Key tweets, and it's all gone to Hell.

[uconnbaseball]

KState is definitely accomplished athletically. Agree otherwise.

 

[Exit 4]

Most important thing is once you get into a P5 you’re part of the club and looked as an equal. Washington st, Oregon st, Kansas st, have done nothing for eons. Yet are considered P5 because they are there.

Exactly. The P5 world when it was caste in the forge of ESPN/CBS/FOX/NBC/etc all those years ago it was made from an imperfect piece of steel. A piece that with some duplicative lumps...impurities...gaps. The world between Penn St and Maine is one of those gaps. BC and Syracuse as private schools are not equipped over the long run to fill that gap on their own. The P conference world needs to fill that gap with the premiere land grant state supported institution with a winning pedigree. You want a powerful streaming contract, you need a coast to coast product. Plant the flag B12. We will grow over time to serve it well.

 

[Luna]

I think the big east is going to be special this year..with the big brand schools…Uconn..Marquette..st Johns…Villanova and Georgetown all look like they can have special years…most with great coaches…reminds me of the old big east when we dominated the country… perfect time with the big east tv contract coming up

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

Exactly. The "wait for the ACC to implode" is a strawman. Over the next 10 years or so, here are the teams that may become available to the Big 12:

UConn, SDSU, Colorado, Arizona, ASU, Utah, Washington State, Oregon State, Louisville, Syracuse, BC, Pitt, Wake Forest. Everyone else is likely too valuable to the B1G or SEC for the Big 12 to have a shot.

None of the ACC teams are as valuable to the Big 12 as UConn, as none command the attention of an entire state. Cuse likely has the best case for value, followed by BC, because they both have some draw in NYC and Boston respectively. They are also decent brands. But UConn matches Cuse for NYC draw (along with a whole state), and BC only has a couple of neighborhoods in Boston. Louisville is an ok brand with no real market...and seems to be held together by duct tape and fraud. Pitt and Wake are simply non-factors at any level you want to slice this.

Washington State and Oregon State from the PAC are clearly behind UConn, as they are little brothers in medium sized markets with no real brand appeal. ASU has a little more brand pop, but basically the same story. Utah is interesting, but the Big 12 has a bigger Utah brand already in BYU.

That leaves Colorado, Arizona, UConn, and SDSU. I could easily make an argument for any of these teams being the top target or the fourth target for the Big 12...but i don't think it matters. In my opinion the Big 12 would take any of the four by itself, or with one, two, or three of the others. They are all valuable.

I realize the fanbase has been kicked in the dick so many times that we always expect another rule one groin shot. But there are no big brand football teams available...big state schools and brands like UNC, UVA, Ga Tech, FSU, Cal, Stanford, UW, Oregon, etc., aren't going to the Big 12, and most aren't available for a decade.

UConn is probably the best brand available to the Big 12...and they seem to know it.

One thought - don't underestimate Louisville's TV pull.

 

[Luna]

All the other conferences would love to play at the msg..the basketball mecca of the world… but none can make it special like the big east tournament

 

[Exit 4]

I think the big east is going to be special this year..with the big brand schools…Uconn..Marquette..st Johns…Villanova and Georgetown all look like they can have special years…most with great coaches…reminds me of the old big east when we dominated the country… perfect time with the big east tv contract coming up

Should be a good year. Really have no idea what will happen with that tv contract. BE basketball got a ton of exposure on Fox, FS1 and FS2. The ratings were okay, but not super great by any means. Some think Fox's big bite of B12 and B1G content means they have fewer windows to fill on their network going forward which means a ho-hum contract renewal. We shall see.

 

[JohnFSilver]

View attachment 88933
From Thamel’s ESPN article today. This “notion bubbling up” is concerning, but who knows what’s going on…

The notion is that there are some coaches and people in athletic departments who don’t want UConn. I think there is an anti UConn faction, but it is in athletic departments, not at the president and big 12 level.

 

[JohnFSilver]

Simply put, it's all about football.... UConn's is widely looked down upon ... by its own Bball fan base especially. Other programs like Kansas, and even Colorado have had years upon years of horrible football products and empty stadiums with the luxury of P5 money to prop their egos....UConn has had to use alternative revenue sources to keep spending on par with P5 athletic programs ... P5 old money doesn't respect that. What I find most interesting in all this is how much UCF and Cinci thumb their noses at UConn athletics. Perhaps they have earned it but talk about entitled fanbases forgetting where they came from.

