Big 12 Entries Boosting Tickets, Merch For New Members

The Big 12’s four new schools are seeing significant financial gains early into the first year and football season with the conference. 

BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF became official members of the Big 12 in July, with the three former AAC members paying exit fees of $18 million to break contracts and leave early (BYU had no exit fee as a FBS independent).

Going into the final weekend of September, the four schools have seen varying spikes in ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and donations.

• Beyond selling out its 40,000 football season tickets in April, BYU’s women’s soccer and volleyball teams set single-game attendance records in the first month of their seasons.
• Cincinnati recorded $65.7 million in donations during fiscal years 2022 and ‘23, compared to $37.4 million the prior two years.
• Houston season ticket sales are up about 42% to 27,000, and the school has raised nearly $70 million for construction of a $140 million football operations center.
• UCF is projecting record football season attendance and has sold a record number of men’s basketball tickets.

In 2024, Texas and Oklahoma will depart the Big 12, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah will join to make a 16-team conference. In 2025, a new $2.28 billion media rights deal with ESPN and Fox will begin — bringing further revenue gains for the new and current schools alike.