The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's,[2] with two women's sports to be added in the 2024–25 school year.[3] The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma.
From 2011 through 2016, the football champion was decided by regular-season play. Previously divisional titles were awarded based on regular-season conference results, with the teams with the best conference records from the North and South playing in the Big 12 Championship Game for the Big 12 title. Following changes in NCAA rules, the Big 12 will reinstate its football championship game in 2017, with the top two teams in the final conference standings advancing to the title game. Baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis titles are awarded in both regular-season and tournament play. Cross country, golf, gymnastics, rowing, swimming and diving, track and field, and wrestling titles are awarded during an annual meet of participating teams. The volleyball and softball titles are awarded based on regular-season play. Softball previously held a post season tournament.
Membership
Current membership
All-Time Big 12 Championships by university through November 22, 2023. After the 2023–24 school year, Oklahoma and Texas will leave the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC); Colorado will return to the Big 12 after 13 years in the Pac-12 Conference; and Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will also join from the Pac-12.
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor baseball except Iowa State, which dropped the sport after the 2001 season, and Colorado, which never sponsored baseball during its first conference tenure and still does not sponsor the sport.[5]
Beach volleyball, organized by the NCAA only for women, is the first of two women's sports to be added in 2024–25. Current full member TCU will be joined by incoming members Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah. The Big 12 plans to add other schools in that sport to meet the sponsorship level required for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but gave no timetable for any additions.[3]
Men's Cross Country
All current and future Big 12 schools sponsor men's cross country except UCF, Utah, and West Virginia.
Four schools participate in equestrian—full members Baylor, Oklahoma State, and TCU, plus associate member Fresno State. Kansas State discontinued its equestrian team after the 2016 season.
This list reflects the official Big 12 totals by including division championships (1996–2010), conference championships won through a postseason championship game (1996–2010 and 2017–present), and conference championships won through the regular season (2011–2016).[10] The Big 12 counts shared division championships as a full championship for each school, regardless of what school went on to play in the Big 12 title game.
Season
North Division Representative
South Division Representative
Big 12 Champion
Big 12 Championship Game (1996–2010, 2017–present)
Note: While the team playing in the championship game from 1996 through 2010 was popularly regarded as the divisional champion, the Big 12 did officially recognize co-champions in football, just like it does in other sports. As a result, the following teams are also recognized as champions by the Big 12: North Co-Champions: Kansas State (1999), Nebraska (2000, 2001, 2008), Iowa State (2004), Kansas (2007), Missouri (2010) South Co-Champions: Texas (2002, 2008), Texas Tech (2008), Oklahoma State (2010), Texas A&M (2010) [11]
2011–2016
When Nebraska and Colorado left the conference after the 2010 season, it left the conference with only 10 members. The conference did not replace the two teams and therefore eliminated the Big 12 Championship game. Under the new format, which remained in place through the 2016 season, every team played each other and the team with the best conference record won the Big 12 title. In the event of a tie between two teams or more teams for the best conference record, then they were determined co-champions. Through the 2013 season, the winner of the head-to-head game earned the BCS berth in the Fiesta Bowl.[12] This was later changed and the league recognized a tie-breaker starting in 2015.[12] The change was made after the B12 was left out of the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff in 2014. The B12 presented TCU and Baylor as co-champs to the College Football Committee in 2014, despite Baylor having the head-to-head win over TCU. The move was seen as a play by the conference to get two teams invited into the new format, which backfired, leaving both teams out.[13]
Following a 2016 change in NCAA rules that allowed FBS conferences to stage championship games regardless of their membership numbers, the Big 12 announced it would reinstate its championship game starting in 2017. The conference continued to play a full round-robin conference schedule until it expanded to 14 members in 2023 (with a further expansion to 16 coming in 2024). The top two teams at the end of the conference season (with tiebreakers used as needed) play in the championship game.
With the launch of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014, which coincided with a reworking of bowl tie-ins, the Big 12 tie to the Fiesta Bowl ended.
