More conference realignment talk

[avid1010]

They were, but BC lobbied hard against them, still bitter over the lawsuit UConn led against them in 2003. Unlike legislative leaders in Texas (Baylor and the Big 12) and Virginia (Va Tech and the ACC) there was no financial blackmail to exert against BC to force support for UConn to join the ACC.

As for parallels to the AAC, there is no comparison. The Big 12 is an elite conference in hoops, the AAC was a glorified mid-major of non-flagship schools with a bad TV deal. Playing South Florida, SMU, Tulane, Memphis, and Temple was a negative, but the Big 12, those schools are high majors who draw. And as others here have correctly pointed out, they were saddled with Kevin Ollie. They'll also get a lot more money from the TV deal.

They'll also be part of the Power 4 club for when the current NCAA Tourney deal is up and the Power 4 bullies their way into a guarantee of a majority of bids and a 17-16 Minnesota or Texas Tech gets priority over a 23-10 MU or 28-5 Gonzaga.

Seems like that extra $ would be put into football?  I can understand how Alabama makes a ton of money off of football, and it can benefit their basketball program.  I would think UConn will have to spend huge on football at the request of the B12 and out of sheer need to be relevant in the conference.  I'm not sure that leaves an extra penny for basketball?  History hasn't been kind to schools leaving the BEAST...

[ATWizJr]

Reasons UConn should not leave;

Their football is not Big 12 caliber

UConn will lose some of its' basketball recruiting cache as some recruits will not want to travel to Utah, Arizona, Washington for conference games. Rival teams will poach some of these potential players from UConn.

UConn fans are noti on the football band wagon like they are on other B12 schools.

Schools that have left the BE have not done better athletically since moving. (BC, Syracuse, Pitt and Miami come to mind)

The UConn athletic department is deeply in debt so this is all about money and getting more money may not help.

UConn will become an island in its own geographic area and reentry to the BE would not be guaranteed.

Just my two cents having read an article in todays PROJO about this.

[brewcity77]

UCONN will be joining the best basketball conference in the country, and will have the best coach in the country leading them into that conference. This isn't Kevin Ollie leading them into the 7th best basketball conference.

UCONN will be rolling in cash, and their basketball program won't take a hit as long as Hurley is their coach.

Meh, this is every program moving to a new league. Maryland, Miami, Rutgers, Missouri, Pitt, Syracuse, all thought their move would elevate their programs. Other than TCU clearly moving up a level, I'm not sure anyone has done better than break even.

I'm not even sold this will happen. So far, Yormark has repeatedly leaked his basketball focused meetings, and his presidents have repeatedly shot him down. Don't know why this would be different.

[The Sultan]

Reasons UConn should not leave;

Their football is not Big 12 caliber

UConn will lose some of its' basketball recruiting cache as some recruits will not want to travel to Utah, Arizona, Washington for conference games. Rival teams will poach some of these potential players from UConn.

UConn fans are noti on the football band wagon like they are on other B12 schools.

Schools that have left the BE have not done better athletically since moving. (BC, Syracuse, Pitt and Miami come to mind)

The UConn athletic department is deeply in debt so this is all about money and getting more money may not help.

UConn will become an island in its own geographic area and reentry to the BE would not be guaranteed.

Just my two cents having read an article in todays PROJO about this.

This is all fine and good, but unless the B12 shuts off a path for their football team to attain full membership, UConn will leave. I mean, they are presenting their case at conference meetings this week.

[Billy Hoyle]

UConn will lose some of its' basketball recruiting cache as some recruits will not want to travel to Utah, Arizona, Washington for conference games. Rival teams will poach some of these potential players from UConn.


[/quote]

Does that even matter anymore? This upcoming season's roster has kids from Texas, Seattle, California, Togo, Missouri, and Mali.

[tower912]

MU: Philly, Memphis, Brookfield, Dallas, New Zealand, Missouri, Massachusetts, Philly, Ohio x3,  Santa Maria, California, Houston.

[Nukem2]

MU: Philly, Memphis, Brookfield, Dallas, New Zealand, Missouri, Massachusetts, Philly, Ohio x3,  Santa Maria, California, Houston.

Philly 3, Ohio and Pittsburgh....

