UVM Hoop Cat

Am I the only one that feels we missed adding Quinnipiac?

-A competitive mens basketball team
-A facility that could host an AE Tournament
-Located well geographically for every school in the conference
-Not that it matters for AE, but don't they have a good hockey team now as well? Makes it looks like other AE schools.

I know the academics aren't great, but I really don't see how the AE could ever attract its "perfect school", because that simply doesn't exist given the priorities of the athletic departments in the conference are all over the place.

I feel like we waited too long and missed adding Q. Which is why I think if we want to add Bryant- do it now.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

UVM Hoop Cat

Yep- I don't think there's any way this doesn't happen after Catholic 7 takes some schools from A10.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

umainealum

No, I wished we had pulled the trigger as well...I know people are all on the "wait" bandwagon, but I'm thinking we have waited long enough. I know there are still other dominoes to fall, but there is no guarantee that when they do that this league will be able to land the schools they want.

By adding Bryant now, we become that much more stable and then can ride it out a little longer.

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

umainealum

Question...would Stony Brook block Hofstra if they decided they wanted to return the AEast?

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

Aceinthehole

I don't disagree that some combination of NEC/Independents/D-II schools will always be there for the taking, but isn't something telling if it was true that the AE really wanted QU and they bolted for the MAAC instead?

Waiting is a fine strategy. It assures you that the conference doesn't jump and make a move too soon and only adds when they have to. However, I still don't see why any of the former AE school in the CAA returns with that massive exit fee and a NBC Sports contract. The AE can't offer those schools anything but geography. Does anyone really think that is enough?

Conference Realignment is a ladder and it has a hierarchy. The Big East is still above C-USA and the MAC, but we know it is below the ACC, Big12, etc. The CAA has already taken 5 AE teams in the past, what dynamic would anyone think change that trend?

UVM Hoop Cat

Agreed. Not sure the strength of our situation changes by waiting. In fact, I think it decreases the clearer things become.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

UVM Hoop Cat

Does anyone know if this still exists/if the parameters have changed or not?

I'd be real curious if NBC didn't try and get right out of that deal.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

ecasadoSBU

+1

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umainealum

I don't know, but I found this tidbit in an article from when Davidson declined & CofC accepted offers to the CAA:

"Davidson’s men’s basketball team is currently the cream of the crop in the Southern Conference. This would not be the case in the CAA. Although the CAA has recently received multiple tournament bids, it is usually a one bid conference like the Southern. In moving to the CAA, Davidson would be moving to a tougher one bid conference, thereby harming its chances of making the NCAA tournament on a regular basis as it recently has done as a member of the Southern Conference.

Second, I doubt Davidson would realize much, if any, financial benefit from moving to the CAA. Although the CAA did recently sign a television deal with NBC Sports Network that will increase the conference’s national exposure ( NBCSN will carry 18 CAA men’s basketball games nationally this season), the CAA members receive no money from the deal. NBCSN pays for the members’ production costs. That’s it. And there is no guarantee that any of Davidson’s games would actually be selected for a national broadcast. NBCSN did not select one of my alma mater’s games for a national broadcast this year.

It is true that the CAA has recently received much larger payouts from the NCAA’s Basketball Distribution Fund than the Southern ($3,355,296 versus $2,156,976 for the 2010-2011 season). However, most of the CAA’s larger payout has been a result of VCU’s recent NCAA tournament successes. With VCU now gone to the Atlantic 10 and Old Dominion leaving the CAA next year for Conference USA, the CAA is losing two of its basketball programs most likely to experience deep tournament runs. As a result, the Basketball Fund payouts for the CAA and the Southern will likely be much closer in the future."

I didn't realize that schools didn't actually receive any money for the deal...

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

UVM Hoop Cat

Yeah, I was real curious about that deal- and that makes sense- how much money is there to be made from a James Madison/UNC-Wilmington basketball game or insert practically all remaining CAA teams? A range from None- Very Little.

The exposure is nice for sure and having production costs paid, but w/out $$$$ what's the real difference between this and having a bunch of games on ESPN3 or something- very little, if any difference at all.

