UConn and AAC realignment?

[waterhead]

What do we do when Uconn is out? Add a team? Stand pat? Add more than one team? Who would it be? Football and basketball? Boise or BYU? Army or Air Force? Find a football team and a BB team?

Will anyone join? What makes the AAC stronger? Will future alignment ever really happen with so many tech companies like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook bidding to cover sports in the future?

If the AAC (or UC) can partner with the right tech company we may not need to join the power conferences although I would prefer it for SOS reasons. Will tech companies bid on covering a single team? Would Alabama make more as a sole entity than they would sharing conference money? Will that break up the current power conference media structure?

Here is a snippet from a conversation about realignment regarding big tech written about 1 year ago. Big tech has a lot more money to work with.

Again, back to my friend at Amazon. “We’re still seven or eight years away,” he said, “but if we had to restructure the landscape today, we would not start by negotiating with a conference. We don’t care about the SEC, Big 12 of Big 10 as a whole. In our opinion, those entities are not our focus.

“Instead, we would want to identify 30 or 40 teams that command the biggest audience. That may be by reputation or location, but generally we all know that there are members in every one of these conferences that frankly don’t move the needle.

“We would not want to pay for broadcast rights for a team with a fraction of the audience when we could use most of our available cash to tie down high profile teams.


UC would likely benefit in a situation like this over bottom feeding P5 teams. But we have to remain relevant and posture for 5 years from now.

 

[AZ BEARCAT]

What do we do when Uconn is out? Add a team? Stand pat? Add more than one team? Who would it be? Football and basketball? Boise or BYU? Army or Air Force? Find a football team and a BB team?

Will anyone join? What makes the AAC stronger? Will future alignment ever really happen with so many tech companies like Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook bidding to cover sports in the future?

If the AAC (or UC) can partner with the right tech company we may not need to join the power conferences although I would prefer it for SOS reasons. Will tech companies bid on covering a single team? Would Alabama make more as a sole entity than they would sharing conference money? Will that break up the current power conference media structure?

Here is a snippet from a conversation about realignment regarding big tech written about 1 year ago. Big tech has a lot more money to work with.

Again, back to my friend at Amazon. “We’re still seven or eight years away,” he said, “but if we had to restructure the landscape today, we would not start by negotiating with a conference. We don’t care about the SEC, Big 12 of Big 10 as a whole. In our opinion, those entities are not our focus.

“Instead, we would want to identify 30 or 40 teams that command the biggest audience. That may be by reputation or location, but generally we all know that there are members in every one of these conferences that frankly don’t move the needle.

“We would not want to pay for broadcast rights for a team with a fraction of the audience when we could use most of our available cash to tie down high profile teams.


UC would likely benefit in a situation like this over bottom feeding P5 teams. But we have to remain relevant and posture for 5 years from now.

That would be a selling tool for keeping our coaches. Dominate the AAC for the next five years.

 

[waterhead]

That would be a selling tool for keeping our coaches. Dominate the AAC for the next five years.

I don't think this whole thing is going down like we thought it would. With ESPN and ABC, CBS etc bidding on conference rights. So much has changed recently with Netflix etc (and will continue to change). Big Tech has a lot more money to use. If this becomes a team bidding situation rather than a conference bidding situation we move up the ladder a little bit.

We, as a university, need to be studying this big tech phenomenon and finally get on the forefront rather than being the one left behind the 8 ball.

 

[Helicopter]

I don't think this whole thing is going down like we thought it would. With ESPN and ABC, CBS etc bidding on conference rights. So much has changed recently with Netflix etc (and will continue to change). Big Tech has a lot more money to use. If this becomes a team bidding situation rather than a conference bidding situation we move up the ladder a little bit.

We, as a university, need to be studying this big tech phenomenon and finally get on the forefront rather than being the one left behind the 8 ball.

If Amazon bought all media rights to UC sports and broadcasted them on Prime -- I'm in. I'm already plugged into the Bezos mothership. I know that's not palatable to everyone but $ is $. I wouldn't mind piloting it and having the contract come up again in 4-5 years when half CFB/CBB will switch.

The problem is the scheduling. Part of the reason we share the pie with Tulane, ECU, Tulsa, etc. is because we don't have to "buy" those games. It can get quite difficult and expensive to fill out an entire FB or CBB schedule. Part of the reason that UCONN is f***ed in two years.

 

[cincyalum2014]

I am honestly not all that upset about UConn leaving. Its baffling that they just finished a $10m renovation on a new football locker room only to basically say screw football. Not to mention the $10m buyout they have to pay the American. Does playing St. Johns, providence, Creighton, even Georgetown improve the UConn brand that much? Hell no. Villanova is the one shining star in this wannabe big east. The big east now is a shell of what it was years ago. Football is horrible and brings nothing to the American and UConn will go independent most likely and that will kill the program. If you are not a service academy or Notre Dame going independent is a death wish. Look at the disarray Umass is in. You have to schedule all 12 games and good luck getting any decent team to come play you at home. Either way good riddance and I think VCU or Dayton would be my first choices for basketball to fill the spot... as for football I wouldn't fill the spot unless the ESPN deal requires 12 teams.

