Amid the Pac-12’s push to bring in new members to the once shrinking conference, UConn won’t be joining the league, per the Hartford Courant’s Dom Amore.
UConn, which is currently independent in football, explored the idea of joining the Pac-12 as a member last week, but the school is no longer interested. Amore noted that UConn doesn’t consider the Pac-12 the right fit for its program right now.
UConn’s basketball program and most other sports compete in the Big East conference, though that league stopped sponsoring football in 2012. After spending eight seasons in the American Athletic Conference, the Huskies went independent in 2021.
In recent years, UConn has had a desire to join a power conference but has yet to find a suitor. Amore noted the university’s talks with the Big 12 paused in August.
While struggles over the past few seasons have made the Huskies a less-than-desirable addition in football, a 3-2 start to the 2024 season could help UConn make a case to be added to a Power 5 conference.
The Pac-12 has added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State over the past month and brought in Gonzaga, which doesn’t have a football team, on Tuesday.
The addition of the six schools brings the Pac-12 to eight members, but it is still just one football-playing member short of meeting the eight teams required for a conference champion to be eligible for an automatic bid to the College Football Playoff.
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