Big 12 reportedly set to launch bowl game in Monterrey, Mexico, after 2026 season

The Big 12 conference is preparing to launch a new bowl game in Mexico.

The Big 12 has started exploring hosting a bowl game in Monterrey, Mexico, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The game would start after the 2026 season, and is just the latest example of the league’s push to get into Mexico.

It’s unclear where in Monterrey the Big 12 would host the bowl, or what other league would field a team for the conference to play against. Estadio BBVA is the main soccer stadium in the city, and plays host to C.F. Monterrey in La Liga MX. The stadium, which opened in 2015, seats about 53,500 people. The stadium and city will also be a World Cup site for the 2026 tournament, which is being held in a joint-venture with the United States and Canada.

The game would be just the second bowl game held outside the United States. The Bahamas Bowl is held each year in Nassau. Both the International Bowl, which was held in Toronto, and the Bacardi Bowl in Cuba, have been dissolved.

The Big 12 is set to hold a number of games in Mexico in the coming years. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams from Kansas and Houston are going to play each other in a regular-season game in Mexico City in 2024. Houston — along with UCF, BYU and Cincinnati — is joining the conference officially later this summer. According to Thamel, Big 12 teams are going to play exhibition baseball and women’s soccer games against local Mexican teams in the near future, too.