Uconn Basketball considering joining the Big 12 in 2026

[JMick]

I cannot understand why we keep turning the ACC down! What is our leadership thinking?

This is my favorite part of realignment. When the casuals come out and suggest we just waddle on over to the ACC or B1G. Like we're just able to speak it into existence

 

[UConnDan97]

Do you even realize if we don't get into the B12, the future of UConn basketball is in jeopardy?

He really doesn't realize it.

And I don't understand how anyone who follows college athletics could fail to understand this at this point. I had previously commented harshly about him (or her) not being serious, but now that I know they are being serious, I don't know how else to get the message through...

 

[CL82]

I cannot understand why we keep turning the ACC down!

I mean, they are kind of jerks so...

 

[JMick]

He really doesn't realize it.

And I don't understand how anyone who follows college athletics could fail to understand this at this point. I had previously commented harshly about him (or her) not being serious, but now that I know they are being serious, I don't know how else to get the message through...

These situations boil down to the 4chan green text "how would you have felt yesterday evening if you hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch?"

There are actually people who cant answer that question correctly.

 

[UConnDan97]

These situations boil down to the 4chan green text "how would you have felt yesterday evening if you hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch?"

There are actually people who cant answer that question correctly.

To be fair, the problem is that there are some people who forget that UConn is a university, which happens to have an athletic department, which happens to play a multitude of sports. They envision their love for one of those UConn sports teams as a "separate franchise". Their mind can't grasp that UConn basketball is the same school as UConn football, which is the same school as UConn baseball, etc.

It's like watching them fall in love with the mechanical engineers, and then turning around and saying, "Screw the civil engineers! Bridges suck, and it's taking away money from designing engine parts!"

 

[JMick]

To be fair, the problem is that there are some people who forget that UConn is a university, which happens to have an athletic department, which happens to play a multitude of sports. They envision their love for one of those UConn sports teams as a "separate franchise". Their mind can't grasp that UConn basketball is the same school as UConn football, which is the same school as UConn baseball, etc.

It's like watching them fall in love with the mechanical engineers, and then turning around and saying, "Screw the civil engineers! Bridges suck, and it's taking away money from designing engine parts!"

Yes but it's because they just can't do hypotheticals. They can't imagine a world where UConn basketball is essentially D2 even if you describe it to them. You can talk about the mechanisms, trends, even paint a detailed picture of what it could look like, but they simply can't see it because to them it's an abstract painting or an ink blot. It doesn't mean anything because it isn't what's happening right this second. Never mind one day, one month, one year or one decade from now.

 

[UConnDan97]

Yes but it's because they just can't do hypotheticals. They can't imagine a world where UConn basketball is essentially D2 even if you describe it to them. You can talk about the mechanisms, trends, even paint a detailed picture of what it could look like, but they simply can't see it because to them it's an abstract painting or an ink blot. It doesn't mean anything because it isn't what's happening right this second. Never mind one day, one month, one year or one decade from now.

Maybe the way to explain it is:

"Imagine a team playing in the Fiesta Bowl (or final four, etc), then losing their conference, and then losing recruits, money, and games due to that change. It takes about...2 years to do (we saw it happen)"...

 

[AllHusky]

Maybe the way to explain it is:

"Imagine a team playing in the Fiesta Bowl (or final four, etc), then losing their conference, and then losing recruits, money, and games due to that change. It takes about...2 years to do (we saw it happen)"...

Dark and depressing, I still find myself shouting at trees, “We did everything right! How can we get screwed like this!??”

Bad things happen to good people( athletic departments) sometimes.

 

[Samoo]

OK, but that doesn’t answer whether basketball will actually get more money in the B12 or whether the difference will go to football.

They won't get less, will be playing in the top conference in the country, won't be left out of any future bball break away by the power conferences, and - as you point out -the other sports at UConn will receive a boost. Your problem with the move is what again?

 

[ninety-nine]

Dark and depressing, I still find myself shouting at trees, “We did everything right! How can we get screwed like this!??”

Bad things happen to good people( athletic departments) sometimes.

The thing that always gets me is that we were basically told by the Big East that it was time to upgrade our football program. So we did, and we built a stadium, and we even accelerated our timeline a bit to fill in a hole in 2004 when BC, VT and Miami left. Then we begin to succeed immediately. By the mid-late 2000's, UConn was excellent in men's and women's basketball, and a good program in football. No holes in the armor.

But less than 10 years later, the Big East gets flipped on its head by further conference defections to the ACC, and then the basketball schools decide it's time to end the alliance with the FBS schools. And suddenly we're being asked to downgrade football again if we want access to a good basketball situation, a demand that's gotten even louder now, because our AAC experience (which was, for UConn, the Island of Misfit Toys - G5 conference, less money, almost no geographic/established rivalries, hard to recruit) apparently proves we can't succeed at football in a good situation either (like the Big East was, where we did succeed).

