UConn officially approves move from American Athletic Conference to Big East

June 26 (UPI) -- The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees officially approved the university's move from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East Conference, UConn's home from 1979 to 2013, on Wednesday.

UConn would be the 11th member of the Big East. The move could take place as soon as the 2020-21 school year.

UConn will play every sport but football and hockey in the Big East. The Huskies have not yet determined if they will continue playing at the Football Bowl Subdivision level or move to another classification.

UConn has played at the FBS level since 2000. The Big East does not offer football.

UConn football coach Randy Edsall said Wednesday morning he believes the school's administrators will make "the decision they feel is best" for the program's future.

"We have a schedule for 2019 and that is what we have been preparing for since January," Edsall said in a statement, "and [the players] have been doing a great job of staying focused and not allowing any distractions to get in the way of our preparation and training."

UConn's football team has made only one bowl game while in the AAC: a 16-10 loss to Marshall University in the 2015 St. Petersburg Bowl. UConn is 7-29 since the 2016 season.

UConn's women's basketball team won three consecutive national championships from 2014 to 2016. The men's basketball team won the NCAA Tournament in 2014.

The Huskies were a founding member of the Big East in 1979. The seven schools that didn't play football formed a non-football playing conference retaining the Big East Name in 2013.

The AAC bylaws require UConn to pay a $10 million exit fee and give the conference 27 months' notice of its departure. Terms are being negotiated to facilitate a quicker departure.