Colorado returns to the Big 12: UCF breaks the ice with hilarious welcome

UCF flag raised outside City Hall

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and UCF football coach Gus Malzahn raised a UCF flag outside Orlando City Hall on Thursday ahead of the Knights' inaugural season in the Big 12 Conference.

ORLANDO, Fla. - "They're back."

That's the epic statement Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark released Thursday regarding the return of Colorado back to the conference. The Buffaloes are set to depart the Pac-12 for the Big 12 in 2024 after the university's board unanimously approved it in a 9-0 vote, Colorado said in a news release.

Now that there will be another black and gold team in the Big 12, UCF decided to welcome their fellow conference member with a hilarious meme that describes the situation to a T.

The UCF Athletics Twitter account shared that meme of the two Spider-Man characters pointing at each other. This time, though, they swapped out Spider-Man's typical red and blue suit for a black and gold one.

"Welcome home," they tweeted.

The UCF Football account also shared a photo of their own – an AI-generated photo of "Big 12 Country" that shows the Bounce House, but with the backdrop of Colorado's Folsom Field.

Colorado's move back to the Big 12 comes the same day that UCF celebrated its upcoming inaugural season in the conference with a flag-raising ceremony at Orlando City Hall on Thursday.

The Buffaloes will join the conference next season as Texas and Oklahoma depart for the SEC.