CSNbbs

http://www.wdrb.com/story/15632160/u-of-...um=twitter

Reporter: Let's start off with the Big East and what's going on there. Where is UofL positioned at this point in negotiations.

Dr. Ramsey: Well we're very well positioned. We like the Big East, it's a great conference, its a great academic conference, it hits all the major media markets. So its been a great thing for the University of Louisville to be part of the Big East. We hope the Big East stays together. But if for whatever set of reasons we have other options, we'll always look at what's in the very best interest of the university.


Reporter: Have other conferences been courting UofL

Dr. Ramsey: No, not court but we know that *pause* with some of the changes that have taken place, it's a domino effect. And when one domino falls, then other things happen. So there has been a lot of movement. Its really been going on for seven or eight years when the Big East lost some schools six or seven years ago and then the Big Ten took some schools and the Pac 12 took some schools. And so the latest that everyone is watching is what happens to Missouri.


Reporter: Right, because the Big 12 is going to undergo the big shuffling next it appears. And are you heavily involved in this, is Tom Jurich kind of the point person on it, are both of you constantly in conversation about this?

Dr. Ramsey: Well, the answer to all of those is yes. The Big East presidents we had the meeting that was well reported in New York a couple of weeks ago. That was the football schools. Sunday, we met on the Georgetown university campus and that was all of the Big East school presidents, that was basketball and football. So tom is very engaged, I'm very engaged, and so we're situated we think very well. Again, we hope the Big East will stay together. It has so many advantages for us, but if for whatever reason it doesn't work out, we think we are very well positioned athletically and academically to be attractive to other conferences


Reporter: Timeline? When do we know when all the dominoes will stop falling?

Dr. Ramsey: Well, we don't and that's whats creating the - I guess the stress - is the uncertainty and it really is. You get yourself in a position where you really are reactive. The conference has done a lot of things proactive and its trying to move forward to solidify its stability. And that's what's most important to us. We like the Big East but it needs to be stable for us to move forward.

UCONN President said TCU's move does not change anything at UCONN.

Quote:“Conference realignment continues to be a very fluid situation as we have seen developments and new rumors nearly every day. It is important that none of us here at UConn become too anxious over this situation. We will continue to monitor the national landscape and be in communication with officials from other schools and leaders from around the country. UConn has always competed at the high level of collegiate athletics and will continue to do so in the future.”

One thing I do know is there are a lot more things to come with this realignment stuff. This is not even being close to being over.

Dr. Ramsey just said in politically correct speak is that, if the Big 12 takes us, we accept in a New York minute, however, if we are not invited, then we are stuck in the Big East!

(10-07-2011 04:42 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote: [ -> ]Dr. Ramsey just said in politically correct speak is that, if the Big 12 takes us, we accept in a New York minute, however, if we are not invited, then we are stuck in the Big East!

Wilkie

Big12 is NOT the better deal for UL that you may think. Im hoping that this situation brings the Big East remaining schools closer and realize that they can be more succesful maintaining the league thn leaving their separate ways.

UL basketball has benefited from its association in Big East, while the Big12 has good teams is NOT the same. UL basketball is more east coast than midwest.

In football UL can become a power in the Big East, they will be midlevel behind Texas and Oklahoma in Big12.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-07-2011 04:42 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote: [ -> ]Dr. Ramsey just said in politically correct speak is that, if the Big 12 takes us, we accept in a New York minute, however, if we are not invited, then we are stuck in the Big East!

Wilkie

Big12 is NOT the better deal for UL that you may think. Im hoping that this situation brings the Big East remaining schools closer and realize that they can be more succesful maintaining the league thn leaving their separate ways.

UL basketball has benefited from its association in Big East, while the Big12 has good teams is NOT the same. UL basketball is more east coast than midwest.

In football UL can become a power in the Big East, they will be midlevel behind Texas and Oklahoma in Big12.

When everyone runs out of lifelines is when schools will realize they have to work together to make it work somehow. Right now, everything is fluid and many pieces are still moving. BE is a mess right now. It will take a lot to rebuild this thing if there is a chance.

