Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark announced last month that he was taking the conference international.
In 2024, the Big 12 will play basketball games in Mexico. It will also have a series of baseball and soccer exhibition games in the country. The hope is that by 2026 the conference will host a football bowl game there.
But when Yormark introduced the move, he only mentioned two schools that are definitely going to Mexico: Houston and Kansas. Those two programs will play in both men’s and women’s basketball.
The rest of the slots still seem up in the air. And if Yormark is taking votes on who wants to go, BYU is raising its hand. In this sense, quite literally.
“I was the first one to raise my hand. [Like] ‚‘OK, we’ll go there, we’ll be there,’” BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said. “I think it fits right into our mission and the goals that we have to be able to get access and exposure.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 1.4 million members in the country, per the church’s data.
BYU is obviously not the main reason why the Big 12 is trying to venture into Mexico. The conference has four long-term members stationed in Texas, within driving distance of the border.
Holmoe acknowledged that, but still lobbied BYU would make sense to go.
“You have teams from Texas,” Holmoe said. “There’s a lot of Hispanic people in the state of Florida, around Orlando [where UCF is located]. And then you have the church. I’m super bullish on certain promotions and programs that will highlight our opportunity.”
Quick Hits
• BYU officially entered the Big 12 last week, culminating an effort years in the making.
• QB Kedon Slovis is taking charge of BYU’s offseason. And he is doing it through golf.
• Former BYU QB Steve Young was a part of ESPN’s layoffs last week.
Around the Big 12
Baylor — What will the Bears look like as Shapen returns as QB1?
UCF — Is starting its Big 12 tenure by stealing a recruit from a fellow incoming member.
Cincinnati — Just landed a four-star QB. What does it mean?
Houston — Released renderings for its new football operations building.
Iowa State — AD Pollard talks Big 12 expansion.
Kansas — A former Rutgers QB will coach at KU.
Kansas State — Is Texas and OU leaving good for K-State?
Oklahoma — Baker Mayfield talks move to SEC and Venables
Oklahoma State — Why has OSU’s success in recruiting 4-star players been hit and miss?
TCU — Theorizing what it would take, and mean, for the Horned Frogs to go back to the CFP.
Texas — Taking a look at the 2024 recruiting class.
Texas Tech — Just landed a big Texas recruit.
West Virginia — Garrett Greene talks about Manning Passing Academy.