UConn elevates WBB period.
Wherever they go and wherever they play, they're ambassadors of the game which creates hopes, dreams and aspirations for young girls all over the country.
It doesn't really matter which Conference that UConn belongs to, their presence will have an effect even if it takes years to develop & produce players.
There's a lot of prestige and tradition tied to the Big East, with The Garden hosting the oldest running NCAA mens tourney in the country.
And the Mohegan Sun is home to a WNBA team.
The newest UConn signings including Paige have mentioned how they have dreamed about playing for UConn since they were very young.
Even being able to play any WBB for a youth is like dreaming about being in the Olympics.
The Big East became a nation wide Catholic college conference that has it's own aura, advantages and prestige besides the quality of womens play in it.
It's a win-win for everyone involved because it allows UConn to play any other school that they want, and with the NIL and the transfer portal, other conference players can move wherever they want and join the Big East too.
UConn makes it own destiny.
It's a stronger WBB conference according to the RPI than the American Athletic where UConn previously belonged.
While the ACC's Syracuse is playing CCSU tomorrow, UConn will be playing ND on Sunday.
Yes, CCSU WBB!
How appealing is that going to be for a tune up game.
IMO no matter which conference UConn or Syracuse plays in, they're growing the sport nationally which is all that really matters.
And UConn is doing it their own way because it works out the best for everyone, and was a sound business decision.
UConn is dropping a few sports because they need to reduce the athletic dept. budget deficit by 25%.
And they also owed about $12 million for switching conferences.
All of the pluses of the Big East outweigh the minuses.