Husky
My concern is that this is the time that we need a stong commissioner that can sell the future to the league members. Sadly we dont have that because if we did we wouldnt be in this position.

You saw the difference when the Big12 fired Beebe and put Neinas in charge. What does the Big East do? well you know the answer, we have conferences that result in NO action taken. I wish one of our presidents or ADs stood up and say lets fire this clown and hire someone that can lead us together out of this.

(10-07-2011 05:41 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]Husky
My concern is that this is the time that we need a stong commissioner that can sell the future to the league members. Sadly we dont have that because if we did we wouldnt be in this position.

You saw the difference when the Big12 fired Beebe and put Neinas in charge. What does the Big East do? well you know the answer, we have conferences that result in NO action taken. I wish one of our presidents or ADs stood up and say lets fire this clown and hire someone that can lead us together out of this.

I been on this board a long time. I have said it repeatedly that we got a moron running our conference. Also, I always said we should have expanded years ago to grow programs like UCF and ECU. I also predicted that right after we turned down the ESPN TV deal there is a chance ESPN would destroy the BE. It is too bad I am right on all of this cause I saw most of these things coming down months ago.

I don't know what will happen at this point. BE is just reacting and not doing much. I have no idea what will take to get this conference back on its feet. One thing that's still valuable is the BCS bid and we will got that.

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10...he-future/

Latest update if you can call that. At least it is from NY Times and from the guy who broke the CUSE/PITT to the ACC story.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]Big12 is NOT the better deal for UL that you may think. Im hoping that this situation brings the Big East remaining schools closer and realize that they can be more succesful maintaining the league thn leaving their separate ways.

Disagree for four reasons:

1) Even if both leagues are unstable, the Big 12 currently has a significantly higher per team payout ($1 billion, 13 year contract). Even if the conference ends up losing Missouri, the Big 12 will still get a higher per team payout than the Big East because it has two major TV draws / "name" programs (UT and OU) whereas the Big East has zero for football.


2) The Big 12 has done a lot of work to stabilize itself over the last few weeks. The schools (except Mizzou) agreed to a 6 year grant of TV rights making them essentially worthless from a TV perspective to any other conference that might wish to add them. The Big 12 agreed to split Tier 1 and Tier 2 TV revenues equally. Texas got to keep the LHN, but they gave up showing any televised high school content and they can't broadcast games on it without the consent of whichever Big 12 school they are playing. They hired a new commish and already to to work on expanding and mending the conference together. The Big East still has the same commish and hasn't put out any concrete expansion plans. To top that off, schools aren't going to commit to the Big East (i.e. the worst positioned conference in terms of finances) unless they know that they and every other school in the Big East has no other options. Louisville isn't going to close ranks with the Big East unless it knows WVU, UConn, and Rutgers are done flirting with other leagues as well. Why close the door on potentially joining other leagues when every other schools is trying to do it right now? Essentially until the expansion wheel stops, the Big East is going to be in a continual state of instability.

Now that isn't to say that the Big 12 conference will be around in 10 years (who is to say that the Big East will either), but they have done quite a bit to increase the short term stability of the conference. The Big East on the other hand hasn't done anything (not that it really can do anything for the reasons given above)


3) The Big 12 has been one of the strongest conference in the nation. They have been the top in baseball, 2nd-3rd in football, and 4th in hoops. Playing Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech on a regular basis would generate a lot more interest in Louisville's fan base than a Big East filled with Temple, Villanova, Navy, etc. Basketball would no doubt be worse (I'd love games against Kansas), but Louisville hoops was extremely profitable and very well attended in C-USA and with the new Yum Center, I don't think revenues will be an issue. Plus, with a large number of basketball games in a season, UofL could always schedule big name teams OOC.


4) There is also the "it" factor. The Big 12 may be unstable, but it is still perceived by the casual fans as one of the top football conferences in the nation. People know who OU and UT are and any conference that has those schools in it is not going to having its BCS status questioned year in and year out. It isn't going to be kicked by the media at every turn. In essence, it is going to be perceived as a power conference. I'm not sure that that is something the Big East will ever achieve - short of one of our teams winning a ton of national title (ala Miami) or a school like Notre Dame losing all common sense and joining in football.


So when you look at it, the Big 12 offers more money, better short term stability, a more prominent and nationally recognized football schedule, decent hoops, and prestige. I'm not convinced that UofL will be offered a spot in the Big 12, but if it is, there is simply no way UofL would or could turn it down.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]UL basketball has benefited from its association in Big East, while the Big12 has good teams is NOT the same. UL basketball is more east coast than midwest.

UofL hoops has benefits from the Big East and the fans (myself included) love the quality and quantity of great basketball the conference offers. However, Louisville hoops was built outside of the Big East and was extremely profitable/well attended before joining the conference. Basketball in the Big East is great, but UofL could always schedule big name teams OOC if they joined the Big 12.

Now while UofL has recruited several kids out of New York and New Jersey, it has also recruited quite a few from Indiana, Washington state, and Chicago. I'm not sure being in the Big East has really had any affect on recruiting as I think recruits choose more for the coach than for anything else in basketball.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]In football UL can become a power in the Big East, they will be midlevel behind Texas and Oklahoma in Big12.

Would USF turn down the SEC if they came calling even though USF would likely never rise about the top level teams in the SEC? Why not? Because the money, stability, and prestige would be too great to pass up. You have to remember at the root of all of these decisions is money. Texas A&M, Nebraska, Colorado (and maybe Mizzou) didn't switch conferences because they think they can suddenly become powerhouse programs in their new conferences. They did it because it made financial sense to do it.

The same applies to UofL. They'll probably never be any sort of football power in the Big 12 so long as UT and OU are around, but they will have a higher degree of stability, higher national visibility, and most importantly a fatter wallet.

With that said, I'm not saying Louisville to the Big 12 is a done deal (or even that I think it has a high probability of happening at this point). Louisville may end up in the Big 12 or it may stay in the Big East (Mizzou stays put or BYU is invited instead).

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-07-2011 04:42 PM)Wilkie01 Wrote: [ -> ]

Wilkie

Big12 is NOT the better deal for UL that you may think. Im hoping that this situation brings the Big East remaining schools closer and realize that they can be more succesful maintaining the league thn leaving their separate ways.



In football UL can become a power in the Big East, they will be midlevel behind Texas and Oklahoma in Big12.

The B12 is a better deal for anyone in the BE, including the bulls. If the B12 decides on 12 and loses MO, and invited 3 from BE no matter which 3, they will jump. BE is totally in survival mode now. If it can hold on to 5 members it likely will reload, maybe even with 4.

(10-07-2011 06:54 PM)UofLgrad07 Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]Big12 is NOT the better deal for UL that you may think. Im hoping that this situation brings the Big East remaining schools closer and realize that they can be more succesful maintaining the league thn leaving their separate ways.

Disagree for four reasons:

1) Even if both leagues are unstable, the Big 12 currently has a significantly higher per team payout ($1 billion, 13 year contract). Even if the conference ends up losing Missouri, the Big 12 will still get a higher per team payout than the Big East because it has two major TV draws / "name" programs (UT and OU) whereas the Big East has zero for football.


2) The Big 12 has done a lot of work to stabilize itself over the last few weeks. The schools (except Mizzou) agreed to a 6 year grant of TV rights making them essentially worthless from a TV perspective to any other conference that might wish to add them. The Big 12 agreed to split Tier 1 and Tier 2 TV revenues equally. Texas got to keep the LHN, but they gave up showing any televised high school content and they can't broadcast games on it without the consent of whichever Big 12 school they are playing. They hired a new commish and already to to work on expanding and mending the conference together. The Big East still has the same commish and hasn't put out any concrete expansion plans. To top that off, schools aren't going to commit to the Big East (i.e. the worst positioned conference in terms of finances) unless they know that they and every other school in the Big East has no other options. Louisville isn't going to close ranks with the Big East unless it knows WVU, UConn, and Rutgers are done flirting with other leagues as well. Why close the door on potentially joining other leagues when every other schools is trying to do it right now? Essentially until the expansion wheel stops, the Big East is going to be in a continual state of instability.

