Big 12 to Discuss Two Major Changes to Conference Next Week, per Sources

The conference plans to explore football schedule structure next week for a possible 14-team league.

Next week, the Big 12 plans to discuss the future of the conference regarding its expansion, per Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger.

Houston, Cincinnati and UCF are expected to join the Big 12 in the 2023–24 academic year, potentially joining the conference before Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC by the ’25 academic year. 

Per The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, the American Athletic Conference still has to sign off on the three schools exit. The process so far has been amicable. 

“No agreement has been reached to permit the three (UCF, Houston, Cincinnati) to leave early,” AAC commissioner Mike Aresco told Auerbach. “Our negotiations are continuing.”

Though their joining was already expected, the negotiations are expected to be finalized in the next week, according to Dellenger. BYU will also be joining the Big 12 in all sports, not just football.

There is a possibility that there will be 14 teams in the Big 12 during the 2023 and ’24 seasons. Conference officials will be meeting next week to discuss how a larger team pool could work, examining all possibilities including divisions and whether there should be eight or nine league games. 

In fact, the main topic during Big 12 meetings next week will be structuring a 14-team football league: divisions or no divisions? Eight league games or 9?

UCF, BYU, Houston & Cincinnati will be in the league with Texas & OU for at least one season (2023) and maybe two (2024).

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) April 27, 2022

A college football season typically consists of 12 regular season games, including eight or nine conference games. With 14 teams possibly competing in the Big 12, it could be tricky to figure out.  

An answer may come as conference officials meet next week.

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