College Hockey Mid-America
Membership
Table:
School

Location

Nickname

Primary conference

Website

Team Colors

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, PA

Dukes

Atlantic 10 (DI)

[1]

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Indiana, PA

Crimson Hawks

PSAC (DII)

[2]

John Carroll University

University Heights, OH

Blue Streaks

Ohio Athletic Conference (DIII)

[3]

Mercyhurst University

Erie, PA

Lakers

PSAC (D-II)

[4]

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA

Panthers

Atlantic Coast Conference (DI)

[5]

Robert Morris University

Moon Township, PA

Colonials

Northeast Conference (D-I)

[6]

Slippery Rock University

Slippery Rock, PA

Pride

PSAC (DII)

[7]

West Virginia University

Morgantown, WV

Mountaineers

Big 12 Conference (DI)

[8]

With reference to the provided table and the context paragraphs listed.

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Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( /djuːˈkeɪn/ ) is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , United States . Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of 40 students and a faculty of six . In 1911 , the college became the first Catholic university-level institution in Pennsylvania . It is the only Spiritan institution of higher education in the world . [ citation needed ] It is named for an 18th-century governor of New France , Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville . Duquesne has since expanded to over 9,300 graduate and undergraduate students within a self-contained 49-acre ( 19.8 ha ) hilltop campus in Pittsburgh 's Bluff neighborhood . The school maintains an associate campus in Rome and encompasses ten schools of study . The university hosts international students from more than 80 countries although most students - about 80% - are from Pennsylvania or the surrounding region . Duquesne is considered a research university with higher research activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching . There are more than 93,000 living alumni of the university including two cardinals and the current bishop of Pittsburgh . The Duquesne Dukes compete in NCAA Division I. Duquesne men 's basketball appeared twice in national championship games in the 1950s and won the NIT championship in 1955 .
Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbɜːrɡ/ PITS-burg ) is a city in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States , and is the county seat of Allegheny County . A population of about 302,407 ( 2018 ) residents live within the city limits , making it the 66th-largest city in the U.S . The metropolitan population of 2,324,743 is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia , the second-largest in Pennsylvania ( behind Philadelphia ) , and the 27th-largest in the U.S. Pittsburgh is located in the southwest of the state , at the confluence of the Allegheny , Monongahela , and Ohio rivers . Pittsburgh is known both as the Steel City for its more than 300 steel-related businesses and as the City of Bridges for its 446 bridges . The city features 30 skyscrapers , two inclined railways , a pre-revolutionary fortification and the Point State Park at the confluence of the rivers . The city developed as a vital link of the Atlantic coast and Midwest , as the mineral-rich Allegheny Mountains made the area coveted by the French and British empires , Virginians , Whiskey Rebels , and Civil War raiders . Aside from steel , Pittsburgh has led in manufacturing of aluminum , glass , shipbuilding , petroleum , foods , sports , transportation , computing , autos , and electronics . For part of the 20th century , Pittsburgh was behind only New York City and Chicago in corporate headquarters employment ; it had the most U.S. stockholders per capita . Deindustrialization in the 1970s and 80s laid off area blue-collar workers as steel and other heavy industries declined , and thousands of downtown white-collar workers also lost jobs when several Pittsburgh-based companies moved out . The population dropped from a peak of 675,000 in 1950 to 370,000 in 1990 . However , this rich industrial history left the area with renowned museums , medical centers , parks , research centers , and a diverse cultural district . After the deindustrialization of the mid-20th century , Pittsburgh has transformed into a hub for the health care , education , and technology industries .
The Duquesne Dukes are the athletic teams of Duquesne University of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . The Dukes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference . Football and bowling , however , compete in the Northeast Conference .
The Atlantic 10 Conference ( A-10 ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 's ( NCAA ) Division I . The A-10 's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern Seaboard , as well as some in the Midwest - Massachusetts , New York , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Virginia , Ohio , and Missouri as well as in the District of Columbia . Although some of its members are state-funded , half of its membership is made up of private , Catholic institutions . Despite the name , there are 14 full-time members , and two affiliate members that participate in women 's field hockey only . The current commissioner is Bernadette McGlade , who began her tenure in 2008 .
