STORRS — Unless you’re an honest-to-goodness psychic, the possibility of UConn joining the westernmost of the five power conferences — in football only, no less — wasn’t on your bingo card a year ago.
What could be less probable, a return to The American? Stay with me, we’ll get to that.
The college sports landscape changes so quickly now, it’s like we’re all watching it fly by from the window of The Acela. If you dozed off between Newark and Metropark, here’s what it looks like at the moment: The Pac-12 Conference is no longer Pacific … nor 12 … nor a conference, let alone a power conference. The brand dates to 1915, but in September 2024 it’s a start-up.
Report: UConn in talks with Pac-12 about joining new-look conference
And UConn football, yes, football without basketball, could add value to this venture. So the report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger indicating there have been talks between the new Pac-12 and UConn come should come as no shock; under certain circumstances, it actually makes sense.
Recapping, one year ago the venerable Pac-12 disintegrated overnight. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah jumped to the Big 12, other schools headed for the Big Ten or ACC until all that remained were Washington State and Oregon State. They entered into a scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West.
After a quick stop, the train is in motion again. That remaining Pac 2 has launched an effort to resuscitate the conference brand, taking Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State with them. That makes seven; more schools are needed.
Feelers to four American Athletic Conference schools were rejected. UNLV is a target to be the eighth full member needed to meet minimum NCAA requirements. Where does this new league with an old name go now?
The report suggests UConn is on its radar; it may sound crazy, but it would be crazy if that were not the case.
The better scenario for UConn — please don’t shoot the piano player — would be for one or two of those AAC teams to reconsider, and Connecticut’s old friends in the American tender the football-only offer. Many of the AAC members and executives that might have harbored ill will over UConn’s move to the Big East are gone now, and UConn could be very competitive and valuable for the current slate of football schools there. They beat one of them, Florida Atlantic, 48-14 last Saturday, with Temple and Rice to come to Rentschler soon.
If that is option is closed, here’s why a UConn-Pac 12 marriage could work for both:
UConn football, since Jim Mora arrived in 2022, is 11-18, but look beyond the perennial pessimism, take out three FCS wins, take out nine losses in 10 games to Big Ten, SEC and ACC schools, and you have a 7-8 record against the level of competition that it would face in The American or new Pac 12, with a win over Fresno State and several close losses, two to Utah State. This new-look Pac 12 is in no position to low-ball or look down its nose at UConn football.
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But despite this modest improvement, UConn can’t go on forever as an independent. It needs power conference revenue and, after talks with the Big 12 petered out for the second year in a row, no invitation is imminent. What UConn needs in the immediate future is a home for football without such a long-term commitment that it would be out of sight and mind should the Big 12 expand, or the ACC implode and come looking for replacements. Remember that the latest Big 12 proposal was for UConn to join in other sports by 2026, but wait until 2031 and a new TV deal before football can join. If this offer were put on the table, UConn could take it and have a place for football to grow gradually to Big 12 specs.
The new Pac-12 couldn’t lure an AAC team because it has no idea what kind of TV deal it will be able to make. UConn’s brand, even if it’s football-only, could help with that. For the short term, UConn would get less football money than it would from a power conference, sure, but presumably much more than it is getting now as an independent.
The Pac-12 apparently was talking about inviting UConn in all sports. Okay, slam on the brakes there; that can’t happen, from UConn’s point of view. But if it gets Gonzaga, which does not have football, and UConn as a complement, the new league fits together like the jagged pieces of a puzzle.
Without taking a straw poll, I would guess that if UConn were to join this new venture, fans here would be very happy across the board. The football fans would have a conference. The basketball fans would still have the Big East. And those who worry about the financials could remain hopeful that a lucrative power conference move is still possible down the road.
“I grew up a Pac-12 guy obviously, but I’ve got enough to take care of right here that I don’t spend a lot of time on that,” said Mora, who played at Washington and coached at UCLA.
The Pac-12 with which he grew up is no more. This is something completely different, an almost random group of schools looking for something better than they have now. For UConn, as a football-only member, it would not be a perfect marriage, wouldn’t be everything it wants and needs, but it could be a marriage of convenience. For the short term, until the conference realignment train leaves the station again for points unknown, it’s certainly worth exploring.
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