But of course, we were being pressured to downgrade football even before the AAC misadventure, once other programs didn't need us.
Talk about being jerked around. It's literally maddening to think about.

 

[AllHusky]

I wonder if a shrink would give the BY group rates for treating Conference Realignment PTSD?

 

[huskidork]

OK, but that doesn’t answer whether basketball will actually get more money in the B12 or whether the difference will go to football.

likely both will be getting a considerable increase in money, UConn is always going to prioritize basketball we're a basketball school first and foremost, all football really needs to be is competitive and a good product to watch, UConn will dump good resources into both it's not that complicated we all kind of know this, it will more be about getting the right coaches in the future in all of our sports more than anything after this point, that was the downfall we had in the American.

 

[CJasmer]

The thing that always gets me is that we were basically told by the Big East that it was time to upgrade our football program. So we did, and we built a stadium, and we even accelerated our timeline a bit to fill in a hole in 2004 when BC, VT and Miami left. Then we begin to succeed immediately. By the mid-late 2000's, UConn was excellent in men's and women's basketball, and a good program in football. No holes in the armor.

But less than 10 years later, the Big East gets flipped on its head by further conference defections to the ACC, and then the basketball schools decide it's time to end the alliance with the FBS schools. And suddenly we're being asked to downgrade football again if we want access to a good basketball situation, a demand that's gotten even louder now, because our AAC experience (which was, for UConn, the Island of Misfit Toys - G5 conference, less money, almost no geographic/established rivalries, hard to recruit) apparently proves we can't succeed at football in a good situation either (like the Big East was, where we did succeed).

But of course, we were being pressured to downgrade football even before the AAC misadventure, once other programs didn't need us.
Talk about being jerked around. It's literally maddening to think about.

UConn success in the Big East football conference was heavily correlated to VT and Miami leaving the conference. The Big East conference by the time UConn joined was a very weak football conference. UConn football should realistically assume they can be .500 team in the FBS. But it would be delusional to assume UConn football will ever have the success of the basketball team given the depth of talent and money you need to spend to win a championship in football. A move to the P4 will secure UConn basketball future.

 

[Steelerone]

they're already a powerhouse basketball conference, better than the Big East.

It may be a powerhouse conference, but the National Championship banner is flying in Storrs.

 

[John]

It may be a powerhouse conference, but the National Championship banner is flying in Storrs.

Your point?

 

[Kolumbo]

Your point?

 

[John]

Yes exactly let's get the first program into the first conference.

 

[Kowalski]

It may be a powerhouse conference, but the National Championship banner is flying in Storrs.

Exactly. For basketball, a Big 12 with Uconn is better than the BE with Uconn. But the B12 can’t lay claim to being the best if they don’t have Uconn.

 

[noeynox]

The thing that always gets me is that we were basically told by the Big East that it was time to upgrade our football program. So we did, and we built a stadium, and we even accelerated our timeline a bit to fill in a hole in 2004 when BC, VT and Miami left. Then we begin to succeed immediately. By the mid-late 2000's, UConn was excellent in men's and women's basketball, and a good program in football. No holes in the armor.

But less than 10 years later, the Big East gets flipped on its head by further conference defections to the ACC, and then the basketball schools decide it's time to end the alliance with the FBS schools. And suddenly we're being asked to downgrade football again if we want access to a good basketball situation, a demand that's gotten even louder now, because our AAC experience (which was, for UConn, the Island of Misfit Toys - G5 conference, less money, almost no geographic/established rivalries, hard to recruit) apparently proves we can't succeed at football in a good situation either (like the Big East was, where we did succeed).

But of course, we were being pressured to downgrade football even before the AAC misadventure, once other programs didn't need us.
Talk about being jerked around. It's literally maddening to think about.

I've said this many times. Big East urged UConn to upgrade football and hundreds of millions went into that. Now you read Twitter and Big East fans of current schools want UConn to ditch football. Hell up outta here.

 

[Travelman6]

If, in 5 to 10 years the b12 has a bball line up of

Kansas
Zona
Baylor
UConn
Houston
*Gonzaga
*Duke
**Cuse

It would be barnone the best bball league in the country year in and year out and with b12 money POSSIBLY improving uconn fball (I could see either 5 to 9 wins a seasons or many 0 and 1 and neither would shock me) a solid fball conference. With that line up I could see 3 in the FF within a decade and who know, maybe even a first ever 4 from a conference in the FF. Ok, getting ahead of myself here.

