The Big 12 announced kickoff times and television coverage on Thursday for several football games this season, and the Arizona Wildcats will have at least three home games under the lights at Arizona Stadium.
Arizona kicks off its inaugural season in the Big 12 โ and the first season under first-year head coach Brent Brennan โ in Tucson on Aug. 31 against New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN for Week 1. The Wildcats second game will pit them against in-state foe Northern Arizona in Tucson on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.; itโs the first UA football game that will be exclusively streamed on ESPN+ as part of the conferenceโs โBig 12 Nowโ streaming brand.
The following week, Arizona will face fellow Big 12 opponent Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas, at 5 p.m. on Fox for its road opener. The matchup wonโt count in the Big 12 Conference standings since the home-and-home series was scheduled before the UA left the Pac-12 for the Big 12, where KSU has been a longstanding member. Arizona and KSU will conclude the โnonconferenceโ series at Arizona Stadium in 2025.
Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu (5) and his defensive teammates celebrate his interception against Utah in the second quarter last year.
Arizonaโs other announced kickoff time this season โ in โPac-12 After Darkโ fashion โ will be against Houston at Arizona Stadium on Friday, Nov. 15 at 8:15 p.m. on FS1.
Arizonaโs first official Big 12 game will be on Sept. 28 against Utah in Salt Lake City. The Wildcatsโ first conference home game will be against Texas Tech on Oct. 5. Times for those outings, along with the rest of the schedule, are yet to be announced.
In addition to nonconference home games against New Mexico and NAU, the Wildcats have Big 12 home matchups against Texas Tech, Colorado, West Virginia, Houston and Arizona State. The Territorial Cup rivalry game will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 30 in Tucson.
Arizonaโs road contests are at Utah, BYU, UCF and TCU. The Wildcats have two bye weeks โ first when officially entering Big 12 play following the Kansas State game and again after the UCF contest in November.
The Big 12 football championship game will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 7.
Arizona safety Gunner Maldonado (9) hushes the Arizona State student section, the Inferno, after his interception and return against ASU in the third quarter on Saturday.
As part of the conferenceโs new media rights deal, all of Arizonaโs games will be televised on either Fox or ESPN platforms; those can include broadcast channels like Fox and ABC, cable channels like ESPN, ESPN2 and FS1, or the ESPN+ streaming platform. Each team in the Big 12 will receive a $31.7 million share from the media rights deal.
Arizona ended its 2023 season on a seven-game winning streak, which included a victory over former Big 12 team Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl, and finished with a 10-3 record, becoming the fourth team in program history to win at least 10 games. Arizona finished No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25, the highest ranking to end a season since 1998.
Despite former head coach Jedd Fisch leaving for Washington, the Wildcats return their nucleus from last season, including quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, one of the top quarterback-receiver tandems in college football. Additionally, All-Pac-12 linebacker Jacob Manu and most of the defensive secondary have returned for the โ24 season.
Arizona will likely enter the season as a Top 25 program and one of the favorites to win the Big 12 and secure a bid in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
