Report: Uconn leaving for Big East

[NewEnglandBull]

9 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

If Aresco does not nothing - which seems to be his favorite thing to do other than cashing that check every two weeks - then our situation will only get worse over time. 

That ship left the harbor 6 years ago. If he nab Boise, Air Force, or Army then fine...but if the pickings are from Cusa then he should stay put. Choosing a Cusa school would do significantly more damage than doing nothing...

[NewEnglandBull]

5 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

With the AAC looking vulnerable I wouldn't be surprised if the MWC would gauge Hosuton, SMU, Tulsa and Memphis' interest in joining them.

I guess you did not see their latest tv contract...

[79 Bull]

33 minutes ago, brybull1970 said:

With the AAC looking vulnerable I wouldn't be surprised if the MWC would gauge Hosuton, SMU, Tulsa and Memphis' interest in joining them.

This is a great point.  Even though our TV deal is bigger, don't think the top of the MWC isn't talking about how to make them stronger and raid the AAC.  They could agree in force not to leave the conference for the AAC, even though that's probably illegal.

[Brad]

37 minutes ago, USFBulls727 said:

what exactly have we accomplished to top them?

Competed and won at the highest level.  Defeated nunmerous ranked teams home and away.  **** a useless conference title.

[Brad]

39 minutes ago, USFBulls727 said:

We might be better off staying at 11, but if we do add a team, who would you want that we are likely to get?

I wouldn't add anybody.  I'd kick out some though.

[NewEnglandBull]

21 minutes ago, 79 Bull said:

This is a great point.  Even though our TV deal is bigger, don't think the top of the MWC isn't talking about how to make them stronger and raid the AAC.  They could agree in force not to leave the conference for the AAC, even though that's probably illegal.

Actually it’s a terrible point. No AAC team is going to take a $5 mil a year pay cut AND lose tv exposure. The better chance is for the MWC to dissolve with a purge by the AAC. 

[Ghostbuster]

1 hour ago, NewEnglandBull said:

I am saying there would no longer be any divisions at all. Aresco has already said this is the way the conference should go. 

I haven't read his comments about that.  You got a link?

Big 12 doesn't have real divisions and is seen as weakest P5.  Big East didn't have real divisions with football, was seen as the weakest.  I'm not saying it's a causation but there is a negative perception about it.  We had a three-way tie early on in AAC days before we had divisions, and that's just dumb and unfair to everyone.

Would they keep a championship game?  I guess since Big12 puts one on, and revenue generating wise they'd want something for ESPN to air (even if it's on ESPN 3).  

Losing a team means one less shot at landing a team in a postseason bowl that can generate revenue for the whole conference.  That doesn't seem smart from Aresco's position.

[NewEnglandBull]

5 minutes ago, Ghostbuster said:

I haven't read his comments about that.  You got a link?

Big 12 doesn't have real divisions and is seen as weakest P5.  Big East didn't have real divisions with football, was seen as the weakest.  I'm not saying it's a causation but there is a negative perception about it.  We had a three-way tie early on in AAC days before we had divisions, and that's just dumb and unfair to everyone.

Would they keep a championship game?  I guess since Big12 puts one on, and revenue generating wise they'd want something for ESPN to air (even if it's on ESPN 3).  

Losing a team means one less shot at landing a team in a postseason bowl that can generate revenue for the whole conference.  That doesn't seem smart from Aresco's position.

The Big12 analogy no longer applies as they have a championship game. The BE did not and that was a real problem. The key is still having a championship game...not whether you have divisions.

The NCAA allows championship games at 10 schools and up. In terms of generating Bowl revenue I don’t see that as an issue as Uconn did not contribute and we are lucky to have 6 teams to qualify anyway.

In terms of Aresco’s statement, I Don’t have the link but you should be able to find it on this From interview last month:
AAC commissioner Mike Aresco states on @Sports56WHBQ the league will look at changing from two divisions to having the two top rated teams play for the conference title.

 

[Ghostbuster]

1 minute ago, NewEnglandBull said:

The key is still having a championship game...not whether you have divisions.

 In terms of generating Bowl revenue I don’t see that as an issue as Uconn did not contribute and we are lucky to have 6 teams to qualify anyway.

To me a conf champ without divisions is lipstick on a pig.  You're more likely to have weird cases, like that 3 way tie I mentioned, that have to be resolved by SoS and rankings, to determine who plays in the champ game.  And I just feel the only way this conference can be respected less is by having a champ determined in part by that.  But that's more opinion and speculation...

To me the bigger issue is money.  UConn at least did play in a NY6 bowl a while back.  Yeah they did nothing lately but that just makes this a good chance to replace them with a school that can do something. 

And if you structure it so that the new school only gets an equal share after a few years...then you can upgrade the conference for less and have more potential upside. 

As a conference, we cannot have non AAC G5 teams making it to the NY6 or other postseason bowls ahead of us.  Having one more team unequivocally gives us another chance, and if it's a team that is poached from another conference then all the better.

[USFBulls727]

59 minutes ago, Brad said:

I wouldn't add anybody.  I'd kick out some though.

Might not be a bad idea....