Five schools who could be Miami Hurricanes rivals if ND joins ACC

Connecticut

Connecticut and the Miami Hurricanes were in the Big East in everything but football from the initiation of the sport to the conference in 1991 through Miami’s departure for the ACC in 2004. UConn returned to 1A what is now known as FBS football in 2000. The Huskies did not re-join the Big East for Football until 2004.

Miami won the only meeting in football with Connecticut 48-14 in 2002. Under current head coach Randy Edsall who is back in Storrs after a stint at Maryland, UConn won the Big East in 2004 and 2007. The Huskies returned to the Big East after playing in the American Athletic Conference to renew basketball rivalries.

UConn was not a good fit in the AAC with their rivals other than Temple and Navy with whom they did not have traditional rivalries far across the United States from the Nutmeg State. Joining the ACC would provide UConn a chance to renew rivalries with former Big East members Boston College, Pittsburgh and Syracuse.

The Miami Hurricanes and Virginia Tech were not in the Big East with UConn for football. With a large population of ex-pats from the Northeast living in South Florida, Miami and UConn could build a rivalry. The Huskies would have to elevate their football program.

UConn has not had a winning season since 2010 which was their fourth straight under Edsall.