I don't think CCG deregulation means that UCONN will get an accelerated invite. But I do think it should be viewed as welcome news by UCONN fans in that it removes a barrier to help UCONN get out of AAC purgatory: the ol' 'you-need-a-partner' barrier.
It's not preferable to have an odd number of teams for scheduling but the B1G did go through a long stretch where it had 11 members. It's not the top choice, but it also isn't the worst thing in the world.
All that said, UCONN still needs to play catchup on the research end, endowment and jumpstarting our flatlined football program before we go anywhere.
THE B1G IS NEVER GOING TO 15 SCHOOLS.
The Western schools are already bitching that with the UMD & RU additions they are playing OSU, Mich, PSU & Mich St less than they have in the past. Any new expansion (to 16 teams) will need to be a huge needle mover in terms of dollars & will likely drive them to a 10 game conference schedule in order to try and offset the fact that the schools in the West division will not see the East schools as frequently as in the past.
There are many things that could cause the next round of expansion but anyone who believes that the Conference Championship Game issue is our way out is being ridiculous and is wasting their breath & energy in trying to think this is welcome news to UConn