UConn Basketball: Huskies leaving the Big East again would be a mistake

In recent weeks, it has been revealed that UConn has had preliminary discussions with the Big 12 about potentially joining the conference, and leaving the Big East behind for a second time. Such a move would have a seismic impact on the college basketball world with one of the top programs in the country moving to an already loaded conference. But while it may seem like a good move on paper, it's unlikely that such a move would benefit UConn in the long run.

The first (and main) problem that arises with the Huskies' possible move to the Big 12 is football - which is the main reason UConn wants to join the Big 12. However, due to the current state of the Huskies' football program, it would take almost a decade for the football program to actually join the Big 12 as they would first need to pour additional resources into the program to ensure they're power conference ready.

But even if that all goes to plan and allows the Huskies to make the move to the Big 12, would it still be worth it? UConn is without a doubt a basketball school and their men's and women's basketball teams are the flagship of their athletic program. And the same could be said for almost all other members of their current conference, the Big East. It's a true basketball-centric conference that suits the Huskies perfectly, and moving to any other conference would likely prove to be a mistake, as seen with their previous move to the AAC a decade ago. Sure, UConn joining the Big 12 would provide us with a few additional exciting in-conference matchups, but the same could be said for the Big East, who's current layout would also allow all of those matchups to be played twice a year.

If the Huskies were to make the move to the Big 12, they would still remain amongst the top programs in the country with Dan Hurley at the helm, but outside factors could cause some problems for the Huskies during conference play. The Huskies would face significantly increased travel times for many away games, and it could be enough to effect the Huskies performance at times. Right now, Omaha is the furthest road trip UConn makes in conference play, but should they in fact move to the Big 12, they would be making road trips to places such as Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. It remains to be seen how much of an effect these long road trips truly have on teams but nonetheless, it remains risky and could prove to be a mistake on UConn's part.

In a scenario where UConn leaves, the Big East would have to consider making moves of their own to ensure the conference stays intact. The Big East would revert back to the way it looked from 2014 to 2020 with 10 teams and an 18 game conference play slate. However, they may decide to try and keep their current size and pursue one (or more) schools to join the conference.

But as of now, no decisions are even close to being made in regards to UConn's future in the Big East & Big 12, so much of this remains hypothetical. In the meantime, one can hope UConn doesn't repeat the mistake they made 10 years ago and ultimately stay in the Big East for the long haul.