*Affiliate members compete in the following sports:
Women's gymnastics: Denver
Women's rowing: Alabama, Old Dominion, Tennessee
Wrestling: Air Force, Missouri, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, Wyoming
The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's.[1] The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma.
From 2011 through 2016, the football champion was decided by regular-season play. Previously divisional titles were awarded based on regular-season conference results, with the teams with the best conference records from the North and South playing in the Big 12 Championship Game for the Big 12 title. Following changes in NCAA rules, the Big 12 will reinstate its football championship game in 2017, with the top two teams in the final conference standings advancing to the title game. Baseball, basketball, soccer, and tennis titles are awarded in both regular-season and tournament play. Cross country, golf, gymnastics, rowing, swimming and diving, track and field, and wrestling titles are awarded during an annual meet of participating teams. The volleyball and softball titles are awarded based on regular-season play. Softball previously held a post season tournament.
All current Big 12 members sponsor baseball except Iowa State, which dropped the sport after the 2001 season. All former Big 12 members sponsored the sport throughout their tenures in the conference except Colorado, which never sponsored baseball during its time in the Big 12.[3]
This list reflects the official Big 12 totals by including division championships (1996–2010), conference championships won through a postseason championship game (1996–2010 and 2017–present), and conference championships won through the regular season (2011–2016).[7]
The Big 12 counts shared division championships as a full championship for each school, regardless of what school went on to play in the Big 12 title game.
Big 12 Championship Game (1996–2010, 2017–present)
Note: While the team playing in the championship game from 1996 through 2010 was popularly regarded as the divisional champion, the Big 12 did officially recognize co-champions in football, just like it does in other sports. As a result, the following teams are also recognized as champions by the Big 12:
North Co-Champions: Kansas State (1999), Nebraska (2000, 2001, 2008), Iowa State (2004), Kansas (2007), Missouri (2010)
South Co-Champions: Texas (2002, 2008), Texas Tech (2008), Oklahoma State (2010), Texas A&M (2010)
[8]
2011 – 2016
When Nebraska and Colorado left the conference after the 2010 season, it left the conference with only 10 members. The conference did not replace the two teams and therefore eliminated the Big 12 Championship game. Under the new format, which remained in place through the 2016 season, every team played each other and the team with the best conference record won the Big 12 title. In the event of a tie between two teams or more teams for the best conference record, then they were determined co-champions. Through the 2013 season, the winner of the head-to-head game earned the BCS berth in the Fiesta Bowl.[9] This was later changed and the league recognized a tie-breaker starting in 2015.[9] The change was made after the B12 was left out of the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff in 2014. The B12 presented TCU and Baylor as co-champs to the College Football Committee in 2014, despite Baylor having the head to head win over TCU. The move was seen as a play by the conference to get two teams invited into the new format, which backfired, leaving both teams out.[10]
Following a 2016 change in NCAA rules that allowed FBS conferences to stage championship games regardless of their membership numbers, the Big 12 announced it would reinstate its championship game starting in 2017. The conference continues to play a full round-robin conference schedule. The top two teams at the end of the conference season (with tiebreakers used as needed) play in the championship game.
With the launch of the College Football Playoff (CFP) in 2014, which coincided with a reworking of bowl tie-ins, the Big 12 tie to the Fiesta Bowl ended.
The Big 12's primary bowl partner is now the Sugar Bowl, In years when that game is not a CFP semifinal, the top teams from the Big 12 and SEC, as chosen by the CFP selection committee, will play one another. If either conference provides a team for the CFP semifinals, the top non-playoff team from that conference will go to the Sugar Bowl.
When the Sugar Bowl is hosting a semifinal, the top Big 12 team not involved in the playoff will receive a berth in either the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, or Peach Bowl.
Denver became an affiliate in women's gymnastics effective with the 2015–16 season.
