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

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameJoined
Big 12
University of ArizonaTucson, Arizona1885PublicWildcats2024
Arizona State UniversityTempe, Arizona1885PublicSun Devils2024
Baylor UniversityWaco, Texas1845PrivateBears1996
Brigham Young University (BYU)Provo, Utah1875PrivateCougars2023
University of CincinnatiCincinnati, Ohio1819PublicBearcats2023
University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, Colorado1876PublicBuffaloes1996; 2024
University of HoustonHouston, Texas1927PublicCougars2023
Iowa State UniversityAmes, Iowa1858PublicCyclones1996
University of KansasLawrence, Kansas1865PublicJayhawks1996
Kansas State UniversityManhattan, Kansas1863PublicWildcats1996
Oklahoma State University–StillwaterStillwater, Oklahoma1890PublicCowboys &
Cowgirls		1996
Texas Christian University (TCU)Fort Worth, Texas1873PrivateHorned Frogs2012
Texas Tech UniversityLubbock, Texas1923PublicRed Raiders & Lady Raiders1996
University of Central Florida (UCF)Orlando, Florida1963PublicKnights2023
University of UtahSalt Lake City, Utah1850PublicUtes2024
West Virginia UniversityMorgantown, West Virginia1867PublicMountaineers2012
  1. ↑ Tempe is home to the main campus. Arizona State has three other physical campuses in the Phoenix area.
  2. ↑ Colorado left the Big 12 for the Pac-12 Conference in 2011 and returned in 2024.
  3. ↑ Texas Tech uses the "Lady Raiders" nickname for women's basketball. All other sports, whether men's or women's, use "Red Raiders".
  4. ↑ The UCF campus has an Orlando mailing address but actually lies in unincorporated Orange County.

Associate members

The Big 12 also has 15 "associate members", all of which play one sport in the conference.

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameJoined
Big 12		Big 12 SportMain Conference
United States Air Force AcademyUSAF Academy, Colorado1954FederalFalcons2015Men's wrestlingMountain West
Boise State UniversityBoise, Idaho1932PublicBroncos2025Beach volleyballPac-12
University of DenverDenver, Colorado1864PrivatePioneers2015Women's gymnasticsWest Coast
University of FloridaGainesville, Florida1853PublicGators2024Women's lacrosseSEC
Florida State University}}Tallahassee, Florida1851PublicSeminoles2025Beach volleyballACC
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State)Fresno, California1911PublicBulldogs2019EquestrianPac-12
University of MissouriColumbia, Missouri1839PublicTigers2021Men's wrestlingSEC
University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, Iowa1876PublicPanthers2017Men's wrestlingMissouri Valley
University of OklahomaNorman, Oklahoma1890PublicSooners2024Men's wrestlingSEC
Old Dominion UniversityNorfolk, Virginia1930PublicMonarchs2024Women's rowingSun Belt
San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, California1897PublicAztecs2024Women's lacrossePac-12
University of South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina1801PublicGamecocks2024Beach volleyballSEC
University of TulsaTulsa, Oklahoma1894PrivateGolden Hurricane2024Women's rowingAmerican
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)Davis, California1908PublicAggies2024Women's lacrosseMountain West
Utah Valley UniversityOrem, Utah1941PublicWolverines2015Men's wrestlingBig West
University of WyomingLaramie, Wyoming1886PublicCowboys2015Men's wrestlingMountain West
  1. ↑ 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".
  2. ↑ Oklahoma had been a full member of the Big 12 from the conference's start of play in 1996 until leaving for the SEC in 2024.
  3. ↑ Old Dominion had been a women's rowing associate from 2014 to 2018.

Former members

Six schools have left the Big 12 since it was formed, but one has since returned to the conference. Missouri would return to the Big 12 in 2021 as a wrestling-only member, and Oklahoma remained a wrestling-only member after otherwise leaving for the Southeastern Conference. Colorado left in 2011 but returned in 2024.

SchoolLocationFoundedTypeNicknameJoined
Big 12		Left
Big 12		Current Conference
University of MissouriColumbia, Missouri1839PublicTigers19962012SEC
University of Nebraska–LincolnLincoln, Nebraska1869PublicCornhuskers19962011Big Ten
University of OklahomaNorman, Oklahoma1890PublicSooners19962024SEC
University of Texas at AustinAustin, Texas1883PublicLonghorns19962024SEC
Texas A&M UniversityCollege Station, Texas1876PublicAggies19962012SEC

References