Big 12/SEC Challenge

Big 12/SEC Challenge
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Big 12 Conference
LeagueNCAA Division I
Founded2013
Ceased2022
Sports fielded
Last
champion(s)		Big 12
Most titlesBig 12 Conference (5)
TV partner(s)ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
This article is about the men's college basketball series. For the women's series, see Big 12/SEC Women's Challenge.

The Big 12/SEC Challenge was an NCAA Division I men's college basketball series that took place in the middle of the season, usually late January, consisting of a series of ten games featuring members of the Big 12 Conference and Southeastern Conference.

The format was similar to the ACC–Big Ten Challenge. Each of the ten members of the Big 12 played a game against a member of the SEC. Half of the ten games were hosted by the Big 12 team and the other half were hosted by the SEC team. Because the SEC had 14 members, four teams of the SEC were excluded from the challenge each season. Effective with the 2019–20 season, the SEC teams excluded from the Big 12/SEC Challenge participated in the newly launched SEC/American Alliance against teams from the American Athletic Conference.[1][2]

Previously, the Big 12 was a part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series from 2007 to 2010, and the SEC was a part of the SEC–Big East Challenge from 2007 to 2012. The contracts for those challenges were not renewed when they expired, leaving both conferences available to establish this challenge. (The issues faced by the Big East in the 2010–13 Big East Conference realignment was a factor in the decision not to renew its series with the SEC).

Two current SEC members, Texas A&M and Missouri, are former members of the Big 12. Missouri has a rivalry with current Big 12 member Kansas leaving the possibility of playing the rivalry game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The two teams had not met in the regular season since Missouri left for the SEC until December 10, 2022, when it was played outside of the Challenge.

On November 28, 2022, amid ESPN losing its media rights to the Big Ten, it was announced that the series would be discontinued after the 2022–23 season. ESPN will arrange an ACC–SEC Challenge as a replacement beginning in the 2023–24 season.[3][4]

In 2024, the Coast-to-Coast Challenge succeeded the Challenge with two match-ups between the conferences.[5]

  1. ^ "The American and SEC Form Men's Basketball Scheduling Alliance" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. April 18, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  2. ^ Thompson, Tyler (April 11, 2019). "SEC adding basketball series with American Athletic Conference". Kentucky Sports Radio. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  3. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2022-11-28). "ESPN announces new ACC/SEC Challenge". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  4. ^ "ACC/SEC hoops challenge to kick off in 2023-24". ESPN.com. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
  5. ^ "2024.12.08 USLBM Coast to Coast Challenge - Men's Double Header".