(02-28-2024 08:05 AM)XLance Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 07:41 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Connecticut was on the shortlist (final 2) when Maryland left and the ACC ultimately bent toward the will of the football schools and chose Louisville. I imagine they haven’t fallen that far down the list. I do think South Florida creeps past Connecticut if either or both of Florida St and Miami to the P2. I think Connecticut is the next best option but I could envision a scenario where they fall behind Memphis and Tulane, as well.

UConn would be a great addition for some conference.
There are drawbacks.
Football stadium is 35 miles from campus?
Blumenthal's law suit against the ACC.
There aren't enough college football fans in New England to support two P4 college teams.

BTW if the ACC wouldn't invite West Virginia because of academics, they wouldn't invite Memphis either.

I disagree with this. There are enough UConn fans in Connecticut to support UConn in a P4 conference.

Could the ACC offer UConn a "Notre Dame" deal, full membership in all but football but 5 ACC games a year? The ACC gets UConn's basketball teams but not their full football. Connecticut is still independent and would have no chance at the ACC Championship but would have 5 games a year accounted for. If UConn gets better in football they can get full football membership.

I mentioned in another thread the MAC for football only is a possibility but UConn will likely have to play MAC teams in basketball non conference to get in.

(02-28-2024 10:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Could the ACC offer UConn a "Notre Dame" deal, full membership in all but football but 5 ACC games a year? The ACC gets UConn's basketball teams but not their full football. Connecticut is still independent and would have no chance at the ACC Championship but would have 5 games a year accounted for. If UConn gets better in football they can get full football membership.

I mentioned in another thread the MAC for football only is a possibility but UConn will likely have to play MAC teams in basketball non conference to get in.

But UConn would not be getting 4-5 P4 games a year (through 2027), including typically two at home, as a MAC FB school. They'd struggle to get one P4 school at home annually.

And the MAC would at least want a H/A pair of OOC games from both MBB and WBB, which UConn would be loathe to give.

When one side both doesn't really want what is on offer and also thinks the price is too high, that makes it really hard to close that deal.

I don't think it is a stretch at all to state that UConn's chances of gaining entry into the B1G/SEC are near zero. The question becomes what does the future of the B12 and ACC look like, what the value for each league is, and whether or not each league can add value with UConn as a full member.

The ACC value will inevitably take a hit with the loss of FSU, and perhaps others. Does that get cushioned with exit fees? Of course, but once those exit fees run its course, the ACC is less valuable without FSU (and perhaps others) than with them. The B12 is maximizing value right now across dual platforms in ESPN and FOX. Could they eventually poach ACC members for a full eastern wing? Possibly. At 16 members, the Big 12 (just like the B1G and SEC) have a limited number of spots to maximize value and avoid diminished returns. If Clemson is left out, they would be at the top of the list. So would a Virginia Tech, a Georgia Tech, a Louisville, etc. By the mid-2030's, it's not only possible that the ACC doesn't look the same at all, but also that UConn simply is not more valuable to add than other ACC programs looking to jump.

I would not count out current ACC members (namely Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Boston College) from inevitably returning to the Big East and forming a NE football alliance. But that is many years down the road, IMO. I think the odds are greater of UConn staying in the Big East with other programs left out of the P2/M1 structure than UConn jumping into another league. That's just MO though.

7 years.

Why couldn’t UConn play an 8-game MAC schedule plus 4 P4 games?

That would seem to be the best of both worlds—you still have the benefit of conference membership and a path to the CFP but also a strong slate of home games that includes 2 P4s (and presumably 2 on the road).

Depends how long they can continue sustain massive financial losses. Nobody is going to give them a football only invite so they are just going to have to wait and play the long game.

(02-28-2024 11:28 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Why couldn’t UConn play an 8-game MAC schedule plus 4 P4 games?

That would seem to be the best of both worlds—you still have the benefit of conference membership and a path to the CFP but also a strong slate of home games that includes 2 P4s (and presumably 2 on the road).

MAC has no reasons to give them any concessions. MAC will say all sports or nothing and UConn will say No. People would be shocked and stunned if the MAC said you can come join for football only. Those days are over.

(02-28-2024 09:34 AM)tf8693 Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 09:25 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  I think the better question is how long until a conference will take Yukon football.

Depends on the conference. CUSA or MAC would take UConn as a football-only member now, no question about it.

What are you basing this on because I dont see why they would do that.

However long it takes for the ACC to be jailbroken.

(02-28-2024 11:28 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Why couldn’t UConn play an 8-game MAC schedule plus 4 P4 games?

That would seem to be the best of both worlds—you still have the benefit of conference membership and a path to the CFP but also a strong slate of home games that includes 2 P4s (and presumably 2 on the road).

They don't quite average 2 home P4 games right now (with the flexibility of independent scheduling). So they probably couldn't guarantee 2 home/2 away. And without that, you need an FCS and then that limits your options even farther, etc.

But yeah, they could try.

(02-28-2024 09:42 AM)mikeinsec127 Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 08:05 AM)XLance Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 07:41 AM)BePcr07 Wrote:  Connecticut was on the shortlist (final 2) when Maryland left and the ACC ultimately bent toward the will of the football schools and chose Louisville. I imagine they haven’t fallen that far down the list. I do think South Florida creeps past Connecticut if either or both of Florida St and Miami to the P2. I think Connecticut is the next best option but I could envision a scenario where they fall behind Memphis and Tulane, as well.

UConn would be a great addition for some conference.
There are drawbacks.
Football stadium is 35 miles from campus?
Blumenthal's law suit against the ACC.
There aren't enough college football fans in New England to support two P4 college teams.

