K-State and Iowa State want to remain annual Big 12 rivals, but ‘it’s complicated’
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- K-State and Iowa State continued their rivalry overseas before 22,000 fans in Ireland.
- Big 12 expansion to 16 teams will halt the annual Farmageddon matchup by 2027.
- Officials debate protecting multiple rivalries to maintain tradition and fan interest.
Kansas State and Iowa State added another exciting chapter to their Farmageddon football rivalry over the weekend in Ireland as approximately 11,000 fans from each fan base traveled overseas to watch the Cyclones defeat the Wildcats 24-21 on Saturday at Aviva Stadium.
After flying thousands of miles, everyone in attendance was pumped for kickoff. That created one of the loudest and most surreal environments these teams have ever played in before.
That much was to be expected for a pair of proud Big 12 teams that have been playing annually since 1917. They have one of the longest non-interrupted rivalries in all of college football.
“It’s been a great rivalry,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “Rivalries matter and our TV partners like those rivalries ... This is a classic.”
And yet, the Wildcats and the Cyclones won’t play at all in 2027. Why? Blame Big 12 expansion. Now that the conference is home to 16 teams, it simply isn’t possible for every football rivalry to played annually.
The Sunflower Showdown will continue to happen every year, but other popular rivalry matchups for K-State against teams like Iowa State and Oklahoma State are no longer protected by the league office.
“It’s complicated,” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said, “because you can’t give K-State two protected rivalries and everybody else only has one. There’s going to be a year where that’s going to be a huge advantage or a huge disadvantage. You’ve got to keep things equitable.
“So it’s not just a decision between K State and Iowa State. For us to agree to do that, then everybody else is going to have to adjust accordingly. And there’s 16 votes, not two.”
That is a reasonable explanation, but it won’t appease fans on both sides who just want to keep watching their favorite teams play each other — who would rather see a yearly KSU-ISU game than games against new Big 12 opponents like UCF and Houston.
K-State athletic director Gene Taylor would like to figure out a way for teams with more than one traditional rivalry to keep playing extra games on an annual basis.
Taylor said he would prefer to play KU and Iowa State every single year. And it sounds like he will try to make it happen.
“I think there’s a way to try to figure that out,” Taylor said. “Right now, we just have a protected rivalry with KU. When we get back to talk things as a conference I think that’s one conversation we should have. Can we protect more than just the one rivalry? I would certainly be in favor of that.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "K-State and Iowa State want to remain annual Big 12 rivals, but ‘it’s complicated’."