Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark continues to sell the Power 4 conference with the tagline, “We’re open for business.”
At the time Oklahoma and Texas announced they were leaving the conference for the SEC in 2021, this sentiment hardly seemed possible.
Yormark, however, has added eight schools in the last two seasons. Now the Big 12 has 16 teams with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah from the Pac-12.
That will give the Big 12 a compelling race considering five schools – No. 12 Utah, No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 18 Kansas State, No. 21 Arizona and No. 22 Kansas – are a mixed bag of ranked teams. Parity should reign supreme in an exciting conference that continues to survive and thrive. Who knew that was possible with the Longhorns and Sooners out the door?
What does the Big 12 look like now? A view of the new-look conference here
How many teams are in the Big 12 now?
The Big 12 will have 16 teams in 2024 with incoming schools Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah joining the conference from the Pac-12 and Oklahoma and Texas leaving for the SEC. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joined the conference in 2023.
Big 12 teams 2024
A look at the 16 schools in the Big 12 (in alphabetical order):
| Arizona | Kansas |
| Arizona State | Kansas State |
| Baylor | Oklahoma State |
| BYU | TCU |
| Colorado | Texas Tech |
| Cincinnati | UCF |
| Houston | Utah |
| Iowa State | West Virginia |
Will the Big 12 have divisions in 2024?
The Big 12 will not have divisions despite the additions of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah. Big 12 teams will play nine conference games, and the top two seeds will play in the Big 12 conference championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 7.
The Big 12 brought back the conference championship game in 2017 and the higher seed is 4-3 in those games.
Why are Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah in the Big 12?
On July 27, 2023, Colorado announced it was returning to the Big 12. The Buffaloes were an original member of the conference, and the Buffaloes will receive approximately $31.7 in television revenue as a result of the move to the conference.
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The Buffaloes’ move preceded the demise of the Pac-12. Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joined the Big 12 on Aug. 4 as part of a massive realignment shift within the sport. The “Corner Schools” increased the Big 12 membership to 16 and gave it a footprint that extends nearly coast to coast.
Big 12 expansion history
The Big 12 was formed in 1996 as a combination of the Big Eight and Southwest Conference, and half of the original schools are still in the conference.
That list includes Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The other six schools left, including Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC in 2012, Nebraska to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-12 in 2011. Texas and Oklahoma begin play in the SEC this season.
The Big 12 has added 10 schools since 2012.
TCU and West Virginia joined the conference in 2012, and the Horned Frogs reached the College Football Playoff championship game in 2022. They were the only Big 12 team to reach the CFP championship game in the four-team playoff era. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joined the Big 12 last season. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah followed in 2024 to create a 16-team conference.
