The Big 12 is ushering in a new era in its conference, starting with Big 12 Football Media Days this week.
The two-day event will be held at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, after previously being held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. While the conference lost powerhouse programs Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, it gained four new teams after the Pac-12 essentially disbanded following the 2023-24 sports calendar year.
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This season, all eyes will be on Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, who are entering their first season in the Big 12 after being four of 12 programs to leave the Pac-12 (which only consists of Oregon State and Washington State).
Among the high-profile additions to the conference is Deion Sanders, the Buffaloes coach who’s heading into his second season at the helm. Coming off a 4-8 season, Sanders is hoping to compete in a new conference with returning star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his son, and two-way player Travis Hunter.
With the new additions to the conference, here’s how many teams are in the Big 12:
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How many teams are in the Big 12?
The Big 12’s number in its name hasn’t meant anything in some time, as the conference had 10 members until the 2023-24 sports calendar, when it added UCF, Cincinnati, BYU and Houston to increase its membership to 14 teams.
The Big 12 was once scheduled to have 12 teams for the 2024-25 sports year (with Oklahoma and Texas’ departure), but was able to pry Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah from the Pac-12 to increase its membership to 16 teams.
What teams joined the Big 12 for the 2024 season?
Four teams joined the Big 12 ahead of the 2024-25 sports calendar: Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah, which joined the conference after the Pac-12 essentially disbanded.
The Pac-12 consists of two teams as of now, with Oregon State and Washington State both playing temporary slates against Mountain West teams in football for the 2024 season. The conference’s downfall started USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten, followed shortly thereafter by Oregon and Washington.
After Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and BYU left, that left only Stanford, Cal, Oregon State and Washington State. The Cardinal and Golden Bears then decided to join the ACC, leaving the Beavers and Cougars as the only remnants of the Pac-12.
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Full list of Big 12 teams
Here’s the full list of teams in the Big 12, in alphabetical order:
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Baylor
- BYU
- Cincinnati
- Colorado
- Houston
- Iowa State
- Kansas
- Kansas State
- Oklahoma State
- TCU
- Texas Tech
- UCF
- Utah
- West Virginia