Report: UConn Expected to Leave AAC and Return to Big East
UConn is expected to leave the American Athletic Conference and return to the Big East for basketball and all other sports the conference sponsors, according to the Hartford Courant.
The university is waiting for an official invitation from the Big East. While the move will return the basketball program to its Big East roots, the question remains what UConn will do with its football team. The Big East does not have football, and it is unlikely the AAC would allow the program to remain in the conference. The Huskies have AAC football games scheduled for this upcoming season but would have to find another conference or operate as an independent program by 2020.
Boston website Digital Sports Desk first reported the news of UConn's possible move.
When contacted by the Hartford Courant, the university released a statement.
"It is our responsibility to always be mindful of what is in the best interest of our student athletes, our fans and our future," the statement said. "With that being said we have been and remain proud members of the American Athletic Conference."
A Big East spokesperson had no comment for the Courant on Saturday morning.
Any deal would require approval from UConn's Board of Trustees. ESPN reports the board has not voted yet but is expected to approve the move.
UConn was an original member of the Big East, which formed in 1979, and joined the AAC in 2013 during conference realignment. The Huskies have won four national championships in basketball since 1999. They claimed their most recent title in 2014, their first year in the AAC.
