Conn. (WFSB) – UConn will not be going to the Big 12, at least not for now.
Talks between the university and the Big 12 Conference have been put on hold.
This means the Big East can breathe a sigh of relief.
There is movement going on in college sports, some conferences are falling apart, others are getting bigger, and more powerful.
UConn wants to get into one of the big boy conferences where there’s more prestige, and more importantly, more money.
That’s what the talks with the Big 12 were all about, but those talks now are over.
They have been put on pause as the conference commissioner said today.
UConn Athletic Director David Benedict released a statement right after the Big 12 released theirs.
“It is always our objective to put UConn in the very best position for future success, so we did engage in exploratory dialogue with the Big 12. Ultimately, the Big 12 determined that it will pause on conversations about membership expansion,” Benedict said.
Benedict went on to say, “Let’s celebrate who we are and be proud of our greatness.”
Many UConn fans were not happy that a move to the Big 12 would mean UConn would have to leave the Big East Conference.
Many consider the Big East the premier basketball conference in the country.
But football is what drives the money bus in college, and UConn, as an independent, is earning far less than it would if it hooked up with a major conference, such as the Big 12. But football, these days, doesn’t have much to offer a conference.
Consider too that many of the current members of the Big 12 did not want to share any more of their big TV contract with a new member.
For now, things remain the same. UConn football, an independent and starting next season, UConn and Notre Dame, are the only two independent football programs left.
Basketball remains a Big East powerhouse, but conference expansion is not over.
It’s inevitable that UConn will move on to another conference where bigger TV paydays will help an athletic department struggling to close a multi-million dollar deficit.
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