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Report: Big 12 could soon finalize expansion with 4 new teams
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The Big 12 is reportedly about to become a 12-team league again.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger and Pat Forde, the Big 12 could finalize expansion plans with BYU, Central Florida, Houston and Cincinnati by next Friday.
Oklahoma and Texas are currently set to leave for the SEC by 2025 at the latest, but a move could happen earlier. The four new additions are expected to join the Big 12 for the 2023 college football season, according to SI’s report.
Per the report, the Big 12 has the eight votes required to approve expansion. It’s possible the four schools would play a season or two with Oklahoma and Texas, which would — temporarily — make the Big 12 a 14-team league.
This would likely set off another run of realignment in the Group of 5 conferences as The AAC would need to replace UCF, Houston and Cincinnati.
It’s unclear how — or if — these additions would change the timeline of when Oklahoma and Texas officially move to the SEC.
The Pac-12 has publicly said they will not be pursuing expansion. The Big Ten hasn’t commented on that matter specifically, but is not currently expected to expand in the near future.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.