The Big 12 Conference expansion doesn’t appear to be over yet, but at least one conference realignment talks are on hold.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark announced Thursday that negotiations between the conference and the University of Connecticut (UConn) have been paused.
“After detailed discussions with our conference colleagues and University of Connecticut leadership, we have agreed to suspend discussions at this time,” he said in a statement to ESPN. “Instead, we will focus our attention and resources on ushering in a new era for college sports.”
Big 12 leaders met with representatives from the University of Connecticut last month to discuss what kind of relationship could be built.
One factor complicating the discussion is that the University of Connecticut’s football team is not expected to join the Big 12 Conference until 2031, years after other sports are integrated into the conference.
According to ESPN, the August meeting also included discussions about how the University of Connecticut football team can become more competitive.
The school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are top-ranked, but its football program is one of the worst in the country, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
Following the meeting, representatives from the University of Connecticut and the Big 12 Conference decided to refocus on more pressing issues, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“With the inaugural season of a 16-team league underway, schools facing an impending decision in the House of Representatives lawsuit and having to consider revenue sharing, expanding membership was simply not a priority,” he said in the report, citing a conference source.
Thamel noted that the Big 12 had previously engaged in similar negotiations with Gonzaga but also failed.