Big East Is The Winner In This Round Of Conference Expansion

[Herman Cain]

The Big East has scored an important victory by getting U Conn back in the fold under terms of surrender.  While U Conn basketball  is down , I view it as a temporary thing , more a function of them absorbing the next coach after a legend and less of their being in a sub-optimal conference.  I think with Coach Hurley they should be healthy enough to begin making the  tournament in the next few years. 

The on court benefits and rivalry aspects that enhance attendance are pretty straightforward. However , I believe there is an intangible aspect that also  helps the league .  The fact that we are now seen as not only a survivor ,but desirable is a very important consideration. On top of that the atmosphere outside MSG at the BET will be enhanced with several thousand  more Huskie fans milling around. BET has been gaining momentum selling 99.7 of capacity and I think this development will only enhance the tournament appeal to the see and bee seen types . When the BET becomes a see and bee seen type  event that  is important to league media hype. New York City is the media capital and amplifies these things.

When contract renewal comes around, I expect ESPN, and potentially NBC Sports, to  make a very healthy bid against Fox. In the short run the league has been gaining more broadcast network exposure on Fox and CBS and this new development will only enhance that trend.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Agreed on all counts Herman. While we may not be able to raid the P5 conferences (at least not yet...I have this crazy dream where the Big 12 gets divided among the other 4 P5 conferences and we convince Kansas to pull a UConn), this should put to rest any belief that the AAC is even close to comparable to the Big East. There wasn't really a logical argument before but the fact that a football school would rather be in our conference with independent or low major football than be in the AAC should end all debate. It reminds me of when fans of a certain A10 program were convinced that the C7 would be crawling to them for help....right before we took their top two programs from them.

[Johnny B]

Would be nice to get perhaps at least a small deal with ESPN to have some games. That way they can promote the Big East more without worrying they are just touting a fox asset

[NorthernDancerColt]

The Big East has scored an important victory by getting U Conn back in the fold under terms of surrender.  While U Conn basketball  is down , I view it as a temporary thing , more a function of them absorbing the next coach after a legend and less of their being in a sub-optimal conference.  I think with Coach Hurley they should be healthy enough to begin making the  tournament in the next few years. 

The on court benefits and rivalry aspects that enhance attendance are pretty straightforward. However , I believe there is an intangible aspect that also  helps the league .  The fact that we are now seen as not only a survivor ,but desirable is a very important consideration. On top of that the atmosphere outside MSG at the BET will be enhanced with several thousand  more Huskie fans milling around. BET has been gaining momentum selling 99.7 of capacity and I think this development will only enhance the tournament appeal to the see and bee seen types . When the BET becomes a see and bee seen type  event that  is important to league media hype. New York City is the media capital and amplifies these things.

When contract renewal comes around, I expect ESPN, and potentially NBC Sports, to  make a very healthy bid against Fox. In the short run the league has been gaining more broadcast network exposure on Fox and CBS and this new development will only enhance that trend.

Excellent post, Herman. Let's not forget the contributions all our institutions' great fans have made to make this league a success. People who get blasé about this have to understand how small our schools' enrollments are. As Jay Wright has noted many times, the focus on basketball and the atmosphere in all of these buildings is what makes this league special.

[Dr. Blackheart]

Would be nice to get perhaps at least a small deal with ESPN to have some games. That way they can promote the Big East more without worrying they are just touting a fox asset

Haha.  I think MU was on more ESPN network (not counting the ACC Network) games last season than Vtech. 

[GooooMarquette]

Great post - I agree 100%.

Looking forward to some exciting MU-UConn games again.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Great post - I agree 100%.

Looking forward to some exciting MU-UConn games again.

Looking to attending more "home games" for me!

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Looking to attending more "home games" for me!

Agree - couldn't be more excited about this from a local perspective.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Agree - couldn't be more excited about this from a local perspective.

[mileskishnish72]

Looking to attending more "home games" for me!

With you, CT.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Hearing UConn ticket office is being overworked. They tripled for NEW season ticket holders sales in the past three days.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Hearing UConn ticket office is being overworked. They tripled for NEW season ticket holders sales in the past three days.

You know, on first blush, I thought UConn was going to have to drop football to make the finances work, but I think they may come out of this looking like geniuses. This reinvigorates ticket sales, they can put their football games on SNY, travel costs for all sports are significantly lowered, and they can ship their football team to be a buy game for most of the season and just collect paychecks.

[Marcus92]

You know, on first blush, I thought UConn was going to have to drop football to make the finances work, but I think they may come out of this looking like geniuses.

Geniuses? Only in contrast to their foolish decision-making regarding football. UConn has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a strategy that nobody outside the state saw as viable. They seem to have finally hit bottom, come to their senses and recognized the situation for what it is. That's good -- but hardly genius-level.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

Geniuses? Only in contrast to their foolish decision-making regarding football. UConn has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a strategy that nobody outside the state saw as viable. They seem to have finally hit bottom, come to their senses and recognized the situation for what it is. That's good -- but hardly genius-level.

I would agree its hyperbolic to call it genius.  However, its a solid recognition of how things the landscape changed and its the best they can hope for (similar to the rest of the C7). 

I would disagree that the strategy/bet on football was unsound at the time.  It ultimately turned out to be 5 years too late.  UConn had elite bball at the time of the decision and saw that being a basketball only school was going to result in being left out of the major conferences.  As the flagship state school with 30K+ in attendance, they had the look and feel of other schools that got included in the big-boy conferences.  They only needed to replicate IU/Northwestern/Boston College type football success to get consideration.  In the end their position in between the NY & Boston market is the downfall in that they dont really deliver either market (my opinion).  In addition to the football program did not gain enough credibility prior to the split of the Big East. 

