Will Brett Yormark's expansionist mindset open the doors for UConn? Is UConn Big 12 collaboration on the cards, as the chief makes positive remarks?

There is a lot to take away from Brett Yormak’s opening speech at the ongoing Big 12 Media Days. Prominent among these are his comments about the conference’s plans for expansion.

The conference has gone from the disturbed and confused conference that it was two years ago, when Oklahoma and Texas approached the exit. It is now a stable force posing a threat to the other conferences.

Nothing demonstrates this growth better than the league’s success in securing a media deal under the leadership of Yormark. We now know this was no easy feat given the struggle and amount of time it is taking Pac-12 to find a deal.

But Yormark is not content with this. The media deal is just a result of the conference’s newfound stability. The conference has to be more than just stable.

Yormark has already set the conference on the path to achieving this. Plans are in place to transform the conference into an international brand with games in Mexico. The Conference Championship Game will also begin to feature a half-time show with a big artist entertaining the audience.

However, the most important part of Yormark’s vision for the conference is expansion. After months of saying it in muffled tones, it is now clear as day that expansion is top of the priority list at the conference.

“We have a plan for expansion,” the commissioner stated in his remark.

Yormark also added that he hopes the conference “can execute it sooner than later.”

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How might a UConn-to-Big 12 expansion move play out?

This is a clear message to other conferences, as one or more conferences are guaranteed to take a hit from a potential Big 12 expansion. Pac-12 is the most susceptible conference as it currently struggles to find a media deal that can keep it in one piece. Colorado might be on its way back to the Big 12.

A most suitable candidate for Big 12’s expansion is UConn. After the breaking up of the old Big East, the Washington Huskies football struggled in its successor, the AAC. It became independent in 2019 while the rest of its programs stayed put in the non-football Big East. The UConn football program can naturally make the Big 12 its new home.

However, basketball has a special place in Yormark’s vision and he describes himself as being “bullish on basketball”. So the UConn basketball program, one of the best in the country, definitely features in the commissioner’s expansion scheme. How soon we might expect this to become a reality is unknown. But it is a thing to look forward to.