Big East Outsourced two consultants to Negotiate TV deal

[Mama_Bull]

Thread from anothr board

RE: BE hires consultants who worked on Pac 12 TV deal

http://csnbbs.com/showthread.php?tid=581838

[Triple B]

So you just like to complain when the conference does something good, like bringing in experts with a proven track record to negotiate the most important deal in the conferences history. Glad we could clear this all up.

Nope, just fed up with places of "higher learning" wasting money on stuff like this... if a group of University Presidents all of which have Ph.D's, whose job is to negotiate contracts/lobby government for $$, and all of which have Business Schools that are full of "experts" have to go out and hire a consultant firm to negotiate a simple TV contract then we have some serious issues.

So the Pac 12 has some serious issues, also?

Maybe I'm just not seeing the big picture... perhaps I should hire a consultant to do my shopping for me, negotiate my contracts, and wipe my ass while they are at it.

Not familiar with how the real business world works, are you? As someone pointed out, there's no such thing as a simple TV contract of this magnitude and I'd be surprised if anybody within all of our member schools have a lot of experience negotiating one of these ... and as far as you personally, if you don't have a lot of experience of wiping your ass, I'd highly recommend a consultant ... Probably make you more pleasant to be around.

[Mama_Bull]

This was a post on that message board. I found it to be an interesting article.

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Post: #22 RE: BE hires consultants who worked on Pac 12 TV deal

I don't think much has been said about this. Anyway, here's more info:

Chris Bevilacqua owns the Bevilacqua Media Company. He helped create CSTV (now CBSSports, of course), which was later sold to CBS for $325 million. Also, he was the Global Director of Negotiations for Nike sports media in the 90s, so he has the right skills. It probably doesn't hurt that he also worked for NBC in marketing during the '98 Olympics.

Alan Gold is a partner with Evolution Media Capital (EMC), the other half of the Big East's new negotiating team. EMC is an investment bank and advisory firm. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) owns a large chunk of EMC, and represents LeBron James and Derek Jeter. Also, CAA/EMC helps produce "American Idol."

Alan Gold specializes in Sports Media for EMC.

Article on EMC and the PAC 12 deal

(This post was last modified: Yesterday 09:09 PM by TripleA.)

[Cow Pie]

I am familiar with how the business world works... I just expect more from places of higher learning that have "experts" on staff that sit around and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in this field to take the reigns vs. paying some other people an extra hundred thousand or so while our experts sit around and lecture students about the virtues of granola, and recycling.

Since I work at USF I see this more and more at the dept. level and it pisses me off... if USF needs a new computer data system for a certain unit they will pay an outside firm and a team of consultants millions of dollars to develop this data system, when we have a bullpen full of expert computer science programers on staff that could have done it for an extra and marginal stipend.

Also whenever USF hires a new Director its common for that new Director to turn around and argue for consultants to come in and do their work for them, meanwhile they still get paid the same and just sit back and let the paychecks roll in and do nothing. If this is how the system works then why have a Director at all? Why not just outsource the management of every USF dept to a bunch of consultants and skip the middle person that gets $250K in salary and benefits?

I'm just fed up is all... there is no financial accountability anymore and we wonder why China owns us.

[Triple B]

I am familiar with how the business world works... I just expect more from places of higher learning that have "experts" on staff that sit around and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in this field to take the reigns vs. paying some other people an extra hundred thousand or so while our experts sit around and lecture students about the virtues of granola, and recycling.

Since I work at USF I see this more and more at the dept. level and it pisses me off... if USF needs a new computer data system for a certain unit they will pay an outside firm and a team of consultants millions of dollars to develop this data system, when we have a bullpen full of expert computer science programers on staff that could have done it for an extra and marginal stipend.

Also whenever USF hires a new Director its common for that new Director to turn around and argue for consultants to come in and do their work for them, meanwhile they still get paid the same and just sit back and let the paychecks roll in and do nothing. If this is how the system works then why have a Director at all? Why not just outsource the management of every USF dept to a bunch of consultants and skip the middle person that gets $250K in salary and benefits?

