The fifth of the Power 5 conferences has set its schedule for this once-in-a-lifetime season -- we hope -- and it'll look about like the others.
The conference is set to go with a 9-game conference schedule plus one non-conference game, the conference announced tonight.
“I would like to salute the work of our university presidents and chancellors, athletics directors, coaches, medical advisors and administrators who have worked tirelessly and collaboratively during these extraordinary times,” said commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “We believe this change provides the best opportunity going forward. However, we will undoubtedly need to be flexible as we progress through the season in order to combat the challenges that lie ahead.”
As a 10-team league, the Big 12 already plays a 9-game league schedule, so the extra non-conference game allows the conference to remain on a level playing field with the other Power 5s, while also reserving a money-making tune-up game before its round-robin schedule begins.
The non-conference game must be a home game, per The Athletic, although it was unlikely any Big 12 school would agree to go on the road at this point in the game anyway.
It remains unclear when Big 12 teams will be allowed to start. The league's release said a schedule for conference schedule will be set "in the coming weeks, with an anticipated start sometime between mid- to late-September." Oklahoma and Kansas received waivers to move their openers up to Aug. 29; meanwhile, the ACC is slated to begin the week of Sept. 7, and the Pac-12 and SEC won't start until Sept. 26. The Big Ten has not decided when it will start, if at all.
Here's a look at all 10 Big 12 non-conference schedules, with strikethroughs indicating games canceled by other conferences or by the Big 12's new no-road-game rule.
Baylor:vs. Ole Miss (Sept. 6), Incarnate Word (Sept. 19), Louisiana Tech (Sept. 26)
Iowa State: South Dakota (Sept. 5), Ball State (Sept. 12), UNLV (Sept. 19)
Kansas: Southern Illinois (Aug. 29), New Hampshire (Sept. 5), Boston College (Sept. 19), at Coastal Carolina (Sept. 26)
Kansas State: Buffalo (Sept. 5), North Dakota (Sept. 12), Vanderbilt (Sept. 19)
Oklahoma: Missouri State (Aug. 29), Tennessee (Sept. 12), at Army (Sept. 26)
Oklahoma State:Oregon State (Sept. 3), Tulsa (Sept. 12), Western Illinois (Sept. 19)
Texas: South Florida (Sept. 5), at LSU (Sept. 12), UTEP (Sept. 19)
TCU: at California (Sept. 5), Prairie View A&M (Sept. 12), at SMU (Sept. 26)
Texas Tech: at UTEP (Sept. 5), Alabama State (Sept. 12), at Arizona (Sept. 19)
West Virginia:vs. Florida State (Sept. 5), Eastern Kentucky (Sept. 12), Maryland (Sept. 19)
The fear with the 9+1 model for some was that, in choosing one non-conference partner over the other, Big 12 schools would essentially load the gun for lawyers representing the unselected opponent. (For instance, the belief in Austin is Texas will choose UTEP, giving USF a legitimate gripe should it choose to take it.) Clearly, the desire for a 10th game won out over litigation worries.
With conference play not originally slated to begin in earnest until Sept. 26, it will be interesting to see if the Big 12 keeps its Week 0 games and moves other conference games forward in September -- thereby creating extra off weeks later in the season -- or if the conference follows others' lead in sliding its start date backward. In addition to OU and Kansas, TCU and WVU have reportedly been in talks to line up new opponents for Week 0 games.
The Big 12 said the conference championship could be pushed back as late as Dec. 19, meaning the title game participants could, in theory, play 11 games spread across as many as 17 weeks.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.