Underdog
All American
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RE: Like it or not, this is a basketball conference. Embrace it!
(01-01-2018 05:29 PM)mustangxc Wrote: (12-31-2017 12:40 PM)Underdog Wrote: (12-31-2017 12:18 PM)Downtown Shocker Brown Wrote: (12-31-2017 11:52 AM)Underdog Wrote: (12-31-2017 09:54 AM)Downtown Shocker Brown Wrote: I’m curious, in what way does Football drive the bus for AAC teams?
I have been a follower of the USA today articles detailing wxpwnses for Athletic Departments. One thing I have noticed is most schools lose money on football. I am well aware that schools attribute a certain amout of operating expenses to football as they typically produce the most revenue. But I am curious how many AAC schools are making more than $5 mil in profit from Football? It costs a lot of money to play Football, but outside 5 major Football conferences, what schools are actually making money on Football?
I want to preface with this: I am a “Bring back football” to WSU supporter. Not FBS, but every school should have a FB team.
I hope the following answers your question:
“’BC athletic director Gene DeFilippo, who was part of the 12-member ACC expansion committee, adamantly denied that the move was dictated by basketball interests, but he did concede that the effects of it may boost that sport more than football.
‘It had nothing to do with basketball,’ said DeFilippo. ‘It was football money which drove expansion. It was football money and securing our future….
‘We always keep our television partners close to us,’ he said. ‘You don’t get extra money for basketball. It’s 85 percent football money. TV - ESPN - is the one who told us what to do. This was football; it had nothing to do with basketball.’’’
http://www.businessinsider.com/scandal-e...ce-2011-10
If you need further proof that the above is true, just look at the school WS just beat in basketball—UCONN. Moreover, if the networks valued basketball the same as football, there’s no way UCONN would still be in this conference. In addition to this, WS will regret not having a football program when the B12 dismantles this conference in the future. They would take a program with the worst basketball program on the planet but plays FBS before even considering WS.
If you don’t believe football drives FBS realignment, please consider the fact that ECU was given an invite by the Big East (although it was initially a football-only membership) because of its football program that’s supported strongly by its fans. There were other schools which had far better basketball programs that didn’t receive any consideration by the Big East. Heck… they even considered football-only invites for UNLV and Fresno St. to accompany the BSU and SDSU football-only invites. Thus, the networks have conveyed a powerful message to FBS conferences regarding how much more valuable football is over basketball. Consequently, every school in the conference (expect for Navy which could go independent) will continue to ride the football bus together until they either get $$ or die tryin’….
I understand that. But imagine this scenario:
New TV contract negotiations lead to a $20m reduction per team in revenue. Keep in mind ESPN is bleeding right now, having overpaid for a lot of rights that people are using technology to watch for free. They are cutting quality people to lower expenses. Lowering quality of production, etc.
It appears Cincy had the most Athletic Department revenue at rougjly 3 million on 2016. Many AAC schools lost money. What would happen to the AAC Programs if TV rights went way down, instead of up as many people expect? Its clear based on revenue that Football generates a lot. But only UCONN cracks the Top 50 in revenue. Even those in the #50 to #60 range couldnt turn a profit. Is what is being done susstainable even if the TV contracts dont generate more revenue?
Good question…. The short answer is the schools in this conference would stay together regardless of the $ with the anticipation of the dysfunctional B12 imploding. If/when this occurs, many schools would leave even if the $ in the B12 is the same because they won’t risk being left behind. If you don’t believe the schools in this conference would make such a decision, please consider what happened to CUSA when UCONN, UC, and USF picked the conference apart. Schools joined them without knowing how much the rebuilt Big East/American was worth. For the record, WS is in the FBS version of the Big East.
Therefore, regarding the op, this conference was constructed to be a football-first conference—thus the FBS status. However, I will admit that in my opinion, if UCONN, UC, and USF had known the C7 would eventually split, this conference would have been constructed differently by them….
What teams do you think UC, UL, UCONN, Rutgers, USF, and Temple would have added? I think UCF was a no-brainer and Memphis while not initially appealing to them was also a no-brainer. Houston and SMU were very important strategically for recruiting, market, and upside. I think the only possible mistake the conference has made was adding Tulane, Tulsa, and ECU. Navy has proven to be an excellent addition.
Since Louisville and Rutgers were also leaving, you’ll never see me mention them when referring to the schools that were left behind (although I acknowledge that you’ve accurately stated the situation). Regarding your question, I think they would have considered a preemptive strike and added schools that the C7 likely would have considered for expansion. Since the remaining schools still had the “Big East” name, I think that it’s a strong possibility that they could have added those schools—and more. Consequently, the ECU football-only invite might have remained to make room for Butler and Xavier (as an example). Maybe Tulsa also receives a football-only invite to make room for Creighton and possibly Wichita State. Therefore, I see them reconstructing this conference to reflect what it once was: A basketball conference that wants to play FBS….
(This post was last modified: 01-09-2018 02:27 PM by Underdog.)
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