Report: Big 12, WWE to expand partnership during 2025 college football season

The Big 12 is teaming up with the WWE during the 2025 college football season, according to Chris Vannini, a college football and pro wrestling insider for The Athletic. This will include WWE hosting it’s weekly Friday Night SmackDown in Big 12 markets ahead of college football Saturday’s.

Notably, this will feature a Week 0 game in Ireland between Kansas State and Iowa State, and well as a show in Orlando — home of WWE’s Performance Center and its developmental brand, NXT — before UCF vs. North Carolina.

The Week 0 matchup between the Cyclones and Wildcats will be held on Aug. 23. UCF will host UNC on Sept. 20. It remains to be seen if there will be dates/matchups added this fall.

The two brands originally partnered up in 2023 to provide a custom championship title belt for that year’s Big 12 Football Championship Most Outstanding Player. This was presented to them by a WWE superstar, and fellow wrestlers took part in events leading up to the title game.

These reports follow WWE’s continued efforts to expand into main stream markets follow its adoption into the TKO Group family. Collaborations between WWE and celebrities such as Travis Scott, Bad Bunny, as well as social media stars like IShowSpeed, Logan Paul, and among many others.

WWE hasn’t been shy about using non-wrestling athletes in their shows, either. Many fans were reminded that both Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson came face to face last summer in a WWE ring, nearly a year before they bet in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals.

The TKO Group is also the parent company of UFC, and WWE has taken strides to mirror some of the broadcast tendencies of it’s MMA counterpart. That includes inviting local celebrities to event, including athletes. Monday Night Raw recently went live from Lincoln, Nebraska. Both football coach Matt Rhule and starting quarterback Dylan Raiola were in the front row and received a shoutout from Pat McAfee on the broadcast.

It’s unclear whether the WWE will highlight some of these Big 12 teams in the same way. However, it’s an exciting partnership for fans of professional wrestling and college football in the area.

“WWE is a global brand that connects with a wide array of audiences,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a 2023 press release. “With this partnership, we will integrate WWE and its brand power into one of the Conference’s biggest moments, further strengthening the bridge between sports and entertainment throughout the Big 12.”