The Big 12 and its partnership with the Alamo Bowl have been quite the pairing over the last several years. In each of the past five seasons, the Big 12 has been represented by either Texas or Oklahoma and went 3-2 in those matchups.
Interestingly enough, several of the Pac-12 representatives during that period are now members of the Big 12: Arizona (2023), Colorado (2020), and Utah (2019).
Historically, the Alamo Bowl has gotten the first pick of Big 12 and Pac-12 teams that aren’t selected for the College Football Playoff or a New Year’s Six Bowl. Now, with the Pac-12 being dwindled down to the Pac-2, there’s been a lot of questions for how the bowl might do things going forward.
An announcement on Friday morning seems to provide the answer to who could potentially match up in San Antonio this year. A fair warning — it’s a bit wonky, thanks to conference realignment.
The Alamo Bowl also issued a release that coincides with this graphic, explaining things in greater detail.
“For the final two years of its current bowl agreement, the Valero Alamo Bowl will match up the first choice from the following two 12-team pools after the College Football Playoff field is selected,” the release reads ahead of the following pools of teams.
- Big 12 Conference Pool – Baylor, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, and West Virginia.
- Pac-12/former Pac-12 Pool – Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington, and Washington State.
So, there are several instances where the Valero Alamo Bowl could feature two current members of the Big 12. If Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, or Utah are bowl-eligible and don’t make the 12-team CFP, they’ll certainly be an option to face one of the pre-existing Big 12 schools.
“This collaboration between the Big 12 and Pac-12 as well as the former Pac-12 members and their new conferences in the ACC and the Big Ten will help us continue to host thrilling games between nationally ranked teams in front of capacity crowds while setting us up for success during the next round of bowl agreements that start in 2026,” said Clyde Rucker, Valero Alamo Bowl 2024 Chair.
“The San Antonio bowl experience is a special one, and the Valero Alamo Bowl is looking forward to rewarding two of these 24 universities with an unforgettable holiday trip to celebrate their successful seasons.”
The 2024 Valero Alamo Bowl will be played on Saturday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. CST at the Alamodome and televised on ABC.
