The Big 12 and BIG EAST Conferences announced the creation of a non-conference scheduling series for four seasons, beginning in 2019-20 and continuing through 2022-23. Ten games between the two leagues will be played each season during the month of December.
The yet unnamed series will be played in the local markets of the home teams. An equal number of games shall be played in each conference’s home market each year -- five for the Big 12 and five for the BIG EAST. The home school will have the right to determine the venue of its game.
The broadcast rights of the games will be determined by the conference national television rights agreement of the home team. The Big 12 television rights are controlled by ESPN and the BIG EAST’s men’s basketball television rights are controlled by FOX Sports.
“The Big 12 looks forward to competing against the BIG EAST in this scheduling series. It will provide both conferences with high-quality intersectional matchups on an annual basis that will be of interest to basketball fans across the country,” said Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby.
“This full-participation series assures our schools of premier non-conference competition that will only add to the strength of our two conferences,” said BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman. “We look forward to working with the Big 12 to create an exciting new set of rivalries for our players, coaches and supporters across the country.”
The two conferences will collaborate to determine the matchups each year. All 10 schools from each conference will participate each year, and each team will play four times over the four seasons of the agreement.
Perennially two of the top conferences in the nation, the Big 12 had seven teams make the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship last March, with Kansas advancing to the Final Four. The BIG EAST placed six teams in the 2018 NCAA tournament, with Villanova winning the national championship for the second time in the last three years.
The Big 12 and the BIG EAST are already engaged in home-and-home matchups for the upcoming season due to some pre-existing agreements. The games are: Kansas State at Marquette on December 1, Villanova at Kansas on December 15, Creighton at Oklahoma on December 18, and Providence at Texas on December 21. Return dates in these matchups will be included in the 2019 series, the inaugural year of the arrangement. The complete slate for the first year will be announced in spring 2019.