[IrwinFletcher]

Was UConn basketball elite because they cheated or were they good and just happened to get caught?

If the reigns are tightened by their administration and the NCAA, can they get back to what they were, or close to it?

[IrwinFletcher]

The Big East has scored an important victory by getting U Conn back in the fold under terms of surrender.  While U Conn basketball  is down , I view it as a temporary thing , more a function of them absorbing the next coach after a legend and less of their being in a sub-optimal conference.  I think with Coach Hurley they should be healthy enough to begin making the  tournament in the next few years. 

The on court benefits and rivalry aspects that enhance attendance are pretty straightforward. However , I believe there is an intangible aspect that also  helps the league .  The fact that we are now seen as not only a survivor ,but desirable is a very important consideration. On top of that the atmosphere outside MSG at the BET will be enhanced with several thousand  more Huskie fans milling around. BET has been gaining momentum selling 99.7 of capacity and I think this development will only enhance the tournament appeal to the see and bee seen types . When the BET becomes a see and bee seen type  event that  is important to league media hype. New York City is the media capital and amplifies these things.

When contract renewal comes around, I expect ESPN, and potentially NBC Sports, to  make a very healthy bid against Fox. In the short run the league has been gaining more broadcast network exposure on Fox and CBS and this new development will only enhance that trend.

I think this is a key point that was glossed over a bit.

We all have been waiting to see if Football and the P5 conferences go off on their own and who, if anyone, they take with.  The BE was fighting it out with the AAC, Atlantic 10 and other west coast conferences to establish themselves as the next best conference.  The League's success these past few years has firmly established the BE as the leader of the pack, but bringing UConn in not only fortifies the conference and further separates us from the others, it further weakens our closest conference competitor.

I still think there are some issues with bringing in an institution with a checkered past and one that doesn't quite fit with the other 10 members overall philosophy, but it was a good strategic move to strengthen the league while simultaneously weakening an "opponent".

[Babybluejeans]

The idea that the Big East is in a position to poach rather than be poached is a great point, Herman. One I hadn't considered amidst the good news of UConn's return.

It's amazing how adding one more solid brand like UConn—even if their men's bb is a down period—makes the conference feel so much stronger. Can't explain why but it feels like a small void in the conference has been filled.

[muwarrior69]

Do you think Xavier would let Cincinnati back in if the asked or is their football program that good it could be invited to the Big XII?

I still don't know how Rutgers managed to get into the B1G.

[Billy Hoyle]

Do you think Xavier would let Cincinnati back in if the asked or is their football program that good it could be invited to the Big XII?

I still don't know how Rutgers managed to get into the B1G.

Cincy blocked X for so long with the BE there's no chance X would vote for them to join. It's similar to BC blocking UConn to the ACC (retribution for the lawsuit when BC left the BE).  Cincy wouldn't want to do that. Their new president spent millions to try and get a B12 invite leading up to 2016 and will continue to fight to go down that road. Football is a major investment for them too that is actually successful, unlike UConn.
https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/president/docs/CaseStatement-Big12.pdf

As for Rutgers: Getting the BTN on local cable TV in NYC and the metro area. Rutgers only got in due to location.

I'm not sure can call the BE a "winner' in a "round" in which they were the only ones playing...unless you're also taking into account UMKC ditching the WAC for the Summit Conference.

[Herman Cain]

Super proud of our Big East leaders . They drove a hard bargain and got U Conn to agree to a very large exit fee , sliding scale starting at 30 million scaling to 10 bars on years based on years, fully acknowledging potential disruptions . 3.5 million up front prior to press conference .

https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-sp-clb-uconn-big-east-contract-20190626-20190626-44voas7itffazjtcnrseuaspeu-story.html

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Cincy blocked X for so long with the BE there's no chance X would vote for them to join. It's similar to BC blocking UConn to the ACC (retribution for the lawsuit when BC left the BE).  Cincy wouldn't want to do that. Their new president spent millions to try and get a B12 invite leading up to 2016 and will continue to fight to go down that road. Football is a major investment for them too that is actually successful, unlike UConn.
https://www.uc.edu/content/dam/uc/president/docs/CaseStatement-Big12.pdf

As for Rutgers: Getting the BTN on local cable TV in NYC and the metro area. Rutgers only got in due to location.

I'm not sure can call the BE a "winner' in a "round" in which they were the only ones playing...unless you're also taking into account UMKC ditching the WAC for the Summit Conference.

Chicos answered this one a million times.  There's 10 million people in New Jersey and that's a lot of cable subscribers to increase the Big 10 Network carriage fee (versus say 3.5 million people in Connecticut).  (Of course this was before people started switching to streaming.)

[Dr. Blackheart]

Super proud of our Big East leaders . They drove a hard bargain and got U Conn to agree to a very large exit fee , sliding scale starting at 30 million scaling to 10 bars on years based on years, fully acknowledging potential disruptions . 3.5 million up front prior to press conference .

https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-sp-clb-uconn-big-east-contract-20190626-20190626-44voas7itffazjtcnrseuaspeu-story.html

Recouping the exit fees we paid UConn last time?

[tower912]

https://ph.news.yahoo.com/winners-and-losers-of-the-decade-of-realignment-in-college-sports-224801059.html

[Herman Cain]

One other tidbit found in the deal. U Conn prohibited from soliciting Power 5 football conferences . Our Bug East guys did a a great job protecting the the league as a whole.

[Cheeks]

Chicos answered this one a million times.  There's 10 million people in New Jersey and that's a lot of cable subscribers to increase the Big 10 Network carriage fee (versus say 3.5 million people in Connecticut).  (Of course this was before people started switching to streaming.)

Don't forget most people still pay for TV vs streaming, that will be the case for some time.