Sources: UConn in early talks for signing up with Huge 12

• Pete Thamel, ESPNAug 23, 2024, 07:31 PM ET

The Big 12 remains in talks with UConn about signing up with the league in all sports, sources confirmed to ESPN.No vote has occurred for a potential Huskies subscription, nor is one close to happening, as sources warned that there has actually been pushback amongst a number of members that would need to be overcome.The talks have actually

advanced to the point where UConn athletic director David Benedict and board chair Daniel Toscano met Huge 12 athletic directors face to face in Dallas recently to make their case, sources informed ESPN. The conversations centered around football funding and how UConn might be competitive upon signing up with the league in 2031, sources said.Part of UConn’s

discussion to the Big 12 covered how the Huskies would be prepared to build and invest cash on football at a level comparable to the existing Huge 12 programs, according to sources. They also pitched the league on how quickly they ended up being competitive in the Big East football conference after joining in 2004. A Big 12 board call is being planned for next week with the league

‘s presidents that would set out the particular deal points, according to sources. “I think the word is’early, ‘”a high-ranking Huge 12 official stated.

“There’s a far range between conversations and anything that would happen. The presidents haven’t seen the case yet.”The addition would be for all-sports, and the delay to 2031 in football would in theory provide UConn an opportunity to reach be more ready to join the league at that time in terms of funding and a skill upgrade through NIL. The Athletic first reported that possible board call and the talks.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated The other sports, including UConn’s dominant basketball programs, would

be included whenever UConn might negotiate or suffer the 27-month waiting period to exit the league.Sources warned there is a lot more to dive into for future talks, as the votes to add UConn have yet to be strengthened. While some schools favor adding

the Huskies, numerous athletic directors within the league have been outspoken against it, sources informed ESPN. A number of others are uncertain. The ultimate vote would boil down to 12 of 16 of the league’s presidents.Some of the pushback is because of the timing of the discussions, as league authorities are busy dealing with your home vs. NCAA settlement. There are likewise questions about just how much the move would benefit the conference in football.Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been bullish on basketball being more of a monetary motorist for the league’s television agreements in upcoming years. UConn is the sport’s dominant program and touches the country’s top market, with

a strong presence in the New york city area. UConn is coming off back-to-back national titles in men’s basketball and has boasted the nation’s best brand in females’s basketball for the previous generation. UConn’s resurgence in males’s basketball has come under coach Dan Hurley and coincided with the school re-joining the Big East for the 2020-21 season after playing in the American Athletic Conference from 2013-14 through 2019-20. The Big 12 has actually regularly been one of the country’s top basketball leagues, and including UConn would potentially strengthen that reputation.The 16-team Big 12 included four brand-new members– Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and Arizona– in 2015 and will invite Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State this year.Yormark has actually been bullish on growth.

He outmaneuvered Pac-12 officials to re-up the league’s tv offer to protect the Big 12’s future right after taking over as commissioner in 2022.

He likewise leveraged that protected future to eventually add the four former Pac-12 programs.Yormark likewise pressed hard early on in his tenure to include Gonzaga in basketball, though that eventually did not pertain to fruition.