The Connecticut Huskies are in discussions with the Big 12 about potentially joining the ever-growing conference in all sports, multiple outlets reported Friday.
According to ESPN, UConn athletic director David Benedict and board chair Daniel Toscano traveled to Dallas last week to meet with Big 12 athletic directors and discuss how the school would be willing to invest in its football program to bring it up to par with the conference’s other teams.
If the conference approves the move, which would require a three-fourths vote or 12 of the 16 members, then the Huskies would join in all sports except football in 2026. The football program would become a member in 2031.
Adding the Huskies’ top-flight basketball programs, which have combined to win 16 national titles since 1999, would burnish the Big 12’s reputation as one of the best basketball conference’s in the country.
UConn, Notre Dame and Massachusetts are the only remaining independent football programs in the country, putting an onus on the Huskies to join an established conference since they currently receive the smallest portion of revenue from the College Football Playoff.
The Athletic reported that a board call with the league’s presidents is being planned for next week and that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is expected to make a presentation at that time.
But that doesn’t mean a deal is imminent.
“I think the word is ‘premature,'” a high-ranking Big 12 official told ESPN. “There’s a far distance between conversations and anything that would happen. The presidents haven’t seen the case yet.”
The Big 12 added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF in 2023 and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are joining this year, increasing the conference to 16 teams.
–Field Level Media
