeasurably since we rejoined. We ain't exactly running the table there, injuries notwithstanding. If it's about the dollar, as Nan says, we are all doomed. We don't belong there though by geography, historical rivalries, academics, regional affiliations, or otherwise.

 

[BBallF]

I don’t know that you appreciate how the college landscape is changing. The PAC-12 and ACC are scrambling to survive, the SEC and Big-10 are becoming powerful super conferences and the Big-12 is trying to keep up with the big boys. Conferences like the Big East, AAC, Atlantic 10, etc will fall into irrelevance. I expect they’ll form a basketball only league of some sort down the road.

Like it or not, football is driving this because that’s where the $$$ is. We can hate it all we want but that won’t change anything. UConn’s becoming a basketball only school has been debated many times but in order to continue having an athletic department without losing $40 million a year means having football

I appreciate the realism but also recognize that there is a place in our country's sports for regional, historical , and natural rivalries. The question is can we afford it and also will we afford it. I hope we have more of the same. I loved the old Big East and love the new one, both men and women.

 

[NC28604]

True. I can't talk....went to Texas A&M....who lost to App State...SIGH

Still can see a App State type football stadium on campus.

 

[Duncan Idaho]

Chris Dailey makes $313,000 and Geno has 2 assistants plus another being hired

That is a great source for AD expenditures and revenues. Chris should get more.

 

[rvwsleep]

The women’s team hasn’t turned a profit in years. Jim Mora makes $1,500,000 a year in salary, Geno makes $3,000,000 a year and Dan Hurley $5,250,000. The two basketball teams play 60-70 games a year; football plays 12-13, 6 are at home. The basketball travel, hotels, and meals alone probably cost as much as the football scholarships.

It’s more than just scholarships. How much do you think UConn got from SNY for tv rights? Whatever it is, it’s not $40 million. Revenue from all TV rights for 2019-2020 was $1,152,816.

I might very well be wrong about this but, I was under the impression that the majority of Geno's salary was paid for by funds outside of the university's general budget. Is that not correct ?