UConn to the Big 12?

[GoldenWarrior11]

Reports were that B12 Presidents did not give the votes necessary to approve UConn (or Gonzaga) months ago when BY pushed for them then. If they have changed their tune now, wonder what is now different.

[Omaha1]

Doesn’t sound like a done deal by any means.

Also, this: The Big East requires departing schools to give 27 months notice and a $15 million exit fee. If it is able to extricate itself from the Big East, UConn football would then join the Big 12 for the 2031 season.

[Django]

OSU is arguably the top program left in the Big 12. And even their mullet-headed ass who pulled the “I’m a man!” stunt is able to see the reality:

“We’ve been competing against teams that pay a ton of money, and we’re not paying a ton of money,” Gundy said in a discussion with a small group of reporters following his first weekly press conference of the season. “We only paid $2.7 million last year, and there was 25 teams that paid over $15 million — we know that for a fact — and maybe more than that.

“In my opinion, you’re not gonna be able to compete anymore on a low budget. You just won’t be able to do it. You won’t have any players.”

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/sports/ ... 905319007/

I guess you can’t blame UConn for trying but if this idiot—who had T Boone Pickens backing him with millions until 2019—can be more honest with himself and his football program than the AD in Storrs that is pretty sad.

[GreatDaneAttorney]

Exactly, it’s just AAC 2.0, this time with a few Big XII stragglers joining the party. There are ZERO marquee football programs in the Big XII. Zero. Between the ACC and Big XII, the Big XII has a much lower ceiling, even if they’re doing ok at the moment.

Would UConn really be much better off over there?

[DeltaV]

Exactly, it’s just AAC 2.0, this time with a few Big XII stragglers joining the party. There are ZERO marquee football programs in the Big XII. Zero. Between the ACC and Big XII, the Big XII has a much lower ceiling, even if they’re doing ok at the moment.

Would UConn really be much better off over there?

That's a pretty big assumption that there will be any marque football programs left in the ACC in a year or two...

Though you're right, the geography makes a ton more sense. Once Clemson, FSU, and a few others are gone it'll basically be the old Football Big East.

There will be two top tier conferences (BIG and SEC), two second tier (ACC and B12), two has been (AAC and whatever the PAC ends up as), and then everyone else.

[Django]

I’m so glad to have Val. She’s an awesome class act and makes Yormark look like a tool. Imagine if Val was endlessly obsessed with expansion and paraded ADs from Gonzaga in front of our ADs every year just to turn them down and get a power rush from it? The dude has serious insecurity issues and he loves to take it out on Yukon. Pathetic.

[Xudash]

I think you guys are spot on with this.

UCONN is hellbent on making it to a "P4" conference. UCONN believes it must land there in order to be "safe" for the long term. UCONN football and college football in the Northeast are, shall we say less important in a region that loves pro sports and college hoops. Yet UCONN sees itself as a flagship state school - that is true - that SHOULD be a player in the FBS game - not exactly a shared perception nationally. It's almost a "get there at all costs" mentality that they're pursuing here.

A CBS article points out the following:

There are also concerns that UConn is "one of the most heavily subsidized public FBS athletic departments in the country," according to Sportico.

Some Big 12 CEOs are also reluctant about the uncertainty of the House v. NCAA settlement, in which FBS schools will have the option of adding up to $23 million per year in revenue sharing to be distributed to players. While it is almost a certainty that Big Ten and SEC schools could afford that number, no Big 12 administrator who spoke to CBS Sports could assure that all 16 members could fully fund revenue sharing.

The subsidized athletic department point is important. Real athletic department revenue - the revenue actually generated by the sport being played - versus subsidies that come from student fees, state support, etc. UCONN is bleeding and they've been bleeding for a while now. On top of that, they're facing a massive capital expenditure to deal with their screwed up football stadium - needs work and it's in the wrong place. If they stick with the existing stadium, then the number appears to be up to $200 million. If they attempt to do it right and build on campus, then it's that number times two, at least.

It is as though UCONN is a 1974 Chevrolet Vega, already running at full throttle with pieces falling off, attempting to keep up with 16 Big 12 Honda Accords, all of which are getting boat raced by a bunch of Mercedes Benz's and BMW's from the B1G and the SEC. Worse yet, everyone knows that the speed limit is going up on the track, brought about by NIL, "reparations", and ultimately direct compensation.

- - - - - -

Imagine walking into a Credit Committee at a bank or an Investment Committee at a VC or PE group and getting pitched this:

1. Direct operating revenue is exceeded by direct operating expenses, by a large margin.

2. We have operated on that basis essentially since committing to D1A football.

3. We "balance" our books through institutional subsidies and donations, etc.

4. We have made capital investments in our football facilities (e.g. practice facility), but our Rentschler Field is located in East Hartford, Connecticut. It needs work, but we should consider that we are not providing a full game day experience to our fans by not having an on campus stadium in Storrs. Either way, we have a major capital investment to make in order to address a key lacking facility piece.

So, someone on one of these committees stops the presenter in his or her tracks and asks a few simple questions:

Committee guy: What is your average home attendance at your football games?

Presenter says: Well, less than 20k.

Committee Guy: What average attendance number do you need in order to break even at your stadium?

Presenter: 20,000, at least. That number (tickets scanned) is the state’s approximate break-even point for holding a game at Rentschler. When the number dips below 20,000, building operations must be supplemented.