NCAA Division I ( D-I ) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) in the United States . D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic powers , with larger 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 . This level was once called the University Division of the NCAA , in contrast to the lower level College Division ; these terms were replaced with numeric divisions in 1973 . The University Division was renamed Division I , while the College Division was split in two ; the College Division members that offered scholarships or wanted to compete against those who did became Division II , while those who did not want to offer scholarships became Division III . For college football only , D-I schools are further divided into the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , and those institutions that do not have any football program . FBS teams have higher game attendance requirements and more players receiving athletic scholarships than FCS teams . The FBS is named for its series of postseason bowl games , with various polls ranking teams after the conclusion of these games , while the FCS national champion is determined by a multi-team bracket tournament . For the 2014-15 school year , Division I contained 345 of the NCAA 's 1,066 member institutions , with 125 in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , 125 in the Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , and 95 non-football schools , with six additional schools in the transition from Division II to Division I . There was a moratorium on any additional movement up to D-I until 2012 , after which any school that wants to move to D-I must be accepted for membership by a conference and show the NCAA it has the financial ability to support a D-I program .
Indiana University of Pennsylvania ( IUP ) is a public research university in Indiana County , Pennsylvania . As of fall 2019 , the university enrolled 9,215 undergraduates and 2,110 postgraduates , for a total enrollment of 11,325 students . The university is 55 miles ( 89 km ) northeast of Pittsburgh . It is governed by a local Council of Trustees and the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . IUP has branch campuses at Punxsutawney , Northpointe , and Monroeville . IUP is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools .
Indiana is a borough in and the county seat of Indiana County in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania . The population was 13,975 at the 2010 census , and since 2013 has been part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area after being a long time part of the Pittsburgh Media Market . Indiana is also the principal city of the Indiana , PA Micropolitan Statistical Area . The borough and the region as a whole promotes itself as the Christmas Tree Capital of the World because the national Christmas Tree Grower 's Association was founded there . There are still many Christmas tree farms in the area . The largest employer in the borough today is Indiana University of Pennsylvania , the second-largest of 14 PASSHE schools in the state .
The Indiana University of Pennsylvania Crimson Hawks , commonly known as the IUP Crimson Hawks and formerly called the IUP Indians , are the varsity athletic teams that represent Indiana University of Pennsylvania , which is located in Indiana , Pennsylvania . The university and all of its intercollegiate sports teams compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference ( PSAC ) within the NCAA Division II . The university sponsors 19 different teams , including eight teams for men and eleven teams for women : baseball , men 's and women 's basketball , men 's and women 's cross country , women 's field hockey , football , men 's golf , women 's lacrosse , women 's soccer , softball , men 's and women 's swimming , women 's tennis , men 's and women 's indoor and outdoor track and field , and women 's volleyball .
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference ( PSAC ) is a collegiate athletic conference that participates in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) Division II level . The conference is currently composed of 17 full-time members within Pennsylvania and 1 in West Virginia . The conference headquarters are located in Lock Haven , Pennsylvania and staffed by a commissioner , two assistant commissioners , and a director of media relations .
NCAA Division II ( D-II ) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment offered in Division III . Before 1973 , the NCAA 's smaller schools were grouped together in the College Division . In 1973 , the College Division split in two when the NCAA began using numeric designations for its competitions . The College Division members who wanted to offer athletic scholarships or compete against those who did became Division II , while those who chose not to offer athletic scholarships became Division III . Nationally , ESPN televises the championship game in football , CBS televises the men 's basketball championship , and ESPN2 televises the women 's basketball championship . CBS Sports Network broadcasts six football games on Thursdays during the regular season , and one men 's basketball game per week on Saturdays during that sport 's regular season . The official slogan of NCAA Division II , implemented in 2015 , is Make It Yours .
John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights , Ohio . It is primarily an undergraduate , liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business . John Carroll has an enrollment of 3,650 students . The university offers undergraduate programs in the liberal arts , sciences , and business , and in selected areas at the master 's level . John Carroll offers 70 academic programs of study for undergraduate students . The university has been ranked in the top 10 of Midwest regional universities by U.S. News & World Report 's annual guide , America 's Best Colleges , for 29 consecutive years .
University Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County , Ohio , United States . It borders Beachwood to the east , Cleveland Heights to the west , South Euclid to the north and Shaker Heights to the south . The population was 13,539 as of the 2010 Census . University Heights is nicknamed the City of Beautiful Homes . University Heights is closely tied to neighboring Cleveland Heights , with the two sharing a school system , library system , post office and ZIP Code , some city services , and local media outlets . With about half the population under the age of 30 , University Heights is home to one of the youngest communities in the region , including both students and families .