__________________
"Let's win this game for all the small schools that never had a chance to get here"
- Hoosiers,
& UVM mens basketball NCAA's 2005

Aceinthehole

In any case the NBC Sports deal is still much better than the TV deals in America East or the NEC. It seems to be there are 3 different types of TV deals:

1) Pay to Play (Infomericals)
This is the NEC, MAAC, and AE model. They league ponys up $$ from its NCAA revenue to pay for production and broadcast of league games. Each team in the league is slotted a few games, and they are carrierd by regional sports networks for a fee (NESN, SNY, MSG, etc)

2) Free Content
The CAA-NBCS deals seems to offer both sides something of benefit. The CAA gives its media rights to a National Sports Network for free - the content has a small value to the broadcaster. NBC Sports gets free content and then pays for the costs of production, etc. which is offset by any commerical space they can sell. NBCS needs the sports content to be assured it is carried by cable companies nationwide.

3) Auction Rights
The Major conferences (ACC, PAC-12, etc) have content that is so valuable they are able to sell the rights to major cable and TV carriers. This is causing the major realignments at the top which allow schools to obtain more revenue.

I assume the current A-10 TV cotract is somehere better than FREE CONTENT, but probaly worth very little cash dividends to the conference members.

Anyway, I just don't see why any CAA or A-10 team would be willing to give up FREE national exposure (even if it is limited), in order to PAY FOR the same limited, but regional exposure.

umainealum

Yeah, not sure that deal is really all that we were led to believe. Shoot, I have DirecTV and I couldn't tell you where NBC Sports Network is...I know where the ESPN stations are as well as the Big Ten Network. As a start-up channel, I'm sure they just need things to put on the air and with the recent successes of Mason & VCU, it made sense to get them plus the CAA Football, which tanked this year for the most part. It all sounded good but there really doesn't appear to be much substance although it is free exposure to those teams selected for games. The author of the article is an attorney and graduate of William & Mary, thus his alma mater saw 0 benefits from the contract...

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

umainealum

Reportedly, the Atlantic-10 deal with ESPN/CBS/NBC will pay the conference $40 million over 8 years ($5 mil/year) which will be split among the 14 schools. That would equate to just over $350K/year per school. Here is the television breakdown:

ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU (15 MBB/3 WBB): The Worldwide Leader will carry 14 regular season men’s basketball games, plus the league championship game. The last three years, ESPN has held the rights to the A-10 Men’s Basketball Championship Game, but chose to sublicense it CBS. It is unclear if ESPN will continue in this manner or if it will broadcast the game.

CBS Sports Network (27 MBB/10 WBB): CBS Sports Network will air 25 regular season men’s and eight women’s games, plus the A-10 Tournament Semifinals. Former Virginia Coach Pete Gillen, working for the network during a tournament in Cancun in 2007, once said he wanted to put Joey Rodriguez on a bagel, or something like that. I have no idea what it means, but I hope there’s more of that in our future.

NBC Sports Network (25*/6*WBB): The artist formerly known as Versus will broadcast 25 men’s and six women’s games on national TV. NBC will also air the A-10 Tournament Quarterfinals on regional networks, such as Comcast, which merged with NBC last year. NBC has the option of airing the quarterfinal games nationally on NBC Sports Network.

So there you have it...

Edit: Wonder if there is a provision in the contract regarding members...because if the "Catholic 7" do indeed raid the A-10 of their top programs (Xavier, Dayton, Butler, etc), can't imagine ESPN is going to be too excited about the leftovers, regardless of who the A-10 can poach from other leagues.

__________________
UMaine - the epitome of mediocrity

Proud supporter of an AMERICA EAST team that made a coaching change...

Aceinthehole

Thanks. So the A-10 was able to SELL their TV rights and make jthat much per school. Not bad, not great. Just as I thought - that probably puts them at the lowest end of any conference that is SELLING its TV rights.

I would be interested to know where the MVC and WCC stand in reagrds to TV revenue deals. I can't imagine they can actually sell those rights for much.

farfromtheshow

Yep.

Look at the Conference's history: When it lost the CAA 4, it acted immediately and added the SUNY 3, which greatly stabilized the conference. When it lost Northeastern (a huge blow) the league TWICE rejected Q-Pac because they thought they were going to hit a home run and either add URI or that some of the original CAA 4 defectors would return. No one came back, and overtime the conference grew a lot weaker and wound up losing BU... would have been MUCH stronger and more stable had they gone with QPac.

I say if Bryant wants to join, for example, get them NOW. No guarantee they will still be around if other higher priority adds fall through (just see what happened with QPac).