The University of Connecticut has agreed to pay an exit fee of $17 million as part of its departure from the American Athletic Conference, according to multiple published reports.
The university agreed to pay the amount in full by 2026.
The AAC said its members voted to terminate UConn’s membership, effective July 1, 2020. UConn previously decided to return to the Big East.
“We appreciate UConn’s accomplishments in The American, we wish them the best, and we thank them for their contributions over the past six years,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement.
UConn athletic director David Benedict said the program is committed to enjoying its final year in the conference before making the move to the Big East.
“Some of the finest moments in UConn athletics history came during our time as a member of the American Athletic Conference and I am grateful to The American for providing a home to many of our teams over the last six years,” Benedict said in the AAC’s news release. “I would like to thank Mike Aresco and his staff for their professionalism during this process and we look forward to writing a memorable final chapter in 2019-20.”
UConn craved a return to the Big East due to its basketball programs, who have many rivals in the league it first was a part of in 1979.
However, the football program was left without a home and will become an independent beginning in 2020.
UConn left the Big East in 2013 as conference realignments in college sports led to several departures. The current “basketball schools” include long-time rivals Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova.