(05-01-2018 12:31 PM)esayem Wrote:  I could see a bowl-eligible, indy UConn team garnering interest from the Pinstripe Bowl. What other tie-ins? Not sure, probably be in the same boat as UMass and Liberty.

Basically, pretty much all the Indys other than Army, ND, or BYU are pretty much looking at a 'must take' bowl slot unfilled by anyone else. Here's why

BYU, Army, and ND all have enough likelihood of bowl qualification (or they're Army) so they can credibly make a bowl contract work. Uconn, Umass, NMSU, and Liberty don't have that track record, so why would any bowl really tie themselves up for them. Liberty could probably throw a ton of money at a bowl to buy a slot somewhere, but that's not in the cards for Uconn, which loses more money on athletics than any other school in the country. The Pinstripe Bowl already has an ACC vs B1G matchup. They're not likely giving that up for Uconn. Also, good luck trying to get the AAC to work with you to move teams so you can bowl if Uconn leaves it.

UMass, Uconn as an independent, NMSU, and Liberty will struggle to earn any revenue from TV for football.

(05-02-2018 11:00 AM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote:  

(05-01-2018 12:31 PM)esayem Wrote:  I could see a bowl-eligible, indy UConn team garnering interest from the Pinstripe Bowl. What other tie-ins? Not sure, probably be in the same boat as UMass and Liberty.

Basically, pretty much all the Indys other than Army, ND, or BYU are pretty much looking at a 'must take' bowl slot unfilled by anyone else. Here's why

BYU, Army, and ND all have enough likelihood of bowl qualification (or they're Army) so they can credibly make a bowl contract work. Uconn, Umass, NMSU, and Liberty don't have that track record, so why would any bowl really tie themselves up for them. Liberty could probably throw a ton of money at a bowl to buy a slot somewhere, but that's not in the cards for Uconn, which loses more money on athletics than any other school in the country. The Pinstripe Bowl already has an ACC vs B1G matchup. They're not likely giving that up for Uconn. Also, good luck trying to get the AAC to work with you to move teams so you can bowl if Uconn leaves it.

UMass, Uconn as an independent, NMSU, and Liberty will struggle to earn any revenue from TV for football.

The Military Bowl which was also mentioned already has a contract with the AAC and ACC with allowances for the other military academies (Army and Air Force) so UCONN is not playing there either unless the are representing the AAC.

(05-01-2018 02:07 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(05-01-2018 01:49 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(05-01-2018 12:30 PM)Billy Bob Bearcat Wrote:  

(05-01-2018 11:44 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Here's my thought on a "realistic" UConn independent schedule in a typical season:

BYU (home-and-home)
Army (home-and-home)
UMass (home-and-home)
Liberty (home-and-home)
New Mexico State (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Boston College) (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Syracuse) (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Ohio State/Alabama-type) (away payday game)
G5 opponent (e.g. Temple) (home-and-home)
G5 opponent (e.g. Navy) (home-and-home)
G5 opponent (random) (home-and-home)
FCS opponent (home payday game)

That gives UConn 6 home games per season with 3 P5 opponents (albeit one of them being an away payday game) and games against the other FBS independents (except for Notre Dame). I'm not sure whether that schedule is actually better than an AAC schedule and/or produce more revenue for UConn, but I could see it at least being somewhat feasible.

Without a Conference Championship and Bowl Tie-ins, what is UConn really playing for? Why should athletes go there?

Without the history and current fan base of a program like BYU, I would think the independent route is the quick way to kill the program. Even with a great year at 9-3 (As unlikely as that is), which bowl games are really chasing UConn?

It seems like something fun to project schedules and think would turn out okay. However, I just see serious recruitment issues (as if they didn't struggle already) and a lack of direction for a lackluster program.

I agree with these things, but more than maybe any other school, it’s P5 or bust for UConn. That’s because it’s really the only FBS school that has the Big East available as an option for basketball. As long as UConn believes it has a legit shot at a P5 invite in the nearish future (within the next decade), then they’ll just stay in the AAC. The challenge is if UConn truly doesn’t believe that a P5 invite will happen in that timeframe (if ever). Then it becomes more difficult. UConn is one of the few schools that can viably make more money by maximizing basketball revenue as opposed to chasing football revenue, so then it becomes more about what’s best for their basketball program.

They have Providence, Seton Hall and St. John's. Why would they need a football playing public school in the northeast? I don't think the Big East would take them.

