Editing Big 12 Conference (section)

== Distinctive elements ==
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| image1 = 1994 Big 12 logo.png
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| caption1 =Prototype Big 12 logo, based on the logo of the [[Big Eight Conference]]
| image2 = Big 12 original logo.png
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| caption2 =First official Big 12 Conference logo from 1996 to 2004
| image3 = Big 12 Conference logo.svg
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| caption3 =Second official Big 12 Conference logo from 2004 to 2014
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=== Population base and markets ===
The largest [[List of television stations in North America by media market|media markets]] represented by the Big 12 are, ranked nationally:
* [[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|Dallas-Fort Worth]] (5th)
* [[Greater Houston|Houston]] (6th)
* [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] (11th)
* [[Greater Orlando|Orlando]] (16th)
* [[Denver]] (17th)
* [[Salt Lake City]] (27th)
* [[Greater San Antonio|San Antonio]] (31st)
* [[Kansas City metropolitan area|Kansas City]] (34th)
* [[Cincinnati metropolitan area|Cincinnati]] (37th)
* [[Oklahoma City metropolitan area|Oklahoma City]] (47th)
* [[Tulsa metropolitan area|Tulsa]] (62nd)
* [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]] (65th)
* [[Des Moines metropolitan area|Des Moines]] (67th)
* [[Wichita metropolitan area, Kansas|Wichita]] (72nd)

Although [[West Virginia University]] is based out of [[Morgantown, West Virginia]] (officially part of the [[Greater Pittsburgh|Pittsburgh]] (26th) media market), the TV market encompasses the majority of West Virginia's TV viewership and also reaches well into [[Western Pennsylvania]].

[[Kansas State University]] is in [[Manhattan, Kansas]], which is part of the [[Topeka, Kansas]] media market, but it is close to the Wichita market, which encompasses two-thirds of the state (stretching to the border with [[Colorado]]), including the cities of [[Dodge City, Kansas|Dodge City]], [[Garden City, Kansas|Garden City]], [[Hutchinson, Kansas|Hutchinson]] and [[Salina, Kansas|Salina]].

While the [[University of Kansas]] is in [[Lawrence, Kansas]], it has close proximity to the Kansas City television market, increasing the base into western [[Missouri]].

{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable sortable col1left col2right col3left"
|-
! width=80px| State
! width=100px| Population<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov|title=Explore Census Data|publisher=U.S. Census}}</ref>
! width=225px| Universities
|-
|[[Arizona]]
|7,431,344
|* '''[[University of Arizona]]'''
<nowiki>*</nowiki> '''[[Arizona State University]]'''
|-
| [[Colorado]]
| 5,773,714
| * '''[[University of Colorado Boulder]]'''
|-
| [[Florida]]
| 22,610,726
| * '''[[University of Central Florida]]'''
|-
| [[Iowa]]
| 3,207,004
| * '''[[Iowa State University]]'''
|-
| [[Kansas]]
| 2,940,546
| * '''[[University of Kansas]]'''<br />* '''[[Kansas State University]]'''
|-
| [[Ohio]]
| 11,785,935
| * '''[[University of Cincinnati]]'''
|-
| [[Oklahoma]]
| 4,053,824
| * '''[[Oklahoma State University–Stillwater|Oklahoma State University]]'''
|-
| [[Texas]]
| 30,503,301
| * '''[[Baylor University]]'''<br />* '''[[University of Houston]]'''<br />* '''[[Texas Christian University]]'''<br />* '''[[Texas Tech University]]'''
|-
| [[Utah]]
| 3,417,734
| * '''[[Brigham Young University]]''' 
[[University of Utah|'''* University of Utah''']]
|-
| [[West Virginia]]
| 1,770,071
| * '''[[West Virginia University]]'''
|- class=sortbottom| bgcolor="lightgrey"
| Total
| 93,494,199
|
|}

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=== Grant of Rights ===
Member universities granted their first and second tier sports media rights to the conference for the length of their current TV deals. The Grant of Rights (GOR) deal with the leagues' TV contracts ensures that "if a Big 12 school leaves for another league in the next 13 years, that school's media rights, including revenue, would remain with the Big 12 and not its new conference".<ref>{{cite web|last=Ubben|first=David|url=https://www.espn.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/54878/big-12-cements-future-wallets-and-revival|title=Big 12 extends rights deal, cementing future – Big 12 Blog – ESPN|date=7 September 2012|publisher=Espn.go.com|access-date=2014-03-29}}</ref>

