BYU Expected To Be Regular Opponent For Independent UConn
Oct 24, 2019, 3:45 PM
BYU running back Algernon Brown (24) runs past Connecticut Huskies defensive lineman Folorunso Fatukasi (93) during a football game at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn., on Friday, Aug. 29, 2014. Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
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PROVO, Utah – BYU football scheduling is always a fluid situation that comes with a lot of twists and turns.
Despite not being in a Power 5 conference, the Cougars have carved out a nice niche for themselves scheduling high profile games against members of the P5. Along with games against some of the best teams the Group of 5 has to offer.
Now UConn Football is looking to do the same as BYU.
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The Huskies announced this past summer they would be leaving the American Athletic Conference to go back to the Big East Conference. The Big East doesn’t field a football league anymore so it’s left UConn taking their football program to difficult path of being an FBS Independent.
UConn will start play as an Independent next year in 2020. The Huskies desperately need game inventory, so naturally, a series with fellow independent BYU would make sense for the Huskies.
According to a report from Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant, BYU is expected to be a regular opponent for the Huskies. That report came from conversations with UConn Athletic Director David Benedict.
Picture perfect night at The Rent for BYU vs UConn. On the call with @FlemmingDave and @AllisonW_Sports at 7 on ESPN pic.twitter.com/iMsfDvLj2T
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) August 29, 2014
Since BYU left the Mountain West Conference in 2011 to be an Independent, three additional programs besides Notre Dame and Army have joined the ranks of the independents. BYU has scheduled games with all three of those schools (New Mexico State, UMass, and Liberty).
BYU Athletic Director Tom Holmoe has said in the past that he likes lending a helping hand to fellow independents because he understands the challenges that come with piecing together 12-game schedules as an independent.
The earliest BYU has an opening on their future football schedules is in 2022. Both the 2020 and 2021 schedules for the Cougars have 12 teams locked in, but schedules are always subject to change until officially announced by the school.
BYU and UConn have met two previous teams on the gridiron with BYU winning both games in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
