The Big East Never Needed UConn and They Still Don't Now

For the last day or so the report that UConn is looking to move its football program somewhere and put the basketball program in the Big East has resurfaced. It’s no surprise. It’s what everyone has been talking about since this ‘new’ Big East came about and UConn (and Cincinnati) was left out to dry in the American. The truth of the matter is, the Big East never needed UConn but UConn would kill for the Big East now.

Connecticut is a top-20 program in the country, so how would this not be something the Big East needs? Well, the fact is the Big East was set from the get go. Most casual fans and talking heads fell in love with dissing the Big East because it wasn’t ‘THE’ Big East of old. There were NCAA Tournament failures, most notably Villanova, who couldn’t get out of the first weekend, which included a loss to UConn in 2014. That was all until last year when everyone agreed the Big East was ‘for real’ or ‘back.’

Again, this is false. The Big East was always fine. After the first year where the schools just struggled and the conference ranked 5th overall, they’ve been ranked 2nd, 3rd and 3rd. The last four years of the old Big East? 2nd, 3rd, 3rd and 3rd. The strength is still there. It just needed an NCAA Tournament run for validation from those who only watch in March and those who have a show where the only job is to get ratings by hot takes.

The thing is everyone loves nostalgia. We cream our pants thinking of the ’90s and UConn vs Georgetown at the Garden. The old days when it was a fight in the paint and coaches like Thompson, Carnesecca, Boehiem, Massimino and Calhoun on the sidelines. Well, as someone who also loves the ’90s I’m here to tell you that it’s all gone. This is the Big East and it’s just fine, even without UConn. We have Wright, Wojo, Mack and Holtmann. We have the reigning national champion. We have the favorite to win the National Player of the Year.

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So why wouldn’t the Big East take UConn? Well, one of the beauties of the Big East is the fact they play a round-robin regular season without having to play 20 conference games. If you add someone like UConn and continue the round-robin (as expected) you now lose nonconference games. That Villanova vs Virginia game we all enjoyed a couple weeks ago? Likely doesn’t happen in this scenario. A quote that Jon Rothstein had in his story about this was the following:

“If the Big East expanded to 20 games with UConn as a member, it would help offset other power-five programs being in position to get more of the NCAA bids,” one source said. “It would provide an opportunity for the teams in the league to get more games that matter and more games that can help their overall resume.”

That’s simply not true. Adding UConn does not help the league get more games that matter and more games that can help their overall resume. Any team can schedule UConn in the nonconference right now. We’ve seen it happen. UConn played Georgetown in a home-and-home. They’d be more than happy to schedule a home-and-home with Villanova, Seton Hall or Marquette as well. Adding UConn doesn’t give the conference more games that matter. It reduces it, because the nonconference gets weaker.

The Big East has thrived as of late early in the season. They have early season wins this year over Purdue, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Arizona, Cincinnati, Indiana, North Carolina State, Clemson, South Carolina, Oregon and Syracuse. That’s where the Big East gets the games that matter. That’s how they continued to be a power 6 conference when every casual fan expected them to fall into the A-10 category. The overall resume builder that the source mentions is flat out false. Last year the Big East had 5 teams in the NCAA Tournament. They were a No. 2 seed, No. 2 seed, a No. 5 seed, a No. 9 seed and a No. 9 seed. The conference is fine when it comes to resume building.

If you add UConn and move to 20 conference games, the teams likely drop the better nonconference games. That immediately takes away from that ‘more games that matter’ theory. Does DePaul get a better game? Sure. But Villanova and Butler? They are already playing teams similar to UConn in the nonconference. How many bids do we think is realistic for this conference even with the inclusion of UConn? Maybe you go from 5 to 6? That could happen in any given year, even without UConn. I just don’t see how that sentence makes sense from the source as well. It’s not taking away a bid from the ACC or B1G. It’s taking a bid from the American and putting it in the Big East. It’s not offsetting other power-five programs.

Yes, UConn got screwed when conference realignment happened. They got left out of the ACC and Big 12. The Big East essentially gave them the boot because they went to the Catholic 7 model. Yes, I’d like to see a basketball-rich program like UConn in one of the Power 6 conferences. That conference just ins’t the Big East right now. What they have is a great thing going. There’s no need to ruin that. If they need to eventually expand, then sure it can make sense. I’d rather see UConn in the ACC anyways.

Just remember, nostalgia doesn’t always mean best. The Big East right now is just fine. In fact it’s better than fine. It never needed to establish itself after the split. It was established. It never needed validation, it was always an extremely good conference. Even more reason for people to tune into the sport before March. The NCAA Tournament is an extremely fluky event and does not signify how ‘strong’ or ‘weak’ a conference is.

So, the Big East never needed UConn.