Report: Uconn leaving for Big East

[Brad]

 

[Skingraft]

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/06/23/uconn-reportedly-looking-to-keep-football-program-in-fbs-not-fcs/

 

[NewEnglandBull]

4 hours ago, brybull1970 said:

Another article with this one mentioning Boise State and Air Force among others.

https://www.nj.com/sports/2019/06/who-will-replace-uconn-in-aac-ranking-the-top-candidates-army-byu-who-else.html

Getting either or both would be great! 

[Rizman]

UCONN is toast.  

[DELdaBull]

Might as well shutter the football program 

[Grateful Dad]

Being a USAF vet, I'd get to see my Bulls play my Falcons at Ray Jay?  I'm in!

[USFsurfer06]

The biggest detractor for adding teams out west seems to be travel and the costs (especially for Olympic sports).  Is there some way to limit this by limiting scheduling across the divisions?  Football doesn't play every school every year, why should the other sports?  Keep the majority of the games among the divisions with 1 to 3 trips cross country.  The conference can schedule schools in the west strategically (ex USF and UCF) in one trip and vice versa (Houston, SMU).  There has got to be a way to make it work and with UCONN leaving this presents the perfect opportunity to go bold and be the first 16 team conference (only if the tv deal is negotiated to keep the payouts the same of course).  Also eliminates your closest competition (MWC)

West: SDSU, BYU, Boise, Air Force, SMU, Houston, Tulsa, Memphis, (Wichita)

East: Temple, Army, Navy, UCF, USF, Cinci, Tulane, ECU

Adding the likes of Boise, BYU, and the service academies are far more desirable than a 12 team league with UCONN.  I know most of this has been speculated at nauseam I just think it's time to go bold with a major statement or else the conference may as well throw in the towel for football like UCONN has.  I think if  Aresco can come up with a structural/scheduling strategy that limits travel expenses, all the schools you are looking to invite would benefit much more financially from the new tv deal and would jump at the chance for higher payouts (with the exception of BYU depending on their current negotiations).  The MWC is not going to get close to what the AAC did on their next contract so why not as long as the numbers work, big "if" though.  

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by Brad
Removed duplicate prose

[Apis Bull]

3 hours ago, brybull1970 said:

Not sure why these threads were merged - one dealt with UConn leaving and the other with a strategy for the AAC to be relevant. 

They were merged because on this original thread were a lot of the same comments on the AAC thread, since the UConn exit is what prompted the, "strategy" thread.

[BrassBulls12]

Any chance it could all be moved to the AAC board considering the OP is about UCONN and what was merged is about what the AAC should do about it?

[NewEnglandBull]

Keep it on the main board...gives us all something to talk about during the silent period of college sports