Big 12 Media Days 2023: All 14 teams line up their fancy mascots ahead of the press conference

The Big 12 Media Days have shown us for the first time what to expect for the upcoming season. Four new teams are joining the conference, while this is the final year for two of the biggest programs.

So, the Big 12 is a league of 14 this season, and all 14 of the schools' mascots and their cheerleaders got together for a family portrait at media days.

The Big 12 is going to be one of the best conferences in college football this season. Let's take a look at the conference and what we should be looking forward to.

What is one of the biggest stories in the Big 12 this season?

The Big 12 is losing two of its major powers as the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners leave the conference after this season. As they prepare to leave early and head to the Southeastern Conference, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark gave them a final parting shot.

With the UCF Knights, BYU Cougars, Cincinnati Bearcats and Houston Cougars joining the conference this year, the conference is in a rebuild. It also gave us a chance to see incredible social media content like the one below.

The story of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners leaving the conference is the major cloud over the Big 12. It will be interesting to see if either program can make the conference championship game on its way out.

How are the four new incoming teams impact the conference in 2023?

Four new programs have joined the conference, and looking at the quartet, the program that should have the best 2023 is the UCF Knights. They were able to score almost 33 points per game last season and were one of the best teams in the American Athletic Conference a year ago.

They have the positive aspect of having their quarterback from last year returning for the transition in John Rhys Plumlee. This program has games against Houston and Cincinnati this season, and they should be able to win some games here.

From an overall standpoint, the conference is getting four teams to join to essentially replace the two programs leaving. The addition of these four should make the conference seem like it is not taking too much of a step back in terms of quality.

Will the top portion of the conference get weakened with the departures of Oklahoma and Texas? Yes. Has the overall quality of the conference improved by adding four good programs in the fold? Yes.