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The Colorado athletic department officially announced they were headed back to the Big 12 for the 2024-2025 academic year and athletic season late Thursday afternoon. The Buffaloes’ board of regents met on Wednesday night and unanimously approved the move to return to the conference they called home from 1996-2011. The move comes after fellow Pac-12 members UCLA and USC announcing their move to the Big Ten for 2024-2025 and Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff’s inability to find a new partner for the conference’s next media rights deal. The conference’s current deal with ESPN is set to end as the 2023-2024 athletic season wraps up. Kliavkoff refused to discuss the conference’s plans about the deal at last Friday’s Pac-12 football media day which was likely the last straw for the Buffaloes.
The Buffaloes departed from the same Big 12 twelve years ago because of the power Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M had in the conference in addition to the thought that the three could leave the conference, which happened in the following years. Colorado brings a football program that moves the needle with a superstar roster manager in Deion Sanders and an improving men’s basketball program. That leaves the question, who is next to join the Big 12? The conference won’t stay at 13 members so it is a valuable question to ask. It has been reported that Arizona and Connecticut have been in contact with the conference. The Wildcats and Huskies are likely the top two options for the conference as commissioner Brett Yormark look to dominate the sport of basketball. If Arizona exits for the Big 12, there is not much Kliavkoff can do to save themselves from collapse even with the brands of Oregon and Washington still in the conference.
It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days, weeks, and months in this new era of college conference realignment.
