Finally, a glimmer of hope, of direction and yes, of a future that is not all filled with stories of gloom and doom for the Big East conference.
Big East commissioner Mike Aresco came out of the murky world of closed door meetings and conference calls this week and talked publicly in Connecticut about the state of his embattled conference. Nothing really new, but for the first time Aresco came out in public with what he was both thinking and doing.
It was pure Aresco, filled with optimism and plans for the future. We’ve all heard this before and you could hear the snicker in the audience and feel the doubts when Aresco talked about a conference which went from coast-to-coast and covered 4 time zones.
Not this time. Maybe it’s because we are weary of the moves and want college athletics to be about playing games, rather than switching leagues and affiliations.
But Aresco, who wasn’t dealt a fair hand when he took over a league in September which was coming apart at the seams after a decade of in fighting and almost as long from outside forces, has a plan
And it might just work. The first thing Aresco did was recognize his audience–people in the state of Connecticut which has been battered by nature, acts of madness by a monster who would gun down children and a college athletic world with a shark mentality of feeding on the weakest creatures. They wanted to hear something, anything positive and Aresco gave it them. He also made UConn sound and feel important.
He came into the job last fall knowing that Syracuse and Pittsburgh were gone. But then Notre Dame said it was leaving. That was followed by Rutgers and Louisville and was followed by the Catholic 7 announcing they were taking their toys and playing in a different neighborhood.
Add to that a series of television negotiations in football and basketball which couldn’t get started because the inventory Aresco was selling kept shrinking.
Presumably, that is now over. At least for the time being. So Aresco did what he was hired to do. He brought the remaining partners together and made them feel good about themselves. Or better. And he started with UConn.
The message that Aresco has been selling to to the Huskie administration for the past several weeks is simply this: No it’s not the best situation. I understand your concern. But you know what, “We can have a very good league and UConn can be an anchor, a cornerstone of a rebuilding process.”"
In football, the Huskies will be part of a 10 team conference for the next two seasons and then an 12 team conference in 2015.
In basketball, the Huskies will also be part of a solid 10 or 11 team league that will include other cornerstones such as Memphis, Temple and Cincinnati. Throw in a revitalization of the program at Houston, upgraded facilities in places such as Tulane and Central Florida and the future may have more sunny than cloudy days.
For UConn and Cincinnati, who have felt like unwanted orphans in the conference configuration wars of the past few years, Aresco’s message is clear.
As a member of the Big East conference, you have a chance to compete for a BCS type bowl bid every year. There are no guarantees if you don’t win, but then there never are. But if you can put together an undefeated or one loss season, and you schedule wisely outside of the conference (meaning quality teams) you can compete EVERY year for a major bowl bid.
In basketball, do the same thing and you will be part of the NCAA tournament. You will get decent seeds on Selection Sunday because the league you are playing in is far above the mid-major level.
And then he came in with the tie-breaker. The Big East brand and all of the basketball units–worth millions of dollars over a rotating six year span–would not be given up without a fight. The Big East could be more like the Big East again.
Oh, maybe not of the quality which sent 11 of 16 teams to the NCAA tournament a few years ago. But if you were projecting the new Big East with this year’s teams, Cincinnati and Memphis would be locks, Temple, and UConn would be strong contenders and a few other teams would be on the discussion board. That would be more than half of a 10 or 11 team conference.
Aresco’s plan right now is to let the Big East become the Big East again and sell the message that it isn’t as bad as lots of people think.
Is it sellable? Yes, it is. At least right now. It is a fragile peace at best and Aresco knows this as he tries to wrap up the basketball television contract for next year and the football contract for beyond 2013′s final year.
It could all change in a heart beat if there is more movement. The Big 12 AD’s met in Texas on Tuesday to discuss the pros and cons of expanding or staying at 10. Any kind of shift, could start an avalanche that could again come crashing down on the Big East.
