The Big 12 plans to enter into a multi-year agreement to play regular-season football and men’s basketball games in Mexico beginning in 2024, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. Monterrey (football) and Mexico City (men’s basketball) have been identified as potential host cities, and there are future plans to add women’s basketball, women’s soccer and baseball.
Though Kansas and incoming Big 12 member Houston have been targeted as a potential preferred matchup for Mexico City, no dates or teams have been finalized, sources told Dodd. An official announcement from the Big 12 is expected Wednesday with conference spring meetings being held this week in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has been inspired by the international success of the MLB, NFL and NBA, all of which have had played games in Mexico. “The commissioner wants to emulate the success of pro sports teams have had,” a league source told Dodd. “That would require an extended [multi-year] visit, not just a weekend one-off.”
Estadio BBVA, a 53,500-seat stadium in Monterrey, is the Big 12’s target venue for football games, according to multiple reports. It is not clear which schools may participate in the tentative football games. Basketball games, meanwhile, could be played at the 22,300-seat Arena CDMX in Mexico City.
The Big 12’s exploration of Mexico-based events is its latest measure to expand its reach under Yormark, who has embraced a reimagined approach for the conference since succeeding Bob Bowlsby in 2022. In March, the Big 12 announced it will partner with the NFL for a conference-wide Big 12 Pro Day in 2024 at The Star in Frisco, Texas — an event that aims increase exposure for its athletes compared to traditional, on-campus pro days.
“We want to be a truly national conference from a brand perspective, but also a geographic footprint,” Yormark told the Houston Chronicle.
Yormark’s first year of leadership comes at a point when major changes loom for Big 12 membership. Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC next year, but not until after BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF arrive in time for the 2023-24 season. That puts the Big 12 at a conference-record 14 members before going back 12 members following the departure of the Longhorns and Sooners. Though the Big 12 adds four new members later this year, it may not be done with expansion. Yormark told John Canzano and Jon Wilner earlier this year that Big 12 would “like that fourth [Pacific] time zone to create more value for our media partners.”
In 2022, Yormark finalized an extension of the Big 12’s media rights deal with ESPN and Fox Sports through 2031 worth approximately $2.3 billion in total value.
