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Big 12 Considering Mexico Based Bowl Game, Holding Other Events in Country

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American college football being played in Mexico? It could be a possibility thanks to the Big 12, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

The conference is considering starting a bowl game that would be played in Monterrey, Mexico. The target timeframe for this would be the postseason following the 2026 regular season.

In addition to the bowl game, the Big 12 also hopes to hold other sports in Mexico, furthering the conference’s greater strategy in the country. Thamel says ESPN learned that both Kansas and Houston’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have already agreed to play each other in a regular season game in Mexico City in December 2024.

Big 12 teams are expected to play exhibition games against local teams from the Monterrey, Mexico area in both women’s soccer and baseball. The bowl game would be the first postseason contest in Mexico between two American college football teams.

The plan to place events in Mexico was reportedly brought up by commissioner Brett Yormark at the Big 12 meetings at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia last week.

Back to the Bowl Game

If the bowl game in Mexico happens, it will be the second one currently held outside the United States, joining the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau. In the past, the now-defunct International Bowl was played in Toronto, Canada and the Bacardi Bowl took place in Havana, Cuba.

Commissioner Yormark’s Mexico initiative demonstrates his pro-active philosophy in guiding the conference into the future. Recently, he negotiated a six-year television extension with ESPN and Fox, something that’s provided the league necessary stability.

Yormark even sped up the process of the departures of Oklahoma and Texas for the SEC and added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF as new members. There are even continuous rumors about the Big 12’s interest in expanding and inviting other programs as well.

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