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June 27, 2019

UConn athletics to rejoin the Big East

Photo | Contributed The UConn men's basketball team facing off against the University of Arizona at downtown Hartford's XL Center.
By Joe Cooper

The Big East athletic conference on Thursday will welcome UConn back to the league after a seven-year hiatus.

UConn’s board of trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the school’s return to the conference, which reorganized in 2013 as the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Several league members at the time broke off and created a new Big East Conference that UConn hopes to again become a member of by July 1, 2020.

The hope is that UConn’s return to a higher-profile athletic conference -- including national heavyweights and former rivals like Villanova, Marquette and Georgetown universities -- will elevate the school’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, which have both won several national championships in recent decades.

But UConn’s departure from the AAC will come at a steep cost.

AAC bylaws will require UConn to pay a negotiable $10 million exit fee. UConn will also need to pay a $3.5 million entrance fee to the Big East.

Also, the AAC requires that withdrawing members provide a 27-month notice, but UConn is planning to leave sooner. If UConn doesn’t fully join the Big East by July 2022, its contract will be terminated.

Photo | Contributed
Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where the UConn football team plays its home games.

The deal also complicates the fate of UConn’s football program because the Big East doesn't play football.

While it looks doubtful UConn’s football team would remain in the AAC, it’s more likely the school will join another conference or become an independent. 

UConn’s contract with the Big East, however, prevents its football team from joining a “Power 5” conference, which are part of the highest level of college football known as the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Those athletic conferences include the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC.

More details about UConn’s conference realignment are expected to be aired noon on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the home of the Big East.

Rumors began to swirl last weekend that UConn was negotiating a return to the Big East, which it was a member of from 1979-2013.

The Big East approved UConn as a member on Monday and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong subsequently signed off on the move. Outgoing President Susan Herbst signed the contract Wednesday following the school board’s approval.

UConn’s basketball programs dominated the Big East conference during its 34-year run.

Its men’s team is tied for the most Big East Tournament championships at seven and has the most regular season titles with 10. The women’s team has won 18 Big East Tournament titles and 19 regular season championships, the most in both categories.

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