Is UConn basketball the crown jewel for Big 12 expansion? Commish Brett Yormark remains focused on conference realignment in the face of resistance

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark is eyeing the pedigree of UConn basketball and Gonzaga to return the conference to 14 teams. This is after the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners left to join the SEC (Southeastern Conference).

The Big 12 has moved swiftly to restore equilibrium, acquiring Houston, Cincinnati, BYU (Brigham Young University) and UCF (University of Central Florida).

Yormark's conference realignment and the Big 12's expansion plans don't end there. He wants the conference to have 14 teams in 2024-2025, and that's where the pursuit of UConn basketball and Gonzaga comes in.

“I’d like to stay at 14 [teams] even with the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, candidly,” Yormark told BYU Sports Nation. "We’ll see if that’s a possibility or not. But I love 12. We’re not chasing a number. It’s really more about the fit.”

He hasn't had it his own way, though, as he is facing resistance over his plans. Football is the big driver of such plans, and UConn's team last posted a winning record in 2010, while Gonzaga does not even field a football team.

Ultimately, Yormark wants to make the Big 12 a coast-to-coast conference.

“We want to be in all four time zones, and expansion is a big part of it,” Yormark said. “I would say that we have a plan for expansion. I’ve never mentioned one school that we want. Everything we do from here on out is about value creation. If there’s no value creation, and I can’t see us growing our TV deal in that next cycle, then why expand?”

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Would UConn basketball teams make the Big 12 the best?

San Diego State v Connecticut

The reality is that both UConn basketball teams have certified pedigree. The men's team won their third national championship in the last 12 years and fifth overall in April.

UConn's women's basketball team has even more pedigree, if possible, winning the championship six times in a seven-year spell from 2009-2016. They definitely fit the value addition model being pursued by the commissioner.

Snagging both UConn basketball and Gonzaga would be a major coup for the Big 12 in its battle for supremacy as the best basketball conference in the nation.

Commissioner Yormak has set his sights on being the best conference in a few years, and UConn's addition would help with that goal.

“I don’t have a crystal ball. But if I did, I think we’re about three or four or five years down the road from being a top national conference.”

The Big 12 already has a sizeable media rights deal with FOX and ESPN, worth $2.28 billion, running up to 2031.

The moves being made right now will have a long-term impact and will come in handy when negotiating a new deal in the future. UConn basketball could be the final piece of the puzzle for the Big 12 toward achieving that goal.