[FONT="]A Big East spokesperson said Saturday morning the conference had no comment.
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[FONT="]Any deal would need the approval of UConn’s Board of Trustees. Tom Ritter, chairman of the board, declined comment Saturday morning.
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[FONT="]Mike Anthony: The AAC TV contract with ESPN would be garbage to UConn if SNY is pushed out of the picture »
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[FONT="]The AAC is the result of a Division I athletics realignment during the early 2010s. While the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac 12 became the Power 5 conferences, UConn was left without a home in any of them, having hoped to land in the ACC or Big Ten.
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Mike Anthony@ManthonyCourant
I can confirm that UConn is awaiting official invitation to the Big East and a formal announcement of the move is forthcoming. First reported by @DigSportsDesk
UConn football likely lands in another conference or goes independent, starting in 2020 season.
402
10:21 AM - Jun 22, 2019
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[FONT="]Instead it remained in the Big East, which re-formed, in part, as the AAC, adding schools such as Houston, Memphis, Central Florida and others. When the old Big East fell apart, a new Big East formed, focusing on basketball. The conference, made up nearly entirely by Catholic schools, includes Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Saint John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier, many of which are old Big East rivals of the Huskies. UConn is already an associated member of the conference for field hockey.
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[FONT="]The conference was spread out geographically, but there was hope in pulling together schools in major markets that it would result in significant TV deals, financially.
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[FONT="]Why the UConn athletic department’s $41 million deficit might not be quite as bad as it sounds »
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[FONT="]The AAC and ESPN agreed to a 12-year, $1 billion TV deal earlier this year in which UConn would receive about $7 million per year – a figure substantially smaller than schools in the Power 5 conferences receive. Under the deal, about 500 AAC sporting events during the 2020-21 school year, including basketball and football games, will be available exclusively through ESPN+, the $4.99 per month digital streaming service launched last year. The number of AAC games on ESPN+ will increase to at least 1,000 per year beginning in 2022-23.
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[FONT="]UConn Athletic Director David Benedict voiced concern over the deal because it would largely move Huskies games off linear TV and could jeopardize the university’s TV deal with SNY. Representatives of SNY and ESPN have said the networks are discussing a possible deal, but that remains unresolved.
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[FONT="]<twitter-widget class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-1" data-tweet-id="1142441603006685184" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; visibility: visible; display: block; transform: rotate(0deg); max-width: 100%; width: 500px; min-width: 220px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Mike Anthony@ManthonyCourant
Statement from UConn: “It is our responsibility to always be mindful of what is in the best interest of our student athletes, our fans and our future. With that being said, we have been and remain proud members of the American Athletic Conference.”
34
10:37 AM - Jun 22, 2019
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[FONT="]“We are disappointed that there will be a reduction in linear TV exposure for our men’s and women’s basketball programs, including but not limited to the potential loss of our successful partnership with SNY,” Benedict said.
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[FONT="]AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco, however, has been supportive of the ESPN-AAC deal, calling ESPN+ the “digital future.” An AAC spokesperson could not immediately be reached. An ESPN spokesperson declined comment, Saturday.
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[FONT="]The Big East signed a 12-year, $500 million basketball-only TV Deal with Fox Sports in 2013. CBS and CBS Sports Network also air some Big East games as part of an agreement with Fox Sports reached earlier this year.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The news of UConn being in talks with the Big East comes as the university’s athletic department grapples with a $41 million deficit during 2018, which was made up for through student fees and university subsidy.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]“In recent years, declining conference and media licensing revenue, along with rising costs, have created the current deficit," a UConn spokesperson told The Courant earlier this year. "It is not sustainable and the Division of Athletics is continually working to identify savings and drive up revenue in order to help close this gap.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The biggest individual team culprit of the UConn athletic department’s 2018 deficit was the school’s football program, which lost $8.7 million. Additionally, men’s basketball lost about $5 million, women’s basketball lost about $3.1 million and the rest of the school’s sports lost about $22.3 million among them.
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[FONT="]UConn spent $17 million in coaches’ salaries, $16.9 million in athletic scholarships, $14.4 million in support staff and administrative compensation and $7.3 million in team travel.
