The Big 12 Conference will grow to 16-teams for the 2024 season after officially welcoming Arizona, Arizona State and Utah Friday night.
The three schools join Colorado as the four new additions to the league with each of the additions coming in the last week as part of a plan by commissioner Brett Yormark to expand the footprint of the Big 12.
The three additions complete what had been previously described as the “four-corner,” programs in the Pac-12 and help push the Big 12 into all four time zones.
"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."
Like the Buffaloes, the other three new additions are expected to join the Big 12 with a full media share according to various reports.
It’s a continuation of positive moves for the Big 12 since the shocking departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in the summer of 2021. That left the conference with only eight teams but since that time, the conference first added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and Central Florida to expand the number of teams to 12.
After hiring Yormark, the first-year commissioner was able to jump the line over the Pac-12 and extend the league’s media rights package with linear giants ESPN and Fox. The deal which will run until 2031 will pay each team in the conference almost $32 million and provide maximum exposure.
Yormark also was able to negotiate an early buyout for the Longhorns and Sooners before adding Colorado at the end of July to continue the shift of momentum for a league that was once thought to be on its last legs.
Arizona was first to apply for membership and be approved into the league Thursday night but an official announcement was not made until the other two completed the same process Friday prior to being officially added.
Arizona and Arizona State had been members of the Pac-12 since 1978 but momentum had built toward a move in recent weeks. The Big 12 was able to provide stability in the form of a media rights deal that will go until 2031 as well as maximum exposure on linear partners.
The Wildcats showed the most interest at first but with the Pac-12 unable to present a suitable media rights package to counter each of the three looked toward the Big 12 as a home. The Pac-12 was said to have a deal within the $20-25 million range that was primarily on the streaming service Apple TV.
Utah, which joined the Pac-12 in 2011, has experienced success in the jump to the power five after moving over from the Mountain West. The Utes have won the past two conference titles in football.
Off the field, all three schools are members of the Association of American Universities.
The Big 12 now consists of West Virginia, TCU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Kansas, Iowa State, Utah, Colorado, Arizona State, Arizona, Cincinnati, BYU, UCF and Houston.
The league now spans 10 different states and features a number of major media markets.
----------
• Talk about it with West Virginia fans on The Blue Lot.
• SUBSCRIBE today to stay up on the latest on Mountaineer sports and recruiting.
• Get all of our WVU videos on YouTube by subscribing to the WVSports.com Channel
• Follow us on Twitter: @WVSportsDotCom, @rivalskeenan
•Like us on Facebook
