Big East/UConn in Discussions for Reunion

[GooooMarquette]

Negotiating 101: The best time to make a deal is when the other party is desperate and you are not.

Negotiating 101, lecture #2:

And you walk away if the desperate party tries to get more than it has to give back....

[Class71]

And if that happens eight years from now, good for them.  Marquette can cash the checks in the meantime.

Agreed. Nothing goes on forever. Adjust as the situation dictates.

[muwarrior69]

Would Xavier ever let Cincy back in?

[Class71]

Would Xavier ever let Cincy back in?

Depends if they get mugged.

[jutaw22mu]

I am all for letting UConn back in to the Big East.  Mostly because I currently live in CT and would love to watch MU beat them in Storrs.  And I could trash talk all my coworkers. So fun.

Plus MU had some of its best seasons when it was in the Big East with UConn.  Ever since the conference realignment, the Butlers (who used to play UWM twice a year) and Creightons (God only knows what conference they were in previously) of the world have somehow surpassed us in relevance.  Bring UConn back and make MU great again!   

[MikeDeanesDarkGlasses]

If UConn is let into the Big East, pound for pound, Big East has a chance to be toughest conference in the land.

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

If the logistics work out, you have to accept UCONN into the Big East.

With that being said, their fans are such arrogant pricks and keep saying stuff like the AAC will catch up to the Big East because the schools put more money in (not true) and "Tulane has a bigger national image than Butler" that I wouldn't mind to see them absolutely rot it that hellish conference.

Especially when Cinci gets invited to go somewhere else.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

http://www.zagsblog.com/2017/02/15/big-east-says-no-discussions-taken-place-uconn/

This article says no talks have took place in the title. However, it goes on to say that they have another "league source" who says talks have taken place. My guess is that where there is smoke, there is usually a fire. However, the talks be in very preliminary stages at this point. It really doesn't benefit either side to have the talks be public until something is finalized.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Negotiating 101, lecture #2:

And you walk away if the desperate party tries to get more than it has to give back....

Agreed. I think we can a nice fat buyout and possibly give UConn a lower share for a few years as a new member.

[MarquetteDano]

This is the kind of thread that makes Scoop great.  A lot of good points made on both sides here.

I am quite undecided.  See the advantages and disadvantages.  I guess we will have to let the Athletic Departments and Fox sort this one out.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Repay the Big East exit fees UCONN cashed and we can talk reentry.  Their admin has looked wantonly at every league and has been rejected like a two bit hooker.  AMF

[forgetful]

The Big East isn't your Average Joe.  It's already someone that is dating Jennifer Lawrence, and worthy of that.

Agreed, but here, the scenario is essentially:

We are dating Jennifer Lawrence.  Kate Upton comes up to us and says, she wants to date you.  You nicely explain, in front of Jennifer, that you are already taken.  Jennifer quickly chimes in, I'm ok with her joining the party.  Kate says, she's down with that too.

No way you say no, because eventually Kate might leave and then you are back to only getting Jennifer...enjoy the ride while you can.

[EaglesNest]

Still amazes me to see all these top recruits still end up in rural Storrs, CT. Last year when I was there I had to dodge an angry skunk outside their basketball arena.

[EaglesNest]

If Randy Edsall can turn Uconn's football program around again I can see a major football conference come calling.

[GGGG]

If Randy Edsall can turn Uconn's football program around again I can see a major football conference come calling.

I doubt it. Too many media contracts tied up for years and UConn won't bring the eyeballs to renegotiate.

[EaglesNest]

I doubt it. Too many media contracts tied up for years and UConn won't bring the eyeballs to renegotiate.

The big 12 may need to add two teams in the future in order to have a conf championship game to keep up with the other major conferences. If Uconn has one of the best football teams of the lower 5 conferences they would be an intriguing option if you left out geography. However, we've seen geography doesn't take priority with re-alignment.  Houston and SMU makes sense geographically, but who knows how good Houston will be in football going forward without Tom Herman. Two options for the big 12 are Memphis, who has an up-and-coming football program and South Florida, who just hired Charlie Strong.

[MU82]

This is the kind of thread that makes Scoop great.  A lot of good points made on both sides here.

Nicely said. Every once in awhile, amidst all the poop, a flower blooms!

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

One thing I forgot. The Big East schools signed over their digital rights to Fox. Essentially, this means that until 2026, no other channel can air Big East basketball without Fox' permission. So if UConn were to join, they too would sign over their digital rights to Fox. If they were to leave for say the ACC, they wouldn't be allowed to broadcast on ESPN. Of course that can be negotiated, but it essentially creates two buyouts. And my guess is that Fox would make that buyout very severe if they were going to lose programming to their number 1 competitor.

If UConn were to join, they would be stuck in the Big East...until 2026 at least.

[🏀]

Agreed, but here, the scenario is essentially:

We are dating Jennifer Lawrence.  Kate Upton comes up to us and says, she wants to date you.  You nicely explain, in front of Jennifer, that you are already taken.  Jennifer quickly chimes in, I'm ok with her joining the party.  Kate says, she's down with that too.

No way you say no, because eventually Kate might leave and then you are back to only getting Jennifer...enjoy the ride while you can.

The problem then is JLaw says, hey remember to keep that awesome schedule we have going, you have to take Upton and this girl Carrot Top.

All of a sudden you're checking out this Carrot Top girl from Dayton, Ohio. You know you are not taking Carrot Top for the team, hell you aren't even sure Carrot Top is a woman.

[drewm88]

The problem then is JLaw says, hey remember to keep that awesome schedule we have going, you have to take Upton and this girl Carrot Top.

All of a sudden you're checking out this Carrot Top girl from Dayton, Ohio. You know you are not taking Carrot Top for the team, hell you aren't even sure Carrot Top is a woman.

How many props can fit in a Chevy Cavalier?

[WarriorFan]

DO it for the women's program.
The men can join as well.

[GGGG]

The big 12 may need to add two teams in the future in order to have a conf championship game to keep up with the other major conferences. If Uconn has one of the best football teams of the lower 5 conferences they would be an intriguing option if you left out geography. However, we've seen geography doesn't take priority with re-alignment.  Houston and SMU makes sense geographically, but who knows how good Houston will be in football going forward without Tom Herman. Two options for the big 12 are Memphis, who has an up-and-coming football program and South Florida, who just hired Charlie Strong.

The B12 can have a championship game with only 10. That is why they chose not to expand when they were seriously considering it just a few months ago. Their tv partners didn't want it.

[🏀]

How many props can fit in a Chevy Cavalier?

Too many.

[mu03eng]

The problem then is JLaw says, hey remember to keep that awesome schedule we have going, you have to take Upton and this girl Carrot Top.

All of a sudden you're checking out this Carrot Top girl from Dayton, Ohio. You know you are not taking Carrot Top for the team, hell you aren't even sure Carrot Top is a woman.

While I really enjoy the analogy, this just isn't correct, we don't have to take Carrot Top girl. We can go to 11 teams, play a 20 game round robin schedule and figure out how to get members some OOC games during conference season (Gonzaga and St Marys anyone?) and we're good to go.

Basically it's like JLaw and Kate saying we really like redheads and us saying, well instead of getting that Carrot Top girl, how about we agree to dress in drag and red wig from time to time.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

I am highly skeptical of Ollie long term (in fact, believe he bolts to the NBA in next three years) but you discuss their RPI without context. Yukon has been devastated by injuries this year. The fact that they are in the top half of their league (substandard as it is) speaks well of their resilience.

Yes, they have four (4) players out-for-the-season all who would get significant playing minutes plus they had another top player miss several key games with a concussion.