The Big 12's primary bowl partner is now the Sugar Bowl, In years when that game is not a CFP semifinal, the top teams from the Big 12 and SEC, as chosen by the CFP selection committee, will play one another. If either conference provides a team for the CFP semifinals, the top non-playoff team from that conference will go to the Sugar Bowl.
When the Sugar Bowl is hosting a semifinal, the top Big 12 team not involved in the playoff will receive a berth in either the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, or Peach Bowl.
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor men's golf. The most recent school to add the sport while a Big 12 member is West Virginia, which added that sport starting in the 2015–16 season.
The Big 12 currently has five women's gymnastics members—full members BYU, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and West Virginia, plus Denver, an affiliate since the 2015–16 season. After the 2023–24 season, Oklahoma will leave for the SEC, while Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will join.
Season
Champion
Women's Gymnastics titles by season
1997
Nebraska
1998
Nebraska
1999
Nebraska
2000
Iowa State
2001
Nebraska
2002
Nebraska
2003
Nebraska
2004
Oklahoma
2005
Nebraska
2006
Iowa State
2007
Nebraska
2008
Oklahoma
2009
Oklahoma
2010
Oklahoma
2011
Nebraska
2012
Oklahoma
2013
Oklahoma
2014
Oklahoma
2015
Oklahoma
2016
Oklahoma
2017
Oklahoma
2018
Oklahoma
2019
Oklahoma
2020
2021
Denver
2022
Oklahoma
2023
Oklahoma
Women's Gymnastics titles by school
Team
Championships
BYU
0
Denver
1
Iowa State
2
Missouri
0
Nebraska
9
Oklahoma
14
West Virginia
0
Women's lacrosse
Women's lacrosse is the other women's sport to be added in 2024–25. At the time of announcement, Cincinnati was the only full member that sponsored the sport, joined by incoming members Arizona State and Colorado. As in the case of beach volleyball, the other new sport for 2024–25, the Big 12 planned to add other schools to meet the sponsorship level required for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but gave no timetable for any additions.[3] In February 2024, the conference announced the arrival of three associates for its first women's lacrosse season—Florida, San Diego State, and UC Davis.[16]
Rowing
In the 2014–15 school year, rowing was the only Big 12 sport with affiliate members. Before that school year, the Big 12 and Conference USA (CUSA) had a rowing alliance in which all Big 12 rowing schools would participate in the CUSA championship as well as the Big 12 championship. CUSA dropped rowing after the departure of most of its rowing members for other conferences. The Big 12 then took in the three remaining schools from the CUSA rowing league (Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee) as single-sport affiliates. Old Dominion left Big 12 rowing after the 2017–18 season to join the American Athletic Conference, but will return to Big 12 women's rowing in 2024–25. Full American Conference member Tulsa will also join for women's rowing in 2024–25.[16]
Since 2015–16, the Big 12 has also had affiliates in women's gymnastics and wrestling.
The departure of Oklahoma and Texas in 2024 for the SEC would allow that conference to begin sponsoring women's rowing. Both current affiliates (Alabama and Tennessee) are charter SEC members, and SEC bylaws allow it to hold a championship in any sport sponsored by four schools. The SEC has not yet announced whether it will sponsor the sport.
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor women's soccer. The most recent to add the sport was Kansas State, which announced in 2015 that it was adding the sport. The Wildcats played their first season in 2016 as an independent, and began playing a full Big 12 schedule in 2017.[17]
Ten Big 12 schools currently sponsor softball; Cincinnati, Kansas State, TCU, and West Virginia do not. Of the four schools joining in 2024, the only one that does not sponsor softball is returning member Colorado, which never sponsored softball during its first conference tenure.
↑ The 2019 conference tournament was canceled due to rain and resulting poor field conditions before pool play could be completed. Regular-season champion Oklahoma received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[18]
Five Big 12 schools currently sponsor men's swimming & diving: BYU, Cincinnati, TCU, Texas, and West Virginia. The Big 12 men's swimming membership will increase to seven in 2024 with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah, plus the departure of Texas.
