As the college football landscape alters almost annually in the recent rounds of realignment, it can be difficult to keep track of which team belongs to which conference. The Big 12 Conference has been at the forefront of such movement, with two departing programs causing a tectonic shift in the makeup.
Which college football teams does the Big 12 Conference currently consist of?
Which Teams Are in the Big 12 Conference?
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Arizona Wildcats
- Baylor Bears
- BYU Cougars
- Cincinnati Bearcats
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Houston Cougars
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Kansas State Wildcats
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- TCU Horned Frogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- UCF Knights
- Utah Utes
- West Virginia Mountaineers
The Big 12 Conference currently consists of 16 teams after expanding ahead of the 2024 college football season. Following the 2021 announcement that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns would depart for the SEC — a move that became official on July 1, 2024 — the conference added two sets of four teams to help boost their numbers and secure their future in recent years.
Ahead of the 2023 college football season, the Cincinnati Bearcats, Houston Cougars, BYU Cougars, and the UCF Knights joined the Big 12 Conference from the Group of Five and FBS Independent levels of college football. In 2024, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, and Utah Utes fled the Pac-12 to join the ranks of the Big 12.
The Big 12 was originally formed in 1994 (play began in 1996), consisting of the eight former members of the Big Eight Conference and Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Texas Tech, who found their way to the conference via the Southwest.
Only six of the Big 12’s founding programs have maintained a consistent presence in the conference: Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Baylor, and Texas Tech. Colorado returns to the Big 12 for the 2024 college football season, having departed for the Pac-12 just over 10 years ago.