But for right now, Mike Aresco is doing and saying the right things. And maybe, just maybe, it might all work out.
© Copyright 2013 Mark, All rights Reserved. Written For: A Jersey Guy
“Maybe, just maybe, it might work out.” Inspired yet, Connecticut?
The name Big East in football is a DEAD brand. Aresco is going to regret keeping it.
It may be a dead brand, but it’s still a better starting platform than a new name. Hell, you could argue the Big East football brand died when Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College bailed.
Blaudshun-I’m not sure who you are in love with? Is it BC or the Big East? It can’t be both. No one will care about providence- Seton Hall, or StJohn’s-Depaul,all the empty seats are screaming,”no one cares anymore”.
If no one cares about the C7 because no one shows up then no one cares about 80% of the Aresco football league and even less than the BBall league.
I hope the Big East Conference keeps its name. The brand still has value.
Agree that Aresco putting a feel good message out. Positive things have happened since Boise State and SDSU dropped out. The football league has some geographic continuity and the TV discussions are under way. The residual Big East is the best available home for those left in it. Settlement with c7 will be dictated by TV interests. Things should be settled in the next couple months as everyone wants clarity , fans , students, TV , alumni etc . U Conn needs to be patient and work with the structure and support it. If they are to realize their ACC goal the residual Big East must succeed
I’m pretty sure Chris Columbo is Mike Aresco, Andy Katz or Lennay Kekau. He’s either delusional, pollyannic or make believe.
RudyMass, I agree with Chris Columbo, if you have a different set of points please make them but dont junk up this board with name calling. It is very low class.
I think RudyMass’s point is that it is absolutely ridiculous to say positive things have happened since Boise and SD State ditched the Big East. Anyone that thinks that is delusional.
Agree – Rudy Mass is entitled to give an opinion – but save the 7th grade insults for another board
Agreed. Crossed the line with name calling. Couldn’t disagree more that current BE strategy is sound. Management has done nothing more than create a situation where every member school suffers. I am tired of the platitudes. Forgive the frustration.
The only person who is buying what Aresco is selling is you. Since he has been hired every single press conference has been about moving toward a great conference. Then one by one and well 7, they all left. Yes Aresco was dealt a crap hand, but he hasn’t stopped the bleeding. It’s actually worsened. He won’t be able to keep the name (and by the way, stop saying the Big East will become the Big East again. First you sound like an idiot when its a coast to coast league. Second the original Big East was born on basketball, the teams that would make up this conf. is NOT BE basketball, and yes UCONN was lucky to get invited the first go around). UCONN has been trying to whore itself out of the Big East for years. Let’s not act like they are some innocent bystanders of a college athletic world that is rapidly changing. They would give their first born to be invited to the ACC or better yet the B1G.
eh. I am kind of with Chris, Mark, and Mr. Aresco. Everyone in this conference besides UConn and Cinci are getting good raises. The MWC talking about no expansion for the next 2-3 years may very well imply they could not land BYU or Houston.
Things look a lot better this week than last.
Here’s hoping the Big 10 and SEC don’t screw the BE further before July 1st. (I personally think the Big 12 on their own doesn’t have the leverage to pull 2 ACC schools without raids by the other two first.)
And I think it was interesting and perhaps relevant that the FB BE is now publically saying they will keep the name. THe BB BE NEEDS the name, the FB side does not. It sounds like the name is being taken hostage by the incoming schools so the Catholic 7 will leave without further disrupting the league on their way out.
Just a prediction, but I am thinking when the BB schools are gone and the FB BE has their TV deal and there is no more potential of drama, the FB BE will sell the name to them.
Mark,
Revitalized Houston basketball program, LOL???
C’mon, they lost to Prairie View this year and are not good in a bad Conference USA.
Everyone is getting good raises? So Aresco finalized a TV deal? Unbelievable. Have the other schools also signed off on the “Let’s make this work for a couple of years so UConn can get its ACC invite” strategy?
