Big 12 Conference


The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. It is headquartered in Irving, Texas.
The Big 12 is a member of the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for all sports. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition.
The Big 12 is one of the Power Four conferences, the four highest-earning and most historically successful FBS football conferences. Power Four conferences are guaranteed at least one bid to a New Year's Six bowl game and have been granted exemptions from certain NCAA rules.
The Big 12 is a 501 nonprofit organization. Brett Yormark became the commissioner on August 1, 2022.
The Big 12 was founded in February 1994. All eight members of the former Big Eight Conference joined with half the members of the former Southwest Conference to form the conference, with play beginning in 1996.
In 2011, Colorado and Nebraska left the conference to join the Pac-12 and Big Ten, respectively. One year later, Missouri and Texas A&M departed for the Southeastern Conference, and TCU and West Virginia joined.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joined the conference for the 2023–2024 season. The next season Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah joined the conference, Colorado rejoined, and Texas and Oklahoma left as part of a more extensive NCAA conference realignment.

Member universities

Full members

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Membership map

Affiliate members

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  • On July 29, 2015, the Big 12 announced it would add the six former members of the Western Wrestling Conference—Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, and Wyoming—as affiliate members for wrestling, plus Denver as an affiliate member for women's gymnastics, all effective with the 2015–16 academic year.
  • On July 5, 2017, the Big 12 added Fresno State and Northern Iowa as wrestling affiliates.
  • On May 2, 2019, the Big 12 added Fresno State as an equestrian affiliate. Fresno State would drop wrestling in 2021, but remains an equestrian affiliate.
  • In 2021, the Big 12 added former full member Missouri as a wrestling affiliate.

    Former full members

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Former affiliate members

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Membership timeline


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id:FMBig8 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a Founding Members from the Big Eight
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id:SMSWC value:rgb # Use this color to denote subsequent members from the SWC
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member for football only
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is an affiliate member for only one sport which is not football
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another conference where OtherC1 has already been used, to distinguish the two
id:PAC12 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to/from the PAC12
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bar:1 color:FMBig8 from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:Big8
bar:1 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:07/01/2011 text:Nebraska
bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:06/30/2011 till:end text:Big Ten
bar:2 color:FMBig8 from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:Big8
bar:2 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Missouri
bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:06/30/2012 till:06/30/2021 text:SEC
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bar:3 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:06/30/2025 text:Oklahoma
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bar:5 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Iowa State
bar:6 color:FMBig8 from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:Big8
bar:6 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Kansas
bar:7 color:FMBig8 from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:Big8
bar:7 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Kansas State
bar:8 color:FMBig8 from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:Big8
bar:8 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Oklahoma State
bar:9 color:FMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:9 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Texas A&M
bar:9 color:OtherC1 from:06/30/2012 till:end text:SEC
bar:10 color:FMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:10 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:06/30/2025 text:Texas
bar:10 color:OtherC1 from:07/01/2024 till:end text:SEC
bar:11 color:FMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:11 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Baylor
bar:12 color:FMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:12 color:Full from:08/31/1996 till:end text:Texas Tech
bar:13 color:SMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:08/31/1996 till:06/30/2001 text:WAC
bar:13 color:OtherC1 from:07/01/2001 till:06/30/2005 text:C-USA
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:07/01/2005 till:06/30/2012 text:Mountain West
bar:13 color:Full from:07/01/2012 till:end text:TCU
bar:14 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:06/30/2012 text:Big East
bar:14 color:Full from:07/01/2012 till:end text:West Virginia
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:01/03/1999 text:WAC
bar:15 color:OtherC2 from:01/04/1999 till:06/30/2011 text:Mountain West
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:07/01/2011 till:06/30/2023 text:WCC
bar:15 color:Full from:07/01/2023 till:end text:BYU
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:06/30/2005 text: C-USA
bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:07/01/2005 till:06/30/2012 text:Big East
bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:07/01/2012 till:06/30/2023 text: The American
bar:16 color:Full from:07/01/2023 till:end text:Cincinnati
bar:17 color:SMSWC from:01/01/1995 till:08/31/1996 text:SWC
bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:08/31/1996 till:06/30/2012 text: C-USA
bar:17 color:OtherC1 from:07/01/2012 till:06/30/2023 text: The American
bar:17 color:Full from:07/01/2023 till:end text:Houston
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bar:18 color:Full from:07/01/2023 till:end text:UCF
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:06/30/2011 text:Pac-10
bar:19 color:PAC12 from:07/01/2011 till:08/01/2024 text:Pac-12
bar:19 color:Full from:08/02/2024 till:end text:Arizona
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:06/30/2011 text:Pac-10
bar:20 color:PAC12 from:07/01/2011 till:08/01/2024 text:Pac-12
bar:20 color:Full from:08/02/2024 till:end text:Arizona State
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:01/01/1995 till:01/03/1999 text:WAC
bar:21 color:OtherC2 from:01/04/1999 till:06/30/2011 text:Mountain West
bar:21 color:PAC12 from:07/01/2011 till:08/01/2024 text:Pac-12
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text:^"Big 12 Conference membership history"
  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following six options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#







Earlier membership timelines

Founding members of the Big 12 from the Big Eight:
Founding members of the Big 12 from the Southwest Conference:
Current members with the longest continuous association with the Big Eight Conference / Southwest Conference / Big 12 Conference.
InstitutionStarted Current
Association In		Continuous
Years		Note
Kansas1907
Iowa State1908
Kansas State1913
Baylor1915
Texas Tech1956
Oklahoma State1958Previously: 10 years in the Southwest Conference ;
3 years in the MVIAA
TCU2012Previously: 73 years in the Southwest Conference
West Virginia2012
BYU2023
UCF2023
Cincinnati2023
Houston2023Previously: 20 years in the Southwest Conference
Arizona2024
Arizona State2024
Utah2024
Colorado2024Previously: 49 years in the Big Eight Conference
and 15 years in the Big 12 Conference