And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

I believe this move out of the AAC is akin to them falling on their sword....When you're broke, you're broke. They've tried to spin it otherwise, but their financials are a disaster.

(01-16-2020 09:10 AM)JUSTGOPLAY Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

I believe this move out of the AAC is akin to them falling on their sword....When you're broke, you're broke. They've tried to spin it otherwise, but their financials are a disaster.

Unless they really do intend to drop to FCS very quickly, the move out of the AAC was really dumb. This conference was set to pay $7-8M per year in TV revenue alone; now they're supposedly going into the Indy abyss with a terrible schedule and will sell even less tickets.

That said, the AAC will be far better in the long run not having a financial ticking time bomb in the conference.

(01-16-2020 09:15 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 09:10 AM)JUSTGOPLAY Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

I believe this move out of the AAC is akin to them falling on their sword....When you're broke, you're broke. They've tried to spin it otherwise, but their financials are a disaster.

Unless they really do intend to drop to FCS very quickly, the move out of the AAC was really dumb. This conference was set to pay $7-8M per year in TV revenue alone; now they're supposedly going into the Indy abyss with a terrible schedule and will sell even less tickets.

That said, the AAC will be far better in the long run not having a financial ticking time bomb in the conference.

When your credit card is maxed out you either pay all of it off or just the minimums. Until UConn drops football to FCS and realigns all of their non-revenue sports it doesn't matter what conference they are in.

Even if they drop football completely it wouldn't put much of a dent in a $42 million shortfall.

That's a damn shame.

(01-16-2020 10:18 AM)Chappy Wrote:  Even if they drop football completely it wouldn't put much of a dent in a $42 million shortfall.

Yeah they need to stop operating in the framework that they HAVE a successful FBS program to pay for the non-revenue sports. They are essentially Depaul, Xavier, Marquette at this point and they have to realign all their programs to fit that model.

Bottom line is no matter how successful MBB and WBB are they will never be able to operate (spend) like a school with a strong FBS program.

Even top AAC football programs struggle with this because the payout (8MM) still isn't there yet but at least when UC/Memphis/UCF operate at a deficit it is more likely an investment with probability of return. For UConn to lose 42 MM, they may as well have lit that money on fire. They will never be able to sustain that even in the short term.

(01-16-2020 09:15 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 09:10 AM)JUSTGOPLAY Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

I believe this move out of the AAC is akin to them falling on their sword....When you're broke, you're broke. They've tried to spin it otherwise, but their financials are a disaster.

Losing over 20 million to exit fees and buying back into the Big East doesn't help matters. Unless they fill their football schedule with all buy in games, I don't see how they don't end up in FCS again.
Unless they really do intend to drop to FCS very quickly, the move out of the AAC was really dumb. This conference was set to pay $7-8M per year in TV revenue alone; now they're supposedly going into the Indy abyss with a terrible schedule and will sell even less tickets.

That said, the AAC will be far better in the long run not having a financial ticking time bomb in the conference.

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

This is actually what UCONN wants...(spread as much "bad news" as possible in regards to Athletic Budget/Revenue/Expenses), so they can officially END their football program in 3-4 years.

They just want to be a basketball school (moved to the Big East who doesn't play I-A Football), so after a few years of being an Independent Football Program...their Univ Chancellor & AD can tell their alumni/boosters that "they tried to make football work" but it would be better if UCONN used some of those $$ to help men's/women's basketball program grow even more.

(01-16-2020 09:15 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  Unless they really do intend to drop to FCS very quickly, the move out of the AAC was really dumb. This conference was set to pay $7-8M per year in TV revenue alone; now they're supposedly going into the Indy abyss with a terrible schedule and will sell even less tickets.

These losses were racked up in the AAC, and the new media number is about the amount that UConn had historically received from the AAC when you account for the departure fund, so it wasn't going to fix much. Once the TV networks threatened the Big 12 out of expanding, signaling that the big-money conferences were more or less closed, there really wasn't a compelling reason for UConn to stay.

