Big 12 Conference officially grows to 16 with announcement of 3 more Pac-12 schools

Welcome to the Big 12, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.

At about 8:20 p.m. Central, the Big 12 officially announced what some have viewed as a death blow to the Pac-12. Already with Colorado joining as a new member, the Big 12 is adding Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the conference, which will now sit at 16 teams starting in 2024-25.

The Big 12 Board of Directors unanimously voted to admit the three schools, the Big 12 announced in a release Friday evening.

“We are thrilled to welcome Arizona, Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12,” conference commissioner Brett Yormark said in a release. “The Conference is gaining three premier institutions both academically and athletically, and the entire Big 12 looks forward to working alongside their presidents, athletic directors, student-athletes and administrators.”

For the upcoming season, 2023-24, the conference will consist of 14 schools, with BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston joining and Oklahoma and Texas finishing out their time as Big 12 members.

Next season, 2024-25, the Big 12 will have a different look. OU and Texas will be off to the SEC, and the four new Pac-12 schools will be in.

The full list:

Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah and West Virginia.

The Big 12 has had some fun during the recent round of conference realignment, including when Colorado was announced to be coming back: Yormark sent out a two-word release mirroring Michael Jordan’s announcement when he returned to the NBA after a couple years away in the 1990s.

“They’re back,” the release said.

Now, the conference appears on much sounder footing after there was more up in the air with the initial news of Texas and Oklahoma departing.

Notably, KU basketball coach Bill Self hinted at the possibility of adding more schools after the Big 12 brought in Colorado.

“From a Big 12-selfish standpoint, I like it because Colorado brings others,” Self, Kansas’ 21st-year men’s basketball coach, said last week. “I think that if we are going to get to 16 (teams in the Big 12), I think what has transpired certainly puts us in position to be the third most powerful league in the country. I think that can actually occur.”

At the time, Self said he wasn’t sure what the end result would be, but that: “I do think that Colorado puts us in certainly a better position with the Pac-12 than we were before.”

The Pac-12 also released a statement expressing its disappointment at the schools departing for a new conference.

“Today’s news is incredibly disappointing for student-athletes, fans, alumni and staff of the Pac-12 who cherish the over 100-year history, tradition and rivalries of the Conference of Champions,” the release read. “We remain focused on securing the best possible future for each of our member universities.”

This story was originally published August 4, 2023 at 8:52 PM.