Athletics Department News
Big 12 Conference Welcomes Utah in 2024! Utes set to join 16-team league a year from now with Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado from the Pac-12 Conference
The University of Utah’s Board of Trustees met on August 4 and voted unanimously to grant approval for President Dr. Taylor Randall to accept an invitation for the University of Utah to become a member the Big 12 Conference, effective for the 2024-25 academic year. Fellow current Pac-12 Conference members Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado have agreed to join the Big 12 Conference with Utah. They have combined for 95 NCAA championships during their history, including 25 by Utah. All four institutions are members of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The Big 12 enters its 29th year as one of the nation’s premier athletic conferences under the direction of Commissioner Brett Yormark. The Big 12 headquarters are located in Irving, Texas. The Big 12 Conference was founded in February 1994. All eight members of the former Big Eight Conference joined with four members of the former Southwest Conference to form the league, with play beginning in 1996. The newest version of the league will have 16 members for 2024-25.
Arizona State is important to our mission and makes sense, as does, renewing our historic in- state rivalry with Brigham Young University. “Being part of the Pac-12 has elevated the University of Utah and demonstrated our student-athletes can compete at the highest levels on and off the field, our move to the Big 12 will not change that position. I want to be clear that our focus and mission is to provide world-class education, research, service, and patient care. Joining the Big 12 accelerates our progress in all four areas. We are making this change because it helps us on our path to become a top 10 public university with unsurpassed societal impact.
Statement from Dr. Taylor Randall, U President “I am grateful for all of the hard work my Pac-12 Conference colleagues invested in an effort to find solutions to keep the conference whole and provide a pathway forward to benefit all of our students, fans and communities. Ultimately, stronger forces within national collegiate athletics and the greater media landscape brought us to [that] decision. I am hopeful the relationships we have made over the past 12 years within the Pac- 12 remain strong. “I am very enthusiastic about the University of Utah’s future within the Big 12. Joining our Pac-12 and Association of American Universities peers from Colorado, Arizona and
WATCH
President Taylor Randall and athletics director Mark Harlan held a press conference to discuss Utah’s move to the Big 12 Conference on August 7.
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CRIMSON CLUB MAGAZINE AUGUST 2023
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