Big 12 presidents pitched on potential UConn addition, but lack of consensus likely to prolong decision

Big 12 presidents were briefed Monday about the possible addition of UConn to the league without taking action, CBS Sports has learned. The league’s lack of unanimity on the issue will require ongoing discussions as the possible next round of realignment looms, sources told CBS Sports.

CBS Sports was able to verify six Big 12 schools in favor of UConn’s addition with two against if a vote were taken today. Those schools did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. It takes a super majority (at least 12 of the 16 Big 12 schools) to approve such a move.

Only three more schools out of the remaining eight, then, would be needed to scuttle the move; however, a formal vote on the issue is not imminent, sources said. 

“Nothing was even remotely close to being decided,” said a person familiar with Monday’s presentation. 

In addition, sources close to the situation tell CBS Sports that TV partner Fox is against the move. Adding UConn to the Big 12 would not only devalue the Big East’s contract that Fox completed just two months ago, it would also require amending the Big 12 contract. That contract, with partner ESPN, is worth $2.3 billion and runs through the end of the 2031 academic year. 

That doesn’t mean a deal couldn’t be struck in the future after further discussions. 

Sources indicate ESPN, the other Big 12 partner in the current media rights deal, would support the move. The cable giant may be interested because it doesn’t have UConn basketball among its rights. ESPN was an early partner with the Big East when the league exploded nationally in the 1980s. 

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and UConn have long had mutual interest since he took office in 2022, but it wasn’t until two weeks ago that the school made an in-person presentation to Big 12 officials. CBS Sports confirmed that the plan would be for UConn to join the league in all sports except football by 2026. Football would then join in 2031 after meeting a set of financial benchmarks. 

The Big East requires departing schools to give 27 months notice and a $15 million exit fee. If it is able to extricate itself from the Big East, UConn football would then join the Big 12 for the 2031 season. 

The details of UConn’s presentation were shared with Big 12 presidents and CEOs Monday for the first time. Yormark was joined by officials from Endeavor, the league’s strategic media advisor, for the presentation and questions afterwards. Endeavor is supportive of a UConn addition.  

Big 12 skeptics are concerned that UConn football, even if it meets those financial benchmarks, would hurt the conference’s strength of schedule as it applies to the College Football Playoff. The league has already absorbed the loss of its two biggest football brands, Texas and Oklahoma. 

There are also concerns that UConn is “one of the most heavily subsidized public FBS athletic departments in the country,” according to Sportico. 

Some Big 12 CEOs are also reluctant about the uncertainty of the House v. NCAA settlement, in which FBS schools will have the option of adding up to $23 million per year in revenue sharing to be distributed to players. While it is almost a certainty that Big Ten and SEC schools could afford that number, no Big 12 administrator who spoke to CBS Sports could assure that all 16 members could fully fund revenue sharing. 

None of the current discussions have anything to do with the league’s ongoing consideration of public equity money, sources told CBS Sports. That prospective PE partner, CVC, has told the Big 12 it projects its media rights will at least double by 2031.