Big 12 Reportedly In Conference Expansion Talks With UConn
Aug 23, 2024, 3:47 PM
Could the Big 12 Conference be expanding to add the UConn Huskies? Reports indicate that there are talks. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Big 12 Conference is reportedly talking with UConn as a potential full member.
Yahoo! ‘s Ross Dellenger reported that UConn officials spoke with Big 12 athletic administrators in Dallas last week.
The possibility of bringing UConn to the Big 12 would give the league the nation’s top basketball program. UConn has won the last two National Championships.
UConn to the Big 12?
According to Dellenger, if the Big 12 adds UConn, the Huskies’ basketball and Olympic programs would join no later than 2026. Interestingly, if UConn becomes a member, UConn football, currently an Independent, wouldn’t join the Big 12 until 2031.
The Big 12 Conference is currently a 16-team league after adding the “Four Corner” schools with Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah. Adding UConn basketball would only strengthen the Big 12 as the nation’s best men’s hoops conference.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark, who has strong ties to the Northeast from his time with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, has tried to give the Big 12 a presence in New York. The Big 12 held a basketball camp at Rucker Park a few summers ago.
The potential addition of UConn would give the Big 12 a presence in the Northeast and put them within three hours of New York.
Last summer, Big 12 basketball coaches were reportedly “in favor” of the Huskies joining the league when there was speculation about the possibility of adding the Huskies a year ago.
Big 12 Hoops already have Kansas and Houston, and Arizona has been added this season.
Conference expansion never sleeps
“We’ve got to make sure as a collective group we’re reaching our potential. So I haven’t really thought about what’s the right number,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark in July when asked what is the perfect number of members in a league. “I don’t know if it’s really about a number. I think it’s about the right fit. It’s about the value of potential school might or might not bring to the conference.”
The Big 12 Conference begins a new media rights deal with ESPN and FOX in the 2025-26 academic year that runs through 2031.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
