Big East Basketball: 6 potential options to replace UConn if they leave for Big 12

With all the money involved, it’s no wonder that we’re talking at length about conference realignment once again. There have been rampant rumors about the next shoes to drop, with this cycle already giving us quite the number of moves. Oklahoma and Texas are heading from Big 12 to SEC while UCLA and USC make the strange trip to the Big Ten. A slew of schools are joining the Big 12 next season, but they might not be alone.

The most recent rumors have been about additional teams joining the Big 12, forming an even bigger super-conference with a few more than 12 members. One of the most adamant names coming up in recent rumors has been Connecticut. The Huskies just won the national championship in basketball and remain a major name in the college athletics world.

The addition of the Huskies would be unusual for the Big 12 due to their location and their football program, but it’s certainly the rumor of the day. The Huskies were longtime members of the old Big East before settling into the AAC ten years ago. Connecticut returned to the Big East in 2020 and have already found themselves back on top of the basketball world; could a move to the Big 12 be next?

If the Huskies depart for the Big 12, then the Big East is back down to ten members. The new conference existed for its first seven years with that number of teams, but perhaps they aren’t willing to stand pat this time. Today, we’re looking at some of the best candidates should the Big East themselves be looking to expand. As a non-football conference, our options are somewhat limited, but there are still six very good options for the Big East to consider, which we’ll present in alphabetical order.