HOUSTON — The Houston Cougars are one of four programs joining the Big 12 for the first time in 2023, along with UCF, BYU, and Cincinnati.
They won't be the newcomers for long, however, with Colorado following suit to join them in 2024 after a little over a decade spent in the Pac-12 came to an end on Thursday morning.
Houston and Colorado don't have a ton of history between them, although Colorado's head coach Deion Sanders did land former Houston running back Alton McCaskill via the transfer portal this offseason, a pattern that might continue according to Locked on Coogs host Parker Ainsworth.
"Deion and Colorado will be in Texas recruiting a lot of the same kids," Ainsworth said. "You're going to start seeing Colorado as a player for kids in Houston. Coach Prime has proven to be a good recruiter, that's going to be interesting to watch."
The Big 12 is now up to 13 members with Colorado's arrival, a number that is likely going to change very soon. Commissioner Brett Yormark is hoping to add at least one more member, and potentially three more, to help the conference continue expanding westward.
For Houston, an addition like Arizona would be very valuable on the hardwood, as the Coogs boast one of the best college basketball programs in the country and adding more marquee opponents to the already stacked schedule that includes Kansas and Baylor would only strengthen this team's chances of taking home a title in March.
Colorado's basketball pedigree is not quite as steep, although Tad Boyle has a very solid squad on his hands with TCU transfer Eddie Lampkin and incoming freshman Cody Williams joining Tristan Da Silva and KJ Simpson for the Buffs next season.
This story, and the Big 12's quest to expand even further, is continuing to develop.