I do wonder if Kansas fans wanted to get rid of football. And Colorado has been uncompetitive for a long time. They weren’t better than UConn last year.

UConn football’s greatest enemy is the baksetball only fanbase those days.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I think the big east is going to be special this year..with the big brand schools…Uconn..Marquette..st Johns…Villanova and Georgetown all look like they can have special years…most with great coaches…reminds me of the old big east when we dominated the country… perfect time with the big east tv contract coming up

The Big East is full of small schools which means tiny fan bases which means not very many eyeballs on the product. That's generally not a good thing in the media biz. Outside of UConn, there's not much draw or national appeal to Big East schools.

All the other conferences would love to play at the msg..the basketball mecca of the world… but none can make it special like the big east tournament

Seriously, no one cares about MSG. To the rest of the country MSG is the stuff in Chinese food.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I think the big east is going to be special this year..with the big brand schools…Uconn..Marquette..st Johns…Villanova and Georgetown all look like they can have special years…most with great coaches…reminds me of the old big east when we dominated the country… perfect time with the big east tv contract coming up

Tell me, what do you believe the BE could get with their next TV contract?

 

[JohnFSilver]

Tell me, what do you believe the BE could get with their next TV contract?

Better than what they got now. But, it is going to pale to what UConn could get in big 12.

I don’t agree with notions thst uconn is a G5 school. They aren’t in the G5 anymore. And, their sports aren’t in a non-power conference .

 

[giddyup]

Here’s a real peculiarity with us. We have to be the only school where you have a bae of BB heads that think taking $7M year is better than $40M year

 

[GoKU]

UConn would be partnered with Colorado IF Colorado jumps. Arizona and Arizona State would be 15 and 16 if they choose to come. That gives the Big 12 four west schools and four east schools. Then you wait out the ACC.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Better than what they got now. But, it is going to pale to what UConn could get in big 12.

I don’t agree with notions thst uconn is a G5 school. They aren’t in the G5 anymore. And, their sports aren’t in a non-power conference .

Exactly. The question was pointed as Beachview is among those who want to remain in the Big East at all costs.

If the conference were to somehow pull of a 20%-25% increase, which may be a bit beyond reach, we will still be well below what the B-12 will receive.

There is no way to financially justify not jumping if the opportunity arises.

 

[CL82]

All the other conferences would love to play at the msg..the basketball mecca of the world… but none can make it special like the big east tournament

Agree fully. In order to capture that magic they need to have a local team, with a storied history and a fanatical Fanbase who will pack the place.

 

[Marbles90]

Simply put, it's all about football.... UConn's is widely looked down upon ... by its own Bball fan base

Seriously. Why do people think our brand is so valuable? When it comes to media value, all that matters is football. Half of OUR OWN FANBASE thinks we have no business playing football. What the heck makes people think a P5 conference would want our brand over any existing P5 school? Remember, Central Florida got a P5 offer before us.

 

[jostar1]

What the heck makes people think a P5 conference would want our brand over any existing P5 school?

Who thinks that and what existing P5 schools are you talking about?

 

[Marbles90]

Who thinks that and what existing P5 schools are you talking about?

It’s referenced all over this thread. Cuse, BC, Wake. “UConn is ahead of Washington State and Oregon State…” and that’s only what is on this last page.

But you are missing my point. Football is what is important. Half of our own fanbase could care less about football. That is a pretty good indicator of how others think of our media brand.

Look, I support football and have season tickets. I will do a happy dance if/when any P5 offer comes. But I think there is a lot of smoke here from the media and possibly Yormark and some very unrealistic takes about our current media value. I hope I am dead wrong. Believe me!

 

[metsfan2323]

Half of OUR OWN FANBASE thinks we have no business playing football.]

Hogwash!!!

We drew well when we were in the Big East, we have a strong football fanbase that is largely dormant because of the way we have been devalued but put us in the B12 and I am confident our fanbase will spring back to life quickly. The idea that CT sports fans don't like football is bullspit. Where do people come up with this garbage.

Go back and watch the video of the Michigan game and refresh your memory of what football can be like for UCONN. The stadium was sold out and electric and almost carried an inferior team coached by a stooge to victory.

