The Big 12 Conference plans to explore a potential college football bowl game in Mexico beginning in 2026, it was announced on Thursday.
The game would be played in Monterrey, Mexico, presumably at Estadio BBVA. The stadium is the home of C.F. Monterrey, a Mexican professional football (soccer) club that plays in Liga MX, the top tier of Mexican football. Estadio BBVA currently has a seating capacity of 53,500.
Commissioner Brett Yormark also announced that Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball, women’s soccer, and baseball games will be played in Mexico. The initiative is dubbed Big 12 Mexico and the first contest will feature a men’s and women’s basketball matchup between the Kansas Jayhawks and Houston Cougars at Arena CDMX in Mexico City in December of 2024.
“Mexico is a natural extension to the Big 12 footprint, and I’m thrilled to introduce Big 12 Mexico as the Conference’s first-ever international presence,” said Commissioner Brett Yormark. “Through Big 12 Mexico, our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete in an international setting, and our Conference will have the chance to showcase our brand across Mexico.”
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams beginning in 2024, it’s not clear yet how the remainder of the bowl games will shake out. Currently, there are 43 games including the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The addition of four first-round and four quarterfinal round playoff games would balloon that number to 51, or 52 if the Big 12 Mexico bowl game pans out. It’s likely that several bowl games will fold, unless the NCAA modifies their minimum requirements to play in the post-season.