2025 Post-Season Plans for Big 12 Teams; Iowa State and Kansas State Opt Out, Fined

By Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

Ten of the Big 12's 16 teams qualified for 2025 post-season play.

Fourth-ranked and Big 12 champion Texas Tech is in the College Football Playoff. As one of the top four seeds, the Red Raiders have a first-round bye. Tech will play a quarterfinal game in the Orange Bowl, on January 1, 2026, against the winner of the Oregon-James Madison playoff game.

TCU, Houston, Utah, Cincinnati, BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, Iowa State and Kansas State qualified for bowl games.

Iowa State (8-4 overall) and Kansas State (6-6 overall) opted out of the post-season because of recent coaching changes.

Tom C. "Midnite" Burke

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was hired as Penn State's new head football coach. Iowa State hired Washington State head coach Jimmy Rogers as its new head football coach. 

Iowa State had appeared in bowl games in seven of the past eight seasons under Campbell. 

Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman retired. Collin Klein, offensive coordinator for Texas A&M and a former Kansas State quarterback, is K-State’s new head coach. 

Kansas State will not participate in the postseason for the first time since 2020.  

The Big 12 Conference issued $500,000 institutional fines to both Iowa State and Kansas State for opting out of their participation in the Conference’s bowl pool.

"While the Conference acknowledges the difficult timing around coaching changes, the Big 12 is responsible for fulfilling its contractual obligations to its bowl partners," said the Big 12 in a statement. "The Big 12 considers the matter resolved and will have no further comment."

Big 12 bowl replacements for Iowa State and Kansas State were determined according to the 5-7 teams with the highest Academic Progress Rates. That included UCF, Baylor and Kansas, all of which declined.

The Big 12 did not fine UCF, Baylor and Kansas for declining, since they were substitute bowl teams who were not technically eligible, because they did not have the requisite six wins.

"We have declined the opportunity to play in a bowl," Baylor's athletic department said in a statement, "as we've already progressed deeply into the off-season timeline of preparation for the 2026 season."

Here is the bowl schedule for the seven other Big 12 teams participating in bowls: 

• Texas Bowl, December 27, Houston, Texas: Houston vs. LSU
• Pop-Tarts Bowl, December 27, Orlando, Florida: BYU vs. Georgia Tech 
• Alamo Bowl, December 30, San Antonio, Texas: TCU vs. USC  
• Las Vegas Bowl, December 31, Las Vegas, Nevada: Utah vs. Nebraska
• Sun Bowl, December 31, El Paso, Texas: Arizona State vs. Duke 
• Liberty Bowl, January 2, Memphis, Tennessee: Cincinnati vs. Navy
• Holiday Bowl, January 2, San Diego, California: Arizona vs. SMU

Complete playoff and bowl game schedule: here