UConn officially rejoined the Big East on Wednesday after seven years in American Athletic Conference.

UConn will be the 11th team in the conference.

"As a group of schools rooted in basketball preeminence, we can think of no better partner than UConn to join us in perpetuating the rivalries, traditions and successes that have made the Big East unlike any other conference in college basketball. We know that our competitions and the experiences of our student-athletes, coaches and supporters across all of our sports will be greatly enriched by UConn's return," said Big East commissioner Val Ackerman last June.

Geno Auriemma said he looked forward to the familiarity of past basketball rivals.

"It's just going to bring back a lot of great memories, you know, like driving over to Providence. I know some of the people are different, but there's also a lot of people at those universities that are still there, that were there when we left. So I'm looking forward to reconnecting with that."