NY Times: Fox would up TV deal to $600 million for 12 teams

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Because the WCC will not let them just dump their non-revenue sports (i.e. costs) in a conference for no benefit to anyone else.  They would have to pay to play, and after stripping a conference of its largest revenue generator the pay won't be tiny.

is this in their contract that they can be charged any amount of money if the other members don't like it?

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

If Boise St and SDSU can justify shipping a whole damn football team across the nation, Gonzaga can figure out how to do that with bball.

Btw you don't think the conference members wouldn't be amenable to a block scheduling policy for grouping road games close to one another in order to get the Zags in?

I'm not saying I know everything about the situation but if they don't come to the new league there's no way it's due to insurmountable logistical issues

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

Because the WCC will not let them just dump their non-revenue sports (i.e. costs) in a conference for no benefit to anyone else.  They would have to pay to play, and after stripping a conference of its largest revenue generator the pay won't be tiny.

genuine question here.... How would Gonzaga's non-revenue sports cost the conference anything? What do we pay currently to support the UConn women's soccer team?

[forgetful]

If you do the math it is $50 Million per year for 10 teams and $50 million per year for 12 teams.  Why rush to 12 for $0 extra dollars.  Stay at 10 and see how things play out with the other teams.

[Warrior_2002]

Has it occurred to any any of you that if Fox wanted Gonzaga (the no. 1 team in the country) that the story would have leaked by now?

Where there's smoke there's fire. Welcome Butler, Xavier, Creighton, SLU and Dayton.

Ah screw it!!!  Just go to 16 teams.  7+ Butler, Xavier, Creighton, SLU, Dayton, Richmond, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Detroit (or whatever other Catholic University is out there worthy of entering the league).  Get a $1Billion deal from Fox and call it a day.    

[Brewtown Andy]

genuine question here.... How would Gonzaga's non-revenue sports cost the conference anything? What do we pay currently to support the UConn women's soccer team?

We pay to travel to Storrs to play them.

[Brewtown Andy]

Ah screw it!!!  Just go to 16 teams.  7+ Butler, Xavier, Creighton, SLU, Dayton, Richmond, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Detroit (or whatever other Catholic University is out there worthy of entering the league).  Get a $1Billion deal from Fox and call it a day.    

I get that you're mostly kidding, but that would be death. First the WAC, now the Big East. 16 team conferences don't work.

[buckchuckler]

If you do the math it is $50 Million per year for 10 teams and $50 million per year for 12 teams.  Why rush to 12 for $0 extra dollars.  Stay at 10 and see how things play out with the other teams.

Well, more teams means more opportunities for tournament teams, which means more tournament revenue for the conference.

[Chicos' Buzz Scandal Countdown]

We pay to travel to Storrs to play them.

I guess I just assumed that reflects the investment we decided to make in choosing to have that sport at MU, rather than UConn costing us money.

I don't understand how Gonzaga would be singled out and charged extra cash for having soccer/volleyball teams remain in WCC with everyone else?

If they are fine with the cost now why would that change with Gonzaga's BBall team leaving for the new BE?

[Norm]

8) Xavier
9) Butler
10) Gonzaga
11) SLU
12) Creighton

Solved. Next topic

If Gonzaga is out, substitute Richmond or VCU for them.

[MUBasketball]

Can we PLEASE stop this nonsense about Gonzaga joining? As a basketball only addition, maybe it could work (but that won't happen, so why discuss it?).

The primary problem is all the non-revenue sports. If they were to join this league as a full sports member, their CLOSEST conference game would be 1,432 miles (Creighton). Think about how crazy that is?

Let's look at some of Gonzaga's other sports and their farthest road trips this year:

Volleyball: Provo, UT and Las Vegas
Track & Field: Austin, TX and Fayetteville, AR -- rest of the schedule all on the west coast
Soccer: Every game played in California, Washington, and Oregon
Tennis: Boise, ID - All other games on the west coast
Golf: South Bend, IN and Denver, CO -- otherwise all west coast

Have I proven my point? With most of these sports, they don't play ONE road game as far away as Creighton is. If they joined the Big East, Creighton would be the shortest road trip. It's insanity, and it's not going to happen.

[79Warrior]

I guarantee you Gonzaga would be a requirement with this deal for Fox in a 12 team conference.  The reason being is that it would give them a strangle hold on the 11:00 time bracket.  With pac 12 and big east games with gonzaga at 11 est, fox can carve out it's own niche in college basketball by monopolizing that air time.  (unique marketing, zero competition)

Gonzaga is just geographically impossible. I don't see the Zags going coast  to coast every week for ball. They just don't fit.

