UConn to BIG 12?

[Alphawalt]

Saw an article a few days ago of UConn flirting with Big 12 and making a pitch that they really truly CAN develop a competitive football team. WHAT A F-ING JOKE!!! They will NEVER BE a competitive football school, it was previously definitively proven. I say if they are looking to join a football conference, that they should be kicked out of BE. This is a sincere statement. I don’t care about their basketball pedigree, if they are looking to leave, tell them here’s the door, hopes it hits your ass on the way out.

[Chicagojayfan]

Saw an article a few days ago of UConn flirting with Big 12 and making a pitch that they really truly CAN develop a competitive football team. WHAT A F-ING JOKE!!! They will NEVER BE a competitive football school, it was previously definitively proven. I say if they are looking to join a football conference, that they should be kicked out of BE. This is a sincere statement. I don’t care about their basketball pedigree, if they are looking to leave, tell them here’s the door, hopes it hits your ass on the way out.

I've seen this rumor also -- Their fan base and some donors seem obsessed with building a major conference football team, and given their success in BBall and Women's BBall you have to wonder why. I'm not sure it's really possible for them to do that in a sustainable way

[WBR Tom]

It's not a huge surprise, and they're not just rumors -- CBS and Yahoo both reported that UConn made a formal presentation to the Big 12's commissioner last week, and that the commissioner shared his findings with the league presidents on Monday.

They need "yes" votes from 12 of 16 members to invite UConn to join the league. CBS verified that six Big 12 schools are in favor of adding them. Two are against, meaning only three more "no" votes (of the eight undecided schools) would scuttle the move. And with no formal vote taking place -- and with none scheduled -- it doesn't take much to imagine which way the wind is blowing.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-footb ... -decision/

It's also reported FOX is against the move, and would refuse to add $$ to their Big 12 contract -- meaning everyone else takes a smaller cut if UConn joins. ESPN is reportedly in favor (shocker) but would have to pony up roughly $40m on their own to cover UConn's addition since FOX isn't interested.

UConn would owe the Big East $15m in exit fees AND walk away from the substantial NCAA Tournament payouts that their last two titles generated; assuming ESPN isn't interested in paying $40m to add one school for hoops only, it makes no financial sense for them to move at the moment. But I'd bet by the end of the decade that calculus changes -- the Big 12's deal is up in 2031. If UConn is still in the Big East in 2032 I'll be mildly surprised.

Either way, the Big East will continue to be great, just like it was before UConn came back.

[cujaysfan]

It isn't.

They are in a low talent region. Have no history of football success. Have little ability to lure quality coach and build NIL. Further your fans only care about the Patriots.

Comparatively, Penn St is in a football state, has history, talent, desire, and resources and they have been unsuccessful competing for a decade plus with OSU and Michigan for conference championships, playoff berths, etc.

There is no universe where UConn can ever hang with PSU in football.

Be who you are. You ain't nor will you ever be successful at football.

I hope this craters everything in their athletic department.

[Django]

Be who you are. You ain't nor will you ever be successful at football.

^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^

Know Thyself.

[Jaybird]

As satisfying as it might feel to kick their sorry asses out and let 'em flop around in the no man's land of Independents, there’s no logic in it. The BE can look forward to cashing in that fat exit fee when they bolt, and they always bolt. And then there's the tournament units. Yeah, UConn, stay.

But, as long as they’re here, I don't see why the Big East can't have some fun. Schedule them into Providence on a Saturday night, then send them to Creighton the next afternoon. Sometime in late January. Give 'em a steady diet of James Breeding, Pat Driscoll, and Jeff Anderson. Game after game. Where UConn goes, those three follow along. Save their best home games for when students are on break. Make sure all their homies are on weeknights.

And when it's time to open up ticket sales for the BET, well, dammit, UConn, there was a computer screwup and your section went away, just like you guys will eventually. Really sorry. But, hey, we've got a bunch of scattered singles all through the 300 level. We might even be able to find a pair together here and there. If you bring binocs, it's not so bad, and we'll have Sherpas available to set up a base camp for you on your way to the seats. We might even get the restrooms up there working by then. Well, a couple of them anyway. Stuff like that.

[JacobPadilla]

I think it's less about fielding a competitive Big 12 football program and more about having football conference money in the future as the college sports landscape continues to shift.

[Savannah Jay]

Posted this on Holy Land yesterday:

The website below illustrates the financial bind of UConn athletics. Of the $90M in athletic revenue, 35% is directly funded by the state, $17.74M (19%) from donations, and 6% from student fees. 60% from non-athletic sources. You can click on the "Where the Money Goes" and "Where the Money Comes From" for the big picture, then below are charts/data broken into four categories. Click on the "Athletics Debt," which has grown from $24M in 2018 to $58M in 2023. Yikes.

https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/aac/university-connecticut

Agree with Jacob that I'm not sure UConn leadership cares as much about "being good" as they do about getting a slice of a real conference with football and it's football money. They definitely need the money.

The athletic debt is shocking, but maybe it's normal??? Does anyone know if Creighton takes on any meaningful debt when building our top-notch facilities?

For kicks and grins, here is the same data for the University of Georgia. Perhaps the athletic debt at UConn isn't a big deal by comparison.

https://knightnewhousedata.org/fbs/sec/university-georgia

[cujaysfan]

IIRC. CU doesn't break ground until a project is fully funded. I'm guessing there has to be some overrun and inflation factored in.

We definitely have some significant physical plant upcoming.

Baseball stadium, new library, and additional Phoenix campus stuff

[Jaysker12]

I don't understand how a public school like UCONN can run up a debt of 50 million without someone in government putting a stop to it long before.... Maybe us midwesterners take austerity-as-good-business-practice for granted?? That just boggles my mind.