As the reports continue to surface around the Big 12 Conference exploring expansion with the UConn Huskies, there is one entity in all of this that should not be overlooked.
That would be the Big 12’s consulting firm, Endeavor.
As ESPN’s Pete Thamel initially reported, Big 12 athletic directors and presidents spent time on a call on Monday where the topic of adding UConn to the conference was discussed.
Then, as we first reported at Heartland College Sports on Monday afternoon, a source shared with us that Endeavor, the agency that consults for the Big 12 Conference, handled a big portion of Monday’s presentation to Big 12 athletic directors and Presidents.
Endeavor’s Big 12 History
Endeavor has worked with the Big 12 for nearly all of Brett Yormark‘s tenure as Big 12 Commissioner. At the time Yormark brought on the company in September of 2022, Karen Brodkin, Co-Head, WME Sports and EVP of Content Strategy and Development, Endeavor, said, “We are proud to bring the full power of the Endeavor network to bear for the Big 12. Brett and his team are innovating, upgrading and commercially accelerating value across the full spectrum of Conference assets, including media, content, partnerships, championship events, music, entertainment, international events and Web3, and we look forward to partnering with them to realize all of their ambitions.”
The agency has been previously accused by some as playing puppet master in the conference realignment game.
Brodkin even addressed those rumors last year in an interview with 365Sports, saying at the time, “To suggest, as I know it has been suggested that somehow Endeavor or Karen Brodkin is deciding the fate of any conference or any school, that’s just not accurate. Though I haven’t necessarily responded publicly to any of those assertions, I’m here to tell you today that that is not a true statement.”
Endeavor has played a role in the Big 12 branching out and trying new things in the college sports landscape, like helping plan the Kansas vs. Houston game in Mexico.
The forward-thinking company has been a perfect fit for Yormark’s leadership style in the Big 12 as he pushes the limits for what college sports looks like well into the future.
Why UConn for the Big 12?
As Endeavor noted in the meeting on Monday, based on a source I spoke with, the company is high on UConn for the Big 12, as it would give the conference more leverage in its next television deal by incorporating the New York City and New England markets, to go along with the Huskies’ high brand equity.
For those pointing to Rutgers‘ move to the Big Ten as a failed experiment into the NYC media market, these moves are not comparable. Rutgers football is irrelevant compared to UConn basketball. When it comes to college sports in the Northeast, basketball runs the show. And when it comes to running the show in basketball, there’s UConn, and then there’s a drop off to Syracuse, Villanova, St. John’s, etc.
To put this into further perspective, since Rutgers joined the Big East in 1991, the program has never won more than five conference games in either the Big East or the Big Ten. They won five conference games under Greg Schiano in 2006 and 2008.
UConn has won six National Championships since 1999 and is trying to become the first team to three-peat since UCLA in the early 1970’s. This program is a blue blood. Only UCLA and Kentucky have more National Championships.
UConn Appears All-In
And clearly, UConn is not shying away from these reports. In fact, some of their more notable alums, including the founder of their NIL Collective, has outwardly lobbied for the move to happen for the Huskies.
Marc D’Amelio, a Norwalk native and 1991 UConn graduate, has increasingly become a prominent figure in the UConn athletic world. As name, image and likeness (NIL) changes the college sports landscape, D’Amelio stepped forward for his alma mater and created the D’Amelio Huskies Collective.
On Sunday, D’Amelio shared his support for a move to the Big 12, saying in part, “We need to control our own destiny and it seems like the Big 12 is the right and only opportunity we have if you believe the future of college athletics includes football.”
So with the conversations clearly advancing between both sides, there will be a continued push from the Big 12’s top consultants to seriously consider this move. Now, it’s up to the Big 12 athletic directors and presidents to warm up to it.