I think what is being lost on UConn and Cinci fans is that no fans of the other schools in the conference are indignant about the situation. Are they disappointed that their schools will get $3.5-5M each in TV money rather than 10M+? Yes. Absolutely, but these schools were conference mates for years.
Indignant? No… That is only a part of the UConn and Cinci fan bases.
To quote Sherman T Potter
You remind me of a feller who once tried to sell me a dead mule.
Said it would be no problem to feed and it didn’t kick.
This page has deteriorated into nothing but a propaganda sheet. So i guess the big plan is to try and sell UConn a large load of crap and hope they swallow it.
+ 1 for the MASH reference and appropriate tone. I think Colonel Flagg may be running things in Providence.
Propaganda Sheet? I don’t think anyone is spinning to get approval. I am not “selling” anyone. I have no illusions. If UConn or Cinci gets an ACC invite tomorrow, they are gone and huge chunk of their fans will be talking about how good it is to escape a conference that is “clearly beneath them”.
By the same token any other BE school that gets an invite from a contract conference will take it, although it seems their fans would be happier about leaving behind the dysfunctional nature of this conference, not the other schools.
If UCONN or Cinci don’t get an invite, they are stuck here. Ripping the other schools and fan bases doesn’t help either school, so it seems kind of pointless.
The bottom line is the same it has been for the last two years for the former C-USA schools. The MWC tried to merge with them because they have better markets which yield more TV money than the MWC. They will make more TV money than any other non-contract conference. That means that they are a pretty good option for UConn and Cinci until their boat comes in. The leadership seems to see the math even if the fans might not want to.
It is a decent, temporary all-sports home.
Escaping to the ACC in the long term means joining Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest. Not sure who else would be left in the ACC in, say, 8 or 10 years, but don’t expect Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson to be there if there’s ANY more movement in SEC, Big 10 or Big 12. Virginia, UNC, NCSU, Ga. Tech and Miami aren’t exactly sure to be there, either.
Get the consultants together. We now have the new name for the BE — a “decent, temporary all-sports home.”
Sends chills down your spine.
The biggest thing the Big East needs right now is unity. Here’s something to maybe persuade Cincinnati, UConn and South Florida that they should strongly consider staying in the Big East and not bolt to, say, the ACC as soon as it comes calling (if and when that occurs …).
Cincinnati is maybe the best available “property” still available to any expanding BCS (the term soon will be “access”) conference. It’s strong in both football and basketball, in a decent-sized market in a very populated state that supports college athletics as passionately as any region in the country. Yet, Cincy’s stadium only seats about 35,000. It has access to an NFL stadium, but each time you go that route, you leave a lot of money on the table
U-Conn — one of the best, mature basketball brands in the country — is still in its adolescent phase in football. It has a nice stadium, but it only seats 40,000.
I’m not making fun of either of these two programs’ “small” stadiums. But, stadium size is one of the components that figures into viability of getting into one of the “have” conferences.
My problem with this is, why do either one of these schools NEED bigger stadiums? They’ve both got good football facilities, but are probably close to their realistic maximum potential yearly averages for home games.
And what’s wrong with that? It’s getting to where an FBS program that doesn’t seat at least 50,000 for home games isn’t considered worthy of joining one of the “Big 5″: Pac-12, Big 12, Big 10, SEC or ACC. But, does that limitation mean such programs can’t be very competitive, relevant, “successful” …?
Not on paper, at least. Boise State is the obvious anecdote here, but there are many other programs that have had some sustained level of sustained success without having a $50 million-plus annual football budget.
My point is, Cincinnati and UConn need to take a very hard look at themselves and their (mostly new) conference colleagues. To me, these schools have much more in common than differences.
And none of these schools — UConn and Cincinnati included — are even close right now to having the type of resources to truly thrive in one of the “access” conferences. Rutgers and Maryland didn’t, but they were both desperate and apparently star-struck.