Season
Champion
Men's Swim & Dive titles by season
1997
Texas
1998
Texas
1999
Texas
2000
Texas
2001
Texas
2002
Texas
2003
Texas
2004
Texas
2005
Texas
2006
Texas
2007
Texas
2008
Texas
2009
Texas
2010
Texas
2011
Texas
2012
Texas
2013
Texas
2014
Texas
2015
Texas
2016
Texas
2017
Texas
2018
Texas
2019
Texas
2020
Texas
2021
Texas
2022
Texas
2023
Texas
Men's Swim & Dive titles by school
Team
Championships
BYU
0
Cincinnati
0
Missouri
0
TCU
0
Texas
27
Texas A&M
0
West Virginia
0
Women's Swimming & Diving
Eight Big 12 schools currently sponsor women's swimming and diving: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, TCU, Texas, and West Virginia. Texas will leave after the 2023–24 season to join the SEC, but the number of teams will increase to 10 with the arrival of Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah.
Season
Champion
Women's Swim & Dive titles by season
1997
Nebraska
1998
Nebraska
1999
Texas
2000
Texas
2001
Texas
2002
Texas
2003
Texas
2004
Texas
2005
Texas
2006
Texas
2007
Texas A&M
2008
Texas A&M
2009
Texas
2010
Texas A&M
2011
Texas
2012
Texas A&M
2013
Texas
2014
Texas
2015
Texas
2016
Texas
2017
Texas
2018
Texas
2019
Texas
2020
Texas
2021
Texas
2022
Texas
2023
Texas
Women's Swim & Dive titles by school
Team
Championships
BYU
0
Cincinnati
0
Houston
0
Iowa State
0
Kansas
0
Missouri
0
Nebraska
2
TCU
0
Texas
21
Texas A&M
4
West Virginia
0
Men's Tennis
Eight current Big 12 members sponsor men's tennis; Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, the Kansas schools, and West Virginia do not. The Big 12 men's tennis league will remain at eight members after 2023–24, with Oklahoma and Texas replaced by Arizona and Arizona State.
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor men's track and field except UCF, Utah, and West Virginia.
Season
Indoor Champion
Outdoor Champion
Men's Track & Field titles by season
1997
Nebraska
Texas
1998
Nebraska
Nebraska
1999
Texas
Texas
2000
Nebraska
Nebraska
2001
Nebraska
Texas A&M
2002
Nebraska
Nebraska
2003
Nebraska
Texas
2004
Nebraska
Nebraska
2005
Nebraska
Texas Tech
2006
Texas
Texas
2007
Nebraska†
Oklahoma
Texas†
2008
Texas
Colorado
2009
Texas
Nebraska
2010
Oklahoma
Nebraska
2011
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2012
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2013
Texas
Texas
2014
Oklahoma State
Texas Tech
2015
Texas
Texas
2016
Oklahoma State
Texas
2017
Texas
Texas
2018
Texas Tech
Texas Tech
2019
Texas Tech
Texas Tech
2020
Iowa State
2021
Texas
Texas
2022
Texas
Texas
2023
Texas Tech
Texas Tech
Men's Track & Field titles by school
Team
Indoor
Outdoor
Total
Baylor
0
0
0
BYU
0
0
0
Cincinnati
0
0
0
Colorado
0
1
1
Houston
0
0
0
Iowa State
1
0
1
Kansas
0
0
0
Kansas State
0
0
0
Missouri
0
0
0
Nebraska
9
6
15
Oklahoma
1
1
2
Oklahoma State
2
0
2
TCU
0
0
0
Texas
10
10
20
Texas A&M
2
3
5
Texas Tech
3
5
8
Women's Track & Field
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor women's track and field.
