Realignment Megathread (All The Moves)

[SCNCY]

Yormark must really believe that Basketball is being undervalued.

I guess I’m of the opinion of why the rush, unless there is a financial payout to adding them now? The SEC and the BIG10 don’t seem interested, and the ACC is currently going through a bumpy road whose outlook appears to be doubtful it’ll survive.

 

[Rogue52]

Long live Hilton South.

 

[enisthemenace]

The pie better get a hell of a lot bigger in a hurry, because the slices have been getting smaller and smaller (or flat out given to others).

100% this.

 

[jctisu]

Uconn needs an on Campus stadium

That will never happen. Storrs is more remote than Ames but there’s still no space. And the population of the state is all south so Hartford makes more sense. Believe it or not they used to have one on campus when they were FCS. It was tiny and awful. They’ve invested a ton in sports and I do think if challenged to upgrade their football they could get better. Won’t be anything crazy but they could be become a team that wins 6-7 games a year with an occasional 8-9 wins.

 

[RustShack]

I think with the emerging “P2”, going all in for basketball and changing the payment module makes sense. Yeah the P2 cares more about football, but they still care about basketball. The media also cares about basketball, and have been fortunate to have the conferences agree to lump all sports together for media rights. Football is the crown jewel, but basketball matters. I think the Big12 is already in a position where it won’t be left behind, but adding UCONN helps. Obviously financials have to make sense, and I’m guessing it will if it happens.

 

[FriendlySpartan]

I think with the emerging “P2”, going all in for basketball and changing the payment module makes sense. Yeah the P2 cares more about football, but they still care about basketball. The media also cares about basketball, and have been fortunate to have the conferences agree to lump all sports together for media rights. Football is the crown jewel, but basketball matters. I think the Big12 is already in a position where it won’t be left behind, but adding UCONN helps. Obviously financials have to make sense, and I’m guessing it will if it happens.

Yeah I’m really intrigued by this, think this is a really interesting idea but the ratings for regular season cbb have been pretty bad and trending the wrong way. But it still could be extra money as the big east deal is essentially what we’re looking at only with bigger schools in the big12

 

[Nor'MidWester]

That will never happen. Storrs is more remote than Ames but there’s still no space. And the population of the state is all south so Hartford makes more sense. Believe it or not they used to have one on campus when they were FCS. It was tiny and awful. They’ve invested a ton in sports and I do think if challenged to upgrade their football they could get better. Won’t be anything crazy but they could be become a team that wins 6-7 games a year with an occasional 8-9 wins.

Storrs is baffling to me. It's just the school and nothing else. But the state is a quarter the size of Iowa and bit bigger population wise so the location outside Hartford sort of works. Ok campus is always better though. They don't even play half their basketball games on campus.

 

[enisthemenace]

Storrs is baffling to me. It's just the school and nothing else. But the state is a quarter the size of Iowa and bit bigger population wise so the location outside Hartford sort of works. Ok campus is always better though. They don't even play half their basketball games on campus.

Storrs is 35 minutes from Hartford. As someone born and raised on the east side of Des Moines, that seems familiar.

 

[dosry5]

That will never happen. Storrs is more remote than Ames but there’s still no space. And the population of the state is all south so Hartford makes more sense. Believe it or not they used to have one on campus when they were FCS. It was tiny and awful. They’ve invested a ton in sports and I do think if challenged to upgrade their football they could get better. Won’t be anything crazy but they could be become a team that wins 6-7 games a year with an occasional 8-9 wins.

So they could be like us?

 

[ClonerJams]

**** it, do it. Yormark has earned the benefit of the doubt. Think of a cold Saturday in February and the slate of Big 12 basketball games:
Arizona at Kansas
UConn at Iowa State
Baylor at Houston

Glorious

 

[Nolaeer]

If it makes the big 12 more money, im all for adding uconn. Another eastern school, and an easy w in football.

UCONN owns the NYC market in hoops, and that is a big deal.

 

[Clonehomer]

If it makes the big 12 more money, im all for adding uconn. Another eastern school, and an easy w in football.

UCONN owns the NYC market in hoops, and that is a big deal.

