College Basketball

Big East Homecoming

Updated Jul. 17, 2020 3:12 p.m. ET

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Welcome home, UConn.

On Wednesday, the UConn Huskies officially rejoined the historic Big East Conference, after spending seven years in the American Athletic Conference.

UConn was one of the first seven members of the original Big East, spending 34 years in the conference from 1979-2013.

During that span, UConn athletics racked up 80 conference championships across all sports, but the school found the most success with its men's and women's basketball programs.

The men's team claimed 10 regular season titles and 7 Big East Tournament titles. And as a representative of the conference, the UConn men also won 3 NCAA championships – 1999, 2004 and 2011.

The women's team dominated even more than the men, earning 19 regular season titles, 18 Big East Tournament crowns, and 8 of their 11 national championships came as a member of the Big East – 1995, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2013.

Everything changed in 2013, however, when the league's seven basketball-focused schools and UConn's biggest competition broke away to form the new Big East. 

With the move, the Huskies found themselves traveling a lot more for their regular season matchups, which women's coach Geno Auriemma recently pointed out.

"This pandemic has exposed a lot of flaws in the system," Auriemma said of the travel expenses that have come along with conference realignment. "When I got the job at UConn [in 1985], we took a bus almost everywhere. Maybe we'd have a flight to Pittsburgh, or a flight to Georgetown, and maybe one other trip a year someplace. And then, you know, things changed."

Despite the taxing travel and schedule, UConn basketball never faltered. The men won their fourth national title in 2014, and the women never lost a game in AAC conference play.

Still, the Huskies decided it was time to return home, as the new Big East was thriving as a basketball-centric conference.

Needless to say, alumni and fans are excited:

Now the only question remaining is, will UConn's Big East dominance continue upon its return?

Head over to FOX College Hoops Twitter to let us know what you think!

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