Congrats to Val if UConn rumors are true!

[Xudash]

I don't understand why these money questions keep coming up. I thought it was well settled when Fox and BE got together, that there was money (if needed) to add 2 more teams. I would thing UConn will get the same as the other 10 teams now.

I don't recall actual confirmation of the contract increase. I think the closest confirmation was from the NY Times: "But the contract could spike to $600 million if the conference grows to a dozen teams, according to two people briefed on the contract but not authorized to speak publicly about its terms." Other unknown details would be if there might have been a time limit for it to be activated or if the raise required 2 additions exactly.

Potentially adding UConn might result in a short term per school decrease but I think UConn is more important for the next contract rather than the current.


NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/spor ... collection

I suppose anything is possible when it comes to boarding UCONN into the BE, but it's a pretty easy thing for FOX to hop on a plane or catch a cab to BE HQ - or have the BE people travel to FOX intergalactic HQ - to "negotiate" and firm up a true-up of the existing deal to keep things moving along financially as they look now (i.e. per school). I'm sure we'll learn about how this piece shakes out soon enough.

[DeePhence]

Val has been great.

We can argue over concrete accomplishments like MSG and the Big 10 an Big 12 series, and now UConn.

But her efforts at promoting the league, managing the presidents and ADs. The whole culture of the conference and the obvious respect she has from HCs and the schools, and I can't think of a foot she has put wrong.

[MUPanther]

I guess the question to me will be the TV deal. This is year 7 of the 12 year deal. Is Fox doing an extension early to get more money in here? it's early, but it's not incredibly early.

That is a good point stever. This could very well be the first move in negotiations for the next contract. Would be interesting to know how much Fox put into making this work.

I don't understand why these money questions keep coming up. I thought it was well settled when Fox and BE got together, that there was money (if needed) to add 2 more teams. I would thing UConn will get the same as the other 10 teams now.

Not any two schools. It was St. Louis and Dayton.

[CoachK]

Val has been great.

We can argue over concrete accomplishments like MSG and the Big 10 an Big 12 series, and now UConn.

But her efforts at promoting the league, managing the presidents and ADs. The whole culture of the conference and the obvious respect she has from HCs and the schools, and I can't think of a foot she has put wrong.

Agree with the last paragraph. But as for the "concrete accomplishments" in the 2nd paragraph, I don't think you can argue too many of them either (not that I think you are trying to). MSG is great, and an important piece. And how could you not want your league associated with P5 conferences like the Big 10 and the Big 12 through series/challenges. It only further enhances the national perception of the league that the P5 is really a P6 in basketball. I think those are big as well.

Which all adds up to agreeing with your original premise - Val has been great !

[scoscox]

Yea, the conference challenges with the big 12 and big ten were enormous. huge gets

[gtmoBlue]

I don't understand why these money questions keep coming up. I thought it was well settled when Fox and BE got together, that there was money (if needed) to add 2 more teams. I would thing UConn will get the same as the other 10 teams now.

I don't recall actual confirmation of the contract increase. I think the closest confirmation was from the NY Times: "But the contract could spike to $600 million if the conference grows to a dozen teams, according to two people briefed on the contract but not authorized to speak publicly about its terms." Other unknown details would be if there might have been a time limit for it to be activated or if the raise required 2 additions exactly.

Potentially adding UConn might result in a short term per school decrease but I think UConn is more important for the next contract rather than the current.


NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/spor ... collection

I suppose anything is possible when it comes to boarding UCONN into the BE, but it's a pretty easy thing for FOX to hop on a plane or catch a cab to BE HQ - or have the BE people travel to FOX intergalactic HQ - to "negotiate" and firm up a true-up of the existing deal to keep things moving along financially as they look now (i.e. per school). I'm sure we'll learn about how this piece shakes out soon enough.

As noted in another thread...one good thing about this UConn deal is that at this late date, their coming aboard opens the door for contract renegotiations. Evidently, our current contract is undervalued according to some authorities (increased viewership, excellent performance, 2 national championships, etc.) and this scenario opens a window of opportunity to renegotiate. So we could all be getting a raise, thanks to this expansion.

Pulled from Reputable Barnyard Posts thread, page 3 - quote pulled from Jet915's post...

Second, the NBE has outperformed their TV contract handily. And not only have their TV #s been way better than forecast, they've won 2 National Championships in the last 4 years. So the conference's contract is way under-valued. The problem is, they signed a long-term contract that doesn't expire until spring 2026. The only way their contract can be opened back up for revaluation by Fox, is if there is a change in their membership. Adding UConn allows the Big East to bring their contract up to market value based on the Big East's performance on TV the past 5-6 years + UConn's value. So that contract is going to seriously, seriously jump in value. And, UConn is going to provide a significantly greater boon to the NBE's TV payout than they ever would have in the ACC or Big 12, simply b/c if you look at the historical ratings for basketball, the highest annual TV rating (b-ball) for most programs in the OBE was against UConn. The NBE adding UConn for basketball would be a poor man's version of the Big Ten adding Notre Dame for football. There's so much history & bad blood there, the ratings will be outstanding. So if you're looking at the current AAC payout and comparing it to the current NBE payout, and thinking "this sucks, what the **** are they thinking?!?!.....when the dust settles, UConn will make MORE money in the NBE (+ whatever they do for football) than they were making in the AAC.

From a financial perspective, this is going to be a huge win for UConn. The big question is how this affects ticket sales for football. But looking at recent attendance data, I assume UConn's leadership felt a move of the football program out of the AAC couldn't hurt that revenue stream enough to off set the huge jump they'll get from the NBE side.

Okay, okay... I'm Sold! Money talks and BS walks. Significantly more dinars? I'm Sold!

[MUPanther]

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-hus ... story.html

[pki1998]

Val (and her staff) deserves a lot of this move! Under her leadership the conference has hit several home runs

1) Gavitt Games
2) MSG Extension
3) Big12 Challenge
4) UConn Rejoining

There is not a commissioner around that has done as much for there league in the last five years. In addition she has avoided bad decisions, including the following:

1) Not expanding just to expand.

2) Not accepting a PAC challenge that excluded UCLA and Arizona

I was in the group that thought getting UConn was a pipe dream. Even if the AAC was raided by other conernces and UConn was not one of the teams taken, I would have thought it a return was still very unlikely. The fact Val was able to pull this off without the AAC exploding is even more impressive.

Eventually we will expand to 12 (or beyond). Since apparently pipe dreams can come true, I challenge Val to come up with a way to get Notre Dame, Syracuse or Boston College back. I know the chances of that are ~0%, but I can dream.

[Django]

Maybe a pipe dream but Norte Dames tv contract with NBC (15 mil a year) comes up for negotiations in 2025 and they are only getting 6.8 mil from the ACC... FS1 and the Big East must step up on this one... pass the pipe PKI1998, it’s wake and bake time.

[X Hoops 19]

Maybe a pipe dream but Norte Dames tv contract with NBC (15 mil a year) comes up for negotiations in 2025 and they are only getting 6.8 mil from the ACC... FS1 and the Big East must step up on this one... pass the pipe PKI1998, it’s wake and bake time.

Situations like this are why there shouldn’t be any hurry to expand, again. 10 days ago, none of us expected UConn to be in the Big East, again, anytime soon. But here we are, all of a sudden, with them ready to join next season. Things shift so quickly today, and we’re operating out of position of strength. We can wait for 2024/2025 to see how things shake out and be comfortable with either doing nothing or taking on another slam dunk candidate.