Big 12 Will Play Football and Basketball Games in Mexico Starting in 2024: Report
Big 12 fans may have to soon trade in their US dollars for pesos to go watch their favorite team play football or basketball.
According to multiple reports, the Big 12 is set to begin playing basketball games in Mexico during the 2024-25 season, and football games in 2025. And down the road, the conference is also looking to add baseball and soccer games in Mexico.
The Big 12’s preference would be to begin the games south of the border with a men’s hoops matchup between Kansas and Houston, according to Sports Illustrated.
The report noted that commissioner Brett Yormark was in Mexico last week and met with officials and toured potential sites, including CDMX Arena in Mexico City (capacity 22,000) for basketball. Football games would be played in Monterrey at Estadio BBVA (capacity 53,000).
This would be the latest in Brett Yormark’s vision for the Big 12 that is unlike anything college athletics has seen before. Since Yormark took the job last August, it has been a whirlwind few months for the league, which has continued to think outside the box.
Just a few weeks ago, the Big 12 announced it was partnering with the legendary Rucker Park in New York City on summer camps. The league will operate youth clinics at Rucker Park for local youth in grades six and below. The clinics will be held across multiple days and will be led by head coaches from both men’s and women’s Big 12 basketball programs, who will be announced at a later date.
And then, there’s the expansion front, where Yormark has made it clear he wants to get into the fourth time zone. Who, what, where and when remain to be seen, but it does seem like only a matter of time before the Big 12 eventually does become a truly national league.
Meantime, this latest international move into Mexico has been a topic reportedly discussed among Big 12 brass since last fall. The league’s administrative meetings are scheduled to be held starting on Tuesday of this week and expect this to be a topic of discussion.
