Why is Arizona against Kansas a Big 12 conference match? Explain the impact of the realignment of NCAA football Originally appeared on Sports news
Friday evening, two Big 12 football teams meet when the Arizona Wildcats welcome the Kansas State Wildcats.
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Only the winner can continue to be called the Wildcats (we are kidding).
But there is a wild quirk to it, beyond the matching nicknames.
Yes, these are two Big 12 teams. But it will not count in the conference classification. It will be as games without a conference between two teams from the same conference.
Confused? We will explain.
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Why is Arizona against Kansas a Big 12 conference match?
Arizona against the state of Kansas was not a match planned by the Big 12 conference this season.
The pair of Wildcats had already had this match on their calendar for September 12, 2025 before they were part of the same league.
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This is because, until recently, Arizona played in the PAC-12.
This was going to be a Power 5 match between two teams looking to take a good test before their conference schedules.
Now it’s a Power 4 game between two teams looking to take a good test before starting to play in the same conference.
When did Arizona join the Big 12?
The first official school year of Arizona in Big 12 was the 2024-25 season.
It is their second fall that plays football in the Big 12.
They were officially admitted to the League in August 2023 after the PAC-12 collapsed.
Kansas State, on the other hand, has been in the league since its foundation in 1996.
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Could Arizona and the state of Kansas also play in the Big 12 season?
It turns out that the most primary that these teams could meet would be the title match of the conference.
It seems unlikely that the Big 12 has put these teams on the league schedules of each other since they already had this match on books.
But technically, it could probably happen. Not this year, however.
This is a unique game as a non -conference game. From next fall, Arizona and Kansas State will play, but this will count in the Big 12 ranking.
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