Big 12 Scrapping Preseason Media Poll After Consecutive Backwards Finishes

Arizona State won the Big 12 championship in their first year in the conference in 2024 despite being picked to finish last. West Virginia ended the 2023 season in fourth after being projected to be at the bottom.

All in all, the Big 12 media poll has been frequently wrong in recent years. And coming off such a backwards year based on expectations, the conference’s coaches and athletic directors have decided to just scrap the poll all together.

The Big 12 will now join the Big Ten as the only conferences without a preseason poll, as first reported by Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.

In addition to ASU proving doubters wrong, Utah was picked as the preseason favorite in the Big 12 going into the 2024 season. Instead, the Utes had one of the program’s worst seasons in years, going 5-7 (2-7).

The 2024 Big 12 Preseason Poll along with the teams’ actual finish is listed below.

1. Utah Utes (T-13th with 2-7 Big 12 record, 5-7 overall)
2. Kansas State Wildcats (T-8th with 5-4 Big 12 record, 9-4 overall)
3. Oklahoma State Cowboys (16th with 0-9 Big 12 record, 3-9 overall)
4. Kansas Jayhawks (10th with 4-5 Big 12 record, 5-7 overall)
5. Arizona Wildcats (T-13th with 2-7 Big 12 record, 4-8 overall)
6. Iowa State Cyclones (T-1st with 7-2 Big 12 record, 11-3 overall)
7. West Virginia Mountaineers (T-8th with 5-4 Big 12 record, 6-7 overall)
8. UCF Knights (T-13th with 2-7 Big 12 record, 4-8 overall)
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders (T-5th with Big 12 6-3 record, 8-5 overall)
10. TCU Horned Frogs (T-5th with Big 12 6-3 record, 9-4 overall)
11. Colorado Buffaloes (T-1st with Big 12 7-2 record, 9-4 overall)
12. Baylor Bears (T-5th with Big 12 6-3 record, 8-5 overall)
13. BYU Cougars (T-1st with 7-2 Big 12 record, 11-2 overall)
14. Cincinnati Bearcats (T-11th with 3-6 Big 12 record, 5-7 overall)
15. Houston Cougars (T-11th with 3-6 Big 12 record, 4-8 overall)
16. Arizona State Sun Devils (T-1st with 7-2 Big 12 record, 11-3 overall)

Despite getting rid of the poll itself, Big 12 players will still be placed on preseason All-Big 12 teams.

The Big 12 Media Days will be held in Frisco, Texas on July 8 and 9.

Find more coverage of the Big 12 at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Rich Rodriguez explains why he believes WVU will contend for Big 12 title in 2025.