Big 12 ‘pauses’ expansion talks with UConn

UConn is not going to the Big 12 anytime soon.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a statement Thursday that the conference was “pausing” expansion talks with the Huskies. The conference had approached UConn about joining in basketball and other sports in 2026, before football joined five years later. UConn currently plays football as an independent.

According to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the conference and UConn were in “serious negotiations” on August 23 in preparation for a presentation to Big 12 presidents before football season began.

With football having largely driven conference realignment in college sports over the past 15 years, Yormark hasn’t been shy about the value of basketball. Adding UConn would mean far more to the conference in both men’s and women’s basketball than it does for football. The Big 12 is already arguably the deepest, toughest men’s basketball conference in the country — and that was before Arizona teamed up with Arizona State, Colorado and Utah this summer. Adding the two-time reigning national champions would make it ridiculously tough.

However, it seems clear that the Big 12 as a whole was not so keen on the idea of ​​adding UConn outright. It’s hard to imagine a lull in the discussions if the conference were in favor of the Huskies joining.

It’s also worth considering Fox’s role. The network has the rights to Big East basketball and Big 12 football games. The Huskies are the most valuable Big East school to the network. Losing UConn basketball games wouldn’t be enough to get a few football games a season.