Friday Coaches' Press Conference Quotes
Colorado Gary Barnett (PDF) | Texas Mack Brown (PDF)

Division winners Colorado and Texas will play in the 10th annual Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship at noon CST on Saturday in Houston's Reliant Stadium. The game will be nationally televised by ABC and also will air on Sirius Satellite Radio on Channel 110 (UT) and Channel 143 (CU).

Colorado will represent the North Division for the fourth time in the last five years, and its second appearance in a row. Undefeated Texas won the South Division to advance to its fourth championship game.

Each team will compete for its second conference title. The Buffaloes and Longhorns played in the 2001 championship with CU coming away with a 39-37 win at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas. UT won the inaugural Big 12 crown 37-27 over Nebraska in 1996 in the TWA Dome in St. Louis.

The winner of the Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship will represent the conference in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS).

The contest is annually one of the most anticipated in the nation. Previous years have produced some memorable upsets which have affected the college football landscape around the country.

Since the first season of Big 12 play in 1996, the league has sponsored a championship game. Per NCAA guidelines, a conference with 12 members may play a 12th football game to determine a champion, provided the regular season is played in divisions.

The Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game has been a huge draw in numerous cities throughout the league. In the nine previous editions, the contest has been played before a total of more than 600,000 fans in its short history.