I think Uconn could join the Big East right now, as a football Indy, MAC member or as an FCS team. Too much history with Uconn for the Big East to pass on that.

(05-05-2018 11:24 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  I think Uconn could join the Big East right now, as a football Indy, MAC member or as an FCS team. Too much history with Uconn for the Big East to pass on that.

Assuming the Big East is cool with UCONN in FBS (which it's UCONN so they probably would let it slide), UCONN could probably only be an Indy. I think the MAC has made it clear they don't want a football-only affiliate. Also the state of Connecticut will never let UCONN move down to FCS after they spent over $100M to build The Rent.

I really think that UCONN at this point is better off making the AAC work. However if the Big East is really that important to them, maybe the MAC would reconsider the UMass football-only deal that was in place if UCONN came in for Temple's former spot? I can't see any benefit for the MAC here taking on two poor programs, but if it happened I think UCONN & UMass would be fools not to take the offer.

(05-05-2018 11:35 AM)McKinney Wrote:  

(05-05-2018 11:24 AM)billybobby777 Wrote:  I think Uconn could join the Big East right now, as a football Indy, MAC member or as an FCS team. Too much history with Uconn for the Big East to pass on that.

Assuming the Big East is cool with UCONN in FBS (which it's UCONN so they probably would let it slide), UCONN could probably only be an Indy. I think the MAC has made it clear they don't want a football-only affiliate. Also the state of Connecticut will never let UCONN move down to FCS after they spent over $100M to build The Rent.

I really think that UCONN at this point is better off making the AAC work. However if the Big East is really that important to them, maybe the MAC would reconsider the UMass football-only deal that was in place if UCONN came in for Temple's former spot? I can't see any benefit for the MAC here taking on two poor programs, but if it happened I think UCONN & UMass would be fools not to take the offer.

There is also Army sitting out there as independent.

Mid-"American" Conference

We've got the name for it.

Going to post the press release from Aug 11, 2017 and there will be updates this year. Wanted to say that NESN is a big deal in New England and some of the games are carried on NESN National. NESN is home to the Boston Redsox and Bruins.
This is not a complete listing, just the major ones:

NESN National Link of coverage

The deal with Elevensports as an independent has also allowed them to pickup games, which would not have been previously televised across all sports.

Quote:AMHERST, Mass. - University of Massachusetts Athletics, in conjunction with multimedia rights holder Learfield's UMass Sports Properties, announced on Friday a new television partnership with Eleven Sports Network to produce and distribute all six of the Minutemen's home football games for the 2017 season. To support the availability of all six contests regionally, each will be broadcast on the NESN family of networks as well.

In order to provide numerous platforms for fans to follow the team this season, all six games airing live via Eleven Sports and NESN family of networks will also be available to watch free of charge via live stream on UMassAthletics.com.

http://umassathletics.com/news/2017/8/11...twork.aspx

(05-05-2018 11:35 AM)McKinney Wrote:  I really think that UCONN at this point is better off making the AAC work. However if the Big East is really that important to them, maybe the MAC would reconsider the UMass football-only deal that was in place if UCONN came in for Temple's former spot? I can't see any benefit for the MAC here taking on two poor programs, but if it happened I think UCONN & UMass would be fools not to take the offer.

It depends on the finances involved - I expect that UConn could get more in TV money as an independent than the MAC pays, and they'd be able to avoid those mid-week games that the MAC is committed to (for the record, I think those games are the right call for the MAC, but it's definitely a trade-off). In an ideal world UConn would be able to negotiate some sort of scheduling agreement with either the Sun Belt of Conference USA that includes some number of annual home/away games in exchange for being included in bowl negotiations while remaining independent, but it's far from a lock that either conference would be open to that even as maintaining bowl contracts and OOC scheduling becomes increasingly difficult for the lower-level conferences.

I agree that if UConn were to go to the Big East, Independence is likely the only way it's happening is via FBS independence. FCS is a non-starter because of the money already invested in the stadium, as you noted, and I don't think UConn would see MAC membership as something they were open to.

At Liberty we have produced all of our available home games and most of the away games not picked up by a first tier media option for about a decade or so under the Liberty Flames Sports Network banner. We have operated under a deal where ESPN would take anything we produce in any sport and push it to ESPN3/Watch ESPN for a very long time. We also push our content to regionals and local market stations of competing teams as well OTT apps.

The big question now is whether or not we can gain revenue in today's wild west of cable vs. streaming rights. We really haven't announced anything so it is all speculation in Lynchburg these days. I suspect unless something particularly attractive appears that we will continue going our own route since our reach remains strong regardless of revenue.

