Big 12 presidents are scheduled to discuss a possible invitation for UConn to join the conference next week after university officials personally made an offer to the league that included a hefty investment in the Huskies’ struggling football program, two people familiar with the talks told the Associated Press on Friday.
The people said a plan to admit UConn, which has won the last two national championships in men’s college basketball, would include allowing the school’s football team to remain independent before joining the Big 12 in 2031 and would not require current members to take a cut of their currently expected conference revenue.
The people spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because the conference and the school do not make their discussions public.
The Athletic first reported on the Big 12’s renewed interest in UConn.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, a former Brooklyn Nets executive, has long been interested in gaining a foothold in the New York-area market, where UConn has a huge presence.
Big 12 members were skeptical about adding the Huskies to their already strong basketball conference because UConn’s football program has been struggling for years and there were concerns that the school would not add value to the league.
However, a cost-neutral addition of the school could be attractive.
The Big 12’s new six-year contracts with ESPN and Fox take effect next year and will pay members about $31.7 million per school annually.
The people who spoke to AP said a final decision for either side is not imminent and Yormark still needs to find consensus among its members. The Big 12 is entering its first year as a 16-team conference after adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12 last year.
After those schools signed, interest in UConn in the Big 12 waned, but the same was not necessarily true for Yormark.
UConn returned to the Big East for most of its sports in 2020 after leaving the American Athletic Conference. The Huskies have been an independent in football since then, with a 10-27 record and one bowl appearance.
However, the men’s basketball program has regained prominence under coach Dan Hurley and the women’s basketball program remains one of the best in the country.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
