When it comes to its conference title game, the Big 12 is looking to separate itself from the other Power Four conferences.<\/p>\n
According to ESPN\u2019s Pete Thamel<\/a>, the Big 12 Championship Game is moving to Friday night next season. The 2026 Big 12 title game will now be played at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 4, with the league moving the contest from its previous noon ET slot on Saturday.<\/p>\n AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will still host the game, which will air on ABC.<\/p>\n Sources: The Big 12 title game will move to a Friday night in 2026, as it will be held on Dec 4 at 8 EST. It was recently in a Saturday noon time slot.<\/p>\n The Big 12 football schedule release, which is Wednesday, is highlighted by Arizona State playing at Texas Tech in Week 7. pic.twitter.com\/MAKyCV5x81<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n While the Big 12 Championship Game served as the premier game in its Saturday timeslot, it also went head-to-head with the Mid-American Conference Championship Game and preceded the SEC, Big Ten, and ACC title games, which are played later in the day. The move to Friday nights will presumably create a ripple effect, as the American previously played its title game \u2014 which also airs on ABC\u2014 on Friday night.<\/p>\n In addition to the American, the Sun Belt (ESPN), Conference USA (CBS Sports Network), and the Mountain West (Fox) each played their conference championship games on Friday night in 2025. Notably, the Pac-12 also previously played its league title games on Friday nights, although the conference has yet to announce a date for its 2026 championship game as it prepares launch its new eight-team iteration.<\/p>\n Considering its West Coast footprint, the Pac-12 will likely now be forced to choose between opposing the Big 12 on Friday night and the Big Ten and ACC on Saturday. CBS \u2014 which didn\u2019t air any conference title games on its network channel last season \u2014 is set to host the 2026 Pac-12 Championship Game<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that while the conference championship game will be played in 2026, its significance remains TBD. That\u2019s because we still don\u2019t know what next season\u2019s College Football Playoff format will look like, with the Jan. 23 deadline to potentially expand the field now just two days away.<\/p>\n \t