ESPN: Sources: UConn expected to rejoin Big East

BleedGopher

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per ESPN:

UConn is expected to leave the American Athletic Conference and return to the Big East for basketball and other sports in 2020, sources told ESPN.

Nothing is official at this point, but an announcement could come as early as next week, sources said. The UConn board of trustees has not yet voted on the move, but approval is expected, even with UConn set to change presidents in August.

The biggest remaining question surrounds what happens with UConn's football team. The Big East does not have football, and it's unlikely UConn would remain in the American with just football, sources told ESPN. Sources said the football program is expected to play in the American in 2019, but could go independent after that or join another conference.

Conference bylaws require UConn to pay a $10 million withdrawal fee and give 27 months' notice before leaving.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/27030819/sources-uconn-expected-rejoin-big-east

Go Gophers!!
 



Hopefully this seals that the Big Ten will never add UConn
 

Excellent, excellent move.

UConn stayed with the American group on the hope and prayer that they could make it into the P5, either the Big Ten or ACC. It never happened, and ten years of trying (and failing miserably) is plenty long enough to pack it up.


It is almost impossible for UConn to recruit and compete against teams like S Florida, C Florida, Memphis, Houston, etc. in football. And you can tell their team is just outclassed. That's not how you earn a golden ticket to the P5.


BBall fans at UConn have always favored the Big East matchups. That's home. That's what they want.
 


Would guess football will be independent or perhaps partner with UMass and try to join the MAC as football only members. Would be a good place for them both, with Buffalo in the neighborhood (sorta).
 


Who would you rather have, knowing fully that every team in the ACC now is off limits?
No one, if anything be great to cut some dead weight. Now that cable a dying industry having teams in NYC and the DMB is overrated

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
 

No one, if anything be great to cut some dead weight. Now that cable a dying industry having teams in NYC and the DMB is overrated

Agree with cable dying, but that’s not right now, that’s 20 years from now. And it will just be replaced with services like YouTubeTV. Not ala carte subscriptions to every channel. So the per subscriber channel fee model is far from dead.

AND Penn St badly wanted Eastern teams.


I say both were good and we should keep both.
 



Who would you rather have, knowing fully that every team in the ACC now is off limits?

Excluding ACC, teams I’d rather see in the big ten than UCONN
1) no one

2-end in no order)
Missouri
Iowa state
Colorado
Oklahoma
Oklahoma state
Texas
West Virginia
Notre Dame
Kansas
Kansas State
Cincinnati
Central Florida
Boise State
Navy
Air Force
Army
Temple
Houston
Colorado State
Vanderbilt


I’d rather have no one though
 

As you know, schools not in the AAU aren’t going to be considered. And really doubt SEC Missouri or Vanderbilt are going to leave, nor PAC Colorado.
And as I said the ACC is not allows because they have a grant of rights through 2037 or something like that, so no Notre Dame.

That leaves Kansas, Texas, and Iowa State, which are great choices.
 

As you know, schools not in the AAU aren’t going to be considered. And really doubt SEC Missouri or Vanderbilt are going to leave, nor PAC Colorado.
And as I said the ACC is not allows because they have a grant of rights through 2037 or something like that, so no Notre Dame.

That leaves Kansas, Texas, and Iowa State, which are great choices.

I would think Kansas St is a package deal with Kansas.
 

Maybe? Would Iowa St be required because of Iowa? They are at least AAU, and have great football and b-ball lately, with great fan support.

And then you have Oklahoma and Okla St, which are poor research institutions (like Nebraska), but have a lot of athletic prowess and the backing of big oilmen.

Texas Tech another wild card. Texas state government likes to make decrees about conferences having to accept other Texas schools to get at the ones they really want.
 



Smart move for UConn.

The only schools I'm interested in the B1G adding are ND and Mizzou. Don't see either happening. If it could be done, we could trade Maryland back to the ACC for ND and Nebraska to the SEC for Mizzou.
 

Smart move for UConn.

The only schools I'm interested in the B1G adding are ND and Mizzou. Don't see either happening. If it could be done, we could trade Maryland back to the ACC for ND and Nebraska to the SEC for Mizzou.

I’d love to offload Nebraska. Their football team is all they offer, as a school, as an athletic dept, as a city/state. (Yes their volleyball team is awesome, but that doesn’t move the needle sadly) They’re not a major research school (kicked out of AAU). They are their football team. That’s what they sold to Jim Delaney, and hats what he purchased.

And they have failed to deliver. Big time.

And I for one wonder if they can EVER get it back (national top 3 program) .... without four-five star Texas players. Which I don’t think they can get anymore, consistently, being out of the SEC or Big XII. And they’re much too far from the Great Lakes hotbeds to recruit those consistently. Same for Florida and California. They are stuck in no man’s land.

I don’t think Frost can pull a rabbit out of the hat. Don’t think he can convince enough Florida, California, and Texas talent to uproot and move to the middle of nowhere, consistently enough to satisfy Nebraska diehards and boosters — which can only be done with Clemson levels of success.

Believe it when I see it.


All that said, Big Ten isn’t getting rid of them. They’re in for good now.
 

If I'm knocking someone out of the B1G it's far and away Rutgers. (And yes, I am aware of how they help the B1G TV deal.)
 




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