ACC to the Barclays Center for 2017 & 2018

[MD Muskie]

So it didn't take long for Syracuse to exert their influence in the ACC. The ACC got the Barclays Center for the conference tourney once the A-10 contract is up after 2016, the USA Today is reporting. Now the catch is that the A-10 will got back there in 2019 for three years.

[OTRMUSKIE]

From what I am understanding is the A-10 will move their tournament up so they both can play there. In exchange for a ACC/A-10 challenge. That if true is a great move.

[MD Muskie]

I wasn't sure if it was an ACC/A10 challenge or just a doubleheader of games that will involve both the ACC in one and A10 in another. I guess time will tell us on that.

[x_man11]

Boy ole Bernadette made a good move there, didn't she? Not only do they keep their relationship with Barclay's, they get to pit their teams against ACC teams in doubleheaders in NYC. Not bad, not bad at all.

I think the Big East was the best move for X but I'd like to see a similar "challenge" set up between us and another power conference. But I doubt any of the other conferences would bite to be honest. It will take time for our new league to settle in and we definitely need to make waves over the next couple years in NCAA tourney play...especially with ESPN chomping at the bit to destroy any reputation the Big East tries to build.

[xu95]

There was a rumor somewhere last year that Fox Sports is working on a Big East/Pac 12 challenge since they own the rights to both of our leagues.

[Muskie]

Boy ole Bernadette made a good move there, didn't she? Not only do they keep their relationship with Barclay's, they get to pit their teams against ACC teams in doubleheaders in NYC. Not bad, not bad at all.

I think the Big East was the best move for X but I'd like to see a similar "challenge" set up between us and another power conference. But I doubt any of the other conferences would bite to be honest. It will take time for our new league to settle in and we definitely need to make waves over the next couple years in NCAA tourney play...especially with ESPN chomping at the bit to destroy any reputation the Big East tries to build.
The only way that benefits the A-10 is if they set match-ups like they did for the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. If they match-ups are all willy nilly in favor of the ACC, then that doesn't compute to me.

[X-band '01]

Judging by these matchups, I'd say the ACC completely fleeced the A-10:

Tuesday, December 22
1 PM - Saint Joseph's vs. Virginia Tech
3:30 PM - Fordham vs. Boston College

By comparison, the Big East and Big 10 have a much more legitimate batch of games with the Dave Gavitt tip-off series. A few stinkers (Villanova-Nebraska), but some marquee games like Maryland-Georgetown and Michigan-Xavier.

[xubrew]

Boy ole Bernadette made a good move there, didn't she? Not only do they keep their relationship with Barclay's, they get to pit their teams against ACC teams in doubleheaders in NYC. Not bad, not bad at all.

I think the Big East was the best move for X but I'd like to see a similar "challenge" set up between us and another power conference. But I doubt any of the other conferences would bite to be honest. It will take time for our new league to settle in and we definitely need to make waves over the next couple years in NCAA tourney play...especially with ESPN chomping at the bit to destroy any reputation the Big East tries to build.

We have a challenge with the Big Ten beginning in just about a month.

[X-band '01]

We have a challenge with the Big Ten beginning in just about a month.

In fairness to Xman11, he posted back in 2014 before the Gavitt Games were announced. I brought this post back up now because I saw today just what kind of a train wreck is scheduled at Barclays Center. I can understand the ACC not sending their big boys to the doubleheader, but the A-10 not insisting on either Dayton or VCU being a part of the doubleheader will kill their attendance.

[bobbiemcgee]

Judging by these matchups, I'd say the ACC completely fleeced the A-10:

Tuesday, December 22
1 PM - Saint Joseph's vs. Virginia Tech
3:30 PM - Fordham vs. Boston College

By comparison, the Big East and Big 10 have a much more legitimate batch of games with the Dave Gavitt tip-off series. A few stinkers (Villanova-Nebraska), but some marquee games like Maryland-Georgetown and Michigan-Xavier.

yes, these A-10 matchups should bring dozens and dozens of fans. General feeling on A-10 board was they got conned.

[Muskie]

Are there only two games to that A-10 / ACC deal?


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[X-band '01]

There's going to be an ACC/A-10 annual doubleheader for 3 seasons (starting this year) at the Barclays Center. But if this is what they're offering, if I'm in charge of the Barclays Center I'd want to opt out of such a deal like this ASAP if they're not going to make a better effort of drawing at least 1 or 2 teams that will travel. Saint Joe's is the one fanbase that might actually care about a game like this for this season.

[Muskie]

That Fordham / BC game is almost insulting.


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[paulxu]

Well, Fordham is in NY. So that should do away with the travel problem.

[XUMIOH12]

those 2 games are terrible haha. Sucks for the A10

[X-band '01]

I wonder who gets a bigger crowd - the ACC/A10 doubleheader at Barclays or the game at Mohegan Sun between St. John's and South Carolina. Can't be more than a thousand people sitting through the Fordham/BC titanic struggle.

[Masterofreality]

That Fordham / BC game is almost insulting.


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I would say that the whole deal is insulting- to the ACC and College Basketball in general. The F-m/BC game today wasn't even on a regular network. It was only broadcast on ESPN3. Why the hell even set up something like this if it doesn't even get any TV coverage? Once again, the Commissionerress of the A10 does things half-ass, in the long tradition of A10 leaders starting with Linda Blutarsky.

So F-m loses. The A10 loses and doesn't even get any exposure for it. We'll crafted A10.

[GoMuskies]

I think the current A-10 commish is actually pretty great. I wish she had been the commish our whole time in the league and Linda B's reign of terror had never happened.

[Masterofreality]

I think the current A-10 commish is actually pretty great. I wish she had been the commish our whole time in the league and Linda B's reign of terror had never happened.

