Looks like UConn is leaving and going back to the Big East

[Poseidon]

Conference call tomorrow with Aresco and all member school ADs.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... -of-uconn/

Worrisome quote (bold emphasis by me):

Perhaps the AAC's biggest issue is its new ESPN deal that pays the league $1 billion over 12 years. With a membership of 12, AAC teams were set to receive approximately $7 million per year. CBS Sports reported last week that the ESPN contract contains language that allows for renegotiation if the AAC loses members.

Industry sources say there are few, if any, schools that could be added to the league that bring that $7 million annual valuation.

As I mentioned above, you know ESPN overvalued local school UConn and probably considered this move a huge financial hit to the value of their contract.

As I understand it from the scraps I have come across this shouldn't affect the payout per team in the conference. The current contract is for the whole conference as a package. After Uconn leaves the remaining teams would also get to divvy up the yearly share meant for Uconn to add to their yearly share. ESPN negotiations are 1)to keep the per team annul the same thus renegotiating the total conference sum lower. 2)Control who is added is anyone at all because they don't want to add a program that won't help the value of the package over the next X years. Nothing suggest that the team shares will go down if the AAC stays at 11 or adds a team ESPN approves.

[Poseidon]

I may have said it before, but I reason there is a real chance Uconn may stick around in football only a year or two after the rest of the sports leave. Why?
Because Uconn declared its exit before Jul 1 they have now done what needs to do to be out starting in the 20-21 college sports
year out of the AAC.
Here is why that is a problem for football and here are the solutions.
1) UConn PROBLEM: OOC football schedules are made so far in advance these days that UConn will have tough time finding enough FBS teams to play in fall of '20 and fall of '21. SOLUTION: A) Uconn stays in the conference for at least the '20 football season to give them time to schedule; B) AAC teams remain on UCONN's schedule as OOC games, but that gets complicated if AAC replaces uconn
2) AAC PROBLEM: at 11 you can't have two divisions playing 7, 8, or 9 conference games without have some teams play more conference games than others. SOLUTION: A)play 10 conference games; B)add a 12th team avoid this; C)Keep Uconn as football only; D)have no divisions(the AAC schools currently oppose this)
3) New AAC team X PROBLEM: If team X comes from independents then they would likely have to buy out several games in their already scheduled '20 and '21 seasons. That would be costly. SOLUTION: give new AAC team X 2-3 years to play some games and reschedule others and UCONN stay in the AAC for reasons mentioned in problem 2

[OGSB]

12 Reasons Why UConn Will Regret the New Big East

Interesting point I hadn't realized:

People know Syracuse is in the ACC now, right? Except for Villanova, none of the current Big East teams mean anything. Heck, a full half of the zombie Big East aren’t even real Big East members!

[sr]

12 Reasons Why UConn Will Regret the New Big East

Interesting point I hadn't realized:

People know Syracuse is in the ACC now, right? Except for Villanova, none of the current Big East teams mean anything. Heck, a full half of the zombie Big East aren’t even real Big East members!

Boy, does he get it!!

[OGSB]

On the UConn board The Boneyard, switching between the basketball and football forums is like switching between 2 different fan bases.

[OGSB]

Areco discusses AAC’s football future and its sudden split with UConn

[MattK]

On the UConn board The Boneyard, switching between the basketball and football forums is like switching between 2 different fan bases.

Boy, the folks on the football board don’t think very highly of us.

It seems a bit smug coming from fans of a historically bad team last year.

[Johnny Mac]

I don't know who that writer is, but I don't think he could have nailed the situation any better with a laser sight.

[randymc]

Houston Chronicle says UCONN departure does NOT trigger renegotiation with ESPN:
"Another important issue revolves around what impact if any, UConn’s departure will have on the league’s new media rights deal that goes into effect in 2020. The $1 billion deal has a clause that would allow ESPN to renegotiate if a member leaves, according to the Sports Business Journal. A source said the clause is specifically tied to five schools (Houston, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Memphis and South Florida), which UConn was not included."

[gerryb323]

Houston Chronicle says UCONN departure does NOT trigger renegotiation with ESPN:
"Another important issue revolves around what impact if any, UConn’s departure will have on the league’s new media rights deal that goes into effect in 2020. The $1 billion deal has a clause that would allow ESPN to renegotiate if a member leaves, according to the Sports Business Journal. A source said the clause is specifically tied to five schools (Houston, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Memphis and South Florida), which UConn was not included."

