Big 12, UConn Agree to Pause Expansion Discussions About Realignment Rumors
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZuckerFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 5, 2024
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Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announced Thursday the conference and UConn have “paused” their discussions about potentially having the Huskies become a member.
Nicole Auerbach @NicoleAuerbachNew: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark says expansion conversations with UConn have been “paused.” pic.twitter.com/44rQ5toFoG
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported UConn officials met with athletic directors from the Big 12 in Dallas last month. Among the topics discussed were the resources the Huskies planned to invest in a football program that has been historically irrelevant.
UConn boasts the two-time reigning national champion in men’s basketball, and the women’s basketball team is one of the most prestigious in the sport. That’s to say nothing of the other athletic endeavors in which the Huskies excel.
The most recent rounds of realignment were driven almost entirely by football, though, which has never been UConn’s specialty. The school only became a full Division I-A member ahead of the 2000 season and it’s 110-170 since then.
According to Thamel, one plan discussed would’ve had UConn joining the Big 12 in football in 2031 and an earlier date in other sports. That kind of time frame would give the Huskies multiple years to make progress on the gridiron.
Sen. Chris Murphy probably spoke for a lot of people in Connecticut, though, when he questioned the need to throw away what’s already a pretty good thing.
Chris Murphy 🟧 @ChrisMurphyCTI’ve always believed UConn should stay in the Big East. Our athletes and fans have a great regional conference that clearly works for our highest profile sport, basketball. Chasing football relevance is a mistake. We will get burned. https://t.co/6N2L3WtTvO
Leaving the Big East would mean tossing aside historic rivalries, and just ask Maryland and Syracuse how conference realignment can have negative consequences on what had been a stable basketball foundation.
For now, the idea of a Big 12 partnership is off the table, which could be welcome news to fans.
