College football realignment: Big 12, UConn renew expansion talks, per report

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is once again interested in pursuing UConn in what could become the next realignment move.

We could see another notable push on the college football realignment front as the Big 12 is back on the move, per a new report. / USA Today Sports | Imagn

College football (and basketball) realignment could be back on the menu, as Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is set to renew discussions with UConn about potential membership in the conference, according to a report from The Athletic.

Big 12 officials will meet with UConn representatives next week where "the issue will be reintroduced for in-depth discussion," the report notes.

This isn't the first time the Big 12's purported interest in UConn has become public, as it was also reported last May that the conference had contacted the school about possible expansion.

That interest was revived earlier this year, but the Big 12 is yet to offer an official invitation.

Any new members would require 12 of the league's 16 members to vote in favor, although it is unknown how much support UConn currently has among that group.

The timing of this reported interest is noteworthy as it comes following UConn winning its second-straight college basketball national championship this past season and returning to prominence on the hard court under head coach Dan Hurley.

The school's women's basketball team is one of the nation's most successful, winning six NCAA championships since 2008 under head coach Geno Auriemma.

The question around UConn remains as to how its football program would be relevant or successful enough to warrant Big 12 membership. 

It's been one of the nation's worst over the last several years, not finishing with a winning record since 2010, and winning six games in a season only once in the last decade before the arrival of Jim Mora, Jr. as head coach.

UConn went 6-7 in football two years ago under Mora, playing in a bowl game for the first time since the 2015 season, but the Huskies slipped a year ago, falling to 3-9 on the gridiron

(Athletic)

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