The Big 12 conference continues to add affiliate members. After absorbing the old Western Wrestling conference for the 2015-16 season and growing their number to ten, the Big 12 conference is expected to add the University Of Northern Iowa as an affiliate member, bringing their wrestling program count to just one shy of their titular dozen. 

IAWrestle reported that the agreement that would bring the Panthers to the Big 12 is not official and still has to be voted on by the conference athletic departments, but that multiple sources are confident the move will happen.

That move will reduce the Mid-American Conference to eight wrestling programs, however, the conference will be back up to nine after just one season. The MAC is making an addition of their own, adding Southern Illinois University Ewardsville as an affiliate member for both wrestling and women's soccer for the 2018-19 school year. SIUE is coming over from the Southern Conference, where they have been an affiliate member for wrestling since the 2012-2013 season. 

The MAC tweeted the news from their official #MACtion twitter account on Friday. 

[tweet url="https://twitter.com/MACSports/status/870641155830157312" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]

Following SIUE's departure and barring and further changes, the Southern Conference will have seven schools participating in their 2019 tournament.