Conference
Big 12
The conference most reshaped by realignment, and the one where a title race can turn on any given Saturday.
Members
Big 12 programs
Big 12 · Stillwater, Oklahoma · 1-11 in 2025
Big 12 · Manhattan, Kansas · 6-6 in 2025
Big 12 · Salt Lake City, Utah · 11-2 in 2025
Big 12 · Tempe, Arizona · 8-5 in 2025
Big 12 · Fort Worth, Texas · 9-4 in 2025
Big 12 · Tucson, Arizona · 9-4 in 2025
Big 12 · Waco, Texas · 5-7 in 2025
Big 12 · Provo, Utah · 12-2 in 2025
Big 12 · Cincinnati, Ohio · 7-6 in 2025
Big 12 · Boulder, Colorado · 3-9 in 2025
Big 12 · Houston, Texas · 10-3 in 2025
Big 12 · Ames, Iowa · 8-4 in 2025
Big 12 · Lawrence, Kansas · 5-7 in 2025
Big 12 · Lubbock, Texas · 12-2 in 2025
Big 12 · Orlando, Florida · 5-7 in 2025
Big 12 · Morgantown, West Virginia · 4-8 in 2025
Big 12
Rebuilt from the outside in
No league has changed more. The Big 12 lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and rebuilt by adding programs from the dissolved Pac-12 and elsewhere, including Utah and Arizona State.
The result is a conference with no obvious hierarchy. Without two dominant brands at the top, the title race is genuinely unpredictable in a way the SEC and Big Ten races usually are not.
Big 12
What that means competitively
A wide-open league is good television and a difficult playoff argument: without a marquee win, a Big 12 champion can find itself ranked below two-loss teams from deeper conferences.
It also means the week-to-week schedule offers fewer guaranteed wins than it once did, since the gap between the best and worst teams in the league is narrower.
FAQ
Big 12 questions
Which teams are in the Big 12?
Programs covered here include Utah, Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Kansas State, alongside the conference's other members.
Why did the Big 12 change so much?
It lost Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and rebuilt by adding programs from the dissolved Pac-12 and elsewhere. Media rights drove both sides of that change.
Is the Big 12 easier than the SEC or Big Ten?
It has fewer national-level programs at the top, which usually makes the title race more open. It also means the champion often has a harder playoff argument without a marquee win.
Which Big 12 teams came from the Pac-12?
Utah and Arizona State among the programs covered here, part of a broader move after the Pac-12 dissolved.