(01-16-2020 10:09 AM)Helicopter Wrote:  When your credit card is maxed out you either pay all of it off or just the minimums. Until UConn drops football to FCS and realigns all of their non-revenue sports it doesn't matter what conference they are in.

You, uh.....you do realize that UConn isn't taking out loans for this, right? That they are paying in full?

(01-16-2020 10:18 AM)Chappy Wrote:  Even if they drop football completely it wouldn't put much of a dent in a $42 million shortfall.

It'd about halve it. Football lost about $13.3 million and with the reduction in scholarships on the women's side that would come with it you'd pretty easy get to $20 million in losses cut. Given that Uconn's scheduling out to 2029, though, I don't think football's going anywhere. Applications are as competitive as they've ever been, so there's no real pressure to eliminate the athletic fees.

(01-16-2020 09:15 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 09:10 AM)JUSTGOPLAY Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

I believe this move out of the AAC is akin to them falling on their sword....When you're broke, you're broke. They've tried to spin it otherwise, but their financials are a disaster.

Unless they really do intend to drop to FCS very quickly, the move out of the AAC was really dumb. This conference was set to pay $7-8M per year in TV revenue alone; now they're supposedly going into the Indy abyss with a terrible schedule and will sell even less tickets.

That said, the AAC will be far better in the long run not having a financial ticking time bomb in the conference.

Looking at the way their administration has handled most things (other than WBB and a few good FB seasons), they have been bungling one thing after another, before and since they joined the AAC:

1) They permitted MBB recruiting violations to go on for two decades, despite repeated warnings and penalties.

2) They mismanaged their FB program so badly that it tanked in only a few seasons.

3) Unlike nearly every other conference school, their athletic programs stagnated or declined after joining the conference.

4) Instead of taking advantage of the $5 million/year increase in the AAC and following a stable guide path back to stability in college athletics, they threw caution to the winds and risked everything on recovering their glory days in the Big East.

5) In doing so, they seem to have committed a major unforced error by overlooking the financial impact of their FB program to their overall athletic budget.

The loss of UConn MBB & WBB, their brand, and their potential viewership definitely hurts the AAC, and I wish they hadn't decided to leave the conference. But, on the other hand, the way their administration has been bungling UConn athletics, perhaps we might end up doing better off without them, in the long haul.

(01-16-2020 10:53 AM)jedclampett Wrote:  3) Unlike nearly every other conference school, their athletic programs stagnated or declined after joining the conference.

We did win the only national championships in the conference, so there's that.

(01-16-2020 10:53 AM)jedclampett Wrote:  4) Instead of taking advantage of the $5 million/year increase in the AAC and following a stable guide path back to stability in college athletics, they threw caution to the winds and risked everything on recovering their glory days in the Big East.

No, they doubled down on their programs best situated to win national championships and on which the university built its brand. As much as people want to act like this is about chasing 2009, it's just about being in the best basketball fit possible.

(01-16-2020 10:53 AM)jedclampett Wrote:  5) In doing so, they seem to have committed a major unforced error by overlooking the financial impact of their FB program to their overall athletic budget.

The impact of their football program to their overall athletic budget is a disastrous one. It's the biggest money loser in the department. The sooner they stopped running everything to (theoretically, it's not clear AAC football benefited UConn football in any way) cater to that one program the better.

(01-16-2020 08:53 AM)The Knight Time Wrote:  And football alone lost $10M.

If UConn were a business, it would have been put out of its' misery long ago.

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-ucon...story.html

Whomever this 'UConn' is, it must suck to be them.

I feel bad for the UCONN taxpayer that's shoveling taxes at this money furnace.

When UConn drops to FCS it can eliminate 20 men's scholarships then follow up with 20 more women's scholarships to close the gap on it's deficit.

