Hello, Big 12

On Aug. 2, the University of Arizona officially became a member of the Big 12 athletic conference after 45 years in the Pac-12. The U of A makes the move alongside Colorado, Utah and Arizona State, bringing the total number of conference members to 16. The transition means new competitors, new fan bases, new traditions and new destinations for Wildcats sports teams and their fans.

It also means a new look for some very prominent parts of campus. U of A Facilities Management crews have cut out the two shield-shaped Pac-12 logos from the football field at Arizona Stadium and replaced them with the Big 12 logo. And a contractor has finished painting the logo on the Lute and Bobbi Olson Court at McKale Memorial Center. 

Logo replacement projects at other Arizona Athletics facilities will take place throughout the year, before each sport begins competition. 

Arizona fans began shopping for a variety of items commemorating the U of A’s inaugural Big 12 season Aug. 26, the first day of the fall semester. The newly remodeled Campus Store, formerly the University of Arizona BookStores, is offering a line of T-shirts and other collectibles that feature the mascots and logos of each Big 12 university. 

Big 12 Conference Fun Facts 

1. The University of Arizona and fellow conference member Baylor University have played each other in football just one time in their histories. The Bears defeated the Wildcats 20-15 in the 1992 John Hancock Bowl at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas. The two will not face each other in the regular conference season this year. 

2. The Wildcats will play against two Big 12 schools who were their rivals in previous conferences. Arizona and Texas Tech competed against each other in the Border Conference for 20 years until the Red Raiders jumped to the now-defunct Southwest Conference in 1952. The Wildcats battled the Brigham Young University Cougars for 16 years, from 1962 to 1978, in the Western Athletic Conference. 

3. The Big 12 includes three schools that Arizona has never faced in football: the University of Central Florida, University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University. 

4. The Big 12 is the fourth athletic conference for the U of A. The Wildcats were founding members of Border Conference in 1931 and the Western Athletic Conference in 1962. Arizona joined the Pac-10 in 1978, which became the Pac-12 in 2011 with the addition of Colorado and Utah. 

5. The U of A is one of five land-grant universities in the Big 12. The others are Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University and West Virginia University. 

6. With the addition of Arizona, six Big 12 men’s basketball programs have won national titles: Utah in 1944; Oklahoma State (then known as Oklahoma A&M) in 1945 and 1946; Kansas in 1952, 1988, 2008 and 2022; Cincinnati in 1961 and 1962; Arizona in 1997; and Baylor in 2021. 

7. Seven Big 12 marching bands have been awarded the prestigious Sudler Trophy by the John Philip Sousa Foundation for demonstrating the highest musical standards and innovative marching routines: The Pride of Arizona (U of A), Sun Devil Marching Band (ASU), Iowa State University Cyclone Marching Band, Marching Jayhawks (University of Kansas), Kansas State University Marching Band, Goin’ Band from Raiderland (Texas Tech) and The Pride of West Virginia (West Virginia University). 

8. There are eight named conference rivalries. Aside from the Duel in the Desert, or Territorial Cup, between Arizona and Arizona State, they are: 

• Farmageddon (Iowa State vs. Kansas State) 
• The Holy War (BYU vs. Utah) 
• Rumble in the Rockies (Colorado vs. Utah) 
• Sunflower Showdown (Kansas vs. Kansas State) 
• Farm Bureau Insurance Shootout (Baylor vs. Texas Tech) 
• The Revivalry (Baylor vs. TCU) 
• The West Texas Championship (TCU vs. Texas Tech) 

9. In football, each team will play nine regular-season conference games, and every team will play each other at least once at home and once away over the next four years. See the Wildcats’ 2024 schedule below. 

• Aug. 31 vs. New Mexico 
• Sept. 7 vs. Northern Arizona 
• Sept. 13 at Kansas State 
• Sept. 28 at Utah 
• Oct. 5 vs. Texas Tech 
• Oct. 12 at BYU 
• Oct. 19 vs. Colorado (Homecoming) 
• Oct. 26 vs. West Virginia 
• Nov. 2 at UCF 
• Nov. 15 vs. Houston 
• Nov. 23 at TCU 
• Nov. 30 vs. Arizona State 
• Dec. 7 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship 

10. The 16 schools in the Big 12 represent 10 states. 

11. Eleven Big 12 athletics programs have an animal as a costumed mascot: 

Four cats: 

• Arizona Wildcats (Wilbur and Wilma) 
• BYU Cougars (Cosmo) 
• Houston Cougars (Shasta) 
• Kansas State Wildcats (Willie) 

Three birds:

• Iowa State Cyclones (Cy the Cardinal) 
• Kansas Jayhawks (Big Jay and Baby Jay) 
• Utah Utes (Swoop the red-tailed hawk)

Other animals: 

• Baylor Bears (Bruiser and Marigold) 
• Cincinnati Bearcats (The Bearcat) 
• Colorado Buffaloes (Chip) 
• TCU Horned Frogs (SuperFrog) 

The other five mascots are a knight (University of Central Florida), cowboy (Oklahoma State), mountaineer (West Virginia University), masked rider (Texas Tech) and sun devil (ASU). 

12. Arizona will have 12 new conference opponents. The Wildcats’ all-time record in football against each is in parentheses. 

• Baylor (0-1) 
• BYU (12-12-1) 
• Central Florida (0-0) 
• Cincinnati (0-0) 
• Houston (1-3) 
• Iowa State (4-1-1) 
• Kansas (2-3-1) 
• Kansas State (5-1-1) 
• Oklahoma State (4-5) 
• TCU (1-1) 
• Texas Tech (5-26) 
• West Virginia (0-0