Coach Prime in Houston: UH's foes in 16-team Big 12, including Deion Sanders' Colorado, revealed

ByMatt Guillermo KTRK logo
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Welcome to the Big 12! UH reveals schedule for 1st season in Power 5
The Houston Cougars football program released its full 2023 schedule, which marks the school's debut in the Big 12 Conference.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Cougars and their fellow first-year Big 12 teams - BYU, Central Florida, and Cincinnati - aren't having the best debut season in the new-look league.

The video above is from shortly after the Coogs released their Big 12 schedule for 2023.

As of Wednesday, the four college football programs have a combined 3-17 conference record, with only BYU sitting in a bowl-eligible position.

UH's pursuit of future success may get more difficult now that the Big 12 laid out each team's conference opponents for four seasons, starting in 2024 when Texas and Oklahoma exit and Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Coach Deion Sanders' Colorado program enter.

Under the new 16-team realignment, Big 12 scheduling will feature nine conference games, prioritizing geography, historic matchups, and rivalries, as well as competitive balance. Each team will play every other at least once at home and away - some over three seasons, others in all four.

Matchups in 2024 that were played in 2023 will not repeat at the same site. For example, Houston hosted TCU to start its conference portion of the 2023 schedule, so the Horned Frogs will face the Coogs in Fort Worth next season.

Arguably, the highlight of the Coogs' opponent list is the Colorado Buffaloes, a first-time opponent in UH program history, who will visit Houston in 2025 and 2027 and host the Cougars in 2026. So, you'll have to wait one more season for Coach Prime in H-Town, UH fans.

The schedule for the matchups will be announced at a later date, but for now, here are the Cougars' home and away opponents for 2024 through 2027:

2024

Home

  • Utah
  • Baylor
  • Kansas State
  • Iowa State

Away

  • Arizona
  • BYU
  • TCU
  • Kansas
  • Cincinnati

2025

Home

  • Arizona
  • Colorado
  • Texas Tech
  • TCU
  • West Virginia

Away

  • Arizona State
  • Baylor
  • Oklahoma State
  • Central Florida

2026

Home

  • Baylor
  • Oklahoma State
  • Cincinnati
  • Central Florida

Away

  • Utah
  • Colorado
  • Texas Tech
  • Kansas State
  • West Virginia

2027

Home

  • Arizona State
  • BYU
  • Colorado
  • Texas Tech
  • Kansas

Away

  • Arizona
  • TCU
  • Iowa State
  • Cincinnati

ESPN contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: NFL sends UH cease-and-desist a day after Titans wore Oilers uniforms, ESPN and Chron report

The Houston Chronicle reports the NFL sent the University of Houston a cease-and-desist letter over the use of Oilers-inspired colors for the Cougars.