[/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Any deal would need the approval of UConn’s Board of Trustees. Tom Ritter, chairman of the board, declined comment Saturday morning.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Mike Anthony: The AAC TV contract with ESPN would be garbage to UConn if SNY is pushed out of the picture »
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The AAC is the result of a Division I athletics realignment during the early 2010s. While the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac 12 became the Power 5 conferences, UConn was left without a home in any of them, having hoped to land in the ACC or Big Ten.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]<twitter-widget class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-0" data-tweet-id="1142437482996346880" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; visibility: visible; display: block; transform: rotate(0deg); max-width: 100%; width: 500px; min-width: 220px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Mike Anthony@ManthonyCourantI can confirm that UConn is awaiting official invitation to the Big East and a formal announcement of the move is forthcoming. First reported by @DigSportsDesk
UConn football likely lands in another conference or goes independent, starting in 2020 season.
402
10:21 AM - Jun 22, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
262 people are talking about this
</twitter-widget>
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Instead it remained in the Big East, which re-formed, in part, as the AAC, adding schools such as Houston, Memphis, Central Florida and others. When the old Big East fell apart, a new Big East formed, focusing on basketball. The conference, made up nearly entirely by Catholic schools, includes Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Saint John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier, many of which are old Big East rivals of the Huskies. UConn is already an associated member of the conference for field hockey.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The conference was spread out geographically, but there was hope in pulling together schools in major markets that it would result in significant TV deals, financially.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Why the UConn athletic department’s $41 million deficit might not be quite as bad as it sounds »
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The AAC and ESPN agreed to a 12-year, $1 billion TV deal earlier this year in which UConn would receive about $7 million per year – a figure substantially smaller than schools in the Power 5 conferences receive. Under the deal, about 500 AAC sporting events during the 2020-21 school year, including basketball and football games, will be available exclusively through ESPN+, the $4.99 per month digital streaming service launched last year. The number of AAC games on ESPN+ will increase to at least 1,000 per year beginning in 2022-23.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]UConn Athletic Director David Benedict voiced concern over the deal because it would largely move Huskies games off linear TV and could jeopardize the university’s TV deal with SNY. Representatives of SNY and ESPN have said the networks are discussing a possible deal, but that remains unresolved.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]<twitter-widget class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" id="twitter-widget-1" data-tweet-id="1142441603006685184" style="box-sizing: border-box; position: static; visibility: visible; display: block; transform: rotate(0deg); max-width: 100%; width: 500px; min-width: 220px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;">
Mike Anthony@ManthonyCourantStatement from UConn: “It is our responsibility to always be mindful of what is in the best interest of our student athletes, our fans and our future. With that being said, we have been and remain proud members of the American Athletic Conference.”
34
10:37 AM - Jun 22, 2019
Twitter Ads info and privacy
30 people are talking about this
</twitter-widget>
[/FONT]
[FONT="]“We are disappointed that there will be a reduction in linear TV exposure for our men’s and women’s basketball programs, including but not limited to the potential loss of our successful partnership with SNY,” Benedict said.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]AAC Commissioner Mike Aresco, however, has been supportive of the ESPN-AAC deal, calling ESPN+ the “digital future.” An AAC spokesperson could not immediately be reached. An ESPN spokesperson declined comment, Saturday.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Big East signed a 12-year, $500 million basketball-only TV Deal with Fox Sports in 2013. CBS and CBS Sports Network also air some Big East games as part of an agreement with Fox Sports reached earlier this year.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The news of UConn being in talks with the Big East comes as the university’s athletic department grapples with a $41 million deficit during 2018, which was made up for through student fees and university subsidy.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]“In recent years, declining conference and media licensing revenue, along with rising costs, have created the current deficit," a UConn spokesperson told The Courant earlier this year. "It is not sustainable and the Division of Athletics is continually working to identify savings and drive up revenue in order to help close this gap.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The biggest individual team culprit of the UConn athletic department’s 2018 deficit was the school’s football program, which lost $8.7 million. Additionally, men’s basketball lost about $5 million, women’s basketball lost about $3.1 million and the rest of the school’s sports lost about $22.3 million among them.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]UConn spent $17 million in coaches’ salaries, $16.9 million in athletic scholarships, $14.4 million in support staff and administrative compensation and $7.3 million in team travel.
[/FONT]
