Big 12 announces 'Homecoming tour' featuring SI Swimsuit models, DJ Pauly D

In a move befitting of league commissioner Brett Yormark, the Big 12 on Friday announced an array of speakers, performers and other attractions that will be on hand for various homecoming games around the league as part of the 2023 Big 12 Homecoming tour.

It includes DJ Pauly D, of “Jersey Shore” and MTV fame, playing at the UCF homecoming on Sept. 30 when the Knights host Baylor.

Along with musical acts, the Big 12 has partnered with Sports Illustrated Swimsuit “to bring students the ‘Be You Women’s Empowerment’ series, presented by Maybelline.” That series will feature panel discussions on topics such as mental health and feature women leaders from the host institution alongside SI Swimsuit models.

The release notes there will be giveaways and meet and greets as part of the Be You Women’s Empowerment series, along with opportunities for attendees to get a professional headshot taken.

The first stop is slated for Houston around the weekend of Sept. 16, where SI swimsuit models Brooks Nader, Ellie Thumann, Nicole English Williams and Olivia Ponton will make an appearance.

“The tour is a conference-wide celebration of the Big 12 brand, bringing three days of entertainment and community engagement to the campuses of Big 12 members,” a press release announcing it reads.

Each stop on the tour will last a number of days, concluding on Saturdays around game day. The tour is set to visit each of the four teams that are new to the league: UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati.

On the Friday of each stop, there will be a day of service where Big 12 football players will go to a local elementary school to show off a $50,000 makeover of a new STEM center. This is part of the College Football Playoff Foundation’s “Extra Yard Makeover Project.”

The schools that have been chosen for that makeover are: Hobby Elementary in Houston, College Hill Fundamental Prep in Cincinnati, Orange Center Elementary School in Orlando, and Cherry Creek Elementary in Springville, Utah.

And along with DJ Pauly D performing at UCF, the other three schools will have a musical act on game days as part of a “pregame tailgate takeover.” The schedule for those performances and the homecoming games: James Kennedy performing at Houston on Sept. 16 then again at Cincinnati on Sept. 23, DJ Pauly D at UCF on Sept. 30 and DJ Ricky Barrera at BYU on Oct. 21.