Big 12 Conference

University of Texas at Austin playing football against Iowa State University

The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference that is part of the NCAA's Division I. It started when the Big 8 Conference joined together with four colleges from Texas that had been part of the Southwest Conference, and the first games in the Big 12 Conference were played in 1996.

Members

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined Big 12
Baylor University	Waco, Texas	1845	Private	Bears	1996
Brigham Young University (BYU)	Provo, Utah	1875	Private	Cougars	2023
Cincinnati University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	1819	Public	Bearcats	2023
Houston University of Houston	Houston, Texas	1927	Public	Cougars	2023
Iowa State University	Ames, Iowa	1858	Public	Cyclones	1996
Kansas University of Kansas	Lawrence, Kansas	1865	Public	Jayhawks	1996
Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	1863	Public	Wildcats	1996
Oklahoma University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	1890	Public	Sooners	1996
Oklahoma State University–Stillwater	Stillwater, Oklahoma	1890	Public	Cowboys & Cowgirls	1996
TCU Texas Christian University (TCU)	Fort Worth, Texas	1873	Private	Horned Frogs	2012
Texas University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	1883	Public	Longhorns	1996
Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Texas	1923	Public	Red Raiders & Lady Raiders^[a]	1996
UCF University of Central Florida (UCF)	Orlando, Florida^[b]	1963	Public	Knights	2023
West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	1867	Public	Mountaineers	2012

↑ Texas Tech uses the "Lady Raiders" nickname for women's teams in sports that are sponsored for both sexes. Sports sponsored for only one sex, whether men's or women's, use "Red Raiders".
↑ The UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address but actually lies in unincorporated Orange County.

Future members

Four schools will join the Big 12 in 2024. One of these is Colorado, a founding Big 12 member that left for the Pac-12 Conference in 2011.

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joining Big 12
Arizona University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	1885	Public	Wildcats	2024
Arizona State University	Tempe, Arizona^[a]	1885	Public	Sun Devils	2024
Colorado University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	1876	Public	Buffaloes	2024
Utah University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	1850	Public	Utes	2024

↑ Tempe is home to the main campus. Arizona State has three other physical campuses in the Phoenix area.

Associate members

The Big 12 also has 13 "associate members", all of which play one sport in the conference.

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined Big 12	Big 12 Sport	Main Conference
Air Force United States Air Force Academy	USAF Academy, Colorado^[a]	1954	Federal	Falcons	2015	Wrestling	Mountain West
Alabama University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	1831	Public	Crimson Tide	2014	Women's rowing	SEC
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	1950	Private	Lancers	2022	Wrestling	WAC
Denver University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	1864	Private	Pioneers	2015	Women's gymnastics	Summit League
Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)	Fresno, California	1911	Public	Bulldogs	2019	Equestrian	Mountain West
Missouri University of Missouri	Columbia, Missouri	1839	Public	Tigers	2021	Wrestling	SEC
North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	1890	Public	Bison	2015	Wrestling	Summit League
Northern Colorado University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, Colorado	1889	Public	Bears	2015	Wrestling	Big Sky
Northern Iowa University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls, Iowa	1876	Public	Panthers	2017	Wrestling	Missouri Valley
South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	1881	Public	Jackrabbits	2015	Wrestling	Summit League
Tennessee University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	1794	Public	Volunteers	2014	Women's rowing	SEC
Utah Valley University	Orem, Utah	1941	Public	Wolverines	2015	Wrestling	WAC
Wyoming University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	1886	Public	Cowboys	2015	Wrestling	Mountain West

↑ Basically all of the Academy grounds lie outside the city limits of Colorado Springs. The U.S. Census Bureau considers the Academy to be the census-designated place of "Air Force Academy", and the U.S. Postal Service calls it "USAF Academy".

Former members

Four schools have left the Big 12 since it was formed. Missouri would return to the Big 12 in 2021 as a wrestling-only member, and Colorado will return in 2024 as a full member.

School	Location	Founded	Type	Nickname	Joined Big 12	Left Big 12	Current Conference
Colorado University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	1876	Public	Buffaloes	1996	2011	Pac-12
Missouri University of Missouri	Columbia, Missouri	1839	Public	Tigers	1996	2012	SEC
Nebraska University of Nebraska–Lincoln	Lincoln, Nebraska	1869	Public	Cornhuskers	1996	2011	Big Ten
Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	1876	Public	Aggies	1996	2012	SEC

References

"Big 12 Conference". big12sports.com. Retrieved 2023-07-25.

[1] Texas Tech uses the "Lady Raiders" nickname for women's teams in sports that are sponsored for both sexes. Sports sponsored for only one sex, whether men's or women's, use "Red Raiders".

[2] The UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address but actually lies in unincorporated Orange County.

[3] Tempe is home to the main campus. Arizona State has three other physical campuses in the Phoenix area.

[4] Basically all of the Academy grounds lie outside the city limits of Colorado Springs. The U.S. Census Bureau considers the Academy to be the census-designated place of "Air Force Academy", and the U.S. Postal Service calls it "USAF Academy".

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