Folks, it's all up to ESPN

[gars44]

Nobody's blocking anybody. It's just that after last year's Fiesta Bowl, the networks, and especially ESPN just doesn't want another BE team in the BCS. They can't afford it. It's just business. Not personal at all. So, the BE has to lose its BCS bid. That's the end game. Now, ESPN is saying, will they lose the bid with CT and WVA and RU in there? What if they jerry-rig some hodge podge conference together with ECU and Memphis, and somehow get the politicians to support them? That wouldn't be good. One of them would have to go to a BCS game, and we lose too much money!

 

[CAHUSKY]

Nobody's blocking anybody. It's just that after last year's Fiesta Bowl, the networks, and especially ESPN just doesn't want another BE team in the BCS. They can't afford it. It's just business. Not personal at all. So, the BE has to lose its BCS bid. That's the end game. Now, ESPN is saying, will they lose the bid with CT and WVA and RU in there? What if they jerry-rig some hodge podge conference together with ECU and Memphis, and somehow get the politicians to support them? That wouldn't be good. One of them would have to go to a BCS game, and we lose too much money!

Why? Because we didn't travel well or because we got our ass kicked? In either event, the same thing happens to the ACC every year. Why does removing the BE BCS bid change this?

 

[gars44]

No. Because nobody will want to watch. If we somehow win the Big East this year (and btw, I'm watching the Buff game as I type this, so jmo, not likely), and we are a candidate for a bowl game, we are going to be the last pick. People need to understand what the BCS is. It is a joint venture between the Networks, the Major Bowls, and lastly, Six Conferences. When I say lastly, I mean, lastly. The Six Conferences are the actors. The Bowls are the directors. The Networks are the Producers. The Producers are the guys who Produce. What do they produce? They produce the MONEY. Capisc?

 

[CAHUSKY]

No. Because nobody will want to watch. If we somehow win the Big East this year (and btw, I'm watching the Buff game as I type this, so jmo, not likely), and we are a candidate for a bowl game, we are going to be the last pick. People need to understand what the BCS is. It is a joint venture between the Networks, the Major Bowls, and lastly, Six Conferences. When I say lastly, I mean, lastly. The Six Conferences are the actors. The Bowls are the directors. The Networks are the Producers. The Producers are the guys who Produce. What do they produce? They produce the MONEY. Capisc?

I only agree if you can prove that the majority of the ACC teams sell more tix than we do.

 

[gars44]

Cal, what I'm saying is, ESPN does not want any more BE teams in a BCS conference bowl. It is not enough draw. There are many ACC teams they don't want in a BCS bowl either. But they are hoping and believing that the particular ACC team in the BCS bowl will, at a minimum, be FSU, Miami, VT, i.e., a team with a little cache. The BE doesn't have any such teams. Hence, put the BE teams at the bottom of the ACC or SEC, where they can't do any real harm.

 

[uconnfan68]

Cal, what I'm saying is, ESPN does not want any more BE teams in a BCS conference bowl. It is not enough draw. There are many ACC teams they don't want in a BCS bowl either. But they are hoping and believing that the particular ACC team in the BCS bowl will, at a minimum, be FSU, Miami, VT, i.e., a team with a little cache. The BE doesn't have any such teams. Hence, put the BE teams at the bottom of the ACC or SEC, where the can' do any real harm.

At least the ACC has a home field (Orange Bowl) for their BCS game. Sometimes they can get people there (like if UM of FSU or VT are playing). We've got nothing.

 

[CTBballfan243]

ESPN, they accept corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks from the State of Connecticut and then plot to put the University of Connecticut's athletic department out of business. I hope our Govenor has the balls to discuss retracting some of the tax breaks. With Corporate neighbors like ESPN who needs enemies. Where's Chris Berman when you need him.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

ESPN has twice worked with the ACC to raid the Big East. If we are hoping for ESPN to help us, we should shut the program down. The league needs to hold together for Comcast and CBS/TNT/TBS to bid on us in a year.

 

[Northbound]

Gars is on the right track. It's about the audience and the ability to deliver numbers. Perception matters in that equation. Without the draw the entire revenue model suffers and the ability of the media partners (espn, fox, whoever) to generate incremental revenue through new ad sales deals, creating content that can be monetized across multiple platforms, etc. Is weakened.

The big east can add all the service academies it wants and if they think that's securing the BE's AQ status, think again.

 

[gars44]

Thank you Northbound! I usually get nothing but backhands (from Nelson usually) for my occasional insights. But there is just no way the bowl consortium can live with another Uconn or a Rutgers, or a South Florida, in the Fiesta Bowl playing Texas or Oklahoma. Even WVU, the best we have, got pummeled last night by LSU. Can you imagine if that were Pitt or Syracuse? Never mind us. I mean, it's just not financially workable anymore, and they're saying, enough is enough. The BCS doesn't want Indiana in a game. They don't want WakeForest in a game. They don't want Arizona State in a game. But they don't have to worry about that. They have to worry about it in the BE, and hence . . . . that worry must be eliminated. Just business.