The report came out on Friday that the Huskies were interested in joining their old league, but would this all mean?
On Friday, we got word that the UConn Huskies, James Madison, and Miami of Ohio have made overtures to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) about wanting to join the league.
James Madison and Miami want to become full-fledged members of the league, while UConn wants to join in football only and keep all the other sports in the Big East Conference.
If you remember, UConn was in the AAC before, playing in the league from 2013-19. However, the program never had much success, as it never had a winning record and won three games or less multiple times.
But now that the conversation is out there, let's take a look at some of the early potential positives and negatives.
Positive No. 1: Money
This is always the case, right? The minute you hear reports of something like this, you have to look straight at the dollar figures.
As noted by Brett McMurphy of On3, the AAC has a 12-year, $1 billion television deal with ESPN that pays out each school about $7 million annually. The deal will expire sometime around 2030 and could get even more lucrative then.
Every athletic department in the country is looking to acquire more revenue so that it can fund its full sports catalogue, and so it can develop NIL coffers. This kind of cash infusion would help in both of those ways for the Huskies.
Positive No. 2: Real chances in football
The Huskies got to the Fiesta Bowl in 2010 as a member of the Big East, but they've never sniffed a major bowl game since leaving the conference, and that seems likely to continue as long as they stay an independent.
Tulane, also a member of the AAC, got to the College Football Playoff in 2025, so there is a path for real success - and real exposure - in this league.
Furthermore, if UConn was in a real conference, there's a good chance they'd start acquiring impact players via the transfer portal, rather than just losing them.
UConn Huskies running back Kenji Christian (3) runs the ball during the college football game between the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and the UConn Huskies at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Renasant Stadium in Hattiesburg. Photo by Matt Bush. USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectNegative No. 1: What about the schedule?
Right now, UConn has a chance to craft a very interesting schedule through the independent route. The Huskies are playing three power conference teams this season (Maryland, UNC, Syracuse) and has more on the schedule in the coming years.
Those matchups are exciting for people, and they are likely much more exciting than future matchups with the likes of Rice and Texas-San Antonio.
*It's fair to note though: That because of new conference scheduling requirements, it could get harder for UConn to schedule games like it has this year in the future.
Negative No. 2: What about the ultimate money?
Sure, football joining the AAC would bring in more revenue, but what if UConn took all its athletic programs to the ACC/Big 12/Big Ten? How much more money would that media deal generate? The answer? A lot.
