Conference Realignment

[ChooChooCat]

I'd love to see FSU and Clemson in the BIG12 with us. But the question is, how do they get out of their ACC GOR?

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[Merkin]

Is the Big XII willing to do unequal income sharing like those schools want?

[CalStateTempe]

Hells yeah, that would be amazing. Get the acc to collapse and offer Duke. Have a premier bb program in each timezone

[ChooChooCat]

Hells yeah, that would be amazing. Get the acc to collapse and offer Duke. Have a premier bb program in each timezone

Issue with Duke is they're as academically snobby as Furd/Cal, so not sure they're a cultural fit.

[AzCatFan2]

Makes sense the B1G and SEC aren't keen on adding FSU, Clemson, or Miami. Anyone but Notre Dame isn't worth more than what the schools are already getting. And for the B1G, these schools aren't AAU.

Getting FSU and Clemson would be a huge coup for Yormack and the BIG12. And agreed, it would take a ton of money to pull it off. Estimates I've seen is FSU would have to pay north of $500 million to break the ACC GOR without consequences.

[CalStateTempe]

Hells yeah, that would be amazing. Get the acc to collapse and offer Duke. Have a premier bb program in each timezone

Issue with Duke is they're as academically snobby as Furd/Cal, so not sure they're a cultural fit.

Totally agree, but football wise they ain’t getting big10 or SEC.

A boy can dream

[84Cat]

Clemson reporter

[Chicat]

Not that it matters but I wonder if UCF sees having a Southeast pod as a net benefit or detractor.

[ChooChooCat]

Not that it matters but I wonder if UCF sees having a Southeast pod as a net benefit or detractor.

They're just happy to have a seat at the table.

[ChooChooCat]

[Chicat]

FSU is the Deion Sanders of college football programs.

[ArizonaWildhack]

Hells yeah, that would be amazing. Get the acc to collapse and offer Duke. Have a premier bb program in each timezone

Which is the premier bb program in the Pacific Time Zone?

[CalStateTempe]

Arizona half the year

[dmjcat]

Who was it who was advocating the UA/PAC12 to go the streaming route with Apple???

[CalStateTempe]

Bad fan

[wyo-cat]

The fucking OSU fans were adamant about streaming.

I can’t blame them to hold on to anything resembling the P12.

[84Cat]

Thread:

[CalStateTempe]

This is cool

[Merkin]

[AZCatGirl]

[CalStateTempe]

Make it so

[AzCatFan2]

What does adding UCONN do for the University of Arizona? Make an already impossible basketball conference even harder? Add one of the farthest travel destinations that is difficult to get to for all sports?

I think I understand what Yormack is thinking. Football is king, but college basketball owns the month of May and the first weekend in April. If the SEC and B1G want to go it alone for football, Yormack can threaten to pull out of March Madness. Imagine March Madness without Kansas, Baylor, UCONN, Arizona, etc. It's a risky move, but one that may keep the BIG12 involved in major college football? It would really depend on the numbers.

Adding UCONN gives the BIG12 another premiere men's basketball school and a premiere woman's basketball school. But is that a need for the BIG12? Because the cost is traveling to/from a UCONN campus that is a good 45 minutes away from a smaller airport, and hours away from Boston and NYC.

[ChooChooCat]

What does adding UCONN do for the University of Arizona? Make an already impossible basketball conference even harder? Add one of the farthest travel destinations that is difficult to get to for all sports?

I think I understand what Yormack is thinking. Football is king, but college basketball owns the month of May and the first weekend in April. If the SEC and B1G want to go it alone for football, Yormack can threaten to pull out of March Madness. Imagine March Madness without Kansas, Baylor, UCONN, Arizona, etc. It's a risky move, but one that may keep the BIG12 involved in major college football? It would really depend on the numbers.

Adding UCONN gives the BIG12 another premiere men's basketball school and a premiere woman's basketball school. But is that a need for the BIG12? Because the cost is traveling to/from a UCONN campus that is a good 45 minutes away from a smaller airport, and hours away from Boston and NYC.

Yormark is thinking that basketball TV revenue is going to boom soon enough, especially with NIL involved, so he see UCONN bball as increasing the pot that much more. He also sees the northeast market as important for his money goals as well. It also helps prevent the ACC from rebuilding after their exodus happens. As far as travel goes, in the long term, UCONN will be part of an eastern block of the conference, so it shouldn't be as much of a hurdle I suppose.

[pc in NM]

What does adding UCONN do for the University of Arizona? Make an already impossible basketball conference even harder? Add one of the farthest travel destinations that is difficult to get to for all sports?

I think I understand what Yormack is thinking. Football is king, but college basketball owns the month of May and the first weekend in April. If the SEC and B1G want to go it alone for football, Yormack can threaten to pull out of March Madness. Imagine March Madness without Kansas, Baylor, UCONN, Arizona, etc. It's a risky move, but one that may keep the BIG12 involved in major college football? It would really depend on the numbers.

