On Thursday, the Big 12 Conference announced it would pause conversations about expanding the league by adding the UConn Huskies.
In a statement from the conference, Commissioner Brett Yormark said that he and the other Big 12 leaders have decided to put things on hold with the Huskies.
“As Commissioner, it is my responsibility to explore a variety of value-creating opportunities on behalf of the Big 12,” Yormark said. “Following detailed discussions with my conference colleagues alongside UConn leadership, we have jointly decided to pause our conversations at this time. We will instead focus our attention and resources to ushering in this new era of college athletics.”
There had been multiple reports that there was hesitation amongst some Big 12 athletic directors and presidents about the possibility of bringing in the Huskies. The reporting suggested that the Big 12 would possibly add UConn basketball as early as 2025-26, while the football program would not be added until 2031, when the next television contract would be negotiated.
Now, a few hours after the Big 12’s announcement, UConn athletic director David Benedict has released an official statement on the matter, directing his message to “UConn Nation.”
“As you know, it’s been both an exciting and turbulent time in college athletics over the past few years,” Benedict writes. “With the emergence of NIL and the transfer portal, the landscape has changed dramatically. Further, conference realignment has significantly blurred the national panorama.
“Undoubtedly, many of you have followed recent media reports about the Big 12’s renewed interest in UConn as a conference member. Our objective is always 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 goes on to say that UConn has enjoyed “tremendous success” since returning to the Big East in 2020, and is coming off back-to-back national championships in men’s basketball.
“We will stay focused on achievement in everything we do. And we will continue to position UConn as one of the nation’s premier brands.”
