Enough Is Enough: ESPN And 6 Big 12 Schools Are In Favor of UConn Joining The Conference, Would Be The Dumbest Decision For College Basketball
I'm getting so goddamn sick of this song and dance. Jack explained the initial conversation last week:
Now it's not just the schools voting on this, you're getting pressure from Fox and ESPN
[Source] - Sources indicate ESPN, the other Big 12 partner in the current media rights deal, would support the move. The cable giant may be interested because it doesn't have UConn basketball among its rights. ESPN was an early partner with the Big East when the league exploded nationally in the 1980s.
My simple thought process? Fuck that. I don't want UConn in the Big 12. I say this strictly as a college basketball fan. I don't care how loaded that conference will be (with or without UConn, it's the best talent in the country). I want UConn playing schools they should be playing. UConn belongs with Villanova, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, Marquette. Actually hear me out. What if there was a basketball conference that also had Syracuse, Boston College and Pitt in there? That'd probably be an awesome basketball conference. I know there was a Big East without UConn and it led to Nova winning 2 national titles. But everything feels right with UConn in the Big East. It's the one thing with college basketball where everyone was on board with the move from the AAC to Big East.
I don't care if it's old man yelling at clouds or anything like that, I just miss conferences that made sense. I want the old 9-team ACC back. I want the original Big East. I want the nonconference games to matter and the conference games to be what is logical. I know this is all a money thing, but it's beyond annoying to see FOX and ESPN arguing about this too.
Frankly, I don't give a shit about UConn football. The one thing in college basketball that still makes sense is the Big East, something that helped UConn basketball. They were stuck in no-man's land in the AAC and got back to the Big East. That matters! We've gotten used to conference realignment and at some point we'll be used to the new look this season. But enough is enough. Keep Big East basketball where it belongs and that's with UConn in it.