GOR is seen by league members as a "foundation of stability" and allowed the Big 12 to be "positioned with one of the best media rights arrangements in collegiate sports, providing the conference and its members unprecedented revenue growth, and sports programming over two networks." All members agreed to the GOR and later agreed to extend the initial 6-year deal to 13 years to correspond to the length of their TV contracts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/college/by-signing-away-tv-rights-horns-offer-stability--1/nRn93/|title=By signing away TV rights, Horns offer stability to Big 12|publisher=www.statesman.com|access-date=2014-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226195112/http://www.statesman.com/news/sports/college/by-signing-away-tv-rights-horns-offer-stability--1/nRn93/|archive-date=2013-12-26|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Prior to this agreement, the Big Ten and Pac-12 also had similar GOR agreements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/07/report-big-12-tv-announcement-coming-friday|title=Updated: Big 12 TV deal made official &#124; CollegeFootballTalk|publisher=Collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com|access-date=2014-03-29|archive-date=2013-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226212244/http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/07/report-big-12-tv-announcement-coming-friday/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Big 12 subsequently assisted the ACC in drafting its GOR agreement.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chuck Carlton|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/headlines/20130525-carlton-a-year-into-big-12-tenure-bob-bowlsby-has-seen-conference-stabilize-but-won-t-rest-on-his-laurels.ece|title=Carlton: A year into Big 12 tenure, Bob Bowlsby has seen conference stabilize, but won't rest on his laurels &#124; Dallas Morning News|publisher=Dallasnews.com|date=2013-05-25|access-date=2014-03-29}}</ref> Three of the four major conferences now have such agreements, with the SEC the only exception.

=== Tier 3 events ===

The Big 12 is the only major conference that allows members to monetize TV rights for tier 3 events in football and men's basketball.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wvillustrated.com/story/18305309/what-exactly-are-tier-three-rights|title=What Exactly Are Tier Three Rights?|access-date=2017-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213090211/http://www.wvillustrated.com/story/18305309/what-exactly-are-tier-three-rights|archive-date=2017-02-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> This allows individual Big 12 member institutions to create tier 3 deals that include TV rights for one home football game and four home men's basketball games per season. Tier 3 rights exist for other sports as well, but these are not unique to the Big 12. The unique arrangement potentially allows Big 12 members to remain some of college sports' highest revenue earners. Other conferences' cable deals are subject to value reductions based on how people acquire cable programming; Big 12 universities' tier 3 deals are exempt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205681088|title=A Year Later, Big 12 Is Stronger Than Ever – Big 12 Conference – Official Athletic Site|publisher=Big12sports.com|access-date=2014-03-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226210558/http://www.big12sports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=205681088|archive-date=2013-12-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> Texas alone earned more than $150 million of that total from their Longhorn Network before it was shut down with its move to the SEC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thebiglead.com/2011/08/08/longhorn-network-contract-between-texas-and-espn-revealed-big-12-future-not-bright/|title=Longhorn Network Contract Between Texas and ESPN Revealed, Big 12 Future Not Bright|publisher=The Big Lead|date=2011-08-08|access-date=2014-03-29}}</ref>

As of 2022, all of the Big 12's tier 3 rights are held by ESPN; it bought the tier 3 rights to most Big 12 teams (besides Oklahoma) in 2019, moving the events exclusively to [[ESPN+]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moyle|first=Nick|date=July 15, 2019|title=Big 12 notes: Conference gets presence on ESPN+|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/college/article/Big-12-notes-Conference-gets-presence-on-ESPN-14097748.php|access-date=September 13, 2020|website=HoustonChronicle.com}}</ref> The Oklahoma Sooners retained an agreement with [[Bally Sports Oklahoma]] (which distributed its football game via [[pay-per-view]]) until 2022, when it also sold its rights to ESPN+. Prior to its departure to the SEC, ESPN also ran a dedicated cable network for the Texas Longhorns known as [[Longhorn Network]], as a joint venture between the university and [[Learfield]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=ESPN+ and OU Announce Multi-Year 'SoonerVision on ESPN+' Agreement|url=https://soonersports.com/news/2022/5/5/athletics-espn-and-the-university-of-oklahoma-announce-multi-year-soonervision-on-espn-agreement.aspx|access-date=May 5, 2022|website=University of Oklahoma}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=May 5, 2022|title=Oklahoma's PPV football game is going away|url=https://awfulannouncing.com/ncaa/oklahoma-espn-ppv-sooner-sports-tv-bally-sports.html|access-date=May 5, 2022|website=Awful Announcing}}</ref>

