Big 12 Football: 3 best expansion conference expansion candidates after CU

UConn

The UConn Huskies have recently been linked to the Big 12 in multiple reports in this round of conference realignment. We mentioned UConn potentially being an option for the Big 12 in this round of conference realignment if Yormark wants to take a basketball-first approach to the candidate list after getting Colorado in the mix.

UConn is the reigning National Champion in men’s basketball. And the Huskies have built one of the most successful programs in men’s college hoops in the last few decades. UConn has won five National Championships since 1999.

The football program will be the elephant in the room as it pertains to adding a school like UConn. UConn has not even found sustained success as a consistent top-25 program in FBS football. This could be the major hold-up for the Big 12 considering UConn as a viable conference expansion candidate.

Brett McMurphy of The Action Network reported on July 27 that the Big 12 is considering UConn among the Group of Five programs that could join the conference if the PAC-12 options don’t work out.

UConn should still be considered the Big 12’s top option in this round of conference realignment among the Group of Five schools. Its strength as a basketball program combined with the Big 12’s ambitions to expand its geographic footprint makes UConn attractive, albeit with a limitation given the lackluster football program of late.