Big 12 Conference

**The Big 12 Conference** is a college athletic conference that is part of the NCAA's Division I. It started when the Big 8 Conference joined together with four colleges from Texas that had been part of the Southwest Conference, and the first games in the Big 12 Conference were played in 1996.

## Members

|School|Location|Founded|Type|Nickname|Joined Big 12|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Tucson, Arizona|1885|Public|Wildcats|2024|
|Arizona State University|Tempe, Arizona|1885|Public|Sun Devils|2024|
|Baylor University|Waco, Texas|1845|Private|Bears|1996|
|Brigham Young University (BYU)|Provo, Utah|1875|Private|Cougars|2023|
||Cincinnati, Ohio|1819|Public|Bearcats|2023|
||Boulder, Colorado|1876|Public|Buffaloes|1996; 2024|
||Houston, Texas|1927|Public|Cougars|2023|
|Iowa State University|Ames, Iowa|1858|Public|Cyclones|1996|
||Lawrence, Kansas|1865|Public|Jayhawks|1996|
|Kansas State University|Manhattan, Kansas|1863|Public|Wildcats|1996|
|Oklahoma State University–Stillwater|Stillwater, Oklahoma|1890|Public|Cowboys & Cowgirls || 1996||
||Fort Worth, Texas|1873|Private|Horned Frogs|2012|
|Texas Tech University|Lubbock, Texas|1923|Public|Red Raiders & Lady Raiders|1996|
|(UCF)|Orlando, Florida|1963|Public|Knights|2023|
||Salt Lake City, Utah|1850|Public|Utes|2024|
|West Virginia University|Morgantown, West Virginia|1867|Public|Mountaineers|2012|

### Associate members

The Big 12 also has 20 "associate members", all of which play one sport in the conference.
|School|Location|Founded|Type|Nickname|Joined Big 12 !! Big 12 Sport !! Main Conference|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||USAF Academy, Colorado|1954|Federal|Falcons|2015||Mountain West|
|Boise State University|Boise, Idaho|1932|Public|Broncos|2025|Beach volleyball|Mountain West|
|California Baptist University|Riverside, California|1950|Private|Lancers|2022||WAC|
||Denver, Colorado|1864|Private|Pioneers|2015||Summit League|
||Gainesville, Florida|1853|Public|Gators|2024||SEC|
|Florida State University}}|Tallahassee, Florida|1851|Public|Seminoles|2025|Beach volleyball|ACC|
|(Fresno State)|Fresno, California|1911|Public|Bulldogs|2019|Equestrian|Mountain West|
||Columbia, Missouri|1839|Public|Tigers|2021||SEC|
|North Dakota State University|Fargo, North Dakota|1890|Public|Bison|2015||Summit League|
||Greeley, Colorado|1889|Public|Bears|2015||Big Sky|
||Cedar Falls, Iowa|1876|Public|Panthers|2017||Missouri Valley|
||Norman, Oklahoma|1890|Public|Sooners|2024||SEC|
|Old Dominion University|Norfolk, Virginia|1930|Public|Monarchs|2024||Sun Belt|
|San Diego State University|San Diego, California|1897|Public|Aztecs|2024||Mountain West|
||Columbia, South Carolina|1801|Public|Gamecocks|2024|Beach volleyball|SEC|
|South Dakota State University|Brookings, South Dakota|1881|Public|Jackrabbits|2015||Summit League|
||Tulsa, Oklahoma|1894|Private|Golden Hurricane|2024||American|
|(UC Davis)|Davis, California|1908|Public|Aggies|2024||Big West|
|Utah Valley University|Orem, Utah|1941|Public|Wolverines|2015||WAC|
||Laramie, Wyoming|1886|Public|Cowboys|2015||Mountain West|

### Former members

Six schools have left the Big 12 since it was formed, but one has since returned to the conference. Missouri would return to the Big 12 in 2021 as a wrestling-only member, and Oklahoma remained a wrestling-only member after otherwise leaving for the Southeastern Conference. Colorado left in 2011 but returned in 2024.
|School|Location|Founded|Type|Nickname|Joined Big 12 !! Left Big 12 !! Current Conference|||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
||Columbia, Missouri|1839|Public|Tigers|1996|2012|SEC|
||Lincoln, Nebraska|1869|Public|Cornhuskers|1996|2011|Big Ten|
||Norman, Oklahoma|1890|Public|Sooners|1996|2024|SEC|
||Austin, Texas|1883|Public|Longhorns|1996|2024|SEC|
|Texas A&M University|College Station, Texas|1876|Public|Aggies|1996|2012|SEC|