FORT WORTH, Texas — In the middle of the UConn women’s basketball team’s Sweet 16 matchup against North Carolina on Friday, ESPN broke the news that the Connecticut Sun sale is being finalized after nearly a year of contentious dealings with the WNBA and potential buyers.
The 2026 season will be the franchise’s last at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, which it has called home since 2003. An group led by Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta, has agreed to purchase the Sun for $300 million and relocate the team to Houston beginning in 2027. The sale and move are pending approval by the WNBA’s Board of Governors.
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The deal comes after the league reportedly struck down multiple bids to keep the Sun in New England, including $325 million offers from prospective ownership groups in Boston and Hartford.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma is an architect of the devoted women’s basketball fanbase in Connecticut with his 12 national championships and 37 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances over four decades leading the Huskies. Nineteen players from Auriemma’s seemingly-endless carousel of superstars have gone on to play for the Sun, including Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo, WNBA MVP Tina Charles, and two-time WNBA champion Renee Montgomery. The Sun’s current president is former Huskies star Jennifer Rizzotti, and its general manager is Morgan Tuck, a four-time NCAA champion at UConn.
“Connecticut deserves to have a team, because we’re a proven (place) where people will support women’s basketball,” Auriemma said after the Huskies beat UNC 63-42 to advance to the program’s 30th Elite Eight. “So them now moving, I think it leaves a void. They had a great fanbase, and it wasn’t only UConn fans or fans only went when UConn players came.
“They did a great job of establishing their own fanbase, and it was a rabid fanbase that provided a lot of energy and a lot of passion for those teams.”
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The Mohegan Tribe saved the franchise when they purchased it for roughly $10 million and relocated it to Connecticut more than two decades ago. The team was established as the Orlando Miracle in 1999 as a sister team to the NBA’s Orlando Magic, but Magic owner Rich DeVos had no interest in keeping the WNBA franchise and likely would have folded the organization had the Tribe not stepped in.
The Sun were consistently among of the WNBA’s top-performing franchises on and off the court up until the league’s recent explosion of growth. In 2010, it became the first WNBA team to make a profit, and it finished top five in the league in attendance from 2018-22. Connecticut made eight consecutive appearances in the WNBA Playoffs from 2017-24 including two runs to the Finals.
But the team began to fall behind the rest of the league in its investment over the last three years as dedicated practice facilities and elevated player amenities became standard. After the 2024 season, the Sun were forced into a major rebuild when almost every veteran on its roster including the entire starting five left via free agency or trade. The team had its worst year since 2013 in 2025, going 11-33 and failing to make the postseason.
“To be honest with you, Jen Rizzotti and I would talk a lot, and it’s hard to get free agents to come,” Auriemma said. “What’s your choice: Chicago, Dallas, (Los Angeles), Las Vegas, Atlanta? No disrespect, but free agents, it was hard to get them to go to Uncasville, so that played a big part in it as well.”
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Six WNBA franchises folded under NBA ownership from 2002-09, but the WNBA’s sudden growth has brought with it a new wave of interest from the men’s league. The WNBA, which is 42% owned by the NBA, has established a pattern of preference toward NBA ownership groups in its expansion process. Of six expansion teams awarded since 2023, all have gone to bids led by active NBA owners: Golden State (2025), Portland (2026), Toronto (2026), Cleveland (2027), Detroit (2028) and Philadelphia (2029).
The three most recent expansion franchises awarded — Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia — all paid the league and expansion fee of $250 million. ESPN reported that Houston will not have to pay a relocation fee to the league as part of its purchase of the Sun.
“At one time, the NBA owners owned everything, and it started to slip away,” Auriemma said. “Now it’s coming back, and pretty much the majority of the teams that are coming in are going to be sort of NBA-centric. That’s where the money is, and the players want a lot of money, and the league is selling franchises for a lot of money. And the guys at Mohegan made a lot of money, so everybody wins.”
