Big 12 to add BYU, Houston, Cincy and UCF; AAC looking to replace top 3 programs

Yahoo Sports Senior College Football Reporter Pete Thamel explains the situation as the Big 12 invites four schools to join its conference in 2023 to help offset the losses of Oklahoma and Texas, while the AAC will be scrambling to add schools as it loses its three top programs.

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PETE THAMEL: This is Pete Thamel from "Yahoo Sports" on the day the Big 12 got bigger. Big 12 presidents on Friday morning made the expected formal. They are inviting BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston into the league, which, for the next two seasons, will make it a 14-team Big 12 until Oklahoma and Texas depart for the SEC after the year.

These additions show the quick work of the Big 12 to recalibrate itself after the surprising departures this summer of Oklahoma and Texas to the riches of the SEC. It leaves the Big 12 right now with 14 members for the next two years. And then it will settle down to 12 when Oklahoma and Texas are expected to leave following the 2024 football season.

The start dates for UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston are still expected to be 2023, which means they're likely to play two more seasons in the American Athletic Conference.

From here, the next step in realignment comes from the AAC. The AAC loses its three most prominent members, as only Navy really has more TV residents. Expect Commissioner Mike Orozco to be aggressive, as he believes the Big 12 taking the AAC's three best schools is a validation of the league's claim that it should have been included amongst the power leagues in college football.

Who could the AAC target? The most logical step would be for them to look at Conference USA, schools like Charlotte, UAB, North Texas, or perhaps Louisiana from a Sunbelt could be candidates as the AAC looks to expand. But on Friday, the big news was the Big 12 getting bigger. And from there, the realignment reverberations will only continue.