“I applaud the efforts of our presidents, chancellors and athletics directors of our continuing members to expeditiously consider and take this action. “Today’s vote solidifies the long-term trajectory of the Big 12 Conference,” stated Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. This process moved really quick and by midweek of this week, the four schools had all petitioned the Big 12 for membership in the conference. The league’s commissioner Bob Bowlsby went on a personal search to find the four best candidates and had the advantage of the information gained in the conference’s search for new members in 2016.īowlsby did a quick tour of the schools and their campuses and met with his athletic directors and Presidents in the days after.

With the other four power five conferences choosing not to expand further with conference realignment opened by the move of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, either frozen by threat of legal action (SEC) or by choice as members of the new Alliance (ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12) the Big 12 had no choice but to expand. on Friday morning.Īll four of the schools voted in by the Big 12 had meetings scheduled of their board of trustees or board of regents to officially accept the invitation by the Big 12. The Big 12 was looking to add members for the future after Texas and Oklahoma announced their future departure from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference in July. The meeting of the school presidents and chancellors was held by Zoom at 8 a.m. STILLWATER – The Presidents and Chancellors of the Big 12 Conference’s eight remaining universities voted unanimously on Friday to invite and accept Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio and University of Houston in Houston, Texas as future members of the conference.

Big 12 conference adds four new members