So the best football teams at the time the contract was negotiated.

[PeteRasche]

So the best football teams at the time the contract was negotiated.

1. Since it was just negotiated, USF wouldn't qualify for that title...
2. Most likely based on TV market size and perceived impact on those markets (i.e., excluding SMU since they're probably third in the Dallas numbers).

[OGSB]

Reasons Why BYU Should/Shouldn’t Join AAC

[gerryb323]

So the best football teams at the time the contract was negotiated.

1. Since it was just negotiated, USF wouldn't qualify for that title...
2. Most likely based on TV market size and perceived impact on those markets (i.e., excluding SMU since they're probably third in the Dallas numbers).

They were just 10-2 the year before last!
I thought about market sizes, and then thought of Temple, then Navy, then SMU, then us. All bigger/about as big as Memphis

[tjtlja]

Try counting fans in seats.

[gerryb323]

Try counting fans in seats.

I don't really know why ESPN would care about that much

[OGSB]

Hmmm...

UConn Leaving Is An Opportunity For The American Conference... to Kick Out ECU or Tulsa

[sr]

Hmmm...

UConn Leaving Is An Opportunity For The American Conference... to Kick Out ECU or Tulsa

Double Hmmmm ...

[PeteRasche]

Hmmm...

UConn Leaving Is An Opportunity For The American Conference... to Kick Out ECU or Tulsa

Double Hmmmm ...

SERIOUSLY, how refreshing is it that they wrote that entire article and "Tulane" isn't mentioned once???

[gerryb323]

Hmmm...

UConn Leaving Is An Opportunity For The American Conference... to Kick Out ECU or Tulsa

Double Hmmmm ...

SERIOUSLY, how refreshing is it that they wrote that entire article and "Tulane" isn't mentioned once???

Thank the Lord for Willie!

[Ray]

Hmmm...

UConn Leaving Is An Opportunity For The American Conference... to Kick Out ECU or Tulsa

Double Hmmmm ...

SERIOUSLY, how refreshing is it that they wrote that entire article and "Tulane" isn't mentioned once???

Thank the Lord for Willie!

[Baywave1]

Writer is on to something about internet presence and activity. ESPN (especially under Disney) is making a major migration expected to last decades to pay streaming. ECU succeeds in any potential AAC streaming analysis while Tulsa finishes dead last.

Meanwhile under streaming scenario both BYU and Army are very strong adds to AAC for football only. Not so sure about BSU or SDSU. Idaho is still sparsely populated. CFB generally doesn't make California hearts beat faster.

[PeteRasche]

Article from Tulsa about the Aresco conference call. Not much new here, maybe a few newish tidbits, but better than absolute silence I guess.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/colle ... 2.amp.html

[Baywave1]

Article from Tulsa about the Aresco conference call. Not much new here, maybe a few newish tidbits, but better than absolute silence I guess.

https://www.tulsaworld.com/sports/colle ... 2.amp.html

To paraphrase Aresco, good luck to those who aspire to be in regional configurations. It's not the AAC model.


Short and sweet money quote from the boss:

“The business model for college sports in the modern era essentially says that if you’re going to be in it at the highest level, you need to be all in with football. It’s just that simple,” Aresco said. “We want to be good in men’s and women’s basketball as well, but football has lifted everybody and everything else in this conference. We wouldn’t have the TV deal we have if it weren’t for football.
“Football is critical. And if somebody has a different view of it, they’re probably not a good fit for the conference.”

[Johnny Mac]

I wouldn't at all be surprised that the entire UConn "we're going to de-emphasize football" is still part of the fallout from when they made it into the BCS. There were stories for quite some time about how much money the state lost because of the ticket commitment they had to make (they fell way, way short in bringing in the sales to cover it) and the revenue sharing with the rest of the Big East that didn't mitigate their expenditure. I realize that was a decade or so ago, but old wounds don't heal and years of sukking balls certainly didn't help.

[CT Wave]

Short and sweet money quote from the boss:

“The business model for college sports in the modern era essentially says that if you’re going to be in it at the highest level, you need to be all in with football. It’s just that simple,” Aresco said. “We want to be good in men’s and women’s basketball as well, but football has lifted everybody and everything else in this conference. We wouldn’t have the TV deal we have if it weren’t for football.
“Football is critical. And if somebody has a different view of it, they’re probably not a good fit for the conference.”

How could the commissioner omit baseball? (just kidding, friends)