Will B12 additions free UCONN to join Big East?

[Dew]

You do understand Bill that Tulsa will be on TV more this year than they have been in the last 4-5 years by a wide margin. That's something you want to completely ignore. That's something that just can't be ignored. People here always want to bring up the money, but the exposure is far more important for programs like Tulsa. On one of the ESPN's at least 17 times this year. 4 more on CBSSN. Think about that. Last year they were on TV(to include conference final) 11 times. So this year will be DOUBLE what they got last year. That will help their recruiting big time. Same with programs like UCF, ECU, etc.

I think one thing also that shows is how poor the Big East TV deal was for us a few years ago. The AAC's deal is better than what the Big East had. By a mile.

Are you counting ESPN3? If so, that's a crazy statement to make. No one other than fans of the teams playing are going to watch a game on espn3 so it really doesn't add anything as far as exposure goes.

[billyjack]

You do understand Bill that Tulsa will be on TV more this year than they have been in the last 4-5 years by a wide margin. That's something you want to completely ignore. That's something that just can't be ignored. People here always want to bring up the money, but the exposure is far more important for programs like Tulsa. On one of the ESPN's at least 17 times this year. 4 more on CBSSN. Think about that. Last year they were on TV(to include conference final) 11 times. So this year will be DOUBLE what they got last year. That will help their recruiting big time. Same with programs like UCF, ECU, etc.

I think one thing also that shows is how poor the Big East TV deal was for us a few years ago. The AAC's deal is better than what the Big East had. By a mile.

Are you counting ESPN3? If so, that's a crazy statement to make. No one other than fans of the teams playing are going to watch a game on espn3 so it really doesn't add anything as far as exposure goes.

Yeah, I totally agree. No way a casual fan will seek out ESPN-3. And no way that can be compared to our coverage on FS1, where last year we had national telecasts of even our cupcake ooc games... PC-Vermont, Butler-Manchester (!), Butler-Lamar, DePaul- Chicago State... and countless others... St John's-Dartmouth...! Insane exposure for us.

A hoops fan's dream... I would tape the 7pm telecast, help the kids with homework, get them to bed, then watch the game while fast-forwarding through commercials. My 8-year old got to know the starting lineups on each BE team... saw Kellen Dunham as much as Rajon Rondo, and way more than Rakeem Christmas.

[stever20]

No, all of Tulsa games I said are on one of ESPN's tv networks. And yes- ratings wise, ESPNU got better ratings last year than FS1. So yes, Tulsa is getting way better exposure this year compared to last . It's not even remotely close.

Also- this year- FS1 has cut back on the # of OOC games they are showing. Last year FS1 had 49 OOC Big East home basketball games. This year that's down to only 42. More games are on FS2 or FSN this year. And you are delusional if you think a game on FS2 is anything remotely close to anything ESPN(even ESPN3). Fios doesn't even have it in HD. There was a reason last week when MLB had the overrun on baseball they moved the UFC to FX rather than FS2.

[Bill Marsh]

No, all of Tulsa games I said are on one of ESPN's tv networks. And yes- ratings wise, ESPNU got better ratings last year than FS1. So yes, Tulsa is getting way better exposure this year compared to last . It's not even remotely close.

Also- this year- FS1 has cut back on the # of OOC games they are showing. Last year FS1 had 49 OOC Big East home basketball games. This year that's down to only 42. More games are on FS2 or FSN this year. And you are delusional if you think a game on FS2 is anything remotely close to anything ESPN(even ESPN3). Fios doesn't even have it in HD. There was a reason last week when MLB had the overrun on baseball they moved the UFC to FX rather than FS2.

Does anyone care?

Fans watch their own teams during the season. People have busy lives. Only junkies are watching wall to wall hoops. I get to see all. The Big East games I want and the Big East gets the biggest revenue of any non-P5 league in the country - by far. The casual fans tune in for March and never has a problem getting any games they want to see.

[stever20]

No, all of Tulsa games I said are on one of ESPN's tv networks. And yes- ratings wise, ESPNU got better ratings last year than FS1. So yes, Tulsa is getting way better exposure this year compared to last . It's not even remotely close.

Also- this year- FS1 has cut back on the # of OOC games they are showing. Last year FS1 had 49 OOC Big East home basketball games. This year that's down to only 42. More games are on FS2 or FSN this year. And you are delusional if you think a game on FS2 is anything remotely close to anything ESPN(even ESPN3). Fios doesn't even have it in HD. There was a reason last week when MLB had the overrun on baseball they moved the UFC to FX rather than FS2.

Does anyone care?

Fans watch their own teams during the season. People have busy lives. Only junkies are watching wall to wall hoops. I get to see all. The Big East games I want and the Big East gets the biggest revenue of any non-P5 league in the country - by far. The casual fans tune in for March and never has a problem getting any games they want to see.

