Report: Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament moving to Mohegan Sun

The conference will be different, but the venue may be the same for UConn women’s basketball’s next conference tournament, whenever that is. With the Huskies re-joining the Big East, the conference will move its postseason tournament from Chicago — where it was held for the last three years — to Mohegan Sun Arena, according to Providence athletic director Bob Driscoll.

“With UConn coming back into the conference, we’re going to be playing our women’s basketball Big East championships at Mohegan Sun moving forward,” he told the Westerly Sun.

The Big East declined to officially confirm it but said it is “in the process of evaluating venues for future Women’s Basketball Tournament sites,” and has “interest in Mohegan Sun Arena.”

The move makes sense considering UConn has the largest fan base in the conference. All seven AAC Tournaments were held at Mohegan Sun and prior to that, the XL Center served as the host of the Big East Tournament from 2004-2013.

The decision to go to Mohegan Sun and not return to the XL Center is likely a matter of availability more than anything, though Mohegan Sun is potentially a more desirable destination. Since it’s located inside the casino, there are easy accommodations for both the teams and any visiting fans along with plenty of food and entertainment options for before and after games.

While the format could change with UConn in the mix, the Big East Tournament’s format in 2020 was similar to the AAC’s of the past few seasons. Every team made it and the initial rounds were held on Friday. After that, the quarterfinals were on Saturday, the semifinals on Sunday and the championship on Monday night.