BTW if the ACC wouldn't invite West Virginia because of academics, they wouldn't invite Memphis either.

An off campus stadium is only a problem if you can’t sell it out. The real stadium issue is its size. Which at 38k is quite small by P conference standards.
If the ACC could get UConn to accept a SMU deal or even a Call/Stanford deal, any lingering animosity over the lawsuit would be forgiven.
New England is not known as a football hot bed. Fortunately for UConn, by the time it gets an ACC invite, there won’t be 2 P schools in NE, they will both be in a M conference.

(02-28-2024 11:32 AM)darkdragon99 Wrote:  

(02-28-2024 11:28 AM)Fighting Muskie Wrote:  Why couldn’t UConn play an 8-game MAC schedule plus 4 P4 games?

That would seem to be the best of both worlds—you still have the benefit of conference membership and a path to the CFP but also a strong slate of home games that includes 2 P4s (and presumably 2 on the road).

MAC has no reasons to give them any concessions. MAC will say all sports or nothing and UConn will say No. People would be shocked and stunned if the MAC said you can come join for football only. Those days are over.

The sentiment among MAC fans may or may not be the sentiment among MAC Presidents. At some price, the MAC might be willing to consider it ... they are one of the few schools where they could spread H/A OOC basketball games between MBB and WBB and it would still be a sweetener.

But since UConn is not likely to want to do it for free, they are even less likely to want to pay any appreciable price to do so.

I have mixed emotions when I ponder — in an unrealistic hypothetical — Memphis being a Big East member and an independent in football (ala UConn). There clearly would be some major benefits to the Tiger men's basketball program being aligned with the BE. But for football and baseball purposes, the AAC is the preferable option.

And Memphis would not benefit as much so from Big East rivalries as does UConn. Memphis has shared a league with only three Big East members (UConn, DePaul and Marquette). In contrast, UConn returned to the Big East after having shared a home in that league with DePaul, Marquette, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John's and Providence. Huge difference.

As I've posted previously, there is scenario (though some might scoff at the idea) in which multiple schools with FBS football, primarily from the ACC, join the Big East and then create a football-only league that operates separately of the Big East (an arrangement the NCAA currently does not allow for FBS). UConn (in that hypothetical) could then be a member of both leagues and be very content.

I don't think Uconn really cares what Umass does.

If Uconn wants to continue the series Umass isn't going to say no, the only difference is that now its harder to schedule during the conference part of the season.

Army going to the AAC was a much bigger blow. Army is be a lost H/H with higher clout.

There's no benefit in joining the MAC/SBC/CUSA.

They can schedule H/H with those types of schools easily.

They're scheduling plan is actually pretty sound.

3 H/H with lower tier P4 teams (BC, Wake, Cuse, Duke, Maryland, NC State, Virginia, ect) type.
1 sell game to some big name power team (Tennesee, Clemson, Michigan, OSU)
1 buy game against some FCS team
7 H/H against some G5/Independents teams.

As long as they can keep that up they'll be fine.

Gotta see what happens with the CBS contract. With Army off to ESPN I imagine CBS picks up their 4 years worth of options for UConn to be the cbssn house band.

There's a lot to be said for playing all your games on Saturday afternoons, with a definite TV home to boot.

(02-28-2024 11:40 AM)Crayton Wrote:  However long it takes for the ACC to be jailbroken.

That's coming...two years away.

(02-28-2024 08:34 AM)rtist Wrote:  I'm going to rephrase the OP question this way: how long until UConn leaves the Big East?

The reason I do this is no conference will want UConn for football only.

When the ACC sends an invite. UConn football, just like UMass football, until this week, needs a conference. The program is just spinning wheels without hope until they find a home. Congrats to UMass by the way

(02-28-2024 01:30 PM)Bogg Wrote:  Gotta see what happens with the CBS contract. With Army off to ESPN I imagine CBS picks up their 4 years worth of options for UConn to be the cbssn house band.

There's a lot to be said for playing all your games on Saturday afternoons, with a definite TV home to boot.

With the CUSA games going midweek in October and MWC games not being available for a noon ETZ kickoff, at the level of CBSSN there's a lot to like about a UConn schedule with regular home games against the likes of Syracuse, Pitt, Indiana, etc.

(02-28-2024 10:30 AM)schmolik Wrote:  Could the ACC offer UConn a "Notre Dame" deal, full membership in all but football but 5 ACC games a year? The ACC gets UConn's basketball teams but not their full football. Connecticut is still independent and would have no chance at the ACC Championship but would have 5 games a year accounted for. If UConn gets better in football they can get full football membership.

I mentioned in another thread the MAC for football only is a possibility but UConn will likely have to play MAC teams in basketball non conference to get in.

The problem with your vision is that basketball still doesn’t generate enough revenues for this type of arrangement to work for the ACC. If there is a split/breakaway, in the manner that Baker was proposing, then I could see UConn adding sufficient value to the ACC or B12. Behind the scenes, UConn should be encouraging high revenue schools to separate themselves from NCAA D1. UConn has a large athletic budget and strong brands in men’s and women’s basketball. Unfortunately, all of UConn’s postseason accomplishments are merely enriching the NCAA.

The dilemma for UConn is that even in the best case scenario, a split/breakaway probably dooms the current Big East structure. I could see some BE programs going along with power conferences (e.g., UConn, Nova, Georgetown, Marquette, etc.); other BE schools don’t have the commitment to broad-based athletics and/or resources needed (e.g., DePaul, Butler, Seton Hall, etc.).