I'm just fed up is all... there is no financial accountability anymore and we wonder why China owns us.

This has already been discussed in the Mad Cow ... Communism > Capitalism.

It would be interesting, though, to see some kind of history of "Consulting". It does seem a lot of corporations/business entities utilize them where not that long ago the same stuff was done in house ...

[Mama_Bull]

How anybody could think that the Big East conference has the in house ability to successfully negotiate a major TV deal in this day and age, must not be remotely aware of the history of this monstrosity.

Let the experts who have successfully done this before handle it. Whatever it costs the Big East, it wil be more than worth the price.

[bulls phanatic]

The BE should also hire the same people who convinced the city of Miami to build a new stadium for the Marlins. Didn't think that was possible in the past.

[Cow Pie]

How anybody could think that the Big East conference has the in house ability to successfully negotiate a major TV deal in this day and age, must not be remotely aware of the history of this monstrosity.

Let the experts who have successfully done this before handle it. Whatever it costs the Big East, it wil be more than worth the price.

Mama Bull I respectively beg to differ on this issue and believe that we do have the in house resources to negotiate a major TV deal... its called leaning on your experts... the SEC does it, the Big12 does, the B1G does it, the ACC does it... but somehow we can't? We have tons of untapped resources that are just sitting on the shelves getting dusty and fat off of hefty pay checks.

Minus UCF, the Big East has what 16-17 world class Colleges of Business... this is all the resources we need. After all who trained and educated the consultants... they don't grow them in fields somewhere.

By going out and hiring a consultant firm says to me that every school of business of each Big East member school is inferior to a boiler room styled consultant firm.

[Mama_Bull]

How anybody could think that the Big East conference has the in house ability to successfully negotiate a major TV deal in this day and age, must not be remotely aware of the history of this monstrosity.

Let the experts who have successfully done this before handle it. Whatever it costs the Big East, it wil be more than worth the price.

Mama Bull I respectively beg to differ on this issue and believe that we do have the in house resources to negotiate a major TV deal... its called leaning on your experts... the SEC does it, the Big12 does, the B1G does it, the ACC does it... but somehow we can't? We have tons of untapped resources that are just sitting on the shelves getting dusty and fat off of hefty pay checks.

Minus UCF, the Big East has what 16-17 world class Colleges of Business... this is all the resources we need. After all who trained and educated the consultants... they don't grow them in fields somewhere.

By going out and hiring a consultant firm says to me that every school of business of each Big East member school is inferior to a boiler room styled consultant firm.

There is NOTHING to suggest, based on past history, that the Big East would do the best job, if they tried to do this on their own. I give them credit for realizing that. We don't need to keep repeating the same mistakes.

[Cow Pie]

How anybody could think that the Big East conference has the in house ability to successfully negotiate a major TV deal in this day and age, must not be remotely aware of the history of this monstrosity.

Let the experts who have successfully done this before handle it. Whatever it costs the Big East, it wil be more than worth the price.

Mama Bull I respectively beg to differ on this issue and believe that we do have the in house resources to negotiate a major TV deal... its called leaning on your experts... the SEC does it, the Big12 does, the B1G does it, the ACC does it... but somehow we can't? We have tons of untapped resources that are just sitting on the shelves getting dusty and fat off of hefty pay checks.

Minus UCF, the Big East has what 16-17 world class Colleges of Business... this is all the resources we need. After all who trained and educated the consultants... they don't grow them in fields somewhere.

By going out and hiring a consultant firm says to me that every school of business of each Big East member school is inferior to a boiler room styled consultant firm.

There is NOTHING to suggest, based on past history, that the Big East would do the best job, if they tried to do this on their own. I give them credit for realizing that. We don't need to keep repeating the same mistakes.

Yes but doesn't the Big East bring in consultants or outside aides for everything they negotiate? Wasn't the last failed TV contract attempt partially negotiated by the ex NFL commish who was on payroll as a consultant of sorts?

Edited August 13, 2012 by Bubba Bull