With all due respect, because I love ya Bourbon Brother, but.......

Meh.

[xubrew]

I think the current A-10 commish is actually pretty great. I wish she had been the commish our whole time in the league and Linda B's reign of terror had never happened.

The TV deal could use some upgrading. The A10 is a multi bid league, and is probably the second best basketball centric conference behind the Big East. It also has programs in big markets. Yet, they get less than half per school than what the Missouri Valley gets, it's buried on premium networks that you either need a satellite dish or a maxed out cable package to get even if you live in an A10 city, and they even have stipulations in the contract about not being on free to air networks.

That's probably what I hated the most about being in the Atlantic Ten. I was so fed up with the TV deal, and was convinced that the bottom feeders were the ones blocking it from being better, that I just wanted to dissolve the conference and start over again.

I also couldn't figure out how their NCAA Tournament revenue sharing worked. I never understood why Duquesne got more NCAA Tournament revenue than we did, and Fordham got as much as we did.

But, that's all in the past now. THANK GOD!!!

[GoMuskies]

McGlade brought in Butler and VCU, moved the A-10 championship to Barclays and got the championship game of the A-10 Tournament on CBS. Other than falling bass-ackwards into Xavier, all Bruno did was preside over the A-10 from its high point when she took the job in '94 to its low point 14 years later. McGlade had the bad fortune of having the Big East raid her league three years ago (which she was helpless to do anything about), but otherwise she was (and still is) moving the A-10 in a positive direction for the first time in a long, long time.

[xubrew]

McGlade brought in Butler and VCU, moved the A-10 championship to Barclays and got the championship game of the A-10 Tournament on CBS. Other than falling bass-ackwards into Xavier, all Bruno did was preside over the A-10 from its high point when she took the job in '94 to its low point 14 years later. McGlade had the bad fortune of having the Big East raid her league three years ago (which she was helpless to do anything about), but otherwise she was (and still is) moving the A-10 in a positive direction for the first time in a long, long time.

I do like McGlade a lot more than Bruno. Having said that, if I'm not mistaken ESPN still owns the rights to the A10 Tournament, and they were the ones that sell it to CBS on a year by year basis. In fact, it violated the stipulation regarding no free to air network games and there were some that were trying to block it from being on the CBS flagship network. That is absolutely ridiculous, but that's the A10 for you.

The A10 is a bassackwards organization. I don't blame that all on McGlade, though. It was that way long before she took over.

[xudash]

With all due respect, because I love ya Bourbon Brother, but.......

Meh.

Perhaps it's about two things: management and the product management has to offer.

You can't appreciate the difference between the Big East and the A10 when we were in it unless you've made it to the Big East promised land. Timing had a big influence on the outcome; we were in the right place at the right time for the birth of FS1. Keeping MSG was huge. In short, the Big East brand had enough resources and power put behind it that it was given a clear chance to thrive yet again out of material change.

The A10? Not much to offer there, frankly.

[xubrew]

The A10 could offer a lot more than what it does. It could offer at least as much as the Missouri Valley. Instead, it's getting half as much. There are some good basketball programs in that league, and I think they'd be better off just leaving and doing their own thing. I felt that way the entire time we were in it, and I still do.

[Section 200]

The A10 could offer a lot more than what it does. It could offer at least as much as the Missouri Valley. Instead, it's getting half as much. There are some good basketball programs in that league, and I think they'd be better off just leaving and doing their own thing. I felt that way the entire time we were in it, and I still do.

Actually it can't, because the league is too large and once a team is in a league it is essentially impossible to remove them. TV has no desire to ever show St Bonnie's, Duquesne, LaSalle, Fordham, St Joe's, George Mason, etc. The A-10 just doesn't have enough good games. There might be 5 legit league games in the entire season. Nobody is going to pay for that.

[xubrew]

Actually it can't, because the league is too large and once a team is in a league it is essentially impossible to remove them. TV has no desire to ever show St Bonnie's, Duquesne, LaSalle, Fordham, St Joe's, George Mason, etc. The A-10 just doesn't have enough good games. There might be 5 legit league games in the entire season. Nobody is going to pay for that.

That's one of the reasons I think programs like Dayton, SLU, VCU, Richmond, Davidson and GW should just strike out on their own. They could hook up with schools like Valpo, Belmont, and perhaps even Wichita and form a league that is much better and negotiate a much better TV deal.

Where the A10 screwed up media wise was locking themselves in with CBS Sports and NBC Sports until 2021. ESPN gets 14 games a year (and I think that includes the conference championship game that they always sell to CBS), and the other two networks get 25 games a piece. Had they just signed the fourteen game deal with ESPN and gave them exclusive rights to whatever fourteen games they wanted, they'd actually be better off. They could sell the rest to the local affiliates, or to ASN (who basically buys the rights to games and sells them to local affiliates, and who does have a deal with what's left of the A10), and increased their exposure and probably earned them more money.

For instance, VCU signed a 10 year, $20 million dollar deal with Learfield. They're making close to six times off their coaches shows than what they're making off the actual A10 games. Whatever VCU games weren't picked up by ESPN could have probably been sold to a local affiliate in Richmond and made available on RSN Networks. Had they done something similar for all the teams, they would have ended up with more exposure and more money. As it is now, even if people live in an Atlantic Ten city they can't get a lot of the games unless you subscribe to NBCSN or CBS Sports, which not a lot of people do. But, that's who has the exclusive rights. And, they didn't pay much for them. And, they're locked in to that deal until 2021, or until they dissolve the league (which isn't likely to happen).

It's better to be on local free networks that make the games available to RSNs or internet streams than it is to be on national premium networks that don't make the games available to the local providers on a basic tier. The majority of the A10's deal is the latter. And, they're getting $5 million total a year for it. They could have done a lot better than that.