One might ask, “What is the Big 12?” Well, let’s find out.
What is
The Big 12 is one of the power conferences in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). So, what exactly is the Big 12? Well, back in 1994, two conferences joined forces. Half of the meetings were the Big Eight and the Southwest Conference. That means the eight Big 12 and 4 teams from the Southwest.
They formed the Big 12 Conference in 1994, and starting in 1996, the Big 12 was official and started to play. Those teams were
| Big 8 | Southwest |
| University of Colorado | Baylor University |
| Iowa State University | Texas Tech University |
| University o Kansas | Texas University |
| Kansas State University | Texas A&M University |
| University of Missouri | |
| University of Nebraska | |
| University of Oklahoma | |
| Oklahoma State University |
These were the founding members of the Big 12.
What happened to the founding members of the BIG 12?
| Team | Left for |
| Colorado | Pac-12 |
| Iowa | Big 10 |
| Missouri | SEC |
| Nebraska | Big 10 |
| Oklahoma | Still big 12 / Leaving 2024 |
| Texas | Still big 12 / Leaving 2024 |
Over the years, some teams left, and some teams joined.
Current Big 12
As of now, the Big 12 is Big 14. Here are the teams
| Team | Joined |
| Baylor | 1996 |
| Iowa State | 1996 |
| Kansas | 1996 |
| Kansas State | 1996 |
| Oklahoma | 1996 |
| Oklahoma State | 1996 |
| Texas | 196 |
| TCU | 2012 |
| Texas Tech | 1996 |
| West Virginia | 2012 |
New Members
| Team | Joined |
| BYU | 2023 |
| UCF | 2023 |
| Cincinnati | 2023 |
| Houston | 2023 |
Future of the Big 12
Three will be two teams leaving in 2024
- Texas
- Oklahoma
They are both going to the SEC.
Some teams will be coming to the Big 12 in 2024, but that will be next year, and I will be covering this next year.
Thoughts
It will be an excellent year for the Big 12 as they are adding four great schools.
- BYU
- Was an independent in Football for the last ten years.
- UCF
- Part of the American Athletic Conference
- Houston
- Part of the American Athletic Conference
- Cincinnati
- Part of the American Athletic Conference
It is going to be a good year for the Big 12.
The first Big 12 games for the new teams are the following:
| Date | Team | Playing |
| Sept 16 | Houston | TCU |
| Sept 23 | UCF | Kansas State |
| Sept 23 | Cincinnati | Oklahoma |
| Sept 23 | BYU | Kansas |
| Sept 23 | Texas Tech | West Virginia |
TCU and Houston had a game scheduled before Houston became a member. So, they will play some non-conference games on Sept 23, 2023. It is going to be a great year.
Video
Yep, I did a video.
