Big East Expansion with media rights deal July 1, 2025?

[adoraz]

I'm not in favor adding Dayton at this point. My only comment was that their fans, as obnoxious as i've been told they are, at least give a sh-t about college hoops and really want to be in the Big East... compared with Saint Louis, which to me is lightyears behind Dayton in fan interest and college hoops culture.

Yeah, Saint Louis has only made the Tournament ONCE since 2014 (first round exit in 2019). Everyone talks about how disappointing St. John's and Georgetown have been (which is 100% true), but even those teams have each made the Tournament twice in that same time period. Saint Louis' near complete lack of fan participation online is also a huge red flag. St. John's for instance has a pretty decent (and rabid) fanbase online (search for #sjubb on Twitter). I get the sense that Saint Louis has solid attendance primarily due to bored locals (no NBA team in St. Louis) rather than hardcore fans.

In short, Saint Louis offers the Big East absolutely nothing at the moment, besides a new "market" with a decent ceiling.

Gonzaga >>>>>>>> Dayton >>> Saint Louis

[GoldenWarrior11]

I don't care if it is Gonzaga, Dayton, Saint Louis or St. Thomas. If a school, or schools, add value to our television contract and increase our annual payouts, sign me up right now. FOX will ultimately make the call and it very much appears Val and Co remain very open to expansion.

Creighton took a huge step forward under the Big East brand and is now a preseason top-10 program. If we can potentially invest in a program that can add current and future value to our membership, it is a no-brainer.

[stever20]

I don't care if it is Gonzaga, Dayton, Saint Louis or St. Thomas. If a school, or schools, add value to our television contract and increase our annual payouts, sign me up right now. FOX will ultimately make the call and it very much appears Val and Co remain very open to expansion.

Creighton took a huge step forward under the Big East brand and is now a preseason top-10 program. If we can potentially invest in a program that can add current and future value to our membership, it is a no-brainer.

I just don't think it's going to be Fox making the decisions. I really do think TV is going to go out for open bidding. Val would be absolutely 100% foolish to not do that. Also think with expansion, a 2nd TV package becomes very possible if not likely. A Fox and ESPN combo, with no sublicense to CBSSN, would be a win for the conference I think.

[GoldenWarrior11]

I don't care if it is Gonzaga, Dayton, Saint Louis or St. Thomas. If a school, or schools, add value to our television contract and increase our annual payouts, sign me up right now. FOX will ultimately make the call and it very much appears Val and Co remain very open to expansion.

Creighton took a huge step forward under the Big East brand and is now a preseason top-10 program. If we can potentially invest in a program that can add current and future value to our membership, it is a no-brainer.

I just don't think it's going to be Fox making the decisions. I really do think TV is going to go out for open bidding. Val would be absolutely 100% foolish to not do that. Also think with expansion, a 2nd TV package becomes very possible if not likely. A Fox and ESPN combo, with no sublicense to CBSSN, would be a win for the conference I think.

FOX will need to pay up to prevent the BE from hitting the open market, for sure. Ultimately, I do think the league finds additional value through expansion.

[Xudash]

Shared the following on Xavier’s board:

I’m coming up with $38mm, which still beats what analysts thought the haircut would be:

“The once-beleaguered Big 12 has stabilized its future by coming to terms with ESPN and Fox Sports on a six-year media rights agreement worth a total of $2.28B, an annual average of $380M, according to sources.”

- - - - -

So, the Big 12 appears to be on its way to a better deal than expected.

I understand that it is for football and not basketball, but it is still encouraging to see that there may be upward movement in terms of valuing the content.

It would not surprise me at all to see a “boom-boom” announcement out of New York for the Big East that includes the addition of Gonzaga and a very nice pay raise for each school.

I have to imagine that any media partner will pay for a value-added basketball addition, but will not pay up for a school that requires a strengthening of its brand.

[Jet915]

Shared the following on Xavier’s board:

I’m coming up with $38mm, which still beats what analysts thought the haircut would be:

“The once-beleaguered Big 12 has stabilized its future by coming to terms with ESPN and Fox Sports on a six-year media rights agreement worth a total of $2.28B, an annual average of $380M, according to sources.”

- - - - -

So, the Big 12 appears to be on its way to a better deal than expected.

I understand that it is for football and not basketball, but it is still encouraging to see that there may be upward movement in terms of valuing the content.

It would not surprise me at all to see a “boom-boom” announcement out of New York for the Big East that includes the addition of Gonzaga and a very nice pay raise for each school.

I have to imagine that any media partner will pay for a value-added basketball addition, but will not pay up for a school that requires a strengthening of its brand.

Im hoping if we can add Gonzaga we can get atleast 8 million a year, maybe 10. In reality it would be for Gonzaga and UConn.

[Xudash]

Shared the following on Xavier’s board:

I’m coming up with $38mm, which still beats what analysts thought the haircut would be:

“The once-beleaguered Big 12 has stabilized its future by coming to terms with ESPN and Fox Sports on a six-year media rights agreement worth a total of $2.28B, an annual average of $380M, according to sources.”

- - - - -

So, the Big 12 appears to be on its way to a better deal than expected.

I understand that it is for football and not basketball, but it is still encouraging to see that there may be upward movement in terms of valuing the content.

It would not surprise me at all to see a “boom-boom” announcement out of New York for the Big East that includes the addition of Gonzaga and a very nice pay raise for each school.

I have to imagine that any media partner will pay for a value-added basketball addition, but will not pay up for a school that requires a strengthening of its brand.

Im hoping if we can add Gonzaga we can get atleast 8 million a year, maybe 10. In reality it would be for Gonzaga and UConn.

Good point about UCONN.

By the way, I messed up: it’s $32 million per school, not $38 million.

[GampelCrazies]

I'm kinda hoping part of the package goes back to ESPN. Even if some of those games went to + I think it will help get more exposure for the league. ESPN right now gives no love to the Big East. If they owned part of it I could see them magically caring again. Maybe get a college game day or two.

[Hall2012]

The only criteria that matters now is wealthy alumni willing to contribute to NIL.

It hurts SHU as we'll sink like a rock in this new age of college basketball, but reality is we can't compete with the Creightons of the world offering kids 6 figures to transfer anyway. The Big East needs to find more schools who can. Past or even current basketball success doesn't matter anymore, the schools with the most money (or at least willing to spend the most money) will rise to the top.

[DudeAnon]

The only criteria that matters now is wealthy alumni willing to contribute to NIL.

It hurts SHU as we'll sink like a rock in this new age of college basketball, but reality is we can't compete with the Creightons of the world offering kids 6 figures to transfer anyway. The Big East needs to find more schools who can. Past or even current basketball success doesn't matter anymore, the schools with the most money (or at least willing to spend the most money) will rise to the top.

True, without the black market SHU will miss on kids like Isiah Whitehead now.