Tag: Big 12 Conference

A Colorado fan’s guide to reacquainting with the new-look Big 12

This easy guide should help you get reacquainted with the Big 12

Colorado is officially heading back to a conference it once called home for over 60 years.

On Thursday, the CU board of regents unanimously approved the university’s decision to leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12 ahead of the 2024-25 academic year. The move means that the Buffs will have regular meetings again with rivals such as Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State while forging new relationships with schools that joined the Big 12 after Colorado initially left in 2011.

The Buffs still have another year in the Pac-12, but it’s time to start learning more about the Big 12’s landscape. Here’s a quick guide that should help you reacquaint with the new-look Big 12 Conference:

Twitter reaction to official Colorado exit from Pac-12

College Sports Twitter, Big 12 Twitter, and Pac-12 Twitter have been white-hot with intense reactions. Here’s a sampling:

It is official: Colorado is returning to the Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 approved of CU’s return, but first, CU had to vote to leave. The school’s board of regents did that on Thursday, and away we go. The Pac-12 is now in critical condition. The Big 12 is stronger.

Buffaloes Wire has been covering this story over the past 48 hours. This was the initial statement from CU Chancellor Phil DiStefano and athletic director Rick George:

“After careful thought and consideration, it was determined that a switch in conference would give CU Boulder the stability, resources, and exposure necessary for long-term future success in a college athletics environment that is constantly evolving. The Big 12’s national reach across three time zones as well as our shared creative vision for the future we feel makes it an excellent fit for CU Boulder, our students, faculty, and alumni.

“These decisions are never easy and we’ve valued our 12 years as proud members of the Pac-12 Conference. We look forward to achieving new goals while embarking on this exciting next era as members of the Big 12 Conference.”

Check out how Twitter reacted once Colorado’s Pac-12 exit was official:

With move to Big 12, Colorado suddenly has open nonconference dates

Rick George shared his plan for Colorado’s newly-available nonconference dates

An interesting wrinkle has appeared due to Colorado’s move to the Big 12. The Buffs were slated to play six total nonconference games against three different Big 12 schools over the next 14 years — Houston (2025, 2026), Kansas State (2027, 2028) and Oklahoma State (2036, 2037) — but those home-and-homes are now being scratched with CU joining the Big 12 in 2024.

This is not the first time that Colorado has faced this problem. In the Buffs’ first season playing in the Pac-12 in 2011, they had Cal on the schedule but kept it as a nonconference game. This time around, however, athletic director Rick George is taking a different approach.

“We’ll have to dissolve those contracts, obviously, and then we will look to fill those games as quickly as we can,” George said. “But what I think it gives us an opportunity to do is create more home contests here because we may go out and look for opponents that are just going to play in Boulder one year. So rather than having six games, we’ll have seven, which again, helps us in revenue generation for our department.”

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REPORT: Big 12 targeting other Pac-12 schools to join Colorado in expansion

The Big 12 is reportedly targeting other Pac-12 schools to join Colorado in its expansion

With Colorado now on board, the Big 12 has 13 schools currently committed to the 2024-25 academic year. This odd number isn’t ideal, of course, and all signs point to the conference expanding further.

Per Brett McMurphy of the Action Network, the Big 12 intends to add between one and three schools to join Colorado in 2024. His report stated that the Big 12 is first seeking out other Pac-12 schools.

Arizona is the most likely Pac-12 candidate to join Colorado in the Big 12, sources said. Arizona State, Utah, Oregon and Washington also are possibilities from the Pac-12.

If none of those Pac-12 members are interested, the Big 12 would then target the Group of Five. UConn, Memphis, San Diego State and UNLV are the primary candidates being considered, McMurphy’s sources said. Each of those Group of Five schools, however, would have to pay a substantial exit fee to leave their current conference.

The Pac-12 schools being targeted are not subject to an exit fee due to the conference’s lack of a media rights deal beyond 2023-24.

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Colorado officially set to rejoin Big 12 Conference

BREAKING: Colorado is officially headed back to the Big 12

By a unanimous vote of 9-0, the University of Colorado board of regents approved the school’s decision to leave the Pac-12 and rejoin the Big 12 ahead of the 2024-25 academic year.

The board met on Thursday afternoon and university president Todd Saliman opened with a statement confirming Colorado’s move. “We think the time has come to change conferences,” Saliman said.

Athletic director Rick George and chancellor Phil DiStefano also shared a joint statement:

After careful thought and consideration, it was determined that a switch in conference would give CU Boulder the stability, resources, and exposure necessary for long-term future success in a college athletics environment that is constantly evolving. The Big 12’s national reach across three time zones as well as our shared creative vision for the future we feel makes it an excellent fit for CU Boulder, our students, faculty, and alumni.

These decisions are never easy and we’ve valued our 12 years as proud members of the Pac-12 Conference. We look forward to achieving new goals while embarking on this exciting next era as members of the Big 12 Conference.

A press conference with George and DiStefano is set for 5 p.m. MT on Thursday.

Colorado previously left the Big 12 for the Pac-12 ahead of the 2011-12 academic year. The Buffs had been linked to the Big 12 through various reports since last summer, but the move is now official.