Now that isn't to say that the Big 12 conference will be around in 10 years (who is to say that the Big East will either), but they have done quite a bit to increase the short term stability of the conference. The Big East on the other hand hasn't done anything (not that it really can do anything for the reasons given above)


3) The Big 12 has been one of the strongest conference in the nation. They have been the top in baseball, 2nd-3rd in football, and 4th in hoops. Playing Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech on a regular basis would generate a lot more interest in Louisville's fan base than a Big East filled with Temple, Villanova, Navy, etc. Basketball would no doubt be worse (I'd love games against Kansas), but Louisville hoops was extremely profitable and very well attended in C-USA and with the new Yum Center, I don't think revenues will be an issue. Plus, with a large number of basketball games in a season, UofL could always schedule big name teams OOC.


4) There is also the "it" factor. The Big 12 may be unstable, but it is still perceived by the casual fans as one of the top football conferences in the nation. People know who OU and UT are and any conference that has those schools in it is not going to having its BCS status questioned year in and year out. It isn't going to be kicked by the media at every turn. In essence, it is going to be perceived as a power conference. I'm not sure that that is something the Big East will ever achieve - short of one of our teams winning a ton of national title (ala Miami) or a school like Notre Dame losing all common sense and joining in football.


So when you look at it, the Big 12 offers more money, better short term stability, a more prominent and nationally recognized football schedule, decent hoops, and prestige. I'm not convinced that UofL will be offered a spot in the Big 12, but if it is, there is simply no way UofL would or could turn it down.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]UL basketball has benefited from its association in Big East, while the Big12 has good teams is NOT the same. UL basketball is more east coast than midwest.

UofL hoops has benefits from the Big East and the fans (myself included) love the quality and quantity of great basketball the conference offers. However, Louisville hoops was built outside of the Big East and was extremely profitable/well attended before joining the conference. Basketball in the Big East is great, but UofL could always schedule big name teams OOC if they joined the Big 12.

Now while UofL has recruited several kids out of New York and New Jersey, it has also recruited quite a few from Indiana, Washington state, and Chicago. I'm not sure being in the Big East has really had any affect on recruiting as I think recruits choose more for the coach than for anything else in basketball.

(10-07-2011 05:30 PM)Cubanbull Wrote: [ -> ]In football UL can become a power in the Big East, they will be midlevel behind Texas and Oklahoma in Big12.

Would USF turn down the SEC if they came calling even though USF would likely never rise about the top level teams in the SEC? Why not? Because the money, stability, and prestige would be too great to pass up. You have to remember at the root of all of these decisions is money. Texas A&M, Nebraska, Colorado (and maybe Mizzou) didn't switch conferences because they think they can suddenly become powerhouse programs in their new conferences. They did it because it made financial sense to do it.

The same applies to UofL. They'll probably never be any sort of football power in the Big 12 so long as UT and OU are around, but they will have a higher degree of stability, higher national visibility, and most importantly a fatter wallet.

First off you cant compare SEC to Big12 and as I said while I can see the attractiveness of going to the Big12 it doesnt hide that it will be much tougher for UL or USF to win that league and become antional name.
If UL gets and invite and they take it, I dont blame them, but all im saying is that on the field success will not be as easy eventhough pocketwise its a good choice.

(10-07-2011 04:05 PM)UofLgrad07 Wrote: [ -> ]Reporter: Let's start off with the Big East and what's going on there. Where is UofL positioned at this point in negotiations.

Dr. Ramsey: Well we're very well positioned.

...........

(10-07-2011 10:31 PM)quo vadis Wrote: [ -> ]

(10-07-2011 04:05 PM)UofLgrad07 Wrote: [ -> ]Reporter: Let's start off with the Big East and what's going on there. Where is UofL positioned at this point in negotiations.

Dr. Ramsey: Well we're very well positioned.

...........

At this point...just giving u a heads up as of right now it appears we are the "10th" school in the Big XII and it also appears they might not go past 10 @ this current time.

Things change minute to minute but it is what it is.