On July 1, the Big 12 will officially expand its membership by four. It’s been a long and exciting process for BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF, which have waited since their September 2021 invitations to transition into this new conference.
BYU arrives from independent status, but the other three members spent the last decade battling in the AAC as some of the conference’s most successful teams over the timeframe. Cincinnati qualified for two New Year’s Six bowls, including the 2021 College Football Playoff. UCF posted 25 consecutive wins in 2017 and 2018, including a 2017 Peach Bowl victory which resulted in an NCAA-recognized national championship claim.