UH To Join Big 12 In Wake Of OU, Texas Departures

Houston TX

10 September, 2021

11:40 AM

Description

HOUSTON, TX — The University of Houston has accepted an invitation to join the Big 12, the university announced in a news release Friday morning. Big 12 presidents voted Friday to extend invitations to Houston, the University of Cincinnati, Brigham Young University and the University of Central Florida, with all four schools accepting the invitations, according to the release. "Joining the Big 12 Conference is a historic step in our institutional journey and signifies the tremendous growth and success attained academically and athletically over the last decade," UH President Renu Khator said in the release. "Our expectations for our university remain high, our aspirations continue to be bold, and we embrace this new opportunity to compete at the highest levels in all we do." Houston, Cincinnati and UCF currently are members of the American Athletic Conference, while BYU is independent. The three AAC schools must submit notice 27 months before leaving and pay a $10 million exit fee. That timeline would mean they would start competing in the Big 12 in 2024, though those numbers could be negotiated. As an independent, BYU can join its new conference at any time. The move comes during a new wave of conference realignment that kicked off over the summer when Texas and Oklahoma announced they were leaving the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference in late July. Under the terms laid out in the departure, Texas and OU intend to let their Big 12 grant of media rights expire before joining the SEC in 2025. "Today's news confirms what we have said all along regarding our status as a power conference," American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco said in a statement. "The irony that three of our schools are being asked to take the place of the two marquee schools which are leaving the Big 12 is not lost on us. Our conference was targeted for exceeding expectations in a system that wasn't designed to accommodate our success." Aresco added the conference expects UH, Cincinnati and UCF to "abide by the conference bylaws to ensure an amicable and orderly transition." The Associated Press contributed to this report. Live in Houston? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and download our free mobile app on Android or iPhone.