Following the announcement of the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies were heading to the Big Ten, the Big 12 made their move.
One of the worst-kept secrets over the last several months involved the Big 12 coveting the four corner schools. Once Colorado, Oregon, and Washington announced their new destinations, it was a matter of time before we saw the remaining corner schools follow suit.
On Friday evening, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yorkmark released a statement welcoming the three newest schools to the conference. They will begin play in the conference in 2024.
“We are thrilled to welcome Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12,” said Commissioner Brett Yormark. “The Conference is gaining three premier institutions both academically and athletically, and the entire Big 12 looks forward to working alongside their presidents, athletic directors, student-athletes and administrators.”
With the latest moves in conference realignment, the Big 12 joins the Big Ten and SEC as the only conferences with 16 teams. The ACC currently sits at 14 teams, while the Pac-12 is now the Pac-4. California, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State are the only remaining members.
New Look Big 12 for the 2024-25 seasons:
| Arizona | Kansas |
| Arizona State | Kansas State |
| Baylor | Oklahoma State |
| BYU | TCU |
| Cincinnati | Texas Tech |
| Colorado | UCF |
| Houston | Utah |
| Iowa State | West Virginia |
Bold teams were original members, we included Colorado who joined the Big 12 as an original member before leaving for the Pac-12 in 2011.
Connecticut and Gonzaga were two schools rumored to be in consideration to join the conference. If they were to be added for basketball only, that would make the Big 12 the most elite basketball conference in the nation.
Those discussions will likely come down the road, for now, it appears this round of realignment can finally be put to rest. We hope that is the case.