Season
Indoor Champion
Outdoor Champion
Men's Track & Field titles by season
1997
Nebraska
Texas
1998
Texas
Texas
1999
Texas
Texas
2000
Nebraska
Nebraska
2001
Nebraska
Kansas State
2002
Texas
Kansas State
2003
Texas
Texas
2004
Nebraska
Texas
2005
Nebraska
Nebraska
2006
Texas
Texas
2007
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2008
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2009
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2010
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2011
Nebraska
Texas A&M
2012
Texas A&M
Texas
2013
Kansas
Kansas
2014
Texas
Texas
2015
Texas
Texas
2016
Texas
Texas
2017
Baylor
Kansas State
2018
Texas
Kansas State
2019
Texas
Texas
2020
Texas
2021
Texas
Texas
2022
Texas
Texas
2023
Oklahoma State
Texas
Women's Track & Field titles by school
Team
Indoor
Outdoor
Total
Baylor
1
0
1
BYU
0
0
0
Cincinnati
0
0
0
Colorado
0
0
0
Houston
0
0
0
Iowa State
0
0
0
Kansas
1
1
2
Kansas State
0
4
4
Missouri
0
0
0
Nebraska
6
2
8
Oklahoma
0
0
0
Oklahoma State
1
0
1
TCU
0
0
0
Texas
13
14
27
Texas A&M
5
5
10
Texas Tech
0
0
0
UCF
0
0
0
West Virginia
0
0
0
Volleyball
All current and future Big 12 members sponsor women's volleyball except Oklahoma State, which has never sponsored women's volleyball as a Big 12 member.[23] Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt are the only two schools in the Power Five conferences that do not sponsor women's volleyball, and Vanderbilt (which dropped women's volleyball after the 1979 season) will reinstate the sport in the 2025 season. The only current or future member with a varsity men's team is BYU.
Wrestling crowned regular-season champions in 2011–12 and 2012–13 only.
In 2015, the Big 12 absorbed the Western Wrestling Conference, with that league's six final members becoming Big 12 affiliates effective with the 2015–16 school year. Fresno State and Northern Iowa became affiliates in 2017–18. Missouri became an affiliate during the 2021-22 season after Fresno State dropped its program, and California Baptist became an affiliate in 2022–23 once it completed its transition from NCAA Division II to Division I.
Big 12 wrestling may lose a member when Oklahoma leaves for the SEC; however, given that current SEC (and former Big 12) member Missouri is a Big 12 wrestling member, Oklahoma may stay in Big 12 wrestling. Of the four incoming members, only Arizona State sponsors wrestling.
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. It consists of 14 full-member universities in the states of Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the nation.
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ten states, three additional public land-grant universities, and one private research university. The conference is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The SEC participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I in sports competitions; for football it is part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A.
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington.
The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I level, primarily in Olympic sports that are not directly sponsored by a school's home conference.
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers, with large budgets, more elaborate facilities and more athletic scholarships than Divisions II and III as well as many smaller schools committed to the highest level of intercollegiate competition.
The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run of 1889, which initially opened the Unassigned Lands in the future state of Oklahoma to non-native settlement. The university's athletic teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)'s Division I in the Big 12 Conference. The university's current athletic director is Joe Castiglione.
The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate football in the nation, and are considered the most elite conferences within that tier. The Power Five conferences have provided nearly all of the participants in the College Football Playoff since its inception, and generally have larger revenue, budgets, and television viewership than other college athletic programs.
The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Aggies," and the official school colors are maroon and white. The mascot is a rough collie named Reveille.
The Big 12 Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big 12 Conference between the best and the second-best Big 12 team. The game was played each year since the conference's formation in 1996 until 2010 and returned during the 2017 season. From 1996 to 2010, the championship game pitted the Big 12 North Division champion against the South Division champion in a game held after the regular season was completed. From 2017 onward, the game features the two teams with the best conference records.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
The Big 12 Conference is a conference of 16 universities which participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football. The conference formed in 1994 and begin conference play in the fall of 1996. The schools that compose the Big 12 Conference, except for Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Utah, and West Virginia, were members of either the Big Eight Conference or the Southwest Conference, and have won 21 national titles including 3 titles since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States featuring 14 full member universities and 8 affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.
Beginning in the 2021–22 academic year, extensive changes occurred in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level.
The 2024 BYU Cougars softball team represents Brigham Young University in the 2024 NCAA Division I softball season. Gordon Eakin enters the year as head coach of the Cougars for the 22nd consecutive season. 2024 is the first season that sees the Cougars as members of the Big 12 Conference. BYU enter 2024 having won 13 of the last 14 conference championships but being picked to finish 7th in their new conference.
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