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Those conversations had been happening since late 2021, and the PAC-12 was blindsided, according to reports. A report came from the Mercury News in the Bay Area that USC and UCLA, members of the PAC-12 that had been a conference since 1915, were expected to move to the Big Ten.
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With the subsequent move to add Texas and Oklahoma, the SEC had solidified itself as the top conference in the country, became the largest Power 5 conference membership-wise with 16 schools, and could increase that TV deal with the new additions.įollowing the announcements of the new Big 12, college football realignment stabilized until early this summer. In late 2020, the SEC announced a new TV deal that would be the richest the sport had ever seen to that point, valued at $3B. “It was an incredible legacy for him to leave on his way out, in a real time of crisis … It’s not gonna be what it used to be (with Texas and Oklahoma), but I think as well as you could’ve asked for is how it’s gonna turn out.” “He (Bowlsby) galvanized everyone enough to get support to add clearly the four best teams that were out there,” Kurtz said. Within six weeks of finding out the news about Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 had solidified the invitees who would be part of “the NEW Big 12”: BYU, Cincinnati, UCF and Houston. 1, 2022, worked quickly to come up with a solution. “It was a really helpless feeling … being a fan of a school that was left behind, the remaining 8 … Just to be honest, for a week or two I thought, ‘This is gonna be it.’”īig 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who retired Aug. “It felt like it was all crumbling, felt like it was all crashing down for the conference,” said Kurtz, who now has a YouTube channel covering Kansas State, the Big 12 and realignment. John Kurtz, a long-time Kansas State (Big 12 school) fan who covered the Wildcats while as a student and for a time after graduation, shared his experience after finding out the news about Texas and Oklahoma. It was reported that the two had been talking with the SEC for quite some time and the Big 12 was blindsided by this news.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Texas and Oklahoma, long-time members of the Big 12, were working out the details to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC conference. However, that all began to change on Ja day that rocked the college football world. The Big 12 had been at 10 schools since the last moves within the conference back in 2011, and though there were discussions in 2016 about expansion that could potentially include BYU, they ultimately decided to stay put.

There was much that needed to change in the college football world for this move to be possible. “Membership in the Big 12 … gives us an opportunity to compete at the highest levels both on and off the field.” “This is an historic day for BYU Athletics - and the entire University,” he said. In 2023, after spending the last 12 seasons playing independently, BYU will join the Big 12, one of five “Power 5” leagues that reside at the top of college football in terms of prestige and monetary distributions.īYU President Kevin J Worthen talked about the significance of BYU joining this new conference at a press conference announcing the move in September 2021. It has been a part of many conferences and made the decision 11 years ago to be independent and play games all over the country. Like college football, BYU has evolved in its mission to compete with the very best in the sport. This evolution will continue through several structural changes happening within the next three to four years. (BYU Photo)Įxactly 100 years ago this season, Brigham Young University’s football team began playing in its first school-documented college football season, competing in five games.Ĭollege football, which began in 1869, is a sport that has evolved in a variety of ways, including the number of games, stadiums and style of play. BYU football players come out onto the field prior to the football game against Baylor Sept.
