Why UConn is important in Mohegan hosting Big East Tournament

of the Big East’s 11 women’s basketball teams likely took both a plane and a bus to get to Uncasville for the conference tournament this weekend.

For Seton Hall, St. John’s and Providence, the drive to Mohegan Sun Arena ranges between one to over two and-a-half hours depending on traffic.

UConn women’s basketball’s commute is a quick 45-minute drive, directly south of its campus in Storrs.

The Big East is hosting its conference women’s basketball tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena this season for the fourth straight year. While the location provides endless amenities and resources for its programs, it also accomplishes its job of attracting some of the most educated and excited fan bases in women’s basketball.

“I would credit this in large part to UConn’s re-entry (into the Big East) and our ability to tap into, frankly, some of the best women’s college — women’s basketball, I should say not just college — but some of the best women’s basketball fans in the country,” Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman told CT Insider this week. “So it’s been a very, very positive development for the league.”

Before the turn of the century, the conferSeven ence changed the location of the Big East Tournament nearly every season.

Twice it was held in Providence, Pennsylvania and at Seton Hall. St. John’s, Syracuse and Washington D.C. each hosted it once while Gampel Pavilion hosted it six times.

The Louis Brown Athletic Center (the RAC) on Rutgers’ campus in Piscataway, N.J. hosted it four times between 1998 and 2003, before the event took over the XL Center in Hartford for 10 straight years.

After UConn left the Big East and joined the American Athletic Conference, the Big East Tournament was held in various locations in the Chicago area, except for when it

was held at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee in 2017.

With the Huskies as the main draw in the AAC, the conference held its tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena from 2014 to 2020. That was until UConn left and rejoined the Big East, which led the conference into partnering with the casino to use it for its own tournament.

“I think had UConn not come in, we probably would have kept it out in that part (the Midwest) of the country,” Ackerman said. “That’s our second region. But when UConn came back, everybody quickly recognized the value of their fan base.”

Mohegan Sun had talks with the old Big East about moving the tournament from the XL Center to Uncasville in the years before the conference unraveled. But leaders from the conference’s Catholic schools resisted playing the tournament at a casino.

But there were no objections when UConn returned to the new version of the Big East. Mohegan Sun is considered family-friendly resort casino with an array of restaurant and shops to explore on top of the gambling. It’s accompanying hotel boasts over 1,500 rooms for visitors and the venue is now smoke-free.

And the 10,000-person basketball arena not only hosts various concerts and shows, but is home to the CIAC state basketball championships and WNBA’s Connecticut Sun during the summer. That alone makes the venue well-equipped to host various basketball teams at once with multiple locker rooms and hotel rooms with easy access the arena.

“I think the experience for the current teams is enhanced at Mohegan,” Ackerman said. “It’s sort of an allin entertainment complex. It’s a nice hotel with amenities on site in terms of restaurants, shopping, walking around. The arena is an easy commute. There’s enough space in there to conduct team meetings, be able to get some practices in on site. So it’s just a pleasant environment.” Ackerman said hosting the conference tournament at pro-league arenas, like Mohegan Sun Arena and Madison Square Garden for the men, also helps senior athletes become better adjusted to what life could look like as a professional in the sport.

And of course, UConn’s proximity to the casino is perhaps the main reason to utilize Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Big East knows it’ll draw the most fans the closer it holds the tournament to UConn. The Huskies have been one of the most dominant teams in the conference for decades and has a passionate fan base that will fill and sell out seats.

“Our foundation has been the UConn fan base,” Ackerman siad. “I mean, they’re exceptional fans. They sell out every or nearly every home game, whether it’s at Gampel or Hartford. So, they’re very loyal. They come to our tournament. But the beauty is that they stay for the other games. The strength of their passion for UConn is translated into good crowds, and that’s more or less across the board for us.

“So, we’re grateful for that. I think fans are discriminating, they want good entertainment. We run a competitive tournament. Obviously, UConn is our standard there once again, but we got a top-20 team in Creighton and a likely tournament team in Marquette. … I think the fans we get appreciate what these women do and how hard they play.”

The Big East is set to continue to hold its end-of-season tournament in Uncasville through 2026.

“It’s very positive,” Ackerman said. “We’ve re-upped. We’re in a long term relationship with them. We like the synergy with the pro-fan base supporting, the New England (community) supporting us. We like the proximity to our Eastern Seaboard schools, schools like Providence and St. John’s and Villanova, who have good followings as well. And so, it’s been a mutually beneficial relationship. And we hope to keep it going for many years to come.”