Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has renewed his pursuit of expansion target UConn, with league officials set for a meeting next week where the issue will be reintroduced for in-depth discussion, multiple Big 12 administrators and broadcasting sources told The Athletic.
Yormark, a Northeast native and former Brooklyn Nets executive, has been talking with the school since at least last summer before the Big 12 added Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to expand to 16 schools. In August 2023, he said those talks were “no longer.” According to multiple Big 12 administrators, discussions resumed earlier this year, but Yormark did not yet have a consensus internally to extend an invite.
It’s unclear whether support among Big 12 presidents has increased in light of this latest round of discussions, according to league sources briefed on the process. Any further expansion would require support from a supermajority of 12 of 16 members in a president-level vote.
UConn declined to comment, while the Big 12 did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Yormark has repeatedly expressed his desire to position the Big 12 as the nation’s premier basketball conference, suggesting college hoops is “undervalued” by TV partners. UConn, the reigning back-to-back national…