Adding UCONN gives the BIG12 another premiere men's basketball school and a premiere woman's basketball school. But is that a need for the BIG12? Because the cost is traveling to/from a UCONN campus that is a good 45 minutes away from a smaller airport, and hours away from Boston and NYC.

Yormark is thinking that basketball TV revenue is going to boom soon enough, especially with NIL involved, so he see UCONN bball as increasing the pot that much more. He also sees the northeast market as important for his money goals as well. It also helps prevent the ACC from rebuilding after their exodus happens. As far as travel goes, in the long term, UCONN will be part of an eastern block of the conference, so it shouldn't be as much of a hurdle I suppose.

Basketball revenue will be the major income for a post-football national collegiate sports regulatory body (NCAA, likely), and could position the Big-12 competitively for that time...

[Merkin]

With players getting paid now directly from the school, besides the NIL money, they will need to come up with that money somehow, especially with most ADs already running at a deficit. Now they add $20M per school on top of that to pay the athletes. No idea if the UA AD have caught up making payments to the academic side on the $50M loan. I recall Robbins said they were behind in payments.


https://news.azpm.org/p/newsfeature/202 ... 0FY%202024.

Arnold discussed the Ernst & Young assessment of the athletics department, revealing a $33.6 million deficit with $95.2 million in revenues and$128 million in expenses for FY 2024.

[AZCatGirl]

[84Cat]

I feel bad for the Pac2 but this is pretty funny

[PHXCATS]

If Yormark is not correct about basketball booming in the future these moves make zero sense

[azcat49]

Would love to know who the no votes are. I assume we voted yes?

[Merkin]

Why would the UA vote for Wazzu and ntOSU? I don't see any advantages playing them. Outside of giving the B12 all the PAC assets and future payouts, and only get a partial share in return.

UA is 2-5 the last 7 games v. WSU and 4-5 v. OSU the last 9 games, so it's not like they are easy wins.

[EastCoastCat]

Why would the UA vote for Wazzu and ntOSU? I don't see any advantages playing them. Outside of giving the B12 all the PAC assets and future payouts, and only get a partial share in return.

UA is 2-5 the last 7 games v. WSU and 4-5 v. OSU the last 9 games, so it's not like they are easy wins.

More importantly they don’t add eyeballs/increased revenues for the conference.

Feel bad for them but this conference realignment shit nowadays is pure Darwinism.

[PHXCATS]

Would love to know who the no votes are. I assume we voted yes?

I would love to bring Oregon State and Washington State back to our conference at a reduced rate

UConn and Gonzaga bring absolutely nothing to do the table

Hope we voted no

[Alieberman]

I don’t know Jack shit about conference realignment….

But saying the 2 time defending champions bring absolutely nothing to the table seems a bit… fucking idiotic

[84Cat]

Yeah, 2 packed gyms with games aired on ESPN vs 2 empty gyms streamed on ESPN+. Tough decision

[PHXCATS]

Basketball is 15% at most in realignment

Absolutely nothing

[AzCatFan2]

The problem with betting on college basketball is the NBA. College basketball competes night in/night out with the NBA, and there is no competing for the casual basketball fan. The only time college basketball takes the wheel is the last two weeks of March and first weekend on April.

College football doesn't have this problem. Colleges play Saturday and the NFL plays Sunday. The NFL could crush college football by playing Saturday games, but instead, the NFL wisely chooses to have a symbiotic relationship. The NFL fan watches big college games on Saturday like Alabama v Georgia to scout future players. And the college football fan follows his favorite players on NFL Sundays. It just doesn't and can't work this way for basketball. Too many games to be played to designate certain days for college basketball and others for the NBA.

UCONN is the current King of March. What do they bring the other 11 months out of the year?

[Chicat]

The idea that college basketball is only relevant in March is simply not true.

Last year Michigan State/Arizona, Duke/UNC (x2), Gonzaga/Kentucky, and Kentucky/Tennessee all had TV ratings that rival top college football games and none of those occurred in March.

[azcat49]

Basketball is 15% at most in realignment

Absolutely nothing

While I do agree that basketball is a much smaller part of the TV pie, I disagree on the addition of UCONN and the Zags as a big win.

Let’s face it, we have been relegated with little hope of getting into the big two. Yormark is smart to bag the big bball brands as it will keep the XII afloat and perhaps give him a nice poker hand come negotiating time.

While I feel for the two NW schools, they add very little to any conference.

[AzCatFan2]

The idea that college basketball is only relevant in March is simply not true.

Last year Michigan State/Arizona, Duke/UNC (x2), Gonzaga/Kentucky, and Kentucky/Tennessee all had TV ratings that rival top college football games and none of those occurred in March.

Who has bigger ratings than college football games on any given Saturday in October? While MSU/Arizona had a great rating, NBA basketball games played on the same day drew even bigger audiences.

