IRVING, Texas — The 30th season of Big 12 football is set to commence with a noteworthy conference matchup in Dublin, Ireland.
The much-anticipated season-opening game will feature Kansas State squaring off against Iowa State on August 23, a matchup previously confirmed. On Tuesday, the Big 12 unveiled the remainder of its football schedule, which includes each of the 16 member teams competing in nine conference games that will culminate in the championship game on December 6, hosted in Arlington, Texas.

Throughout the season, there will be just two weekends where all 16 teams participate. These weekends are Labor Day and Thanksgiving, during which eight conference games will take place to close out the regular season.

The reigning champions of the Big 12, Arizona State, are slated to commence their conference journey on September 20, taking on Baylor. This opening date coincides with Kansas’s debut against West Virginia in their upgraded stadium, where Rich Rodriguez returns as the head coach, resuming his tenure after previously coaching the team in the Big East from 2001-2007.

Scott Frost will make his return to UCF, having previously served as their coach in 2016 and 2017 while they were part of the American Athletic Conference. His initial Big 12 game is scheduled for September 27, where the Knights will face Kansas State.

Currently, the Big 12’s broadcasting partners—including ESPN, Fox, and TNT Sports—have not finalized their game selections for the season’s first three weeks. The conference noted that certain Saturday games may be rescheduled to Fridays or other specific dates based on the decisions made by these networks.

This coming season will also feature 14 matchups between Big 12 teams and those from other Power Four conferences. Notably, Baylor will host Auburn during the Labor Day weekend. Furthermore, Nebraska is set to play Cincinnati in Kansas City on Thursday, August 28, while TCU will compete against North Carolina on September 1, marking Bill Belichick’s debut as the Tar Heels’ head coach.

Arizona and Kansas State will face each other during the weekend of September 13; however, this game will not impact conference standings. It is part of pre-existing scheduling agreements established before Arizona joined the league in the previous season’s expansion to 16 teams.