Will it though? The TV contract isn’t up anytime soon. Adding football schools may open that up for negotiation, but there’s no guarantee that adding basketball teams will. I guess I’d much prefer to wait until the basketball contract is separated and models with and without UCONN can be presented to see if they do bring money.

 

[theshadow]

If it makes the big 12 more money, im all for adding uconn.

$40M/year is the break-even point.

 

[ClubCy]

Will it though? The TV contract isn’t up anytime soon. Adding football schools may open that up for negotiation, but there’s no guarantee that adding basketball teams will. I guess I’d much prefer to wait until the basketball contract is separated and models with and without UCONN can be presented to see if they do bring money.

You honestly think every single inch of this isn’t being researched, modeled, and projected. They are talking with the tv partners about every possible outcome and what the payout would be.

 

[BMWallace]

Yormark must really believe that Basketball is being undervalued.

I guess I’m of the opinion of why the rush, unless there is a financial payout to adding them now? The SEC and the BIG10 don’t seem interested, and the ACC is currently going through a bumpy road whose outlook appears to be doubtful it’ll survive.

The huge growth in attention around women's basketball over the last few years is worth considering. It doesn't seem totally inconceivable that women's basketball could become a revenue generator for the top leagues. And UCONN just so happens to have one have one of the greatest dynasties of this century in WBB.

 

[CySmurf]

Dellinger says there's also a pathway for football to join at the next media deal. UConn HAS to take this if offered.

Sources: UConn, Big 12 in serious negotiations about Huskies joining as newest expansion member

In the latest version of the deal, UConn would join the conference as a member in all sports except football starting, at latest, in 2026.

sports.yahoo.com

To even offer this as a deal, Yormack and the BigXII have to think UCONN would be able to meet all the requirements for football by 2031 to compare with other BigXII teams. Otherwise, why put it on the table.

 

[Nolaeer]

if the big 12 goes down this path of basketball only schools, we have to take nova too, that's a no brainer. Probably Georgetown for dc market, and 1 more.

 

[jctisu]

Storrs is baffling to me. It's just the school and nothing else. But the state is a quarter the size of Iowa and bit bigger population wise so the location outside Hartford sort of works. Ok campus is always better though. They don't even play half their basketball games on campus.

Oh yeah Storrs is so unique. The campus is a lot like Iowa State though and it feels like a college campus. Their new sports complex is really impressive with soccer, softball and an insanely nice new ice arena for hockey.

It’s still a point of contention out here with UConn fans that Gampel has less big games for basketball. Gampel is a cool place to see a game.

But yeah, football needs so much space it just doesn’t work up there. And the bigger issue is the traffic. There are like two tiny roads that go in and out of Storrs. Gampel traffic alone is brutal.

 

[jctisu]

if the big 12 goes down this path of basketball only schools, we have to take nova too, that's a no brainer. Probably Georgetown for dc market, and 1 more.

No way to Georgetown imo. UConn is the flagship school in CT and has way more success and branding. Nova has had much more recent success, so would be more apt for them but not wild. Creighton is one that I am all for if adding basketball only. They are the show in Nebraska from a hoops standpoint.

But Georgetown isn’t even a shell of what they were 20 years ago.

I hope that UConn is the only add and we still hold out for the ACC implosion.

 

[Die4Cy]

If it makes the big 12 more money, im all for adding uconn. Another eastern school, and an easy w in football.

UCONN owns the NYC market in hoops, and that is a big deal.

Yormark is betting on the come that a few years from now he will be able to split the bids for football and basketball, and with the right mix of basketball adds, see to it we all profit. I'm just not so sure. Football concentrates viewers which is what ad buyers and networks are after and proven to pay for. Basketball just hasn't shown the same juice. I'm open to the idea that there is some formula that turns this on its head, but I haven't seen evidence that networks will be willing to pay generously for it yet. Because this theory will require basketball to carry part of the load for football, I think we should all be pretty skeptical of new adds. We haven't even had time to absorb the last two rounds of realignment into the Big 12 yet, and conference payouts per school are actually being reduced in the near term to make that happen.

I think BY needs to chill a bit.