The University of Connecticut could be returning, in a sense, to the Big East.
According to Jon Rothstein of FanRag Sports, UConn and the Big East are in active discussions regarding a move for the school, with the conference willing to take UConn on in all sports. In fact, the only holdup is the fact that the Big East does not have football, and thus a solution must be found as to who would take on the Huskies’ football team.
“The Big East would take UConn in everything, but they need to resolve what they’re going to do with football,” a source told Rothstein. “That’s the only thing that’s standing in the way of a marriage.”
One reason for the Big East’s interest is that adding UConn could enable the conference to move to 20 league basketball games.
“If the Big East expanded to 20 games with UConn as a member, it would help offset other power-five programs being in position to get more of the NCAA bids,” a source said. “It would provide an opportunity for the teams in the league to get more games that matter and more games that can help their overall resume.”
UConn won the men’s national championship in their first year in the AAC in 2014 and they have a committed foundation in place, but the conference hasn’t really flourished and the Huskies have struggled to remain on the big stage. The hope is a move to a new and improved Big East would help propel them back to the relevance they had under former coach Jim Calhoun.
