The Big 12 football schedule 2024 early season kickoff times and TV slate has been announced, which features 44 games set for broadcast in the first three weeks.
For the 2024 season, the Big 12 expands to 16 teams with the addition of the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Colorado Buffaloes, and Utah Utes. The Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns depart the Big 12 and join the SEC.
Four Big 12 members are slated to kickoff their campaigns on Thursday, Aug. 29. The UCF Knights host the New Hampshire Wildcats (7:00pm ET, ESPN+), Colorado Buffaloes host the North Dakota State Bison (8:00pm ET, ESPN), Kansas Jayhawks host the Lindenwood Lions (8:00pm ET, ESPN+), and Utah Utes host the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (9:00pm ET, ESPN+).
On Friday, Aug. 30, the TCU Horned Frogs open their season on the road against the Stanford Cardinal of the ACC. The game will kickoff at 10:30pm ET with television coverage via ESPN.
The 11 remaining members of the Big 12 are scheduled to play non-conference opponents on Saturday, Aug. 31, which is highlighted by the West Virginia Mountaineers hosting the Penn State Nittany Lions at Noon ET on FOX.
The 2024 Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game is set for Saturday, Dec. 7 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game will be televised by ABC at a time to be determined.
Listed below are the Big 12 games that have been selected for television as of May 30, including several contests from Week 4 onward. All remaining Big 12 controlled games will be announced six-to-12 days prior to the date of the game.
Big 12 football schedule 2024: Early season kickoff times, TV
*All times Eastern.
Thursday, Aug. 29
New Hampshire at UCF – 7pm, ESPN+
North Dakota State at Colorado – 8pm, ESPN
Lindenwood at Kansas – 8pm, ESPN+
Southern Utah at Utah – 9pm, ESPN+
Friday, Aug. 30
TCU at Stanford – 10:30pm, ESPN
Saturday, Aug. 31
Penn State West Virginia – 12pm, FOX
Towson at Cincinnati – 2:30pm, ESPN+
North Dakota at Iowa State – 3:30pm, FS1
Tarleton State at Baylor – 7pm, ESPN+
UNLV at Houston – 7pm, FS1
UT Martin at K-State – 7pm, ESPN+
Abilene Christian at Texas Tech – 7:30pm, ESPN+
Southern Illinois at BYU – 8pm, ESPN+
New Mexico at Arizona – 9:30pm, ESPN
Wyoming at Arizona State – 9:30pm, FS1
South Dakota State at Oklahoma State – TBD, ESPN+
Friday, Sept. 6
BYU at SMU – 7pm, ESPN2
Saturday, Sept. 7
Arkansas at Oklahoma State – 12pm, ABC
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – 12pm, ESPN or ESPN2
K-State at Tulane – 12pm, ESPN or ESPN2
Baylor at Utah – 3:30pm, FOX
Iowa State at Iowa – 3:30pm, CBS
UAlbany at West Virginia – 6pm, ESPN+
Sam Houston at UCF – 6:30pm, ESPN+
Kansas at Illinois – 7pm, FS1
Colorado at Nebraska – 7:30pm, NBC
Houston at Oklahoma – 7:45pm, SECN
Long Island at TCU – 8pm, ESPN+
Northern Arizona at Arizona – 9pm, ESPN+
Texas Tech at Washington State – 10pm, FOX
Mississippi State at Arizona State – 10:30pm, ESPN
Thursday, Sept. 12
Arizona State at Texas State – 7:30pm, ESPN
Friday, Sept. 13
UNLV at Kansas – 7pm, ESPN
Arizona at K-State – 8pm, FOX
Saturday, Sept. 14
Oklahoma State at Tulsa – 12pm, ESPN2
North Texas at Texas Tech – 12pm, FS1
Cincinnati at Miami (Ohio) – 12pm, ESPNU
West Virginia at Pitt – 3:30pm, ESPN or ESPN2
Utah at Utah State – 4:30pm, CBSSN
UCF at TCU – 7:30pm, FOX
Air Force at Baylor – 7:30pm, FS1
Colorado at Colorado State – 7:30pm, CBS
Rice at Houston – 8pm, ESPN+
BYU at Wyoming – 9pm, CBSSN
Saturday, Sept. 21
Arkansas State at Iowa State – 2pm, ESPN+
Friday, Oct. 4
Houston at TCU – 7:30pm, ESPN
Friday, Oct. 11
Utah at Arizona State – 10:30pm, ESPN
Friday, Oct. 18
Oklahoma State at BYU – 10:15pm, ESPN
Friday, Nov. 15
Houston at Arizona – 10:15pm, FS1
Friday, Nov. 29
Oklahoma State at Colorado – 12pm, ABC
Utah at UCF – 8pm, FOX
Saturday, Dec. 7
Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship – TBA, ABC
Football Schedules
The Big 12 and SEC should go to seven conference games so that not only the Border War and Bedlam can be played on an annual basis as non-conference games, but also make room for more top-notch OOC games (think about it, Alabama-Michigan is more attractive to TV networks than say Northwestern-Purdue).
