If you've followed conference realignment over the past decade or so, you'll know that the Big East evolved from a basketball-focused conference, concentrated in the northeastern U.S., to a much larger league taking in football schools further to the south and west. It then split back up into a northeastern, basketball-oriented "Big East" and a catch-all conference of the rest of the teams known as the "American Athletic Conference." Connecticut, with a football program, went with the AAC. I diagrammed the split in this 2013 posting.
Now comes word that UConn, an original Big East member (dating back to 1979), will exit the AAC to return to the Big East. Both in terms of tradition and geographic proximity, I think this is a good move. The one major challenge will be placing Connecticut's football team in a conference, as the current Big East does not sponsor the sport.