[PHXCATS]

The idea that college basketball is only relevant in March is simply not true.

Last year Michigan State/Arizona, Duke/UNC (x2), Gonzaga/Kentucky, and Kentucky/Tennessee all had TV ratings that rival top college football games and none of those occurred in March.

Who has bigger ratings than college football games on any given Saturday in October? While MSU/Arizona had a great rating, NBA basketball games played on the same day drew even bigger audiences.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/1 ... nksgiving/

Not true

The dog show outdrew the basketball game but there weren't even any nba games that day

[PHXCATS]

Basketball is 15% at most in realignment

Absolutely nothing

While I do agree that basketball is a much smaller part of the TV pie, I disagree on the addition of UCONN and the Zags as a big win.

Let’s face it, we have been relegated with little hope of getting into the big two. Yormark is smart to bag the big bball brands as it will keep the XII afloat and perhaps give him a nice poker hand come negotiating time.

While I feel for the two NW schools, they add very little to any conference.

All reports are one or two super leagues are the future of college football

Arizona can absolutely make it if they continue to grow

[Merkin]

Prior season.

[AzCatFan2]

The idea that college basketball is only relevant in March is simply not true.

Last year Michigan State/Arizona, Duke/UNC (x2), Gonzaga/Kentucky, and Kentucky/Tennessee all had TV ratings that rival top college football games and none of those occurred in March.

Who has bigger ratings than college football games on any given Saturday in October? While MSU/Arizona had a great rating, NBA basketball games played on the same day drew even bigger audiences.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/1 ... nksgiving/

Not true

The dog show outdrew the basketball game but there weren't even any nba games that day

Mea culpa. My mistake. But the point stands. College basketball isn't irrelevant outside of March. But it's never the King until March. Compare that to any given Saturday in October. What draws better than top college football games on those days?

[Chicat]

The point is that October through December is not the only months of the year and there is a sports desert after football ends.

I guess you could just throw up your hands and surrender live TV to the NBA, but why? I can’t think of one person I’ve known or spoken to on the topic who enjoys regular season pro basketball more than college basketball.

[AzCatFan2]

Average NBA regular season game averages over 1.5 million tv viewers. Average NCAA Basketball game is around 300,000. March Madness gets millions of viewers. But regular season NCAA Basketball games are rarely the top rated for any given day. Too much competition from NBA and even the NHL.

[84Cat]

Here are the top games last year. Arizona vs UCONN or Gonzaga would probably be on this list. The excitement and press that these games would provide would be tremendous. The athletes would also love these games. But hey, fuck it because we can't compete with football so shut it down. With that thinking we might as well cut about 5 to 10 sports at the UA since they don't pay for themselves



https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/S ... 03/18.aspx

[Chicat]

Average NBA regular season game averages over 1.5 million tv viewers. Average NCAA Basketball game is around 300,000. March Madness gets millions of viewers. But regular season NCAA Basketball games are rarely the top rated for any given day. Too much competition from NBA and even the NHL.

I’m not sure where those numbers come from (sorry, didn’t Google) but there are 300+ college teams and very few of those are in major markets while there are 30 NBA teams playing most of their games in prime time on major networks.

Yeah, there’s going to be a difference in average viewership. That’s not as much indicative of fan interest as it is the disparity of the product.

[PHXCATS]

Here are the top games last year. Arizona vs UCONN or Gonzaga would probably be on this list. The excitement and press that these games would provide would be tremendous. The athletes would also love these games. But hey, fuck it because we can't compete with football so shut it down. With that thinking we might as well cut about 5 to 10 sports at the UA since they don't pay for themselves



https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/S ... 03/18.aspx

These big 12 numbers are awful

And the Michigan State number was all due to the lead in

[Merkin]

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/S ... 03/18.aspx

From the same site regarding regular season viewership.

[AzCatFan2]

It's not that basketball isn't valuable. Clearly March Madness drives a lot of revenue. It's the fact that regular season NCAA Basketball games aren't the lead sports stories in most places unless a local team is involved. That's because the NBA and NHL are playing games one the same dates. And pro sports are going to outdraw college sports. It's true for every sport. But what makes NCAA Football about 5X more valuable than NCAA Basketball is NCAA football owns Saturdays in the Fall. Again, take any Saturday in October and find a show with higher ratings than top college football games on that day. Not easy to do.

It's a rare occasion when a regular season NCAA basketball game is the top rated program for the day. That's just a fact.

Now again, March Madness is highly valuable. And if Yormack's plan is to say if the BIG12 isn't included in the future of college football, then the BIG12 won't be involved in MM is a risk, but it makes sense. MM is profitable, and it's hard to have MM without the current lineup of BIG12 schools. Adding UCONN, two-time defending champ and best women's program on the planet would bolster this stance. But are trips to Connecticut and adding UCONN football worth it? And is UCONN needed?