[Sunbelt15]

Screw Dayton. Go for Richmond or VCU to get to 12.  

VCU will bring stronger competition in than SLU and Dayton.  Why Dayton anyway? Are they kissing the feet of the C7 for them to be considered so quickly?

[Brewtown Andy]

I guess I just assumed that reflects the investment we decided to make in choosing to have that sport at MU, rather than UConn costing us money.

I don't understand how Gonzaga would be singled out and charged extra cash for having soccer/volleyball teams remain in WCC with everyone else?

If they are fine with the cost now why would that change with Gonzaga's BBall team leaving for the new BE?

Because they get a cut of Gonzaga's basketball money. Either because of TV contracts or their NCAA units.

No Gonzaga basketball = no Gonzaga basketball money. Where's the value for the rest of the WCC to keep the other sports around?

And why would the New Big East want a basketball only member for that matter?

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

VCU will bring stronger competition in than SLU and Dayton.  Why Dayton anyway? Are they kissing the feet of the C7 for them to be considered so quickly?

ABD!

[Knight Commission]

Gonzaga is just geographically impossible. I don't see the Zags going coast  to coast every week for ball. They just don't fit.

Dont be surprised if Gonzaga joins the Big East in M and W basketball only.

[Marqevans]

Seriously in 20 years won't the travel times be cut in a third?

In the last 50 years travel times have not changed by car or by train. They may have improved slightly by plane, but crowded airports have probably kept travel times the same.

[chapman]

genuine question here.... How would Gonzaga's non-revenue sports cost the conference anything? What do we pay currently to support the UConn women's soccer team?

We pay by pooling revenue generating sports (basketball, and for some, football), which pay the costs associated with money losers (everything else).  UConn's women's soccer team can be paid for because of UConn's basketball and football teams, and the basketball team generates revenue in part because Marquette is a member of the Big East.  From a Gonzaga perspective, the WCC would see far less revenue (basketball) to cover the costs of non-revenue sports (everything else) without the kingpin, and wouldn't host Gonzaga for all of the costs but see none of the revenue benefit.  

[GGGG]

Before anyone says it - I reject this idea that it is too hard on student athletes to have that kind of travel. They already play non con games all over the country. $4m allows them to fly private.

If I can knock out 5 hours of work with in-air wifi from coast to coast so can their team with homework.

Also - this farce that Gonzaga can't find a home for their other non-basketball teams? Hogwash. Why would they be kicked out of the WCC?

They would likely be kicked out of the WCC because there is a requirement in their bylaws (or some such) that requires members to play basketball.  And why would the WCC want them around without their basketball program?  Would the Big East keep Georgetown around if it parked its basketball program elsewhere?

Gonzaga isn't happening. 

[GGGG]

I guarantee you Gonzaga would be a requirement with this deal for Fox in a 12 team conference. 

I guarantee you it isn't.  It simply isn't.  No rumors have mentioned them at all.

[GGGG]

I guess I just assumed that reflects the investment we decided to make in choosing to have that sport at MU, rather than UConn costing us money.

I don't understand how Gonzaga would be singled out and charged extra cash for having soccer/volleyball teams remain in WCC with everyone else?

If they are fine with the cost now why would that change with Gonzaga's BBall team leaving for the new BE?

Because Gonzaga's basketball program brings value to the conference...value that brings television $$$.  If they leave, they take that value with them, but the WCC members still have the cost of travelling to Spokane.

[bilsu]

That's $4.1 M per school per year...assuming 12 teams.

Networks don't pay "mid-major" conferences nearly that much.  So can we stop that nonsense now?  This move is looking better and better.

You cannot be a major conference without football. There can be major basketball teams in a mid-major conference, but the conference is mid-major.

[GGGG]

You cannot be a major conference without football. There can be major basketball teams in a mid-major conference, but the conference is mid-major.

Thank you for repeating the false narrative. 

When this basketball conference is making more money than some FBS football conferences, it is by definition not mid-major.

[Groin_pull]

You cannot be a major conference without football. There can be major basketball teams in a mid-major conference, but the conference is mid-major.

Stop with your stupid labels. Major...mid-major...they mean nothing. The new Big East is looking at 4-5 bids every year. Most conferences would kill for that.

[hairy worthen]

You cannot be a major conference without football. There can be major basketball teams in a mid-major conference, but the conference is mid-major.

So you are saying quantity of sports equals quality. By that logic the Sunbelt and Mac conferences must be high major conferences because they have football and all other sports.