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UConn leaving AAC in 2020, football team to become independent

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UConn and the American Athletic Conference have reached an agreement for the school's departure from the league, with the Huskies set to pay a $17-million exit fee by 2026 to re-enter the Big East conference, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello.

The Huskies will leave on July 1, 2020.

The school announced its football program will become an independent team beginning in the 2020 season. Men's and women's ice hockey and rowing are the only other sports that won't join the Big East conference.

"I want to thank David Benedict for his leadership and cooperation in reaching a swift and amicable resolution regarding UConn's departure, and also UConn president Susan Herbst for her support of the conference," AAC commissioner Mike Aresco said. "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."

UConn joined the AAC after the Big East ceased football operations in 2013. It has struggled to find success since, winning more than three games just once and making a single Bowl appearance (both in 2015).

The school's men's basketball team won seven Big East regular-season titles and five tournament titles during the conference's heyday, while the women's program won eight national championships.

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