The biggest victory for UConn in the past week did not take place in Storrs or Albany. It took place in Bristol.
ESPN loves UConn again.
And that means UConn may not be long for the Big East.
This morning, Dan Hurley was on First Take. Get Up has been talking about UConn basketball with Dan Orlovsky during the incessant football talk. The UConn women get talked about as much as the South Carolina women, if not more so.
The football team would not be out of place in either league now, though the Big 12 would be a much tougher slog. Most importantly, the money in either conference would be a tremendous upgrade over its current deal.
For about a decade, ESPN has basically ignored or outwardly derided UConn. It started in 2012, when ESPN destroyed the original Big East when it plucked Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and eventually Louisville to join the ACC. There was no secret. ESPN set out to ruin the Big East when the Big East members turned down a TV deal extension, presumably to take offers from NBC.
The Big East famously added Boise State and TCU and neither would ever play a game in the conference. ESPN analysts went into overdrive bashing the conference, with one insane Mark May comment causing me to write my first blog post that went viral.
Even when UConn was still in the AAC, the cable channel only talked about football – promoting teams like Houston and UCF and Cincinnati – while ignoring UConn. It’s interesting to note that those three teams, along with another ESPN favorite BYU, are now joining the ESPN-aligned Big 12. Hmm…
So imagine my surprise over the past week, as UConn has been everywhere on ESPN. Several analysts picked UConn to make the Final Four and even win it all. Huh? What?
On the women’s side, every show was already talking about a dream UConn-South Carolina final, even ignoring Caitlin Clark and Iowa. But Iowa and the Big Ten won’t be on ESPN next year. Neither will UConn though, right?
That’s when I thought about a recent quote from AAC commissioner Mike Aresco, who said that “there's more consolidation” coming to realignment. This isn’t groundbreaking, as we’ve seen the Big Ten and SEC are locked in an arms race for the top spot while the Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC scramble for survival. However, Aresco saying that publicly was an indication that he knew that more moves were coming, and coming soon.
When you think about potential teams on the move, UConn is not usually discussed. That should change now.
ESPN is not overflowing with praise for UConn with no agenda behind it. The network doesn’t operate like that, and it never has. There are reasons why coaches appear on certain shows, or why certain teams get talked about more than others. I guarantee you that the amount of Big Ten talk will fall off a cliff next year when ESPN isn’t airing their games.
Here’s the deal – something is up.
The Big East commissioner said before the Big East Tournament that she wants to start talking with Fox for a new deal. That was a curious comment to make publicly. Why haven’t they started talking yet? Why is she not interested in exploring the open market? Why isn’t Fox initiating talks? Did Fox use up all their college sports budget on the Big Ten deal?
UConn is by far the most valuable asset in the Big East, especially now that Jay Wright has left Villanova. It resides in a top 30 TV market, its fans take over arenas in NYC and Boston, and its basketball teams win championships while drawing viewers. The fly in the ointment had been the football team, but Jim Mora has quickly resuscitated the program into a bowl game and there is honest-to-goodness positive momentum for football again.
The success of UConn athletics could not have come at a better time – just as its descent during the last round of realignment could not have come at a worst time.
As we stand here today, there are two obvious and potential landing spots for UConn – the Big 12 and the ACC. Both are strong basketball leagues that would instantly provide UConn with a much deeper, more compelling conference schedule. Sorry DePaul and Butler, we won’t miss playing you twice.
The football team would not be out of place in either league now, though the Big 12 would be a much tougher slog. Most importantly, the money in either conference would be a tremendous upgrade over its current deal.
But I’ve absolutely buried the lede – the consolidation in college sports is not about leagues, it’s about networks. Right now, there are two networks that are trying to dominate college sports. Fox is the challenger to the throne. For the Big East to remain valuable, they need UConn in it.
For ESPN, they need to defeat Fox. They’ve lost the Big Ten. They’ve lost USC and UCLA (i.e., the #2 TV market in Los Angeles) to Fox. The Pac-12 may be completely gone soon, with the potential for more valuable teams like Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten. Notre Dame remains the white whale, and the Big Ten and Fox would love to remove them from ESPN’s grip too. Simply put, ESPN needs to fight back.
I was vehemently against the move to the Big East because I was worried it was a long-term home. I am glad to report I may have been wrong. The Big East stay for UConn may be short and sweet.
ESPN doesn’t suddenly use its massive platform on a school that plays games on a competitor’s network for fun.
ESPN is wooing UConn. That’s great news for every UConn fan. The Power Five dream remains alive.
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