UConn head coach Dan Hurley had a lot on his mind during his media session Thursday ahead of Friday’s game against Oklahoma.
But given UConn’s longtime status as the Big East’s dominant team, and the fact the Huskies are playing their opening tournament game in Raleigh, North Carolina, the heart of ACC country, he had to know he’d get a question on the proposed merger between the two conferences.
“I don’t know if I have any space in my brain for conference realignment,” Hurley said. “But I’ve been saying that. I’ve been talking to Coach K (former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) about that. He’s texted me that, we’ve talked about that. I’ve mentioned it to people at the Big East, I’ve talked to Dave (Benedict, UConn athletic director) about it.”
Krzyzewski proposed on his radio show earlier this year that the ACC and Big East merge into a basketball super conference. A few weeks later, St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino appeared on Coach K’s show and concurred with the idea.
Big East commissioner Val Ackerman talked about the proposal during an appearance on John Ourand’s The Varsity podcast, saying there have been some “conversations” about the future of both conferences.
“There’s been some conversations about what we could all be doing together, again, not only to secure our own futures, but to make sure that college basketball stays strong and relevant as football interests continue to dominate much of the headlines and much of the bandwidth of the leagues that we consider peer conferences,” Ackerman told Ourand.
Both conferences have rich basketball traditions; the Big East doesn’t even sponsor football. That puts both at a disadvantage in an era of conference realignments driven by college football. Hurley also pointed out that three former Big East schools, Syracuse, Pitt and Boston College, which have joined the ACC in recent years, have missed out on playing regional rivals, and Big East Tournament games at Madison Square Garden.
“I mean, (a merger) would just make tons of sense … and obviously I think the basketball programs in the ACC could really use that,” Hurley said. “Syracuse has been hurt by losing the Garden, Pitt’s been hurt by losing the Garden, BC, obviously there’s been major advantages from a football standpoint. I hope I’m not speaking out of turn for those folks. But how cool would it be to find a way to get Syracuse back in some type of ACC-Big East Consortium Tournament.
“I don’t know if that’s a catchy name, but …”
“That would make a ton of sense … and I think basketball programs in the ACC could use that.”
Since Dan Hurley is in Raleigh, he was naturally asked about the ACC-Big East merger Coach K has been pushing.
Hurley is in favor of it and has spoken to K and Big East officials… pic.twitter.com/Il4nAxk2PM
— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) March 20, 2025
An ACC-Big East merger, if it ever comes to fruition, won’t happen overnight. But add Hurley as one more prominent voice who thinks the idea makes, in his words, “tons of sense.”