[tower912]

I went with the prep school location, but the point stands.

[Zog from Margo]

UCONN (hoops, at least) fans will travel wherever they need to. Again, assuming Hurley is leading them into the B12, it's not close to the same as Ollie leading them into the AAC.

The UConn fans that sat by us at Fiserv came from Chicago. For them, at least, a 2 hour drive from Chicago is a lot more feasible than a 8-10 drive to Kansas.

To me, the move feels like Syracuse to the ACC. Syracuse was a big deal in the BE. In the ACC, they're not. They're an afterthought after Duke and UNC. The center or the Big 12 runs down the middle of the country.

I don't know that I'd be too quick to say Hurley is a better coach than Self.

As for making money, UConn will need to pump most of it into trying to make their football program respectable in the B12.


I certainly understand the move but UConn will be moving into a very different world.

[Johnny B]

Reasons UConn should not leave;

Their football is not Big 12 caliber

UConn will lose some of its' basketball recruiting cache as some recruits will not want to travel to Utah, Arizona, Washington for conference games. Rival teams will poach some of these potential players from UConn.

UConn fans are noti on the football band wagon like they are on other B12 schools.

Schools that have left the BE have not done better athletically since moving. (BC, Syracuse, Pitt and Miami come to mind)

The UConn athletic department is deeply in debt so this is all about money and getting more money may not help.

UConn will become an island in its own geographic area and reentry to the BE would not be guaranteed.

Just my two cents having read an article in todays PROJO about this.

How much are these high school kids really taking road game travel time into consideration?

[rgoode57]

Anyone who thinks UConn leaving the BE is not a problem is kidding themselves. It would be a huge loss for the conference. Having your league win a national championship is a big deal in the world of recruiting because really good players want to play against really good teams. UConn leaving means the league has to add a lesser school to take their place and then you are back to the Dayton, SLU, etc discussion.

UConn's weakness in football is not as big a problem as one might think. After all, Kansas and Kansas State are not exactly football factories. I think UConn can at least get to that level. And, UConn gives the Big 12 a whole new geographical territory to work with. Sad to say, but football calls the shots.

[MU82]

I would MUCH rather UConn stay, and most Scoopers who have committed have said similar.

What some are saying, however, is that even if UConn goes, Marquette basketball is likely to stay relevant for the foreseeable future ... and I agree with that.

I also try really hard to not worry too much about things that are totally out of my control.

[lawdog77]

I would MUCH rather UConn stay, and most Scoopers who have committed have said similar.

What some are saying, however, is that even if UConn goes, Marquette basketball is likely to stay relevant for the foreseeable future ... and I agree with that.

I also try really hard to not worry too much about things that are totally out of my control.

Like the election? 

[brewcity77]

UConn leaving means the league has to add a lesser school to take their place and then you are back to the Dayton, SLU, etc discussion.

You don't have to add anyone. We went from 10 to 11, we can go back to 10.

[Nukem2]

You don't have to add anyone. We went from 10 to 11, we can go back to 10.

Of course. Though, given the challenges of scheduling these days, it might be better to add to keep the20 game schedule? Media contracts?

[The Sultan]

Of course. Though, given the challenges of scheduling these days, it might be better to add to keep the20 game schedule? Media contracts?

Yeah that's what I wonder. What does our media contracts require?

[zcg2013]

Can I just ask a hypothetical here? What happens if in the next few years and the B12 says they want to be the best basketball conference so they will add some non-football schools and try to poach us from the Big East? How are we reacting to that?

[Scoop Snoop]

Anyone who thinks UConn leaving the BE is not a problem is kidding themselves. It would be a huge loss for the conference. Having your league win a national championship is a big deal in the world of recruiting because really good players want to play against really good teams. UConn leaving means the league has to add a lesser school to take their place and then you are back to the Dayton, SLU, etc discussion.

UConn's weakness in football is not as big a problem as one might think. After all, Kansas and Kansas State are not exactly football factories. I think UConn can at least get to that level. And, UConn gives the Big 12 a whole new geographical territory to work with. Sad to say, but football calls the shots.

My hope is, if UCONN leaves, the presidents of the B12 schools will not be interested in adding bball only schools going forward despite Yormark's wanting to do that. They may accept UCONN as a long term FB project and UCONN's cache' in bball may be enough for them to approve admission. Let's hope it ends there.

