As Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark steps up discussions in the conference about adding UConn, the question isn’t so much why invite the Huskies as why do it now.
“There has never been a better time than right now to be part of the Big 12,” Yormark said in July at Big 12 football media days.
But with college sports entering a period of unprecedented transformation , superconferences, an expanded College Football Playoff and a new plan to compensate athletes — what’s the rush to add a school that has conceded it needs six years to get its football program Big 12-ready?
UConn athletic director David Benedict recently traveled to Dallas to pitch the Big East school to Big 12 administrators. Conference ADs and presidents were scheduled to hear from the league’s media consultants Monday and further discuss Yormark’s latest vision.
To add a new member, 12 of the 16 Big 12 schools would need to be in favor. According to several people familiar with the situation who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private, Yormark still has convincing to do among his members that adding UConn is a sound move and the Big 12 needs to act fast.
The apprehension is understandable.
The no. 1 priority among everyone in college sports right now is grasping the ramifications of the House v. NCAA settlement. The $2.8 billion deal to settle three federal antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and power conferences also includes a groundbreaking plan to allow schools to share up to $21 million per year with their athletes as soon as 2025-26.
A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5, where the judge overseeing the case could grant preliminary approval. Final approval is still months away.
There are scores of thorny questions about how revenue-sharing will be implemented and what impact it will have on every aspect of college sports. This is taking up a lot of time for administrators, including those in the Big 12 who haven’t even watched the four newest Big 12 schools — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — kick off their first football seasons.
The paint has not even dried on Yormark’s last renovation project and he is calling for the contractors again.
The Big 12 is all but guaranteed a spot for its champion in the new 12-team playoff, but with the Southeastern Conference swiping Texas and Oklahoma the conference’s case for landing multiple bids is built on quality depth making up for a lack of blue-blood contenders.
The plan being presented to the Big 12 on the UConn calls for the Huskies’ powerhouse basketball programs (17 national championships combined, including the last two men’s titles) and other sports to join as soon as possible. UConn’s struggling football program, currently operating as a major-college independent, would not join until 2031 after significant investment by the school.
The Huskies had five winning football seasons as a member of the old Big East, but since 2011 they have reached a bowl twice and never finished better than 6–7.
The Big 12 is trying to bill itself as the conference with no clunkers, a claim not even the top-heavy Big Ten can make. Even if you believe UConn can become a competent football program the way Kansas did after years of ineptitude, why bet on it sight unseen?
It should also be noted that woeful Colorado was the Pac-12’s Kansas for the last 15 years. For all the excitement about Deion Sanders at CU, there are still questions about whether the Buffaloes make Big 12 football better.
Also, there is no line of suitors for the Huskies. The Atlantic Coast Conference would probably have interest if lawsuits by Florida State and Clemson trigger a mass exodus, but those cases are barely off the ground, with no resolution in sight.
Still, Yormark is convinced college basketball is undervalued. Supercharging already excellent Big 12 basketball with UConn is part of a strategy to unlock that value in the next round of media rights deals.
Maybe he’s right, but the current deal doesn’t expire until 2031.
There is not doubt Yormark’s wheeler-dealer instincts have been good for the Big 12 since he took over in 2022. Being proactive under Yormark is one of the reasons why the Big 12 has 16 teams and the Pac-12 currently has two.
Yormark is convinced UConn is a good long-term investment for the Big 12 while swiping a potential life line from the ACC, which is also looking up at the Big Ten and SEC in terms of overall talent and certainly TV money.
“Two years later, I guess you could say we’re still open for business,” Yormark said in July.
Yormark was rebuked by his membership when he was interested in adding Gonzaga. UConn makes more sense, but is no slam dunk. And there might be more important business to attend to.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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