For conference play, the Big 12 should organize into pods as follows:
Central: Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State
East: Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, West Virginia
Texas: Baylor, Houston, TCU, Texas Tech
West: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Utah
Each team would play its pod rivals every year and rotate among the other pods on a 6-year schedule. Each year two pairings of pods would be paired with each other. This is not unlike the scheduling formula used by the NFL.
These should be the Thanksgiving weekend games:
Arizona-Arizona State
BYU-Utah
Cincinnati-Iowa State
Colorado-Oklahoma State
Kansas-Kansas State
UCF-West Virginia
The Texas schools can take turns playing each other at the end of the season, since there are no two rivalries that really stand out among them.
The regional pod head-to-head winners would get automatic bids to the following Big 12 bowls, provided they are eligible and not in the CFP:
Central: Liberty
East: Pop-Tarts
Texas: Alamo
West: Guaranteed Rate
Oklahoma State-Oklahoma ESPN+ would do game if it’s played in Stillwater & SEC Network would do game if it’s played in Norman same thing Kansas-Missouri ESPN+ would do game if it’s played in Lawrence & SEC Network would do game if it’s played in Columbia.
Networks CBS,FOX,ABC & NBC want to do Conference games NOT cupcake games & term not attractive for Conference games should NEVER again be posted Conference games are heart & soul of College Football.
Z-Man is still mourning Big Ten on ESPN & SEC on CBS.
Once again adding more teams to a conference should be increasing conference games, not decreasing them. I don’t want to have to wait 6-8 years for my team to play every team in the conference. The networks are paying for conference games, not non conference cupcakes. What’s the point in playing in a conference if you hardly play all the teams? Example Texas A&M joined the SEC in 2012, do you know how many times they have played Georgia? Once! In Athens.(2019) UGA has never been to Kyle field. As the schedule stands through next season they are not schedule to play each other. That will be 13 years in the same conference and played each other once! I know this is an extremely rare, but this is a problem. I a pretty sure there are a few other examples of this where two teams have played only twice since 2012.
6 years isn’t that long. You’d still play everyone at least once in 3 years, and twice in 6 years.
To Jeff B. Your Comments are fantastic I am A Fan of increasing Conference Games & hope to see more & more & more of them in future.
Z-Man you NEED to see a Specialist of some kind & you are a very,very,very mixed up individual you just what to control College Football & you would be a very poor candidate for it.
Fantastic Comments Jeff B.
To Z-Man please think of other College Football Fans than just yourself.
Also what you said about Northwestern-Purdue was very offensive please leave Conference games alone that is real meanning of College Football not Cupcakes.
Calling September fans of Non cupcake Nonconference games.
Friday night lights BYU Cougars Vs the ACC’s SMU Mustangs will be a hard fought game with Trust Conf. Prestige rights on the line.
Saturday night in Laramie Wyoming is a rancorous match between 2 longtime former W.A.C. & M.W. Foes.
Wyoming vs Utah cultural animus is on full display when BYU vs Wyoming is in War Memorial Stadium.
With rumors of Notre Dame-USC ending it’s long standing rivalry My suggestion in 2025 that My Michigan Wolverines would make a fantastic replacement opponent for Notre Dame & USC would make a fantastic replacement opponent for My Arizona State Sun Devils although I would like Michigan to reschedule with Central Michigan & Arizona State to reschedule with Texas State.
Weeks Zero & 1’s 63 scholarship Vs 85 scholarship Junior Varsity Exhibitions delay Fans from seeing what their teams are really made of.
From September 7th on there will be mostly better matched contests for the Oranges vs Oranges excitement seeking Fans.
This is the last time to air Big 12 football games ESPN+.
Big 12 needs to launch their own Network to fill Pac 12 Network void.