Number of women's gymnastics titles by school
Team
Championships
Denver
1
Iowa State
2
Missouri
0
Nebraska
9
Oklahoma
12
West Virginia
0
Season
Champion
1997
Nebraska
1998
Nebraska
1999
Nebraska
2000
Iowa State
2001
Nebraska
2002
Nebraska
2003
Nebraska
2004
Oklahoma
2005
Nebraska
2006
Iowa State
2007
Nebraska
2008
Oklahoma
2009
Oklahoma
2010
Oklahoma
2011
Nebraska
2012
Oklahoma
2013
Oklahoma
2014
Oklahoma
2015
Oklahoma
2016
Oklahoma
2017
Oklahoma
2018
Oklahoma
2019
Oklahoma
2020
Canceled
2021
Denver
Rowing[]
In the 2014–15 school year, rowing was the only Big 12 sport with affiliate members. Prior to that school year, the Big 12 and Conference USA (C-USA) had a rowing alliance in which all Big 12 rowing schools would participate in the C-USA championship as well as the Big 12 championship. C-USA dropped rowing after the departure of most of its rowing members for other conferences. The Big 12 then took in the three remaining schools from the C-USA rowing league (Alabama, Old Dominion, and Tennessee) as single-sport affiliates. Old Dominion left Big 12 rowing after the 2017–18 season to join the American Athletic Conference.
Since 2015–16, the Big 12 also has affiliates in women's gymnastics and wrestling.
Kansas State announced in 2015 that it would begin sponsoring women's soccer. The Wildcats played their first season in 2016 as an independent, and began playing a full Big 12 schedule in 2017.[14]
^The 2019 conference tournament was canceled due to rain and resulting poor field conditions before pool play could be completed. Regular-season champion Oklahoma received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[15]
Number of women's track and field titles by school
Team
Indoor
Outdoor
Total
Baylor
1
0
1
Colorado
0
0
0
Iowa State
0
0
0
Kansas
1
1
2
Kansas State
0
4
4
Missouri
0
0
0
Nebraska
6
2
8
Oklahoma
0
0
0
Oklahoma State
0
0
0
TCU
0
0
0
Texas
10
11
21
Texas A&M
5
5
10
Texas Tech
0
0
0
West Virginia
0
0
0
Season
Indoor Champion
Outdoor Champion
1997
Nebraska
Texas
1998
Texas
Texas
1999
Texas
Texas
2000
Nebraska
Nebraska
2001
Nebraska
Kansas State
2002
Texas
Kansas State
2003
Texas
Texas
2004
Nebraska
Texas
2005
Nebraska
Nebraska
2006
Texas
Texas
2007
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2008
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2009
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2010
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
2011
Nebraska
Texas A&M
2012
Texas A&M
Texas
2013
Kansas
Kansas
2014
Texas
Texas
2015
Texas
Texas
2016
Texas
Texas
2017
Baylor
Kansas State
2018
Texas
Kansas State
2019
Texas
Texas
2020
Texas
Women's Volleyball[]
Oklahoma State has never sponsored women's volleyball as a Big 12 member;[22] it and Vanderbilt are the only two schools in the Power Five conferences that do not sponsor women's volleyball.
Nebraska left the conference in 2011.
Number of volleyball titles by school
Team
Championships
Baylor
1
Colorado
0
Iowa State
0
Kansas
1
Kansas State
1
Missouri
0
Nebraska
12
Oklahoma
0
TCU
0
Texas
13
Texas A&M
0
Texas Tech
0
West Virginia
0
Season
Regular season
1996
Nebraska
1997
Texas
1998
Nebraska
1999
Nebraska
2000
Nebraska
2001
Nebraska
2002
Nebraska
2003
Kansas State
2004
Nebraska
2005
Nebraska
2006
Nebraska
2007
Nebraska†
Texas†
2008
Nebraska†
Texas†
2009
Texas
2010
Nebraska
2011
Texas
2012
Texas
2013
Texas
2014
Texas
2015
Texas
2016
Kansas
2017
Texas
2018
Texas
2019
Baylor†
Texas†
2020
Texas
Wrestling[]
Wrestling crowned regular-season champions in 2011–12 and 2012–13 only.
In 2015, the Big 12 absorbed the Western Wrestling Conference, with that league's six final members becoming Big 12 affiliates effective with the 2015–16 school year. Fresno State and Northern Iowa became affiliates in 2017–18. Missouri became an affiliate during the 2021-22 season after Fresno State dropped its program.