I do not see scoopers here implying UCONN's departure is "not a problem". It would definitely hurt the BE, and the recruiting aspect you mentioned I think is important. What many here seem to be saying is that we remain a major bball conference, as we were before UCONN joined.

[MU82]

Like the election? 

I know (or think) you were joking, but every U.S. citizen 18+ years old actually does have a little control over that. One can vote, one can volunteer, one can donate, one can run for office, one can try to persuade others, one can write one's congressperson, etc.

Conversely, we have zero control over what UConn will do and how the dominoes might fall.

[WhiteTrash]

I do not see scoopers here implying UCONN's departure is "not a problem". It would definitely hurt the BE, and the recruiting aspect you mentioned I think is important. What many here seem to be saying is that we remain a major bball conference, as we were before UCONN joined.

I agree with that statement of fact. I guess if you're not in full blown panic mode, some people think you view it as "not a problem".

The consensus view I have read here is, UCONN would be a big loss but not close to devastating for the Big East.

Also, I'd say that you would see the same amount of concern about UCONN going to the Big12 from both Big East and Big12 fans.   

[wadesworld]

Anyone who thinks UConn leaving the BE is not a problem is kidding themselves. It would be a huge loss for the conference. Having your league win a national championship is a big deal in the world of recruiting because really good players want to play against really good teams. UConn leaving means the league has to add a lesser school to take their place and then you are back to the Dayton, SLU, etc discussion.

UConn's weakness in football is not as big a problem as one might think. After all, Kansas and Kansas State are not exactly football factories. I think UConn can at least get to that level. And, UConn gives the Big 12 a whole new geographical territory to work with. Sad to say, but football calls the shots.

It's only a big problem if you were naive enough to think this group of 11 schools would remain in the same conference for decades.  The only constant in college sports over the recent past is change.  I'm not sure why we would suddenly expect that to stop.

Can I just ask a hypothetical here? What happens if in the next few years and the B12 says they want to be the best basketball conference so they will add some non-football schools and try to poach us from the Big East? How are we reacting to that?

We would be in the B12 in an instant, and I would love it.

[The Sultan]

Can I just ask a hypothetical here? What happens if in the next few years and the B12 says they want to be the best basketball conference so they will add some non-football schools and try to poach us from the Big East? How are we reacting to that?

I don't know about y'all, but I'm hiding in a dark closet and sucking my thumb.

In all seriousness, why worry about this? Not much any of us can do about it. 

[Zog from Margo]

Can I just ask a hypothetical here? What happens if in the next few years and the B12 says they want to be the best basketball conference so they will add some non-football schools and try to poach us from the Big East? How are we reacting to that?

There has yet to be a conference in which basketball-only schools have co-existed with football schools that has survived. Might be a lesson there.

[Viper]

Anyone who thinks UConn leaving the BE is not a problem is kidding themselves. It would be a huge loss for the conference. Having your league win a national championship is a big deal in the world of recruiting because really good players want to play against really good teams. UConn leaving means the league has to add a lesser school to take their place and then you are back to the Dayton, SLU, etc discussion.

UConn's weakness in football is not as big a problem as one might think. After all, Kansas and Kansas State are not exactly football factories. I think UConn can at least get to that level. And, UConn gives the Big 12 a whole new geographical territory to work with. Sad to say, but football calls the shots.

I agree with you that UConn basketball leaving is a big deal and huge hit to the BE.  You mention KState and KU. KState has a very solid football program...and has had for the past 20 yrs or so. Kansas football has an outstanding coach, with a new and bigly financial commitment to football. Not sure which current Big12 football programs would be considered dogs, but regardless, UConn football would be yrs behind the Big12's worst. If, however, the Big12 is ok with crappy UConn football to get great UConn basketball...and UConn gets desperately needed income to turn the balance sheet? UConn is gone (in part, maybe not dissimilar to financially troubled UCLA athletics going BIG10).

[MU82]

Can I just ask a hypothetical here? What happens if in the next few years and the B12 says they want to be the best basketball conference so they will add some non-football schools and try to poach us from the Big East? How are we reacting to that?

I will react to it when it becomes more than a hypothetical.