Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has been aggressive and open-minded in his efforts to expand the Big 12 and strengthen its brand.
This plan is reportedly to extend the conference to Storrs, Connecticut. According to a report According to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, the league has been in talks with UConn to add the Huskies to the conference. Football would not join the league until 2031, according to McMurphy, but basketball and other Olympic sports could join as early as 2026.
According to McMurphy, UConn officials met with Big 12 athletic directors in Dallas last week to outline the school’s plans to invest in its football program and work toward the 2031 goal. Yormark is expected to make a presentation on UConn to the league’s various presidents.
The timing of the move would coincide with the renegotiation of the Big 12’s media rights deal. The current deal with FOX and ESPN expires after the 2030-31 school year.
UConn’s football program is currently independent. The school moved to the FBS level in 2000 and joined the Big East in 2004. From 2013 to 2019, UConn competed in the American Leagues. In 2020, the Huskies left the AAC. Basketball and other sports compete in the Big East.
According to McMurphy, UConn would have to give the Big East 27 months’ notice and pay $15 million in severance pay.
From a football perspective, the Huskies have been a dormant program. Head coach Jim Mora went 6-7 in his first year, but was just 3-9 last season. Bet365 puts the total number of wins this season at just 4.5. The Huskies have not had a winning season since 2010 and have only won 3 bowl games in program history.
But access to the northeastern media market opens another door for Yormark, who has made great efforts to reach the Big 12 across as many time zones as possible.
And the basketball product speaks for itself.
Dan Hurley turned down the Los Angeles Lakers to stay at UConn, where he won two consecutive national championships. He signed a 6-year contract extension earlier this year, putting the Huskies in a good position to compete for a third straight victory in 2024-25. Bet365’s early odds make UConn the favorite to win the title at +900. According to McMurphy, Hurley is not opposed to the potential move.
Geno Auriemma has coached the women’s program since the 1985-86 season and has won 11 national championships since 1995. He also has 23 Final Four appearances, 30 regular season conference championships and more than 1,200 career victories.
Since 2010, UConn programs have won a total of 9 national championships in college basketball. The Big 12 was already the best basketball conference in the country, and that tradition was further strengthened by the recent addition of Arizona. The addition of UConn would be another achievement.
Yormark has left no stone unturned in his attempt to bridge the gap with the SEC and the Big Ten. The conference has reportedly had talks about private equity investments in the conference and has considered selling the conference’s naming rights to a title sponsor as a way to fill the league’s coffers.
If UConn joins and the Big 12 membership grows to 17 teams, the next logical question would be who’s next. Florida State is at No. 2.
