Jul. 4—Saturday made it official, but July 12 and 13 will offer the first glimpse of a new reality — the Big 12 conference is expanding.

There will be plenty of discussion surrounding Oklahoma and Texas’ last Big 12 media days next week, but BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will each also have their moment in the spotlight as the conference’s newest members. The Sooners will get the chance to see three of those four teams (BYU, Cincinnati and UCF) in their final season before moving to the SEC.

None of those three teams have faced the Sooners in the last decade.

Here’s a look at Oklahoma’s newest conference foes: BYU

The last time the Sooners faced the Cougars in 2009, BYU was a member of the Mountain West Conference. Two years later, BYU became an independent, signing an eight-year television contract with ESPN.

After posting four 10-win seasons in their final five seasons in the Mountain West, BYU had just one 10-win season over its next nine as an independent. The Cougars have seen improvement over their last three seasons under head coach Kalani Sitake, going 29-9 over that span.

The Cougars have a 58.1% all-time record since beginning football in 1922, which ranks 34th among all programs nationally. Their lone national championship came on the heels of a perfect 12-0 season in 1984.

In 2009, the 20th-ranked Cougars upset the No. 3 Sooners in the season-opener, 14-13, in a game that featured just one second-half touchdown. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford went down with a shoulder injury in the closing seconds of the first half.

Cincinnati

Few programs have a football history that goes back as far as the Bearcats do.

Cincinnati played its first game in 1885 and first began its in-state rivalry with Miami (OH) three years later in 1888. The Battle of the Victory Bell has been played 122 times and is under contract to continue through 2029.

The Bearcats are no stranger to changing conferences. Since losing its status as an independent in 1995, Cincinnati has joined Conference USA, the Big East, The American and now the Big 12.

During that span, Cincinnati has been coached by big names like Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Tommy Tuberville and Luke Fickell. In 2021, Fickell helped lead the Bearcats to a 13-1 season and an appearance in the College Football Playoffs. The Sooners faced Cincinnati in 2008 and 2010, winning both meetings.

Now, first-year head coach Scott Sattersfield will lead the Bearcats into their inaugural season in the Big 12.

Houston

The Cougars become the sixth Texas school to join the Big 12 since it was founded in 1994. Ranking 63rd in winning percentage nationally at 54.7% with just 30 bowl appearances in 76 seasons, success has never come consistently for the Houston football program.

Still, Houston has been to a bowl game in each of the last 20 seasons and is two years removed from a 12-2 season that ended with a win over Auburn in the Birmingham Bowl. The Sooners have gone 3-1 against Houston all-time.

Oklahoma knocked off Houston at home, 49-31, in 2019, but lost 33-23 in 2016 in a game that was played at the Texans’ NRG Stadium.

UCF

UCF has seen its program rise from the ranks of Division III in 1979 all the way up to joining a Power Five Division I conference in 2023. The Golden Knights have seen tremendous improvement over the last two decades with seven 10-win seasons since 2007.

In 2017, UCF went a perfect 13-0 and won the Peach Bowl over Auburn. The Golden Knights won the American Athletic Conference four times in 10 seasons and have only missed one bowl season during that stretch.

Head coach Gus Malzahn has gone 9-4 and 9-5 in his first two seasons with the program. Last season, the Golden Knights made an appearance in the AAC title game, falling to Tulane.