Along with Colorado, USC and UCLA are also set for their final athletic seasons in the Pac-12 with their switch to the Big Ten coming next summer.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark had some fun announcing his conference’s latest addition:

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Dillon Gabriel named the top quarterback in the Big 12 by Heartland College Sports

Dillon Gabriel earned the top spot in Heartland College Sports Big 12 quarterback rankings for the 2023 season.

We are just a few weeks away from fall practice getting underway. You can already feel the anticipation in the air.

There’s been quite a bit of turnover at Oklahoma after a 6-7 season a year ago but one person who will return is their gunslinger Dillon Gabriel.

Gabriel was solid a year ago, completing 62% of his pass attempts for 3,168 yards, 25 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. The best compliment to give Gabriel was the offense was a disaster when he wasn’t in.

Gabriel is the typical “good enough” quarterback. He’s good enough to win the Big 12 and lead Oklahoma. Oklahoma has been spoiled at the quarterback position, so people think he’s worse than he actually is.  Does he need to improve? Absolutely, the whole team does. He definitely missed some throws that have to be more consistent in 2023..

But it’s his pedigree that puts Gabriel at the top of the conference in Heartland College Sports Big 12 quarterback rankings.

You don’t have to like the pick, but it’s the right pick. Gabriel is the best-returning quarterback because he has the most consistency and the highest floor. He is Oklahoma’s best chance at winning 10 games this year. – Bryan Clinton Heartland College Sports

While players like Jalon Daniels or Quinn Ewers may have higher ceilings, Gabriel’s experience and history of production give him an edge. Daniels hasn’t started a full season, and Ewers has just one season under his belt. And it wasn’t all that impressive.

Now we’ll see if Gabriel’s able to make the improvements necessary because if he doesn’t, there’s a former five-star quarterback waiting in the wings.

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Everything that led up to Colorado moving back to the Big 12

Take a look back at everything that transpired over the past year-plus leading up to Colorado’s Pac-12 departure

Although an official announcement has yet to be made, it’s about as official as it gets. Colorado is leaving the Pac-12 to return to the Big 12, a conference that the Buffs had previously called home for over 60 years.

Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the Big 12’s presidents and chancellors unanimously approved CU into the league on Wednesday evening and the next step is for Colorado’s board of regents to approve the move in a meeting on Thursday.

This all is certainly moving quickly, but Colorado has been linked to the Big 12 for quite a while now. Below is a brief timeline of what went down over the past year-plus:

Why returning to the Big 12 is right for Colorado

Returning to the Big 12 is the right move for Colorado

Entering its 13th season in the Pac-12, Colorado has decided that enough is enough and it will be reportedly making the move to return home to the Big 12.

Realignment rumors have been running rampant ever since Deion Sanders was named head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team, and I’ll take some credit for bringing up a move to the Big 12 last July. This is mainly because CU football is once again an appealing program for other conferences. Plus, the mismanagement of the Pac-12 Conference essentially forced the Buffs out.

The Buffaloes could no longer sit and wait for a Pac-12 media rights deal that has been promised for months, and CU will hopefully make things official with the Big 12 on Thursday. Here is why the move to the Big 12 makes sense for CU:

REPORT: Announcement expected Thursday for Colorado’s move to the Big 12

BREAKING: Sources have told Brett McMurphy that Colorado’s move to the Big 12 is expected to be announced Thursday

After an hour or so of build-up, Brett McMurphy of Action Network broke the news that Colorado is leaving the Pac-12 to return to the Big 12 in 2024.

However, the move still has to be approved by CU’s board of regents, which has a scheduled public meeting on Thursday afternoon. If the vote to leave the Pac-12 passes, an official announcement is expected to follow.

McMurphy’s report stated that CU will receive $31.7 million annually in media rights revenue once the conference’s ESPN/Fox media rights deal begins in 2025. Colorado is also set to receive a “full” share of revenue (approximately $42 million) in 2024, he said.

The primary reasons for Colorado’s move, his sources said, were because of the Big 12’s expected “stability” and the Pac-12’s “uncertainty.”

Colorado was a member of the Big 12 Conference (including its time as the Big Eight and Big Seven) from 1948 until the university joined the Pac-12 prior to the 2011-12 academic year.

Colorado chancellor Phil DiStefano told The Denver Post last week that the “goal” was to stay Pac-12 members. But with the Pac-12 still yet to announce a media rights deal, the Buffs are now primed to join the Big 12.

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Social media reacts to Colorado rejoining the Big 12

Social media went crazy for Colorado moving back to the Big 12

It’s looking likely that a move back to the Big 12 is happening for Colorado.

As first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday afternoon, the university is in serious discussions about leaving the Pac-12 to rejoin its former conference. Multiple other legitimate reports followed, including one from BuffStampede’s Adam Munsterteiger, who tweeted that the move is happening “barring any unexpected hiccups.”

Plus, according to Brian Howell, the CU board of regents has a public meeting set for Thursday in which a vote could potentially take place.

Below is how both Colorado fans and the college football world reacted to the Buffs likely heading to the Big 12: