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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Sources confirmed to ESPN that the Big 12 is currently negotiating with UConn about joining the league in all sports.
There has been no vote on possible membership with the Huskies, nor is one imminent, as sources have indicated there is opposition from several members that must be overcome.
Talks have now progressed to the point where UConn athletic director David Benedict and board chairman Daniel Toscano met face-to-face with Big 12 athletic directors in Dallas last week to make their case, sources told ESPN. The talks centered on football funding and how UConn could be competitive after joining the league in 2031, sources said.
According to sources, the Big 12 board of directors is scheduled to hold a conference call with the league’s presidents next week to outline the exact terms of the deal.
“I think the word is ‘premature,'” said a senior Big 12 official. “There’s a long way between talks and anything that would happen. The presidents haven’t seen the case yet.”
The inclusion would apply to all sports, and the delay to 2031 in football would theoretically give UConn a chance to catch up and be better prepared to join the league in terms of funding and a talent development through NIL. The Athletic first reported on the possible board meeting and talks.
The other sports, including UConn’s dominant basketball programs, would be added once UConn could negotiate or wait out the 27-month waiting period to leave the league.
Sources cautioned that there is much more to be worked out in future talks, as the votes to accept UConn have not yet been finalized. While some schools are in favor of accepting the Huskies, several league athletic directors have spoken out against it, sources told ESPN. Several others are still undecided. The final vote would come down to 12 of 16 league presidents.
Some of the resistance stems from the timing of the talks, as league officials are busy working through the agreement between the House and the NCAA. There are also questions about how the move would benefit the conference in football.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is optimistic that basketball will be a stronger financial driver of the league’s television contracts in the coming years. UConn is the sport’s dominant program, serving the nation’s most important market with a strong presence in the New York area. UConn has won two consecutive national titles in men’s basketball and has been the nation’s best brand in women’s basketball for the past generation. UConn’s resurgence in men’s basketball came under coach Dan Hurley and coincided with the school’s rejoining the Big East for the 2020-21 season after playing in the American Athletic Conference from 2013-14 to 2019-20.
The Big 12 has always been one of the best basketball leagues in the country, and the addition of UConn could potentially enhance that reputation.
The 16-team Big 12 added four new members last year – Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and Arizona – and will welcome Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State this year.
Yormark was optimistic about expansion, outsmarting Pac-12 officials and extending the league’s television contract to secure the Big 12’s future shortly after he took over as commissioner in 2022. He also used that secured future to eventually add the four former Pac-12 programs.
Yormark also pushed hard to add Gonzaga to the basketball program early in his tenure, but this ultimately did not lead to success.
