As Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark intensifies talks in the conference about adding UConn, the question is not so much why the Huskies are being invited, but why it is happening now.

“There has never been a better time to be part of the Big 12,” Yormark said at the Big 12 Football Media Days in July.

But why the rush to add a school that has admitted it will take six years to get its football program Big 12-ready? College sports are currently in a period of unprecedented change – superconferences, an expanded College Football Playoff and a new plan for athlete compensation.

UConn athletic director David Benedict recently traveled to Dallas to present the Big East school to Big 12 administrators. Conference leaders and presidents heard from the league’s media advisers on Monday and plan to further discuss Yormark’s latest vision.

To admit a new member, 12 of the 16 Big 12 schools would have to be in favor. According to several people familiar with the situation who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential, Yormark still has to convince his members that admitting UConn is a good move and the Big 12 needs to act quickly.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd polled eight members of the Big 12 — half of the 16-team league — and only six were in favor of adding the Huskies. A formal vote on such an addition is “not imminent,” Dodd reports.

Fox, which holds the Big East rights that would lose value if UConn moved, is also opposed to a move, according to Dodd.

The fears are understandable.

UConn joining the Big 12 would give basketball a boost

Still, Yormark believes college basketball is undervalued, and adding UConn to already excellent Big 12 basketball is part of a strategy to unlock that value in the next round of media rights deals.

Maybe he is right, but the current contract does not expire until 2031.

There is no doubt that Yormark’s instinct to do business has served the Big 12 well since he took the helm in 2022. Being proactive under Yormark is one of the reasons the Big 12 has 16 teams and the Pac-12 currently has two.

Yormark believes UConn is a good long-term investment for the Big 12 while also grabbing a potential lifeline for the ACC. Both look up to the Big Ten and SEC on and off the field.

“Two years later, you could probably say we’re still in business,” Yormark said in July.

Yormark was rebuked by his members when he was interested in adding Gonzaga. UConn makes more sense, but it’s not a sure thing. And there may be more important things to worry about.

Revenue sharing would affect other schools

The top priority for everyone in college sports right now is understanding the impact of the House-NCAA settlement. The $2.8 billion deal to resolve three federal antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and power conferences also includes a groundbreaking plan that will allow colleges to distribute up to $21 million per year to their athletes starting as early as 2025-26.

A hearing is scheduled for September 5, at which the judge in charge could grant preliminary approval. However, final approval will be months away.

There are a lot of thorny questions about how revenue sharing will be implemented and what impact it will have on all aspects of college sports. This is taking up a lot of time for administrators, including those in the Big 12 who haven’t even seen the four newest Big 12 schools – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah – begin their first football seasons.

On Yormark’s last renovation project, the paint hadn’t even dried yet and he was already calling the contractors again.

CFP positioning

A spot for the Big 12 champion in the new 12-team playoffs is all but assured, but with the Southeastern Conference sweeping Texas and Oklahoma, the conference’s chance of receiving multiple bids rests on its quality depth making up for the lack of top-tier contenders.

The plan being presented to the Big 12 regarding UConn would see the Huskies’ strong basketball programs (17 national championships in total, including the last two men’s titles) and other sports join as soon as possible. UConn’s struggling football program, which currently operates as an independent major college, would not join until 2031 after significant investment in the school.

As a member of the old Big East, the Huskies had five successful football seasons, but since 2011 they have reached a bowl twice and never finished better than 6-7.

The Big 12 tries to present itself as a conference without junk, a claim not even the top-heavy Big Ten can make. Even if you believe UConn can become a competent football program the way Kansas did after years of ineptitude, why would you bet on it without seeing it first?

It should also be noted that pathetic Colorado has been the Kansas of the Pac-12 for the past 15 years. For all the excitement surrounding Deion Sanders at CU, there are still doubts about whether the Buffaloes are making Big 12 football better.

Also, there are no suitors for the Huskies. The Atlantic Coast Conference would likely be interested if lawsuits from Florida State and Clemson sparked a mass exodus, but those cases have barely gotten off the ground and no resolution is in sight.

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