Ain’t No Party Like A Garden Party
The Story: The Big East capped a week of excitement yesterday by welcoming UConn as its 11th member with a press conference and ceremony held at Madison Square Garden.
IT’S FINALLY HERE: There’s no word on whether athletic director Dave Benedict had Flo Rida jamming through his AirPods on the train to New York, but there’s no denying the move was a long time coming for UConn fans who had gotten tired of watching the basketball programs play Tuesday night road games against directional Carolinas.
Outgoing president Susan Herbst said the decision was made because the school had grown tired of watching several of its long-time rivals get swept up in conference realignment and didn’t want to be caught flat-footed (with its fans even more nauseated) when the carousel comes spinning once again.
THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY: Big East commissioner Val Ackerman had been on the record for several years saying she was open to adding UConn, but she acknowledged yesterday talks didn’t really heat up until recent months.
“It quickly became apparent that there was mutual interest,” she said. “I would say over the last couple of weeks in particular, there’s really been an acceleration, a lot of things came together.”
How quickly did discussions progress? Dan Hurley said that while he raised the issue of UConn’s conference affiliation when he first interviewed to become the men’s basketball coach, he “didn’t get any type of tip-off that this was coming” until he read it on Twitter with all of us about a week ago — which, if true, sounds like a bit of a mistake considering he’s one of a select few people who absolutely should have known about the discussions.
“It’s just surreal to be the head coach of the UConn Huskies, in the Big East conference,” said Hurley, who played for Seton Hall in the early 1990s. “That’s a heck of a position to be put in. For me, I pinched myself when I found out this was happening.”
ABOUT THE MONEY: Yes, it always comes down to money, and one day after the contracts signed between the two parties showed UConn has to pay a $3.5 million entry fee to the Big East and negotiate a $10 million-plus exit fee with the AAC, there was a bit of good news: Herbst said the reduced travel alone should save the athletic department approximately $2 million a year and that UConn has gotten more than 2,000 season ticket sales and renewals between the basketball programs.
“Replace a Providence bus trip with a Tulsa trip? Right there, it feels better,” said Hurley, clearly relieved to be done with long jaunts to one of Kalana Greene‘s favorite places.
SO, WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN? Although all the paperwork proclaimed the Huskies would be joining the Big East on a date TBD, the plan is in place for the move to become effective on July 1, 2020. The Big East will also maintain a 20-game round-robin schedule for the basketball programs, meaning UConn will play every team home and away each season — the way it was meant to be.
BIG EAST COACHES REACT: Villanova’s Jay Wright was among the most outspoken supporters of UConn returning to the fold. “I don’t think there’s any other school out there that fits being a part of the Big East more than UConn,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer, calling the move “just so valuable to us that I think it’s worth it.”
Providence’s Ed Cooley also said he is pleased UConn is back, but let’s see how he, Wright and the other Big East coaches handle two more losses each season.
A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION: The excitement over the move continued well into the evening as the Huskies hosted a celebration for fans in New York, but spare a thought for Randy Edsall: We can only imagine that while Hurley and Geno Auriemma were whooping it up and buying beers for assembled well-wishers, Edsall was quietly singing Andy Grammer‘s “Keep Your Head Up” from his office in the Shenkman Center.
THE FINAL WORD: Leave it to Geno to put everything in perspective.
“For me, it’s a game-changer for the university and the fan base, because of what they’re going to see on a Thursday night when it’s snowing in February and 15,000 people [are] at the XL Center because of who we’re playing,” he said. “That, to me, changes everything.”
We back‼️#ThisIsBIG pic.twitter.com/7EzLd4LyeT
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) June 27, 2019
Aresco, AAC Slam Door on Football
The Story: Although Dave Benedict suggested UConn would negotiate with the AAC to remain a football-only member, commissioner Mike Aresco vehemently denied that possibility last night.
COOLER HEADS WILL PREVAIL: Poor Aresco. Not only does he see his marquee program pull up and leave for greener pastures (just don’t tell noted Cincinnati booster Kelvin Sampson), but he then has to spend an evening spinning through his UConn media rolodex just so he can repeat the same line about the football program remaining in the conference.
