NEWS

WWE® & BIG 12 CONFERENCE TO BRING FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN TO BIG 12 MARKETS DURING 2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON

WWE & Big XII

SmackDown to Emanate from 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on August 22 Ahead of Week 0 Matchup Between Iowa State and Kansas State on August 23

July 9, 2025 – WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO), and the Big 12 Conference today announced an expansion to their multi-faceted partnership that will see Friday Night SmackDown broadcast from Big 12 markets on the eve of four conference football games throughout the 2025 season.

The first SmackDown will be held on Friday, August 22 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, a day before the 30th year of Big 12 Football kicks off with a Week 0 matchup between the Iowa State Cyclones and Kansas State Wildcats in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Saturday, August 23 at Aviva Stadium.

Full dates include:

  • Friday, August 22 – SmackDown at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland (Iowa State vs. Kansas State on Saturday, August 23)
  • Friday, October 3 – SmackDown at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati, Ohio (Iowa State at Cincinnati on Saturday, October 4)
  • Friday, October 24 – SmackDown at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona (Houston at Arizona State on Saturday, October 25)
  • Friday, October 31 – SmackDown at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah (Cincinnati at Utah on Saturday, November 1)

 


About WWE®

WWE® is the global leader in sports entertainment. The company creates and delivers original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, premium live events, digital media, and publishing platforms. WWE's TV-PG programming can be seen in more than 1 billion households worldwide in more than 20 languages through world-class distribution partners including NBCUniversal, The CW and Netflix. In the United States, NBCUniversal's streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home to all premium live events, a variety of original programming and a massive video-on-demand library. Netflix is the exclusive home for WWE programming around the world, other than select international markets. WWE is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO). Additional information on WWE can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com.

 

Media Contact:

Chuck Kingsbury
Chuck.Kingsbury@wwe.com