=== Business partnerships and innovation ===
The Big 12 has a sponsorship rights partnership with [[Learfield IMG College]].<ref>{{Cite web|title= Big 12 Conference|url=https://www.learfield.com/partner/big-12-sports-properties/|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=learfield.com|date=26 June 2021|language=en}}</ref> The Big 12 announced on September 9, 2022, that it appointed WME Sports and [[IMG (company)|IMG Media]], [[Endeavor (company)|Endeavor]] companies, to facilitate its global content and commercial strategy. Commissioner Brett Yormark stated "We have aligned with a best-in-class team to build a best-in-class business strategy for the Conference".<ref>{{Cite web|title= Big 12 Taps Endeavor for TV Talks and Commercial Media Growth|url=https://www.sportico.com/business/commerce/2022/big12-media-rights-endeavor-1234690014/|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=sportico.com|date=29 September 2022|language=en}}</ref> November 14, 2022 Big 12 formed a comprehensive business advisor board composed of over three dozen entrepreneurial icons and respective industry leaders. From the likes of [[Monte Lipman]] the Founder/CEO [[Republic Records]], [[Steve Stoute]] Founder/CEO [[UnitedMasters]] & Translation, [[Mark Shapiro (media executive)|Mark Shapiro]] President of Endeavor, [[Gary Vaynerchuk]]’s VaynerMedia, singer [[Garth Brooks]], NBA legend [[Jason Kidd]], Keith Sheldon President of Entertainment for [[Hard Rock Cafe]] International, and [[Ross Levinsohn]] Chairman and CEO - The Arena Group & [[Sports Illustrated]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Big 12 Conference Forms Business Advisory Board {{sic|Comprised|hide=y|of}} Entrepreneurial Icons and Industry Leaders|url=https://big12sports.com/news/2022/11/12/big-12-conference-forms-business-advisory-board-comprised-of-entrepreneurial-icons-and-industry-leaders.aspx|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=big12sports.com|date=14 November 2022|language=en}}</ref>

The Big 12 partnered with creative agency Translation to help build a more contemporary audience and brand.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Big 12 brings on Translation to help build more contemporary brand|url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2022/10/17/Colleges/Big-12-hires-Translation-Steve-Stoute.aspx|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=sportsbusinessjournal.com|date=17 October 2022|language=en}}</ref>
Soon after Big 12 Conference made a deal with [[A Bathing Ape]] (BAPE) for Championship games. The Conference and BAPE worked together to create limited-edition clothing and a camouflaged Big 12 logo throughout the stadium, arena, and uniforms.

The Big 12 has 11 official corporate partners: [[Allstate]], [[Children's Health (health care system)|Children’s Health]], [[Dr Pepper]], [[Gatorade]], Grand Caliber, Old Trapper, On Location, [[Phillips 66]], [[Sonic Drive-In|Sonic Hard Seltzer]], [[Sprouts Farmers Market]], and Tickets For Less. There are dozens of other companies engaged as sponsors of the conference.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Big 12 brings 11 sponsors to title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington|url= https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/en/SB-Blogs/SBJ-Unpacks/2022/12/02/big-12-sponsors|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=sportsbusinessjournal.com|date= 2 December 2022|language=en}}</ref>

==== Conference Pro Day ====
On March 15, 2023, before the [[NFL Draft]], the Big 12 announced the first of its kind across all [[List of NCAA conferences|college conferences]], being a conference-wide [[Pro Day]]. Instead of schools hosting separate pro days for their football players, there will be only one conference-wide scouting event before the 2024 NFL draft. The event will be held at the [[Dallas Cowboys]] training complex, [[Ford Center at The Star]]. What essentially would be a conference version of the [[NFL combine]], the Pro Day would be televised on [[NFL Network]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Big 12 Announces Conference-Wide Pro Day Before 2024 NFL Draft|url=https://www.si.com/college/2023/03/16/big-12-conference-pro-day-before-2024-nfl-draft|access-date=March 22, 2023|website=si.com|date=15 March 2023|language=en}}</ref>

==== Hoops in the Park ====
In March, the Big 12 Conference announced a partnership with the legendary [[Rucker Park]] for a community engagement event. In June the event was officially announced as "Big 12 Hoops in the Park", to host men's and women's summer exhibition games. Throughout the event, the Big 12 is also preparing a number of entertainment activities and community engagements. The activities include youth clinics, meet-and-greets, live music, and food.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Participating Coaches and Partners Announced for Big 12 Conference's Rucker Park Program, "Big 12 Hoops in the Park"|url=https://big12sports.com/news/2023/6/22/mens-basketball-participating-coaches-and-partners-announced-for-big-12-conferences-rucker-park-program-big-12-hoops-in-the-park.aspx|access-date=July 12, 2023|website=big12sports.com|date=22 June 2023|language=en}}</ref>

==== Mexico ====
Early June 2023, the "Big 12 Mexico" initiative was announced, which includes men's and women's soccer, baseball, basketball, and football games and an international media rights strategy. Big 12 Mexico debuted in December 2024 with men's and women's basketball games between Kansas and Houston at [[Mexico City Arena|Arena CDMX]] in [[Mexico City]]. The Big 12 will also consider hosting a football bowl game in [[Monterrey]] beginning in 2026. This would be the first-ever bowl game in Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Big 12 Is Officially Expanding To Mexico|url=https://frontofficesports.com/the-big-12-is-officially-expanding-to-mexico/|access-date=July 12, 2023|website=frontofficesports.com|date=8 June 2023|language=en}}</ref>