*Possibly even these two once the acc sinks
And a
**revived

Granted they let in a mid cincy team but everyone makes mistakes (b10 Rutgers, acc BC)

 

[mikeinmanila]

If, in 5 to 10 years the b12 has a bball line up of

Kansas
Zona
Baylor
UConn
Houston
*Gonzaga
*Duke
**Cuse

It would be barnone the best bball league in the country year in and year out and with b12 money POSSIBLY improving uconn fball (I could see either 5 to 9 wins a seasons or many 0 and 1 and neither would shock me) a solid fball conference. With that line up I could see 3 in the FF within a decade and who know, maybe even a first ever 4 from a conference in the FF. Ok, getting ahead of myself here.

*Possibly even these two once the acc sinks
And a
**revived

Granted they let in a mid cincy team but everyone makes mistakes (b10 Rutgers, acc BC)

Gonzaga is never going to happen. St. John's, Villanova, Georgetown, Marquette would all be better options (but highly unlikely). The Big12 will use UConn to help lure the "best of the rest" of the east coast ACC teams not picked up by the B1G or SEC... so schools like Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, NCST, VT, Miami, and GT. If they want a west coast presence, Cal, Stanford, SDST, OSU and WSU might also be in the mix. Wake Forest and especially BC (karma's a bitch), are likely the schools that no P3 conference will want to touch. That said, UConn has a higher likelihood of landing in a P3 conference than a lot of the schools on this list...

 

[Steelerone]

I stopped trying to predict what will happen with the conferences long ago. It's beginning to remind me of that movie "Rollerball" where you could put on a pair of skates and there were barely any rules to follow. And the people ate it up. We have allowed television to dictate sports to the point where the players are now employees. There is so much distraction that coaches like Nick Saban are retiring rather than sinking any lower into the mire. Not completely sure but I think that at some point people will start to turn off their sets or tune to another channel and at that point you might not have to pay exorbitant bills so someone can watch Georgia and Alabama. And maybe even lower the price of a hot dog to below five dollars at the ball park.

 

[Steelerone]

Your point?

If you don't get it now you never will.

 

[NH Husky]

If, in 5 to 10 years the b12 has a bball line up of

Kansas
Zona
Baylor
UConn
Houston
*Gonzaga
*Duke
**Cuse

It would be barnone the best bball league in the country year in and year out and with b12 money POSSIBLY improving uconn fball (I could see either 5 to 9 wins a seasons or many 0 and 1 and neither would shock me) a solid fball conference. With that line up I could see 3 in the FF within a decade and who know, maybe even a first ever 4 from a conference in the FF. Ok, getting ahead of myself here.

*Possibly even these two once the acc sinks
And a
**revived

Granted they let in a mid cincy team but everyone makes mistakes (b10 Rutgers, acc BC)

In 5 to 10 years most of this speculation will be moot.
Conferences will be established by individual sports, similar to what’s currently done with hockey. Whether the NCAA still exists is yet to be known.

 

[Travelman6]

In 5 to 10 years most of this speculation will be moot.
Conferences will be established by individual sports, similar to what’s currently done with hockey. Whether the NCAA still exists is yet to be known.

I hope so let fball do whatever the hell THAT is, whatever it is they want and leave bball and all the other sports the hell alone.

 

[Lambeau]

Justin Williams writes in The Athletic that the problem is it is an "uphill battle" convincing Big 12 Presidents that Uconn would add any value to Big 12 media rights in 2031, their next deal--clearly Yormack thinks we would, since basketball has been undervalued.

 

[CL82]

Justin Williams writes in The Athletic that the problem is it is an "uphill battle" convincing Big 12 Presidents that Uconn would add any value to Big 12 media rights in 2031, their next deal--clearly Yormack thinks we would, since basketball has been undervalued.

Though I believe that, even as things stand now, we would bring considerable value to the big 12 contract, improved football will make that point more readily apparent to the big 12 presidents. Hopefully that begins today.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Exactly. For basketball, a Big 12 with Uconn is better than the BE with Uconn. But the B12 can’t lay claim to being the best if they don’t have Uconn.

The Big XII right now is better than the Big East right now and it’s not particularly close. Move UConn and that gap is enormous. If Villanova was Jay Wright Villanova then your description would be accurate. Instead they are now a bottom feeder.

 

[superjohn]

The Big XII right now is better than the Big East right now and it’s not particularly close. Move UConn and that gap is enormous. If Villanova was Jay Wright Villanova then your description would be accurate. Instead they are now a bottom feeder.

Big 12 is clearly the best basketball conference now but outside of Kansas I wouldn't say they have any marquee basketball brands. A bunch of programs that are really good at basketball now and some with strong history and brand recognition but the only true legacy/marquee brand is Kansas, Arizona is close. That's why adding UConn should be a no brainer for them.

ACC is down lately but Duke, UNC, and Louisville are legacy/marquee brands. Cuse is close. Big East has two in UConn and Nova.