The Big 12 announced that the launch of its Big 12 Mexico initiative, which was scheduled to begin in December, has been delayed with a new target date set for 2025.
The conference announced last June that it planned to host basketball, women’s soccer and baseball games in Mexico, starting with Kansas and Houston playing men’s and women’s basketball games at the ‘Arena CDMX in Mexico City in December. The Big 12 also announced it would study the possibility of hosting a football game in Monterrey starting in 2026, which would be the first bowl game ever played in Mexico. The women’s soccer and baseball teams also planned to play exhibition games against area clubs as part of the conference’s “first international expansion.”
But the Big 12 cited “a variety of major initiatives that were added to the Conference agenda” as the reason for the delay in publishing a paper on members “. The Big 12 adds the Four Corner schools from the old Pac-12 — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah — for the 2024-25 season, as Texas and Oklahoma leave for the SEC.
An update on Big 12 Mexico. pic.twitter.com/ckINSp4cVx
– Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) April 2, 2024
The Big 12 is also holding its football media days in Las Vegas for the first time this summer, adding two new sports — women’s lacrosse and beach volleyball — for the 2024-25 season and moving to new headquarters in Dallas. All of these were added after the original Big 12 Mexico announcement, and the league wants to make sure everyone receives the necessary attention before taking on its Mexican ambitions.
The league promoted the alert event during the Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Kansas City last month. Commissioner Brett Yormark has previously said Mexico is a natural extension of the Big 12 footprint.
Free daily sports updates straight to your inbox. Register
Free daily sports updates straight to your inbox. Register
Buy
“The Big 12 will continue to build its brand in Mexico through its broadcast partners and remains excited about bringing the Big 12 to Mexico,” the conference said.
Required reading
(Photo: Ray Carlin / USA Today)