The Ohio Athletic Conference ( OAC ) was formed in 1902 and is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States . Its current commissioner is Tim Gleason . Former commissioners include Mike Cleary , who was the first General Manager of a professional basketball team to hire an African American head coach , and would later run the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics ( NACDA ) . The Ohio Athletic Conference competes in the NCAA 's Division III . Through the years , 31 schools have been members of the OAC . The enrollments of the current ten member institutions range from around 1,000 to 4,500 . Member teams are located in Ohio .
NCAA Division III ( D-III ) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) in the United States . D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their student-athletes . The NCAA 's first split was into two divisions , the University and College Divisions , in 1956 . The College Division was formed for smaller schools that did not have the resources of the major athletic programs across the country . The College Division split again in 1973 when the NCAA went to its current naming convention : Division I , Division II , and Division III . Division III schools are not allowed to offer athletic scholarships , while D-II schools can . Division III is the NCAA 's largest division with around 450 member institutions , which are 80% private and 20% public . The median undergraduate enrollment of D-III schools is about 2,750 , although the range is from 418 to over 38,000 . Approximately 40% of all NCAA student-athletes compete in D-III .
Mercyhurst University , formerly Mercyhurst College , is an American Catholic liberal arts college in Erie , Pennsylvania .
Erie ( /ˈɪəri/ ; EER-ee ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County , Pennsylvania , United States . Named for the lake and the Native American Erie people who lived in the area until the mid-17th century , Erie is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania , as well as the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania , with a population of 101,786 at the 2010 census . The estimated population in 2018 had decreased to 96,471 . The Erie metropolitan area , equivalent to all of Erie County , consists of 276,207 residents . The Erie-Meadville , PA Combined Statistical Area has a population of 369,331 , as of the 2010 Census . Erie is halfway between the cities of Buffalo , New York , and Cleveland , Ohio , and due north of Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Erie 's manufacturing sector remains prominent in the local economy , though healthcare , higher education , technology , service industries , and tourism are emerging as significant economic drivers . Over four million people visit Erie during summer months for recreation at Presque Isle State Park , as well as attractions such as Waldameer Park . Erie is known as the Flagship City because of its status as the home port of Oliver Hazard Perry 's flagship Niagara . Erie won the All-America City Award in 1972 , and in 2012 hosted the Perry 200 , a commemoration , celebrating 200 years of peace between Britain , America and Canada following the War of 1812 and Battle of Lake Erie .
The University of Pittsburgh ( Pitt ) is a state-related research university in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Pitt was founded as the Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on the edge of the American frontier . It developed and was renamed as Western University of Pennsylvania by a change to its charter in 1819 . After surviving two devastating fires and various relocations within the area , the school moved to its current location in the Oakland neighborhood of the city ; it was renamed as the University of Pittsburgh in 1908 . Pitt was a private institution until 1966 when it became part of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education . The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus , home to the university 's central administration and 28,391 undergraduate , graduate , and professional students . The university also includes four undergraduate schools located at campuses within Western Pennsylvania : Bradford , Greensburg , Johnstown , and Titusville . The 132-acre Pittsburgh campus has multiple contributing historic buildings of the Schenley Farms Historic District , most notably its 42-story Gothic revival centerpiece , the Cathedral of Learning . The campus is situated adjacent to the flagship medical facilities of its closely affiliated University of Pittsburgh Medical Center ( UPMC ) , as well as the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh , Schenley Park , and Carnegie Mellon University . The university has an annual operating budget of approximately $ 2 billion . This includes nearly $ 940 million in research and development expenditures as of 2017 , the 16th-highest in the nation . A member of the Association of American Universities , Pitt is the third-largest recipient of federally sponsored health research funding among U.S. universities in 2018 and it is a major recipient of research funding from the National Institutes of Health .
The Pittsburgh Panthers , commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers , are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh , although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni , faculty , and students . Pitt fields 19 university-sponsored varsity teams at the highest level of competitive collegiate athletics in the United States : the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) for American football . Varsity men 's sports sponsored by the university are baseball , basketball , cross country , football , soccer , swimming and diving , indoor track and field , outdoor track and field , and wrestling ; while sponsored women 's varsity sports include basketball , cross country , gymnastics , soccer , softball , swimming and diving , indoor track and field , outdoor track and field , and volleyball . Pitt will sponsor varsity women 's lacrosse beginning with the 2021-22 season . All varsity sports teams compete as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) , with the exception of the gymnastics team competing in the East Atlantic Gymnastics League . The university also maintains membership in the Eastern College Athletic Conference . The university 's athletic program is one of only five current NCAA Division 1A schools to have won multiple national championships in both football ( 9 ) and basketball ( 2 ) , and the Panthers have been ranked as having among the best combinations of football and basketball programs by multiple publications . Other sports have won a variety of conference titles , regularly compete in NCAA championship events , and have produced a plethora of professional and Olympic athletes .
The Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States . Headquartered in Greensboro , North Carolina , the conference consists of fifteen member universities , each of whom compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) 's Division I , with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) , the highest levels for athletic competition in US-based collegiate sports . The ACC sponsors competition in twenty-five sports with many of its member institutions ' athletic programs held in high regard nationally . Current members of the conference are Boston College , Clemson University , Duke University , Georgia Institute of Technology , Florida State University , North Carolina State University , Syracuse University , the University of Louisville , the University of Miami , the University of North Carolina , the University of Notre Dame , the University of Pittsburgh , the University of Virginia , Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University , and Wake Forest University . ACC teams and athletes have claimed dozens of national championships in multiple sports throughout the conference 's history . Generally , the ACC 's top athletes and teams in any particular sport in a given year are considered to be among the top collegiate competitors in the nation . Also , the conference enjoys extensive media coverage . The ACC was one of the five collegiate power conferences , which had automatic qualifying for their football champion into the Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014 , the ACC is one of five conferences with a contractual tie-in to a New Year 's Six bowl game , the successors to the BCS . The ACC was founded on May 8 , 1953 , by seven universities located in the South Atlantic States , with the University of Virginia joining in early December 1953 to bring the membership to eight . The loss of South Carolina in 1971 dropped membership to seven , while the addition of Georgia Tech in 1979 for non-football sports and 1983 for football brought it back to eight , and Florida State 's arrival in 1991 for non-football sports and 1992 for football increased the membership to nine . Since 2000 , with the widespread reorganization of the NCAA , seven additional schools have joined , and one original member ( Maryland ) has left to bring it to the current membership of 15 schools .
Robert Morris University ( RMU ) is a private university in Moon Township , Pennsylvania . It also has a branch campus in Downtown Pittsburgh . It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris , a signer of the Declaration of Independence , Constitution , Articles of Confederation and financier of the American Revolution . It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 bachelor 's degree programs and 35 master 's and doctoral programs . Most students are from the Pittsburgh area , while 16 percent of freshmen in 2018 were from outside Pennsylvania .
Moon Township is a township along the Ohio River in Allegheny County , Pennsylvania , United States . Moon is a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area and is located 12 miles ( 19 km ) northwest of Pittsburgh . The population was 24,185 at the 2010 census .
The Robert Morris Colonials are the athletic teams for Robert Morris University , in Moon Township , Pennsylvania , a suburb of Pittsburgh . The Colonials compete in NCAA Division I ( FCS , formerly Division I-AA , in football ) . The Colonials are members of the Northeast Conference in most sports . The school colors are RMU Blue , RMU Red , and RMU Gray/Silver . In December 2013 , Robert Morris announced the school was cutting seven sports programs after the 2013-14 season : men 's indoor and outdoor track , tennis and cross country and women 's golf , tennis and field hockey .
The Northeast Conference ( NEC ) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports except football , which competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision ( FCS ) , formerly Division I-AA . Participating schools are located principally in the Northeastern United States . The conference was named the ECAC Metro Conference when it was established in 1981 . The original eleven member schools were Fairleigh Dickinson University , the Brooklyn campus of Long Island University ( whose athletic program has now merged with that of LIU 's Post campus into a single athletic program ) , Loyola College in Maryland ( left in 1989 ) , Marist College ( left in 1997 ) , Robert Morris University , St. Francis College ( NY ) , Saint Francis College ( PA ) , Siena College ( left in 1984 ) , Towson State University ( left in 1982 ) , the University of Baltimore ( left in 1983 ) and Wagner College . The conference 's name was changed to its present form on August 1 , 1988 . Other names considered were Big North , Great North , North Shore , Northern , Northeastern , Eastern and Eastern Private Intercollegiate . The Northeast Conference has expanded eight times since 1981 . The expansions and additions from the original charter members were in 1985 ( Monmouth University , which left in 2013 ) , 1989 ( Mount St. Mary 's University ) , 1992 ( Rider University , which left in 1997 ) , 1997 ( Central Connecticut State University ) , 1998 ( Quinnipiac University and the University of Maryland , Baltimore County which respectively left in 2013 and 2003 ) , 1999 ( Sacred Heart University ) , 2008 ( Bryant University ) , and 2019 ( Merrimack College ) . The Northeast Conference 's rank was largest at 12 in 2008 with the addition of Bryant University ; it dropped to 10 in 2013 with the departure of Monmouth and Quinnipiac for the MAAC , and returned to 11 with the 2019 addition of Merrimack . The most recent changes were announced in 2018 and took effect with the 2019-20 school year . First , on September 10 , the NEC announced it would add Merrimack .