Committee Guy: What were your best attendance numbers last year, and what was your overall average?

Presenter: The best scan numbers last season was 15,600 for Syracuse and 15,300 for Boston College. Overall, the Huskies attracted 72,505 to the stadium for an average of 12,084 over six home games.

Committee Guy: So, you're bleeding profusely financially speaking?

Presenter: Well, uh, um, we're looking to have a better year this year and really turn those numbers around.

Committee Guy: This Big 12 pitch appears to state that you would not become a football member of the Big 12 for 7 years, and that you'll be expected to invest for the opportunity to then be considered for football membership at that time, do I have that right?

Presenter: Basically, yes.

Committee Guy: So, you want to join a conference - a conference that lost its two marquee programs to the SEC - wherein you would not receive any conference football distributions any sooner than 7 years down the road, following massive CAPEX just to catch yourselves up on the facilities piece, where you would then be at least $30 million annually behind any SEC or B1G program for competition purposes, and where you haven't even fully realized the impact of NIL, player compensation and lawsuit "back pay" to former athletes on your already stressed athletic department?

Presenter: Pretty solid deal, huh! How much would you like to invest in UCONN football?

[Django]

Well said Dash. We all should be thrilled with the Big East new contract. I wish there were more info on the $20 million revenue sharing and how it will help Big East schools (minus Yukon) because we don’t have 100 pigskin mouths to feed first!

[Savannah Jay]

I think you guys are spot on with this.

UCONN is hellbent on making it to a "P4" conference. UCONN believes it must land there in order to be "safe" for the long term. UCONN football and college football in the Northeast are, shall we say less important in a region that loves pro sports and college hoops. Yet UCONN sees itself as a flagship state school - that is true - that SHOULD be a player in the FBS game - not exactly a shared perception nationally. It's almost a "get there at all costs" mentality that they're pursuing here.

A CBS article points out the following:

There are also concerns that UConn is "one of the most heavily subsidized public FBS athletic departments in the country," according to Sportico.

Some Big 12 CEOs are also reluctant about the uncertainty of the House v. NCAA settlement, in which FBS schools will have the option of adding up to $23 million per year in revenue sharing to be distributed to players. While it is almost a certainty that Big Ten and SEC schools could afford that number, no Big 12 administrator who spoke to CBS Sports could assure that all 16 members could fully fund revenue sharing.

The subsidized athletic department point is important. Real athletic department revenue - the revenue actually generated by the sport being played - versus subsidies that come from student fees, state support, etc. UCONN is bleeding and they've been bleeding for a while now. On top of that, they're facing a massive capital expenditure to deal with their screwed up football stadium - needs work and it's in the wrong place. If they stick with the existing stadium, then the number appears to be up to $200 million. If they attempt to do it right and build on campus, then it's that number times two, at least.

It is as though UCONN is a 1974 Chevrolet Vega, already running at full throttle with pieces falling off, attempting to keep up with 16 Big 12 Honda Accords, all of which are getting boat raced by a bunch of Mercedes Benz's and BMW's from the B1G and the SEC. Worse yet, everyone knows that the speed limit is going up on the track, brought about by NIL, "reparations", and ultimately direct compensation.

- - - - - -

Imagine walking into a Credit Committee at a bank or an Investment Committee at a VC or PE group and getting pitched this:

1. Direct operating revenue is exceeded by direct operating expenses, by a large margin.

2. We have operated on that basis essentially since committing to D1A football.

3. We "balance" our books through institutional subsidies and donations, etc.

4. We have made capital investments in our football facilities (e.g. practice facility), but our Rentschler Field is located in East Hartford, Connecticut. It needs work, but we should consider that we are not providing a full game day experience to our fans by not having an on campus stadium in Storrs. Either way, we have a major capital investment to make in order to address a key lacking facility piece.

So, someone on one of these committees stops the presenter in his or her tracks and asks a few simple questions:

Committee guy: What is your average home attendance at your football games?

Presenter says: Well, less than 20k.

Committee Guy: What average attendance number do you need in order to break even at your stadium?

Presenter: 20,000, at least. That number (tickets scanned) is the state’s approximate break-even point for holding a game at Rentschler. When the number dips below 20,000, building operations must be supplemented.

Committee Guy: What were your best attendance numbers last year, and what was your overall average?

Presenter: The best scan numbers last season was 15,600 for Syracuse and 15,300 for Boston College. Overall, the Huskies attracted 72,505 to the stadium for an average of 12,084 over six home games.

Committee Guy: So, you're bleeding profusely financially speaking?

Presenter: Well, uh, um, we're looking to have a better year this year and really turn those numbers around.

Committee Guy: This Big 12 pitch appears to state that you would not become a football member of the Big 12 for 7 years, and that you'll be expected to invest for the opportunity to then be considered for football membership at that time, do I have that right?

Presenter: Basically, yes.

Committee Guy: So, you want to join a conference - a conference that lost its two marquee programs to the SEC - wherein you would not receive any conference football distributions any sooner than 7 years down the road, following massive CAPEX just to catch yourselves up on the facilities piece, where you would then be at least $30 million annually behind any SEC or B1G program for competition purposes, and where you haven't even fully realized the impact of NIL, player compensation and lawsuit "back pay" to former athletes on your already stressed athletic department?

Presenter: Pretty solid deal, huh! How much would you like to invest in UCONN football?

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

[Vill]

Let 'em go. Not the end of the world.