The rumors brewed for a week, but the next domino in conference realignment officially fell Friday morning.
The Big 12 voted unanimously to extend invites to three AAC universities — Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF — as well as BYU from the independent ranks. All four programs are expected to officially join the league for the 2023 football season, per The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy.
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston & UCF’s 1st season in Big 12 will be 2023, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. That allows new members to play in conference 2 years w/Oklahoma & Texas still there - unless OU & UT get out early to SEC
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 10, 2021
The Big 12’s decision to expand transpires roughly one month after the conference lost its two financially richest programs in Oklahoma and Texas, which were officially approved for SEC membership in late July.