SEC vs Big 12 Football

Of course the BIG story in the SEC vs Big 12 football rivalry has been the recent match-ups (2 of last 3) BCS National Championship Games (2009 and 2010). In 2009, Florida beat Oklahoma in the game to win 2009's College Football BCS Championship (2008 season; game played in Jan '09). You can read lot's more about the game at Florida vs Oklahoma. In 2010 it was Alabama beating Texas to win the 2010 BCS Championship Game. Oklahoma also played LSU in the 2003 BCS Title Game, which LSU won. However, before the BCS era, SEC and Big 12 teams played head to head 6 times in bowl games where the winner ended up ranked #1. The Big 12 (or its historical members) was 5-1 vs the SEC in those games. (See spreadsheet linked to below for more). The SEC went 3-0 vs the Big 12 in 2011 – 2012.

It's also worth noting there has been lots of talk about Big 12 members (Texas A&M in particular, but also Oklahoma) joining the SEC. It'll likely happen eventually -- I think.

The Big 12 was officially formed on February 25, 1994, when the former members of the Big Eight Conference merged with four Texas colleges that previously belonged to the Southwest Conference.

The Big 12 (not surprisingly) has 12 teams in its conference. The conference is separated into two different divisions - Big 12 North and Big 12 South.

Big 12 North is composed of the:

  1. Colorado Buffaloes -- actually has left for the Pac-10 --
  2. Missouri Tigers (now in the SEC)
  3. Kansas Jayhawks
  4. Kansas State Wildcats
  5. Iowa State Cyclones, and
  6. Nebraska Cornhuskers -- actually gone now to the Big Ten -- .

The members of the Big 12 South are the:

  1. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  2. Oklahoma Sooners
  3. Baylor Bears
  4. Texas Longhorns
  5. Texas A&M Aggies (now in the SEC), and
  6. Texas Tech Red Raiders

A driving force in the merger that formed the Big 12 was the disbanding of the Southwest Conference. A contributing factor, in the dissolution of that Conference, was the departure, in 1992, of the University of Arkansas – who joined the Southeastern Conference (SEC). So, you can see the roots of the SEC vs Big 12 rivalry.

Of course, the Big 12 is a relatively recent creation and SEC and Big 12 teams don't often play one another (outside of Bowl games). So, the rivalry cannot be characterized as fierce.

Nevertheless, the two conferences are both major, competing, Division I college football conferences. Geographically, their membership is composed of Universities from adjoining regions of the country. Both SEC and Big 12 Colleges tend to be large, State Universities. Football tends to be the dominant sport at both SEC and Big 12 schools. The States represented in each conference tend to be more rural with fewer professional sports teams – as compared with the rest of America. And, the schools from both conferences, generally, have strong football traditions.

Obviously, SEC and Big 12 schools fiercely compete for recruits, bowl bids, television contracts, coaches, etc.

We rate SEC football above Big 12 football because the SEC is clearly a stronger top-to-bottom football conference. However, the programs at the top of the Big-12 – Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas -- are as good as any, anywhere.

OK, you probably came to this page to find out the all-time, SEC vs Big 12 football record. Here it is (The SEC went 3-0 vs the Big Ten in 2011 – 2012.):

The SEC leads the Big 12 in all-time head-to-head match-ups with a 29-18-0 (.617) record.

Over the past 15 years ('98 -'11) the SEC holds a 33-18-0 (.647) advantage.

Against the Big 12's predecessor (the Big Eight) the SEC had a 43-43-6 (.500) record.

Last season (2011-2012), the SEC went 3-0 vs the Big 12.

The above numbers are based on "historical conference affiliation." We think that's the best way to look at it. But, here are the SEC vs Big 12 football numbers if based on "current conference affiliation" (but keeping in the numbers for Nebraska and Colorado -- for now) and going all the way back to the beginning (even before the SEC was formed in 1932): 305-287-22 (.515) [through 2010 – 2011 bowl season] -- the SEC still on top. This is documented at the bottom of SEC vs Everyone (though Dec 2010).

If you'd like to see how the SEC and Big-12 compare in all-time bowl wins, go to Top College Football Bowl Conference. For comparison of the conferences in National Championships, check out Top College Football Bowl Conference.

And, here's a great spreadsheet prepared by Tex Noel, 1st-N-Goal, that really shows how the SEC and Big 12 have dominated of late in winning consecutive national championships.

Here's a great spreadsheet with the Big 12 Schools Records All-Time vs Everyone.

For details of how we arrived at the above numbers, go to Big Ten vs SEC Football.

Big 12 team Fan Apparel and Merchandise:

Read about our current 2010 Preseason College Football Conference Comparison.


SEC vs Big 12 Football
SEC vs Big 12 Football
SEC vs Big 12 Football

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By Mo Johnson, Copyright © 2006-2024 SECSportsFan.com

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