(05-05-2018 11:35 AM)McKinney Wrote:  I really think that UCONN at this point is better off making the AAC work. However if the Big East is really that important to them, maybe the MAC would reconsider the UMass football-only deal that was in place if UCONN came in for Temple's former spot? I can't see any benefit for the MAC here taking on two poor programs, but if it happened I think UCONN & UMass would be fools not to take the offer.

The benefit would be similar to the benefit of the Temple / UMass arrangement, but even stronger. It gets eight OOC BBall games per year that are excellent gets from the MAC's perspective, and especially every school being able to host one of those schools once every three years. It gets the Eastern Exposure that many of the Eastern Division schools would value. It gets rid of the locked Bowling Green / Toledo game and improves the number of trips to Ohio for Western division schools.

It only really works with a pair of northeastern schools, both with respectable (from a MAC perspective) BBall programs ... with a single FB-only affiliate with only two home and two away OOC BBall games, and without the divisional realignment, it is not attractive, and the awkwardness of FB scheduling for an even and an odd number of divisional members, hence without two full divisional round robins, makes it even less attractive. But UCOnn/UMass would be even more valuable than Temple/UMass ... and if they were both starting the same year, the MAC might even get to actually experience those benefits, which never happened with the way that Temple left the same year that UMass was able to join.

(05-05-2018 02:23 PM)Kittonhead Wrote:  There is also Army sitting out there as independent.

Mid-"American" Conference

We've got the name for it.

The name is all that the MAC has going for it, and CUSA has an equally fitting name, so it's not even a win in that column, just a draw for first place.

Even assuming Army changes its mind and starts looking for a conference home, the biggest problem for the MAC is that among the three conferences where it seems like Army could expect to have a bowl game route without expecting the cadets on the line to be beaten up too badly (the MAC, CUSA and the Sunbelt), the MAC is the most compact, which is all things considered a positive for the MAC ... but a big strike against it from Army's perspective, since it makes it the hardest to put together something like a national schedule.

Wow. New Mexico St just got a H&H with San Diego St today. That is very impressive. SDSU gets H&H's with any PAC 12 team it wants....
Is it because SDSU coach Rocky Long played QB at New Mexico and coached at New Mexico forever and he has a soft spot for a team from his "home state"?

What’s the skinny on UCONN football tv when they go Indy in 2020?

This could get bad for Uconn Football.

Unless Uconn makes a bowl this year, I have a feeling the will be unable to get a bowl tie-in. Once in six years will probably put them in Liberty, NMSU, UMASS category of only making it if not all tie-ins qualify.

What happens with current H/H OOC schedules? Does this move from the AAC void any of those contracts? How does that impact buyouts for going to UCONN?


NCSU
Duke
Boston College
Purdue

(06-23-2019 02:11 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  What’s the skinny on UCONN football tv when they go Indy in 2020?

Im sure SNY would take thier home games

NESN or SNY. Maybe get CBSSN to buy a few.

UCONN FB better call Paul Johnson ASAP! His system can keep them at 6 or 7 wins most seasons with sub par talent!

(05-01-2018 11:44 AM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  Here's my thought on a "realistic" UConn independent schedule in a typical season:

BYU (home-and-home)
Army (home-and-home)
UMass (home-and-home)
Liberty (home-and-home)
New Mexico State (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Boston College) (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Syracuse) (home-and-home)
P5 opponent (e.g. Ohio State/Alabama-type) (away payday game)
G5 opponent (e.g. Temple) (home-and-home)
G5 opponent (e.g. Navy) (home-and-home)
G5 opponent (random) (home-and-home)
FCS opponent (home payday game)

That gives UConn 6 home games per season with 3 P5 opponents (albeit one of them being an away payday game) and games against the other FBS independents (except for Notre Dame). I'm not sure whether that schedule is actually better than an AAC schedule and/or produce more revenue for UConn, but I could see it at least being somewhat feasible.

UCONN should be doing a 2-1 or H-H-N (with maybe some preference to the other team neutrally IE Texas/Oklahoma/LSU at a neutral site) instead of away paydays.

(04-30-2018 09:37 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  Army: Stable contract with CBS. Most home games on CBS-SN.

Tiny correction: All home games.

I suppose papa CBS could pull a big game up, but that hasn't happened in quite a while. Oklahoma is scheduled to visit in 2020, so that's a possibility.