“The short answer is no, not a chance,” Aresco told The Associated Press.
“That is not possible,” Aresco told Hearst Connecticut Media. “And that is something we have unanimity on with the other schools in the league.”
“It is not a possibility,” Aresco told The Hartford Courant. “We have no interest in keeping UConn in football if they’re not going to play in our league in their main sport, basketball.”
(Thanks for the compliment, Mike.)
AN APPEALING SOLUTION: Aresco and the remaining AAC athletic directors believe the conference can continue playing football with 11 members and will discuss that matter this afternoon as a path forward is charted. Part of that is fueled by finances — the programs will get a greater cut of revenue from the new media rights deal with ESPN with UConn out of the picture — but also because the remaining options (UAB? Old Dominion? Liberty? Oklahoma Panhandle State?) are somehow even less appealing than the existing schools.
“We’ll consider a 12th school, but unless that school helps our strength and really enhances our brand, why would you do it? We’re not going to do anything that dilutes the brand and diminishes us at all,” Aresco somehow said with a straight face.
But there are a number of logistical matters to be ironed out, which is why Aresco would be wise to suck up his scorn and reduce his grandstanding and at least consider discussing a deal. Even if it’s about the money, the contracts can certainly be restructured in a way to make every party happy. (Navy, for example, will not receive a full share of that ESPN revenue and has its own agreements with CBS Sports.)
FBS OR BUST: Regardless of the landing spot, Benedict again reiterated his support for UConn remaining in the Football Bowl Subdivision, recognizing that a strong football program is paramount to the athletic department’s overall success.
“The commitment to football is there,” Benedict said. “We just opened up a newly renovated locker room that we spent a significant amount of resources on. We have support from our donors to do that. We’re committed to Division I football. We brought Randy back. We certainly had no idea (at the time) that this was going to come about, but there’s no better person situated to take us through this transition. He took us through the transition from FCS to FBS and he’s going to take us through this transition, whatever that amounts to be.”
SNY Excited By UConn’s Move
The Story: SNY president Steve Raab told the Courant he’s optimistic the move to the Big East will help strengthen the relationship the two sides have maintained for nearly a decade.
FORGET STREAMING: By remaining in the AAC, UConn would have had to surrender its third-tier rights to ESPN+, meaning fans would be forced to pay an additional fee each month on top of their cable bills to stream events not picked up for a cable television broadcast, such as UConn women’s basketball games.
While we still believe streaming is the future of sports broadcasting, that extra $5 a month now can go toward other things — say, buying a big foam finger, or paying an extra half-hour for parking during a game at the XL Center. There’s an increased likelihood the Big East’s agreement with Fox will allow SNY to play a role in broadcasting those UConn sporting events once destined to appear nowhere but the dark corners of the internet.
FOOTBALL A COMMODITY: UConn’s likely forthcoming status as a Division I football independent means football games could appear on SNY as well.
“Some of it is: It’s still UConn in the state of Connecticut, and it’s still football at the highest level, and they have a coach that we believe in and a program we believe in,” Raab said. “Yeah, the recent years haven’t been great, but it’s still meaningful and relevant to this region and to the state of Connecticut.
“We’re interested in it because of what it is and we’re also interested in it because UConn is a great partnership for us. And when you truly look at partnerships, it’s not always about this sport or that sport, it’s about the larger relationship.”
Morning Read
STARS ALIGN: UConn took its identity back with a return to the Big East, a move that’s a course correction for a school that has been lost in the reshuffling over the past 10 years. (CBS Sports)
FORGING A FUTURE: The move to the Big East should be a boon for recruiting as Dan Hurley believes UConn can strengthen its already strong presence in New York. (Forbes)
WALKER TO CELTICS? The Boston Celtics have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Kemba Walker once the NBA’s free agency period opens on Sunday night. (ESPN)
THIS WILL STING: A number of bad contracts and fears over paying the luxury tax will lead to the Charlotte Hornets missing out on keeping Walker. (Charlotte Observer)
STAR-SPANGLED SPRINGER: Houston Astros center fielder George Springer was named an All-Star for the third consecutive season. (Houston Chronicle)
