A new era in the history of the Big 12 Conference began this fall, as for the first time since its inception, new members joined the league in TCU and West Virginia. To honor the occasion, we dug deep to find some trivia you can toss around while tailgating this year. Here are:

12 things you should know about the new Big 12

1. Since Ian McCaw was hired as the Bears' athletic director in 2003, Baylor has won 36 Big 12 titles -- more than every current league member but Texas.
2. Baylor and Iowa State are the two oldest universities in the Big 12. Baylor University was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas; Iowa State followed in 1858 as Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm.
3. In the Bears' first-ever appearance on ESPN's "Big Monday," Terry Black's 20 points led Baylor men's basketball to an 85-77 upset of No. 6 Kansas in 2001. Recent wins over the Jayhawks have also come on national TV, including a pair of victories during BU runs to the Big 12 Tournament finals in 2009 and 2012.
4. In 1948, a win over Kansas State propelled Baylor men's basketball to the NCAA tournament national championship game. The Bears would fall in the title game to Kentucky as UK claimed its first championship.
5. Baylor and Oklahoma are the only two schools to have qualified for the Big 12 baseball tournament in each of the league's 16 seasons. The Bears have won three Big 12 titles (2000, 2005 and 2012); the Sooners have won one (1997).
6. Kim Mulkey's first Big 12 win as a head coach came against Oklahoma State in January 2001; in Mulkey's tenure at the helm, the Lady Bears are 20-5 against the Cowgirls.
7. This year marks the 108th gridiron meeting between Baylor and TCU, making the pairing one of the 20 most-played rivalries in college football history. The series is matched in the state of Texas only by Texas-Texas A&M (118 meetings) and Baylor-Texas A&M (108).
8. Baylor's first televised football game was a 13-7 win over Texas at Floyd Casey Stadium on Nov. 6, 1954, shown nationally on ABC. Two second-half rushing touchdowns by quarterback Billy Hooper gave the 20th-ranked Bears the win.
9. Texas Governor Pat Neff, AB 1894 -- a Baylor graduate, Trustee and future president -- signed the bill in 1923 that created what is today known as Texas Tech.
10. Newly added West Virginia has only faced Baylor six times in any sport, and three of those meetings have come in the last 18 months. The Bears and Mountaineers have met three times in volleyball (1986, 1997 and 2011), twice in women's basketball (1984 and 2011) and once in men's basketball (2011).
11. Since the Big 12's creation, Baylor has received more Academic All-America nods than every current league member except Texas (UT 56, BU 50).
12. Baylor has won two national titles in the "Big Three" sports (football/men's basketball/women's basketball). In the Big 12's 16 seasons, no other school has won more than one.

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A few words about Baylor's new Big 12 foes:

TCU

Location: Fort Worth, Texas

Founded: 1873

Affiliation: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Enrollment: 9,518

Nickname: Horned Frogs

Colors: Purple and white

Varsity sports: 20 (men's: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field; women's: basketball, cross country, equestrian, golf, rifle, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball)

First year of football: 1896

Famous alumni: Longtime The Price is Right announcer Rod Roddy, CBS News' Bob Schieffer, Pro Football Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh

 

West Virginia

Location: Morgantown, W.Va.

Founded: 1867

Affiliation: Public

Enrollment: 29,617

Nickname: Mountaineers

Colors: Gold and blue

Varsity sports: 17 (men's: baseball, basketball, football, rifle, soccer, swimming, wrestling; women's: basketball, cross country, gymnastics, rowing, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball)

First year of football: 1891

Famous alumni: Comedy legend Don Knotts, NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West, TV advertiser Billy Mays