The American Athletic Conference has reached a mutual agreement with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF for the three schools to depart and join the Big 12 Conference in the summer of 2023, the AAC announced Friday. The three schools join BYU as new Big 12 members.
“I would like to thank UCF President Alexander Cartwright, Cincinnati President Neville Pinto and Houston President Renu Khator – as well as Tulane President Michael Fitts, who is chair of our Board of Directors – for their efforts and leadership to arrive at a sensible resolution to the three schools’ departure from the conference,” said AAC commissioner Mike Aresco in a statement. “All three institutions enjoyed tremendous success under the American Athletic Conference banner, and all three were instrumental in taking the conference to great heights, both athletically and academically. We wish them the best and look forward to having them compete in our conference in 2022-23.”
The decision means that the three schools are now entering their final seasons in the AAC after being founding members.