The University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees voted to accept an invitation to move most of the school’s athletic teams from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East.
The University of Connecticut's Board of Trustees voted to accept an invitation to move most of the school's athletic teams from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East.
The board added the vote to a regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday morning.
The Huskies were a charter member of the Big East conference, but remained in what would become the American Athletic Conference when seven Catholic schools broke away in 2013, taking the Big East name with them.
UConn basketball fans fondly remember the Big East days, where they won dozens of conference championships and several national titles while flying the Big East colors.
While the move would include most sports, UConn basketball is most certainly the main concern.
UConn womens' head coach Geno Auriemma commented about a potential move earlier this week.
"There's been a lot of talk about it over the years. The fans have been talking about it for a long time. There's an old saying, 'you can't go home again.' Things have changed in the years since we've been gone," he said.
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UConn has not said what it will do with its football program, a sport that is not offered in the Big East.
The AAC bylaws require UConn to pay a $10 million exit fee and give the conference 27-months' notice of its departure, but terms are being negotiated that would facilitate the programs' move at the end of the 2019-20 academic year.
The Big East's invitation is subject to UConn paying $3.5 million as an entrance fee to the Big East and competing in each varsity sport sponsored by the Big East, according to a message UConn President Susan Herbst and Athletic Director David Benedict sent to the members of the board of trustees.
