Big 12 and UConn talks: Few would debate the conference’s Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who used to work for the Brooklyn Nets and has long wanted to enter the New York market, where St. John’s has many fans.
They didn’t want to add the Huskies to their already strong basketball conference because UConn’s football team has been failing for years and they thought the school wouldn’t add much to the league’s media rights deal. But adding the school in a way that doesn’t cost anything could be attractive.
People who spoke to the AP said that neither side is likely to make a final choice soon, and Yormark still needs to get his members to agree on something. The Big 12 is about to start its first year with 16 teams. Last year, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah joined from the Pac-12. Once those schools signed up, the Big 12 lost interest in UConn, but not always for Yormark.
UConn left the American Athletic Conference and then joined the Big East for most of its sports in 2020. The Huskies have been an independent football team since then, going 10–27 and making it to one bowl game.
Army is joining the AAC this year, and UMass is set to join the Mid-American Conference in 2025. After these two schools, only UConn and Notre Dame will be big college football independents left.
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UConn’s football team hasn’t done as well as it used to, but coach Dan Hurley has brought the men’s basketball team back to the top of the Big East. The women’s basketball team is still one of the best in the country.
Two people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press on Friday that next week, Big 12 presidents will talk about possibly inviting UConn to join the league. This comes after school officials made an in-person pitch to the league that included a big investment in the Huskies’ struggling football program.
The people said that if UConn, which has won the last two men’s college basketball national championships, joined the Big 12, the school’s football team would stay separate until 2031. Current members would also not have to give up any of the money they expect to make from the conference.
The Athletic was the first to report that the Big 12 was interested in UConn again. Last week, UConn officials went to Dallas to show the Big 12 a plan for big investments in the athletic programs. One of the people said that most of the money would go to football.
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FAQs
Q1. Will UConn join the Big 12?
A. ESPN learned from sources on Friday that the conference has initiated discussions with the Huskies to join the Big 12 with all sports. There has been no vote on a possible Huskies membership, and there probably won’t be one any time soon. According to people familiar with the matter, there has been some resistance which needs to be addressed from some of the members.
Q2. Does UConn have a better chance of winning?
A. One can comfortably conclude that currently there are more people who want to be Husky in 2024-25 than there have ever before been in school history. UConn used to exhibit high acceptance rates; however, this has been reduced thanks to this factor. At the same time, the quality of the kids they are letting in is increasing too, the severity of the problem I am describing cannot be doubted.
Q3. Is UConn going to the Big 12?
A. According to sources, the Big 12 is in talks with the University of Connecticut about joining the league in all sports. There has been no vote for a potential membership, nor is one close to happening, as sources cautioned that there has been resistance among several members that would need to be overcome.
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