 

[The Viking]

Yeah if you showed us a chart of what percentage of UConn hoops fans watch the NFL and how many watch UConn football I think the desparity would be stunning.
There are a ton of football fans in CT. But a lot are bandwagon and won’t touch UConn unless we are in a P5 and are winning

 

[Seamus84]

It’s referenced all over this thread. Cuse, BC, Wake. “UConn is ahead of Washington State and Oregon State…” and that’s only what is on this last page.

But you are missing my point. Football is what is important. Half of our own fanbase could care less about football. That is a pretty good indicator of how others think of our media brand.

Look, I support football and have season tickets. I will do a happy dance if/when any P5 offer comes. But I think there is a lot of smoke here from the media and possibly Yormark and some very unrealistic takes about our current media value. I hope I am dead wrong. Believe me!

In Mora I trust. Put a quality football team on the field - with consistently attractive/brand name opponents and the other half of the fan base will fill the stadium….eg. Michigan 2013

 

[DGB]

This seems unrealistic about the reality of UConn's situation. We'd probably fall behind every ACC school other than Wake Forest and maybe Syracuse as a potential addition to the B12. Pitt would be very appealing to WVU and Cinci, as would Louisville. BC is a much bigger football name with much more history and a better market. Remember, a big part of this is recruiting HS kids to go to your university.

That said, they only two schools I think would consider going to B12 are Pitt and Louisville. More likely, the ACC tries to poach WVU and Cinci. This notion that the B12 is in stronger shape than the ACC is a myth. I'd agree WSU and OSU aren't appealing at all to the B12. Stanford or Cal move not to the B12. UDub and Oregon wouldn't either. It's just the corner schools.

Our option is simple, an odd number of Pac12 schools, among the corner schools, go to the B12. That's it.

Adding Cuse, Pitt, Louisville, and BC over state schools like UConn, WVU, and at times Rutgers is the reason moral in the ACC is currently a lit bag of dog s---.

Nothing about Brett Yormark gives me the impression he's looking to embarrass himself the way John Swoffard and the ACC did. Nor is he going to let WVU and Cincinatti pick a new member of the conference. Cincinatti is lucky to even be there. I suspect Yormark views UConn as being far ahead of Houston, and comfortably ahead of Cincinatti and UCF...but he is stuck with them. BYU is a real brand...the other three are not.

Also BC has no market. High school hockey is bigger in Boston than BC football. Everything is bigger than BC basketball.

 

[billybud]

Eyeballs watching TV...

Most watched 2015-2019...

In Top 25...that are not in the new B1G or SEC

Notre Dame, Clemson, FSU, OK State, Miami, Stanford

......Others of interest:

Oregon...#26
Washington #28
WVU #30
VT #31
Louisville #33
Navy #37
Pitt #44
UNC #45
AZ St. #50
Cuse #51
Colorado #56
AZ #60
BC #69
SDSU #86

.

 

[uconnyankee]

Yeah if you showed us a chart of what percentage of UConn hoops fans watch the NFL and how many watch UConn football I think the desparity would be stunning.
There are a ton of football fans in CT. But a lot are bandwagon and won’t touch UConn unless we are in a P5 and are winning

Last three words are critical. CT fans don’t have patience to support mediocrity.
This holds true for bb and any other sport.

Winning and being in the national discussion is what sells. If UConn does get to P5, there will be immediate bump in ticket sales. But, if they pull a BC and don’t put that money into the fb program and go 2-10 or 3-9, interest will wane.

On flip side, 8-4 or 9-3 in Big 12 would be crazy and bring us right back to the Fiesta Bowl days like it was yesterday.

 

[noeynox]

It’s referenced all over this thread. Cuse, BC, Wake. “UConn is ahead of Washington State and Oregon State…” and that’s only what is on this last page.

But you are missing my point. Football is what is important. Half of our own fanbase could care less about football. That is a pretty good indicator of how others think of our media brand.

Look, I support football and have season tickets. I will do a happy dance if/when any P5 offer comes. But I think there is a lot of smoke here from the media and possibly Yormark and some very unrealistic takes about our current media value. I hope I am dead wrong. Believe me!

It probably isn't half the fan base. You a very loud twitter contingent, whose whole persona is centered around slick burns toward PC fans.