Houston, Cincinnati And UCF Expected To Join Big 12 Conference In 2023

An arrival date has been set for the Big 12 Conference to grow by three schools.

The American Athletic Conference announced Friday that it has reached termination agreements with three of its member institutions: the University of Houston, the University of Central Florida and the University of Cincinnati.

All three schools will no longer be affiliated with the AAC, effective July 1, 2023. UH, UCF and Cincinnati -- which were extended invitations into the Big 12 -- are expected to join their new conference next summer.

AAC commissioner Mike Aresco released a statement on the schools' departures.

“I would like to thank UCF President Alexander Cartwright, Cincinnati President Neville Pinto and Houston President Renu Khator – as well as Tulane President Michael Fitts, who is chair of our Board of Directors - for their efforts and leadership to arrive at a sensible resolution to the three schools’ departure from the conference. All three institutions enjoyed tremendous success under the American Athletic Conference banner, and all three were instrumental in taking the conference to great heights, both athletically and academically. We wish them the best and look forward to having them compete in our conference in 2022-23.”

According to The Athletic, each school will have to fork over a heavy chunk of change to exit the AAC early.

Houston's Big 12 arrival means Cougars men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson will have the opportunity to face familiar conference opponents like Texas and Oklahoma, at least until 2025 when both schools are expected to jump to the Southeastern Conference.

Sampson coached at OU from 1994-2006 and has helped lead Houston to Sweet Sixteen, Final Four and Elite Eight appearances since the 2018-19 season.

Central Florida and Cincinnati will open up new recruiting grounds for Big 12 teams, specifically for football.

Both schools have also had their own recent football success. UCF has competed in three New Year's Six bowl games since 2013, including a perfect 13-0 season in 2017. The Bearcats made the College Football Playoff last season.