Cougs Daily

The Big 12 Officially Extends Invitations to BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston

The Big 12 has invited four new members only 51 days after the report leaked that Texas and Oklahoma reached out to the SEC

Casey Lundquist

byu football vs ucf

It is official. Following a meeting on Friday morning, the Big 12 has officially extended invitations to BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston. The Big 12 put out the below press release on Friday morning.

The Big 12 Conference Board of Directors this morning voted to extend membership invitations to Brigham Young University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Houston to join the Conference.

Today’s actions were in accordance with Big 12 Conference Bylaw 1.5.2.b.3 requiring an affirmative vote of a supermajority of Directors, and was approved unanimously by the eight continuing members.

As necessary, institutional Boards will be in session today to act on Big 12 Conference membership. Videoconference announcements with Big 12 Board of Directors Chairman and Texas Tech University President Lawrence Schovanec, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, and campus representatives are scheduled today at the following times:

Houston – 11:00 a.m. CT
BYU – 11:30 a.m. CT
UCF – 2:45 p.m. CT
Cincinnati – 3:30 p.m. CT

Shortly after the vote, BYU accepted the invitation to join the Big 12 conference.

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Timeline of Events

On July 21, 2021, the Houston Chronicle reported that Oklahoma and Texas had reached out about joining the SEC. Days later, the report turned out to be true, and Texas and Oklahoma were headed for the SEC.

The future of the Big 12 conference was suddenly in jeopardy. 

One month later, the PAC-12 announced their "decision to not pursue the expansion of [their] membership." That announcement opened a path to survival for the Big 12, and it opened the door for schools like BYU and UCF.

Exactly 51 days after the original report from the Houston Chronicle, the Big 12 extended invitations to BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston.

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Casey Lundquist
CASEY LUNDQUIST

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.

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