Colorado To Rejoin The Big 12 in 2024

After months of speculation, the Buffaloes will once again be part of the Big 12 Conference.

July seems to be the month of major conference realignment news. In July 2021, it was news that Oklahoma and Texas would join the SEC. In July 2022, USC and UCLA announced their plans to join the Big 10.

Just when we thought that perhaps this July would end without any major conference realignments, the Colorado Buffaloes announced Thursday their plan to leave the Pac-12 and rejoin the Big 12, effective July 1, 2024.

Two weeks ago, at the 2023 Big 12 Media Days, Commissioner Brett Yormark hinted that expansion news would be coming. "We do have a plan for expansion," Yormark said, addressing the elephant in the room. "Hopefully, we can execute that plan sooner than later." Yormark, though, was tight-lipped at the time on this statement and would not disclose what that expansion plan includes.

When Oklahoma and Texas announced their decision to leave the Big 12, the conference immediately went to work to avoid having the league be the one to dissolve. Four teams – BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston – were invited to join the league. As of this month, those teams are now officially part of the conference.

When Yormark took over as commissioner last summer, he also immediately went to work to make the conference even more significant and stronger, despite losing the two heavy hitters in Oklahoma and Texas.

As early as last summer, rumors have been floating around that the so-called “Four Corners” schools – Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah – might consider leaving the Pac-12 and coming to the Big 12.

Colorado became the first to make it more than just a rumor. Could the others be on their way out as well? Time will tell.

Last October, the Big 12 notched a critical media rights deal with ESPN and Fox Sports through at least the 2030-31 season.

The Pac-12 has been negotiating to secure its new media rights agreement. Last week at the Pac-12 Media Days, Commissioner George Kliavkoff stumbled in front of national media, leading many to question how the media rights negotiations were going.

"We are not announcing our media rights deal on purpose today because we want the focus to be on football,” Kliavkoff said. When pressed, he would not confirm if a deal had been made. He later added, “The longer we wait, the better our options get."

Colorado was one of the original members of the new Big 12 when it was formed in 1996 when the eight teams from the Big Eight merged with four Texas teams from the Southwest Conference. The Buffaloes left the Big 12 in 2011 and joined the Pac-12.

In recent days, it has been reported by SicEm365's Sam Bradshaw that the Buffaloes have allegedly missed out on generating a revenue of at least $70 million since their departure from the Big 12. This revenue loss most certainly was one reason that Colorado decided to rejoin the league.

Why would Colorado wait longer for the Pac 12 to present a deal? They lost nearly 70M vs what Big 12 schools made since leaving in 2010. They left less than a week before FOX & ESPN presented a good deal to the Big 12. pic.twitter.com/cCDpMDVAMO

— Sam Bradshaw (@Baylor_S11) July 20, 2023

Colorado Buffaloes: At a Glance:

• Location – Boulder, Colorado
• First Football Season – 1890
• Joined Big Eight – 1948
• Joined Big 12 – 1996
• Joined Pac-12 – 2011
• Head Coach – Deion Sanders (1st year)
• Stadium – Folsom Field
• Capacity – 50,183
• Year Built – 1924
• All-time Record – 716-520-36 (.577)
• Bowl Record – 12-17 (.414)
• National Championships – One (1990)
• Conference Titles - 26
• Big 12 Conference Titles – One (2001)
• Heisman Trophy Winners – One (Rashaan Salaam, TB, 1994)
• College Football Hall of Fame Members – Eight (Byron White, 1952; Joe Romig, 1984; Dick Anderson, 1993; Bobby Anderson, 2006; Alfred Williams, 2010; John Wooten, 2012; Bill McCartney, 2013; and Herb Orvis, 2016)
• Pro Football Hall of Fame Members – One (Cliff Branch, 2022)

Colorado versus TCU

The TCU Horned Frogs and the Colorado Buffaloes have only met once on the gridiron. This was the Week 1 game in 2022 in Boulder. After a slow start – it was 7-6 TCU at the half – TCU won 38-13. After weeks of speculation, Chandler Morris started this game, but he was injured in the first half. Max Duggan came in, and it was the beginning of an unbelievable season for both Duggan and the Horned Frogs.

The two teams will face each other again in a Week 1 game when the Buffs come to Fort Worth on September 2. The game will be at 11 a.m. CT on Fox as part of Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff.” This will be the first game for new Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.

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