Rick Pitino believes it would be a huge mistake for Connecticut to leave the Big East.

“I almost went to Connecticut, it was Connecticut or UMass,” Pitino told SNY.tv during an exclusive interview Tuesday at Hudson Catholic High School. “I remember when they were struggling to win the Yankee Conference. In all of sports, the greatest building job I’ve seen in my life was done at Connecticut. The Big East has taken them from a Yankee Conference school” to where they are now.

“With that being said, how can you want to leave? Why would you want to leave? My biggest mistake I made in my life is when I left Camelot [Kentucky]” to lead the Boston Celtics in 1997. “They’re leaving Camelot. It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of.”

Butler has been mentioned as a candidate for a basketball-centric league, but that doesn't mean they will soon leave the Horizon League.

“In most cases, in this area, there aren’t as many viable options as most people think there are,” athletic director Barry Collier said Friday.

When asked whether Butler would leave the Horizon for the Big East, if asked, he  said he would not address “what-ifs” or speculation.

“We, like every school, have got to be following the news,” Collier said. “Because there are so many moving parts, there’s a certain amount of things that would have to happen to really create a situation we’d have to react to.”

Connecticut is in serious discussions to move to the ACC, according to multiple sources.

Jim Calhoun believes the school should keep itself the top priority.

"We have a lot to offer," Calhoun told CBSSports.com on Monday morning. "We're very attractive now. This isn't 25 years ago."

If Connecticut joined the ACC, it would play regular season matchups against the likes of Duke and North Carolina.

"What UConn needs to do is put it head down and take care of UConn," Calhoun said. "Do what's best for us - just like everyone else needs to do what's best for their institution." 

Syracuse and Pittsburgh have reached an agreement to leave the Big East in order to join the ACC.

The exact date for their move is not yet determined.