Rutgers was the undisputed national champion of conference realignment in college sports several years ago, and UConn was the phenomenon’s biggest loser by far.

But after wandering in the wilderness for a spell, it sounds like the Huskies have found a path to rescue.

UConn is expected to return to the Big East in time for the 2020-21 academic year, according to a report by Digital Sports Desk that has since been confirmed by several other outlets. The reunion is not yet official, but it looks like both the school and the league are well down the road to making it so. And when it does get done, it will have a big impact on college sports in the Northeast.

Here are some initial takeaways:

Danny Hurley is the biggest winner here. Steve Pikiell and Kevin Willard, not so much: Hurley was always going to get things turned around in Storrs, but rebuilding UConn men’s basketball will become that much easier with a move from the American Athletic Conference to the Big East. Conference membership will make him an even more formidable recruiting threat in the region for Rutgers and Seton Hall to compete with.

The fans win too: We’re going to get UConn-Seton Hall games every year, and a Rutgers-UConn meeting in the Gavitt Games can’t be too far behind.

It’s great news for the Big East: The conference is coming off a rough hoops season and can use another quality program with brand name recognition. UConn will be the first public school in the new-look league, but it fits the new Big East like a glove and will make the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden that much bigger. The move back to the Big East is a grand slam for all UConn athletics programs, save one.

What about UConn football? The Huskies might be the nation’s worst FBS program, but they are still an FBS program and it’s hard to see UConn going back down to FCS (even if it should). So what happens? Yahoo reported the AAC will not keep UConn as a football-only member. The Huskies could try to get into the MAC or Conference USA that way, but it’s not clear why either conference would be interested. UConn likely will be forced to go about life as an independent, making a bad situation even worse. Randy Edsall has to be looking for an escape hatch.

Is this big news for Army? The Black Knights could be asked to join rival Navy and join the AAC as a football-only member. It would take some creativity in scheduling and league structure to protect Army-Navy and the AAC title game. But if Army does join, it would get access to the Group of 5 bid to the New Year’s Six bowls each year - something that could be appealing for a program that is winning 10 games a year under head coach Jeff Monken.

Could there be a new football-only conference on the way? Army, BYU, UConn, UMass, Liberty, a few other schools?

Rutgers fans, remember this: Any time you doubt the move to the Big Ten, keep in mind: Had Rutgers not joined, it would have become UConn. The move has had its challenges, but it was the only thing the Scarlet Knights could do.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.