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania ( The Rock or SRU ) is a public university in Slippery Rock , Pennsylvania . SRU is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ( PASSHE ) . The university has been coeducational since its founding in 1889 . It has one of the largest campuses in western Pennsylvania , occupying 611 acres ( 2.4 km² ) .
Slippery Rock is a borough in Butler County , Pennsylvania , United States . The population was 3,625 at the 2010 census . It is home to the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania . Slippery Rock is included in the Pittsburgh , PA Metropolitan Statistical Area . It lies within Slippery Rock Township . The post office for Slippery Rock Township was established in 1826 in the Ginger Hill area . The town of Ginger Hill was incorporated as a borough under the name Centreville in 1841 . Centreville ( sometimes spelled Centerville ) changed its name to Slippery Rock in 1896 , matching its post office ( which had continued to use the name Slippery Rock ) .
West Virginia University ( WVU ) is a public , land-grant , research university with its main campus in Morgantown , West Virginia . Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley , Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser , and a second clinical campus for the university 's medical and dental schools at Charleston Area Medical Center in Charleston . WVU Extension Service provides outreach with offices in all of West Virginia 's 55 counties . Enrollment for the Fall 2018 semester was 26,864 for the main campus , while enrollment across all three non-clinical campuses was 29,959 . The Morgantown campus offers 350+ bachelor 's , master 's , doctoral , and professional degree programs throughout 14 colleges and schools . Twenty-five Rhodes Scholars are WVU alumni , including former WVU president David C. Hardesty , Jr . The university has also produced 45 Goldwater Scholars , 24 Truman Scholars , and five members ( & 11 academic team honorees ) of USA Today 's All - USA College Academic First Team . Additionally , WVU has had three George C. Marshall ( British ) Scholars , five Morris K. Udall Scholars , 26 Boren Scholars , 63 Gilman Scholars , 64 Fulbright Scholars , three Department of Homeland Security Scholars , 32 Critical Language Scholars , one Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Graduate Scholar , five National Institute of Standards and Technology Fellowships , and 25 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Graduate Fellowships .
Morgantown is a city in , and the county seat of , Monongalia County , West Virginia , United States , situated along the Monongahela River . West Virginia University is located in the city . The population was 29,660 at the 2010 Census Bureau , making Morgantown the largest city in North-Central West Virginia . The Morgantown metropolitan area has a population of 138,176 .
The West Virginia Mountaineers are the athletic teams that represent West Virginia University , an American university located in Morgantown , West Virginia . The school is a member of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I . The Mountaineers have been a member of the Big 12 Conference since 2012 . At that time , the Mountaineers joined the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member for men 's soccer . The two major sports at the university are football ( played at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium ) and basketball ( played at the WVU Coliseum ) , although many of the other sports have large followings as well . [ citation needed ] Currently , WVU sponsors seven men 's sports , ten women 's sports , and one coeducational sport ( rifle ) . Men 's golf was the latest sport to be added in the 2015-16 school year .
The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference headquartered in Irving , Texas . The conference consists of ten full-member universities . It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) for all sports . Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ; formerly Division I-A ) , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition . Its ten members , in the states of Iowa , Kansas , Oklahoma , Texas , and West Virginia , include eight public and two private , Christian schools . Additionally , the Big 12 has 11 affiliate members - eight for the sport of wrestling , one of which is also a member in women 's equestrianism ; one for women 's gymnastics ; and two for women 's rowing . The Big 12 Conference is a 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) nonprofit organization incorporated in Delaware . The Big 12 Conference was founded on February 25 , 1994 . The eight members of the former Big Eight Conference joined with Southwest Conference schools Texas , Texas A & M , Baylor , and Texas Tech to form the new Big 12 Conference , which commenced competition on August 31 , 1996 . The conference 's current 10-campus makeup resulted from the 2010-13 Big 12 Conference realignment , in which Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference , Colorado joined the Pac-12 , and Missouri and Texas A & M joined the Southeastern Conference . TCU and West Virginia joined from the Mountain West and Big East Conferences respectively to offset two of the departing schools , bringing the conference to its current strength . The Big 12 Conference , like others involved in the realignment , has kept its name primarily for marketing purposes ; the conference has high name recognition and remains one of the Power Five conferences which are considered the primary contenders to produce a College Football Playoff champion team in any given year .