Big 12 commissioner hints CU led the latest conference shakeup

The Colorado Buffaloes have now twice spurred major changes in conference realignment in recent memories, as Big 12 brass confirmed the Buffs move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 was the spark for the restoration of the conference.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark spoke in Texas on Friday ahead of Colorado’s season-opening clash with the TCU Horned Frogs. At the news conference were TCU’s leaders Jeremiah Donati and Victor Boschin as well as CU’s Phil DiStefano and Rick George. The public speaking between the parties comes in the wake of the Buffs re-joining the Big 12, which they did earlier this summer. The Horned Frogs joined the conference in 2012, following the Buffs departure for the Pac-12 in 2011.

When the Horned Frogs joined they entered with West Virginia and when the Buffaloes left, they joined Utah in leaving their homes at the time for the Pac-12 Now, Colorado is taking Utah, as well as Arizona and Arizona State with them in coming back to the Big 12, a grouping of four that wouldn’t have happened without the Buffaloes apparently.

“We appreciate you making that decision when you did. I think that was a catalyst for some of the things that followed,” Yormark said on Friday.

Buffs welcomed back to the Big XII pic.twitter.com/6fS9oqijpV

— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) September 1, 2023

The Pac-12’s collapse

The Pac-12 continued its downward spiral on Friday as both California and Stanford were voted into the ACC with SMU for next year. That leaves just Oregon State and Washington State committed to the conference.

Colorado was the first to leave this year, following the announced moves to the Big Ten by UCLA and USC last year. After the Buffaloes went other traditional West Coast schools Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten, which led to the four corners all jumping ship for the Big 12.

The Big Ten is at 18 schools going forward, while the Big 12 which is at 14 this year will be at 16 next year after they lose Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC and the ACC will be at 17 for all sports and 16 for football.

“When we made this decision, it was with long-term stability and the overall well-being of our student-athletes on the forefront of our mind,” George said Friday.

Back to the Big 12

With the addition of the four corners schools their soon-to-be new conference has instantly become a lot stronger as four power schools joining will be the first true powers to come into the conference since the Southwest Conference fell apart in the 1990s and the Big 8 became the Big 12.

Colorado will get to keep their forced rivalry with the Utah Utes but more importantly, now two schools (Kansas and Kansas State) are a six-hour drive east and two schools (counting BYU) are a six-hour drive west. Not to mention the Arizona schools which are a quick flight. The Buffaloes are the rare team that made a conference shakeup that will get them closer to at least some opponents, though Orlando and West Virginia are now road teams they’ll see.

The Big 12 is in a lot healthier of a TV situation and the University of Colorado was in the Big 12 from 1996 to 2010 before departing for the Pac-12 and was traditionally in the precursor Big 8 before that. The Buffaloes will be one of 16 teams in their new old home, joining the four corners schools, mainstays like Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa and Oklahoma State, as well as former SWC schools Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU and Houston. In the grouping too will be newcomers as of this year, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, and decade-long member West Virginia.

The move will come in 2024, with the Buffs final season in the Pac-12 kicking off on Saturday against soon-to-be conference foe TCU—some sports on campus have already begun their final Pac-12 campaign.

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