As the Big East scrambles to figure out what to do after Syracuse and Pittsburgh decided to abandon the conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference, it appears UConn is poised to follow suit.
What happens with the Huskies hinges on what the Fighting Irish do.
A source close to the ACC told Kevin Nathan that the ACC wants UConn and Notre Dame and likely won't make a move on the Huskies until the Irish commit either way.
UConn wants to be part of the ACC. It's not yet clear what the ACC is looking for from Notre Dame and whether that would be a commitment from sports across the board.
The ACC would like to add two schools at once to bring the conference to 16 members and this could take weeks or months to finalize, sources said.
UConn has received national attention for athletics after an impressive season, with the men’s basketball team winning the national title this past season and the football team advancing to the Fiesta Bowl.
And it's been widely reported that Big East that includes UConn or Rutgers would allow the conference to further extend its reach into the Northeast and New York City television market.
For now, several officials at UConn said the school has not committed to staying in the Big East conference and continues to look at other options.
The officials, who asked that their names not be used because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations, denied that UConn and Rutgers agreed to stay in the conference during a three-hour meeting with Big East football members on Tuesday night.
UConn president Susan Herbst issued a statement on Wednesday.
"The past several days have magnified the period of instability that exists today in the world of college athletics. I want to say thank you to all of our loyal supporters and fans of UConn and our athletic programs for their patience during this time,” she said. “Please know that we will always do what is in the best interests for the University of Connecticut.”