(01-16-2020 04:40 PM)panite Wrote:  When UConn drops to FCS it can eliminate 20 men's scholarships then follow up with 20 more women's scholarships to close the gap on it's deficit.

Plus tremendous decreases in coaching salaries. Of course, that is kind of offset by the reduction in payday game guarantees.

(01-16-2020 02:21 PM)8BitPirate Wrote:  I feel bad for the UCONN taxpayer that's shoveling taxes at this money furnace.

Strictly speaking the money's coming from the students, but yea - it's good the university is finally making changes from what clearly wasn't working the last several years. Status quo was death.

UConn has P5 expenses on a P6 budget. Rather than scale back like the rest of us (eg, cut salaries and positions), the Administration decided to surrender and kill football while hoodwinking desperate fans that a return to the BE will cure all.

(01-16-2020 05:05 PM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  UConn has P5 expenses on a P6 budget. Rather than scale back like the rest of us (eg, cut salaries and positions), the Administration decided to surrender and kill football while hoodwinking desperate fans that a return to the BE will cure all.

UConn has P5 expenses on a “G5” (FIFY) budget since we are the only school in this conference to win a national title (multiple ones) in a revenue sport in the last 60 years that doesn’t have an asterisk attached to it. We have dumped tons of money on facilities and, unlike Memphis being neatly tucked into the center of this conference, almost every game for us in a cash burning flight of 1200-1700 miles. Mike Aresco even complained about his travel to conference schools from Providence. So, it is okay for student athletes to deal with that travel when our overpaid commissioner is whining about it?

The Big East makes geographic and competitive sense. It will help our men’s hoop team recruit (no northeast recruit wants to deal with AAC crazy travel from New England) and our women’s team may finally find a team that can beat them.

As for football, we were smart enough to realize that G5 football is a scam created by the P5. G5 schools burn crazy amounts of money to maybe play in a New Year’s bowl that still doesn’t really mean anything. There is no chance for a national title and most available AAC bowl games are pretty lame tie-ins to teams nobody cares about.

UConn knows that there are no seats left at the P5 table and there will never be an official “P6”.... ever.

As a northeastern basketball school, we did what was best for us. You just do you and we won’t judge your decisions.

(01-16-2020 07:46 PM)UConnHusky Wrote:  

(01-16-2020 05:05 PM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  UConn has P5 expenses on a P6 budget. Rather than scale back like the rest of us (eg, cut salaries and positions), the Administration decided to surrender and kill football while hoodwinking desperate fans that a return to the BE will cure all.

UConn has P5 expenses on a “G5” (FIFY) budget since we are the only school in this conference to win a national title (multiple ones) in a revenue sport in the last 60 years that doesn’t have an asterisk attached to it. We have dumped tons of money on facilities and, unlike Memphis being neatly tucked into the center of this conference, almost every game for us in a cash burning flight of 1200-1700 miles. Mike Aresco even complained about his travel to conference schools from Providence. So, it is okay for student athletes to deal with that travel when our overpaid commissioner is whining about it?

The Big East makes geographic and competitive sense. It will help our men’s hoop team recruit (no northeast recruit wants to deal with AAC crazy travel from New England) and our women’s team may finally find a team that can beat them.

As for football, we were smart enough to realize that G5 football is a scam created by the P5. G5 schools burn crazy amounts of money to maybe play in a New Year’s bowl that still doesn’t really mean anything. There is no chance for a national title and most available AAC bowl games are pretty lame tie-ins to teams nobody cares about.

UConn knows that there are no seats left at the P5 table and there will never be an official “P6”.... ever.

As a northeastern basketball school, we did what was best for us. You just do you and we won’t judge your decisions.

UConn has an enormous budget deficit. It is entirely UConn’s fault. UConn is nearly the worse team in football. It is entirely UConn’s fault. UConn has underachieved in basketball since their NC (even Memphis has performed better). It is entirely UConn’s fault.

Face it, your school surrendered because the AAC was too tough.