WASHINGTON, D. C. — The Big 12 Conference will launch a bowling game in Monterrey, Mexico, as the linchpin of the league’s push in the country, resources told ESPN on Wednesday. Play would start in the playoffs after the 2026 season and has been Monterrey’s goal, the resources said.
Along with plans for the postseason bowling match, the Big 12 also plan to hold other sports in Mexico as part of a broader strategy in the country. The Kansas and Houston men’s and women’s basketball groups agreed to face each other on a regular basis. Season game in Mexico City in December 2024, the resources told ESPN.
According to sources, the Big 12 is also expected to play exhibition games opposite local women’s soccer and baseball.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark discussed Mexican strategy at the Big 12 meetings in West Virginia last week. According to sources, he told the league’s control that the Mexican initiative would provide the league with an herbal extension in a local footprint in Mexico and give athletes from the big 12 the joy of competing in another country.
The bowling game in Monterrey would be the most recent postseason game to be held lately outside the United States, joining the Bahamas Bowl in Nassau. Historically, there have been others, adding the now-defunct Toronto International Bowl, which was last played in 2010. Bacardi Bowl was also played in Havana, Cuba, periodically over the past century.
The league is still exploring partners and a league suitable for bowling.
Mexico’s Big 12 initiative continues the league’s trend of being proactive in Yorkmark’s first year as commissioner. He negotiated a six-year television extension with ESPN and Fox that gave stability to the league and negotiated the early departure of Oklahoma and Texas.