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With new conference member West Virginia free of their legal obligations to the Big East, the Big 12 was finally able to release its 2012 football schedule on Tuesday.
With the Big 12's announcement of a ten team, nine conference game schedule for 2012, here's a few notes on the new look conference's upcoming season:
For more on college football in every conference, check out SB Nation's college football page.
The full Big 12 schedule was released on Tuesday, but it appears that there may be some changes here and there before all is said and done.
The schedule that was released by the conference had the Texas Longhorns hosting new Big 12 members the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, November 24. The latest news is that the teams may instead be a marquee college matchup on Thanksgiving Day.
Chip Brown from Orangebloods.com relayed via Twitter on Tuesday that he was told the Texas-TCU game would "definitely" be moving from Thanksgiving Saturday to Thursday, November 22.
The move would seem to make for a game that will be promoted heavily by the NCAA and is sure to be a big event in Texas.
For all news and information regarding the Texas Longhorns, please visit Burnt Orange Nation or Barking Carnival. For complete coverage of the Big 12, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NCAA football hub.
With the addition of TCU to the Big 12, DFW-area college football fans will have the chance to see far more Big 12 football in person in 2012.
In preparation for their jump to a BCS conference, the Horned Frogs began renovating Amon G. Carter Stadium in late 2010. The construction, which will cost the school $165 million, is set to be finished by the Horned Frogs home opener on Sep. 17 against Louisiana-Monroe, and will push capacity from 50,000 to over 70,000.
The big question for the small private school will be whether their comparatively small alumni base will be able to fill all the new seats, especially against state schools like Texas and Oklahoma with huge alumni contingents in the DFW metroplex.
TCU will travel to Austin to play the Longhorns on Nov. 24 and will host the Sooners on Dec. 1 as part of their 2012 conference schedule:
September 15: at Kansas
October 6: Iowa State
October 13: at Baylor
October 20: Texas Tech
October 27: at Oklahoma State
November 3: at West Virginia
November 10: Kansas State
November 24: at Texas
December 1: Oklahoma
For more analysis of TCU's 2012 football schedule, head over to Frogs O' War.
With TCU and West Virginia replacing Texas A&M and Missouri in the new-look Big 12, the conference will remain at 10 members for at least one more year, which will make Baylor's efforts to replace Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III an even bigger challenge.
While conference schools used to be avoid one half of the other division annually, Baylor gets the full slate of all nine members of the new-look Big 12 next season, including a road date in Morgantown for West Virginia's first ever Big 12 game.
And with the school finally reaching a settlement with the Big East, the Big 12 was able to release its long awaited 2012 football schedule Tuesday:
September 29: at West Virginia
October 13: TCU
October 20: at Texas
October 27: at Iowa State
November 3: Kansas
November 10: at Oklahoma
November 17: Kansas State
November 24: Texas Tech (at Cowboys Stadium)
December 1: Oklahoma State
For more analysis of Baylor's 2012 schedule, head over to Our Daily Bears.
Now that new conference member West Virginia has finally settled its legal dispute with the Big East, the Big 12 released its long-awaited football schedule for the 2012 season Tuesday.
The conference will remain at 10 schools this season, with West Virginia and TCU stepping into the shoes of Missouri and Texas A&M, who have departed for the SEC.
With the Aggies acrimonious departure, the Horned Frogs have been slated to fill their role as Texas' opponent the week of Thanksgiving, but the game has been moved from Thursday to Saturday Nov. 24.
However, it's still unclear whether TCU will become a permanent fixture in that role or whether that spot in the Texas schedule will be rotated within the conference.
With a front-loaded conference schedule in 2012, Mack Brown won't have much time to get his young team prepared during non-conference play. They open the Big 12 season with a visit to defending champion Oklahoma State on Sep. 29 and then follow that with a home date against West Virginia on Oct. 6 and the annual Red River Rivalry game with OU in Dallas on Oct. 13.
Texas' other home conference games next season are against Baylor (Oct. 20) and Iowa State (Nov. 10).
The Longhorns full conference schedule:
September 29: at Oklahoma State
October 6: West Virginia
October 13: Oklahoma (in Dallas)
October 20: Baylor
October 27: at Kansas
November 3: at Texas Tech
November 10: Iowa State
November 24: TCU
December 1: Kansas State
For more analysis and reaction on the Texas schedule, check out Burnt Orange Nation and Barking Carnival.
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The Big 12 Will Have A New Commissioner By July 1 As Chuck Neinas Sets Deadline
The Big 12 can look forward to having a new leader on July 1, as interin commissioner Chuck Neinas informed ESPN.com on Wednesday that he will step down from the position at the college football commissioners' meetings.
"I've agreed to remain on until the end of June," Neinas said, "so I'm fully confident they'll have a new commissioner to be on board the first of July, and probably earlier."
Neinas assumed the Big 12 reigns as former commissioner Dan Beebe resigned in September 2011 due to pressure from conference members after Nebraska and Colorado left the conference in 2010. In 2011, Missouri and Texas A&M also decided to leave the Big 12 for the SEC.
In that time, Neinas helped lead the charge to bring in the newest members of the Big 12 in West Virginia and TCU, thus bringing the conference back to 10 teams. Neinas has said in the past that the conference will consider going back to 12 teams, but no immediate plans have been made as of yet.
For complete coverage of the Big 12, stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated NCAA football hub.
Feb 22 4:36p by Eddie Maisonet