I'm sorry but you and others on here are just too focused on the $$$. You don't think having 17 games on ESPN networks will help Tulsa's recruiting at all? That's just bunk. Of course it will. Last year they had 4 of their 16 conference games on tv(not including CSS that no one gets just about- 2 games there). This year- all 18 conference games are televised. To act like that exposure is meaningless is really a joke. It's going to help programs like Tulsa, ECU, UCF, etc. grow fast.

[gosports1]

there is no doubt that moving tot he AAC was a good move for Tulsa. They will get more exposure good for them.
Comparing the # of tourney bids of schools from different conferences, IMO, isnt an accurate way to compare which is more successful. How many bids has Bucknell, Harvard or Iona received in the past few years? (I honestly dont know) but does that mean they are a better program than say Indiana or BC?

[DudeAnon]

*yawn*, are we really still sitting around arguing about TV ratings? I get that it can effect the health of the conference. But seriously, I can't think of a more boring discussion.

[robinreed]

I agree that Tulsa and all of the AAC schools which recently came from C-USA are having far better TV coverage than they ever had in C-USA. That means little as C-USA has traditionally had very poor viewership and coverage. I may be in a minority on this board because I truly prefer ESPN to Fox Sports but either way so long as FSN can gain viewership (which it does not currently have) the BE will be better off because of the difference in money which advantages the BE. I have stated on this board previously that our success as a conference will depend on our TV viewership, not attendance, not championships, not NCAA bids but only on viewership. If we can gain the type of viewership the old BE had we will be much more than successful. The problem as others have stated on this board before is that we are all relatively small schools with smaller student populations and alumnus than schools in the B10, Pac12, SEC, Big12 or even ACC.

I have confidence based on what I have seen thus far that we can do it. I never expect the BE to challenge the big boys on a yearly basis but I do believe that if Fox truly supports us we can be the sixth or seventh rated conference on TV. With only 10 schools that is a genuine accomplishment. Two years ago I was following XU and the A10 more than the old BE but I do remember they were listed fifth or sixth in viewership. Of course they had 16 teams at that time.

As an aside allow me to state if we want to secure much greater TV numbers the best way would be to add UCONN or BYU for basketball and minor sports. I see a great deal of opposition to UCONN on this board and it is truly mystifying.

[stever20]

I agree that Tulsa and all of the AAC schools which recently came from C-USA are having far better TV coverage than they ever had in C-USA. That means little as C-USA has traditionally had very poor viewership and coverage. I may be in a minority on this board because I truly prefer ESPN to Fox Sports but either way so long as FSN can gain viewership (which it does not currently have) the BE will be better off because of the difference in money which advantages the BE. I have stated on this board previously that our success as a conference will depend on our TV viewership, not attendance, not championships, not NCAA bids but only on viewership. If we can gain the type of viewership the old BE had we will be much more than successful. The problem as others have stated on this board before is that we are all relatively small schools with smaller student populations and alumnus than schools in the B10, Pac12, SEC, Big12 or even ACC.

I have confidence based on what I have seen thus far that we can do it. I never expect the BE to challenge the big boys on a yearly basis but I do believe that if Fox truly supports us we can be the sixth or seventh rated conference on TV. With only 10 schools that is a genuine accomplishment. Two years ago I was following XU and the A10 more than the old BE but I do remember they were listed fifth or sixth in viewership. Of course they had 16 teams at that time.

As an aside allow me to state if we want to secure much greater TV numbers the best way would be to add UCONN or BYU for basketball and minor sports. I see a great deal of opposition to UCONN on this board and it is truly mystifying.

The thing that exposure does is allow those schools to get in houses they never got in before. Being on TV is huge now.

I don't think success as a conference necessarily is dependent on viewership. Yes it helps. But also we have to perform on the floor. I mean- Georgetown and St John's still to this day have the #1 rated college basketball game ever on ESPN. Why? Because they were 1/2(amongst other reasons!).

I think the thing that surprises me about Fox is how little they advertised us last week in the LDS. I watched pretty much all of the Nats games and also some of the St Louis/Dodgers series- and never saw a Big East commercial. Why not?

[GoldenWarrior11]

The AAC schools are definitely getting more exposure and TV time. However, no recruit and/or fan wants to see their prospective/interested school get dominated by better competition week-in and week-out. AAC schools are a combined 4-20 against P5 competition. 4 wins and 20 losses. Winning just 16% of your games against superior competition will do absolutely nothing to the notion that you are not a power conference (which the league is not, and probably never will be) to the average fan. The AAC is also 17-26 in out-of-conference matchups, meaning they are just 13-6 against FCS, Sun Belt, MAC, Independent and C-USA schools - not exactly a glowing endorsement for an entity looking to separate itself from the rest of the pack.

If the AAC is happy getting more eye-balls on their poor, below-average product, that's perfectly fine - but it certainly won't be good for recruits looking to attend well-known football programs in premier conferences. There is no question that Cincinnati, UCONN and USF football programs have suffered since transitioning to the AAC, as their records reflect that and their quality of recruits reflect that.