 

[cincyguy13]

I am honestly not all that upset about UConn leaving. Its baffling that they just finished a $10m renovation on a new football locker room only to basically say screw football. Not to mention the $10m buyout they have to pay the American. Does playing St. Johns, providence, Creighton, even Georgetown improve the UConn brand that much? Hell no. Villanova is the one shining star in this wannabe big east. The big east now is a shell of what it was years ago. Football is horrible and brings nothing to the American and UConn will go independent most likely and that will kill the program. If you are not a service academy or Notre Dame going independent is a death wish. Look at the disarray Umass is in. You have to schedule all 12 games and good luck getting any decent team to come play you at home. Either way good riddance and I think VCU or Dayton would be my first choices for basketball to fill the spot... as for football I wouldn't fill the spot unless the ESPN deal requires 12 teams.

The move is a good move for UConn basketball. Hurley is a northeast guy and they are like 4 hours from New York. I don’t understand it for other sports. Their administration seems to be somewhat clueless. In massive debt. No plan for football. Hoping to figure it out as they go. Interesting strategy.

 

[jbreeds1]

Reading stuff from "The Boneyard" (UCONN's basketball message board) and their fans really are delusional. How can any of the UCONN faithful be excited about this??? They're killing their athletic department. Where is all this money for exit fees and such coming from? I thought they've been operating over budget for the last few years... Am I missing something? They haven't been relevant in any sport in the last 5 years (besides women's bball).
If this was the ACC or the old Big East it's a no brainer. Now? It looks desperate.
Hopefully the don't become too "big time" to schedule us a home and home every year.

 

[cincyalum2014]

Reading stuff from "The Boneyard" (UCONN's basketball message board) and their fans really are delusional. How can any of the UCONN faithful be excited about this??? They're killing their athletic department. Where is all this money for exit fees and such coming from? I thought they've been operating over budget for the last few years... Am I missing something? They haven't been relevant in any sport in the last 5 years (besides women's bball).
If this was the ACC or the old Big East it's a no brainer. Now? It looks desperate.
Hopefully the don't become too "big time" to schedule us a home and home every year.

"UConn moving basketball to the Big East will allow UConn to soon be a football only school in the Big 12 which will allow UCF to be the 12th team." I am literally speechless and the delusional fans that post on that board.

 

[cincyguy13]

Reading stuff from "The Boneyard" (UCONN's basketball message board) and their fans really are delusional. How can any of the UCONN faithful be excited about this??? They're killing their athletic department. Where is all this money for exit fees and such coming from? I thought they've been operating over budget for the last few years... Am I missing something? They haven't been relevant in any sport in the last 5 years (besides women's bball).
If this was the ACC or the old Big East it's a no brainer. Now? It looks desperate.
Hopefully the don't become too "big time" to schedule us a home and home every year.

I get why they are excited. Most of them only care about basketball and it’s a good move for them, for basketball. It is also where they seen all of there success as a program. I think most think they will return to that level of success. Is it delusional? Yes. But it is really all they have to get excited about. I think Hurley will improve the program but I think he would have did that in any conference.

 

[Bcatfollower]

I get why they are excited. Most of them only care about basketball and it’s a good move for them, for basketball. It is also where they seen all of there success as a program. I think most think they will return to that level of success. Is it delusional? Yes. But it is really all they have to get excited about. I think Hurley will improve the program but I think he would have did that in any conference.

I don’t think they care as much about quality if conference as they do about legitimate rivalries that are closer geographically. Providence St. John grown Villanova seton hall etc.... good move for fan base for basketball. But quality isn’t that much of an improvement... except for our bottom 4

 

[mdchick]

Just kind of thinking of how everything is coming to be right now for the UC athletic department as a whole, all the facilities are top notch, all the programs are in great shape. We should be in line to join a power 5 con fence when the realignment takes place in the next 5-10 years.

Where it gets interesting is with brannen and fickel, Is if we do get into a p5 conference bid we will be able to afford to pay our coaches money to make them want to stay, so bohn should be preparing a future outlook for brannen and fickel that can show them that if they are successful while they are here, there could be a big pay day in the near future for them if they were to stay with us

 

[AZ BEARCAT]

Just kind of thinking of how everything is coming to be right now for the UC athletic department as a whole, all the facilities are top notch, all the programs are in great shape. We should be in line to join a power 5 con fence when the realignment takes place in the next 5-10 years.

Where it gets interesting is with brannen and fickel, Is if we do get into a p5 conference bid we will be able to afford to pay our coaches money to make them want to stay, so bohn should be preparing a future outlook for brannen and fickel that can show them that if they are successful while they are here, there could be a big pay day in the near future for them if they were to stay with us

As I read your first paragraph, I was thinking what you said in your second. Both coaches are pretty much local and your right on about preparing for the future. This has to be the best position we have been in with the stadiums and teams future with two promising coaches.

 

[waterhead]

There is an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about why BYU to the AAC would make sense for each (as well as ESPN). Specifically for football.

I think they would be the top team on our list...and outside of a P5 the AAC would be the top choice.