CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported Tuesday that the Big 12 Conference is “engaged in plans” to split into two divisions in football in 2023 when BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF join the league.
At that point, the Big 12 would have 14 members, as Texas and Oklahoma aren’t scheduled to leave for the SEC until after the 2025 season.
As such, Dodd reported that each division would have seven teams for the three seasons Texas and Oklahoma are in the conference.
Dodd reported that those two schools would be in separate divisions so the divisions can stay intact at six members each when the two schools leave.
Dodd reported that, according to NCAA rules, conferences must split into divisions for football if they have more than 12 teams.
He also reported that the conference is planning on sticking with its nine-game league schedule for football.
There is still discussion about how the teams would be divided up, Dodd reported, but he proposed the following:
Big 12 North
Cincinnati
BYU
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Big 12 South
Baylor
Houston
TCU
Texas
Texas Tech
UCF
West Virginia
Dodd reported that the division structure could be finalized in May.
In addition to the football division items, Dodd also reported that the conference wants to keep its current 18-game league basketball schedule as well as the Big 12/SEC Challenge.