Big 12 exploring 10-game conference football schedule
May 29, 2026, 1:12 PM | Updated: 8:43 pm
Big 12 Conference welcomes their newest rivalry with hype video. (Courtesy of Getty Images)
(Courtesy of Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Big 12’s push to reshape the future of college football could eventually reach the regular-season schedule.
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark has made no secret of his desire to position the conference for more access, more visibility and more value in the next era of the College Football Playoff. Now, that conversation includes the possibility of moving to 10 conference football games if the CFP expands to 24 teams.
“If” is the key word there, it is not even clear yet whether the sport will move to a 24-team playoff model. But the fact the idea is being explored matters.
The Big 12 is considering moving to 10 conference games in football and 20 conference games in men's basketball in the future, says commissioner Brett Yormark. Those discussions will continue.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) May 29, 2026
For the Big 12, though it’s only one more conference game, a 10-game conference schedule would be a major shift. The league currently plays nine conference games, giving each team three nonconference opportunities.
Moving to 10 would leave programs with only two nonconference games and force athletic departments to rethink how they build schedules, protect rivalries and balance resume strength with bowl eligibility.
Why the Big 12 would consider it
The biggest reason is simple: inventory. More conference games mean more Big 12-controlled matchups. That matters for television partners, future media negotiations and the league’s effort to sell itself as one of the deepest conferences in college football.
Yormark has consistently emphasized the Big 12’s competitive depth. A 10-game league schedule would lean into that argument. Instead of relying on nonconference games that can vary wildly in quality, the conference would create more guaranteed Big 12 matchups each season.
That could help the league’s visibility. It could also help create cleaner comparisons inside the conference standings.
In a 16-team league, a nine-game schedule still leaves plenty of separation between teams. Some contenders avoid each other. Some schedules are clearly tougher than others.
Adding a 10th league game would not solve every imbalance, but it would create one more data point and one more opportunity for the league’s best teams to separate.
What it could mean for nonconference scheduling
The biggest impact would come outside the league. A move from nine to 10 conference games would immediately make nonconference scheduling more selective.
Programs would have less room for the traditional mix of one Power Four opponent, one Group of Five opponent and one FCS or lower-level game. Something would have to give.
For some schools, the first thing to disappear could be high-profile nonconference games. Athletic directors may be reluctant to pair 10 Big 12 games with another major Power Four opponent unless the playoff committee clearly rewards schedule strength.
For others, the buy-game market would be the first option off the table. That would hurt the schools that depend on those games for revenue, but would eliminate concerns over softer schedules, which becomes a factor later in the season as teams jockey for positioning in the playoff rankings.
All together, the result could be a cleaner but less varied schedule.
More room for protected rivalries?
A 10-game Big 12 schedule could also create a path for more protected rivalry games inside the league.
That may be one of the biggest benefits of adding another conference game. In a 16-team league, a nine-game schedule still makes it difficult to preserve every meaningful annual matchup while also rotating through the rest of the conference at a reasonable pace. A 10th league game would give the Big 12 more flexibility to protect additional rivalries without completely sacrificing schedule variety.
For Utah & BYU, the Holy War is already the obvious protected game. But across the league, there are several matchups that carry regional history, fan interest or emerging conference significance.
More protected games would help the Big 12 lean into those rivalries and create more annual inventory that feels familiar, emotional and valuable.
That matters in a league still building its new identity after expansion. The Big 12 has depth, but it also needs games that fans immediately recognize as appointment viewing. Protected rivalries help create that.
There would still be tradeoffs. More protected games can make scheduling balance harder, especially if certain rivalry pairings are consistently stronger than others. But from a branding and television standpoint, the appeal is obvious.
A 10-game schedule would not just add another conference opponent. It could give the Big 12 a better chance to build annual rivalry windows that make the league feel more connected, more regional and more marketable.
The bottom line
The Big 12 exploring a 10-game conference schedule in and of itself is interesting. The idea depends entirely on what happens next with College Football Playoff expansion, but the conversation itself is revealing.
Yormark is looking for ways to make the Big 12 more valuable, more visible and more compelling in the next version of college football. A 10-game league schedule would be one way to do that.
It would create more Big 12-controlled inventory, more conference matchups, more rivalry opportunities and fewer scheduling loopholes. It would also force programs to be far more intentional with their nonconference games.
A 10-game schedule would not be a small tweak, but if the playoff expands, the Big 12 may decide that more league games are worth the risk.
