UConn Moving Close to Big East Return Following Official Vote by Presidents
Connecticut is poised to return to the Big East Conference for basketball and all other sports following an official vote by presidents at the 10 Big East schools on Monday, according to CBS Sports. UConn’s Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the Big East invitation on Wednesday morning.
UConn would be the 11th member of the Big East, joining Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, St. John's, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. The move could take place as soon as the 2020-21 school year.
The Huskies were of the original members of the Big East, which was founded in 1979. They left the conference and joined the American Athletic Conference in 2013, but remained an associate member of the Big East throughout the period.
Boston sports site Digital Sports Desk was first to report of UConn's potential move back to the Big East. On Saturday, the Hartford Courant additionally reported that UConn was expected to leave the AAC. The Courant also reported that the exit fee from the AAC could be as high as $12 million.
The Big East still does not offer football and it is unlikely the AAC would allow UConn to keep its football team 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.
