Big East Articles

[D-West & PO-Z]

Good pub for our conference. Don't love UConn but glad they are back in the BE. Also glad Georgetown and St. John's made some coaching moves. Someone else said it perfectly in another thread: a rising tide lifts all boats.

All of this in the midst of new TV contract negotiations. Perfect timing!

Athletic:

https://theathletic.com/4379426/2023/04/04/uconn-ncaa-championship-college-basketball-big-east/?source=user_shared_article

ESPN:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/36061636/ncaa-tournament-evolution-big-east-sets-basketball-revolution-march-madness

[Masterofreality]

I can’t read the Athletic one cause of paywall, but there is no way that Poverty Butler is leaving the Big East cash cow for the hinterlands of the A10.
I just keep laughing at VD as their irrelevance grows. Anthony Grant had a unicorn season with Obi Toppin in 2020 then no Tournament. Now they suck again and their players are leaving. A program that is popular in one town is never going to be in the Big East and I guffaw at them looking in from the outside.
No way we should ever give them any pub by playing them again. They made their bed of trash, they can lie in it.
By the way, interesting that in nowhere in Thamel’s article does he mention that arguably the biggest brands in the AAC are leaving for other leagues. Either ESPN has to hold a bag of trash, or renegotiate that deal down. The AAC is in precarious positions.
Finally, Val Ackerman is a Queen. That guy Aresco at the AAC is a Cretin. Linda Blutarsky-esque.

[xudash]

I can’t read the Athletic one cause of paywall, but there is no way that Poverty Butler is leaving the Big East cash cow for the hinterlands of the A10.
I just keep laughing at VD as their irrelevance grows. Anthony Grant had a unicorn season with Obi Toppin in 2020 then no Tournament. Now they suck again and their players are leaving. A program that is popular in one town is never going to be in the Big East and I guffaw at them looking in from the outside.
No way we should ever give them any pub by playing them again. They made their bed of trash, they can lie in it.
By the way, interesting that in nowhere in Thamel’s article does he mention that arguably the biggest brands in the AAC are leaving for other leagues. Either ESPN has to hold a bag of trash, or renegotiate that deal down. The AAC is in precarious positions.
Finally, Val Ackerman is a Queen. That guy Aresco at the AAC is a Cretin. Linda Blutarsky-esque.

He also failed to explain the true nature of the AAC deal and the "$7mm." As I understand it, and I do recall seeing this is writing, each AAC school had to literally fund some, if not all of their production expenses for that agreement, and some portion of that content lands on ESPN+.

I understand the glut of basketball games, etc., but "market conditions" and the economy in general shouldn't become a total wet blanket for what Val can achieve in this next round.

At the very least, the Big East has delivered on its end. Best case - IMHO - is Val/BE and Fox quietly huddle up before February and just slam dunk this puppy into a new multi-year deal that translates to a statement bump for each school.

[X-band '01]

I can’t read the Athletic one cause of paywall, but there is no way that Poverty Butler is leaving the Big East cash cow for the hinterlands of the A10.
I just keep laughing at VD as their irrelevance grows. Anthony Grant had a unicorn season with Obi Toppin in 2020 then no Tournament. Now they suck again and their players are leaving. A program that is popular in one town is never going to be in the Big East and I guffaw at them looking in from the outside.
No way we should ever give them any pub by playing them again. They made their bed of trash, they can lie in it.
By the way, interesting that in nowhere in Thamel’s article does he mention that arguably the biggest brands in the AAC are leaving for other leagues. Either ESPN has to hold a bag of trash, or renegotiate that deal down. The AAC is in precarious positions.
Finally, Val Ackerman is a Queen. That guy Aresco at the AAC is a Cretin. Linda Blutarsky-esque.

The American loses Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida but they do gain Florida Atlantic, UAB and Charlotte next year. If FAU gets everyone back, they could be a Top 5 team in some circles. Not a long-term panacea for the American, but they'll definitely be ahead of the A-10 next season.

[Masterofreality]

The American loses Houston, Cincinnati and Central Florida but they do gain Florida Atlantic, UAB and Charlotte next year. If FAU gets everyone back, they could be a Top 5 team in some circles. Not a long-term panacea for the American, but they'll definitely be ahead of the A-10 next season.

I’ll grant you Dusty May and an FAU roster that is, save for one, probably coming back, but Andy Kennedy is not an upgrade over Clifton Community and Ron Sanchez can’t hold Kelvin Sampson’s jock. The AAC is losing national brands. They are picking up long term Conference USA barely knowns.
Definitely a downgrade and not impressive for extra TV money.

[X-band '01]

North Texas would also be coming off of an NIT tltle, but Grant McCasland left to become the head coach at Texas Tech. Very hard to see that roster staying intact.