The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will leave the Big 12 and join the SEC for the 2024 season, it was officially announced on Thursday evening.
Both schools were set to join the SEC for the 2025 season, but were successfully able to negotiate an exit in time for 2024.
“As I have consistently stated, the Conference would only agree to an early withdrawal if it was in our best interest for Oklahoma and Texas to depart prior to June 30, 2025,” said Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. “By reaching this agreement, we are now able to accelerate our new beginning as a 12-team league and move forward in earnest with our initiatives and future planning. I appreciate the approaches of OU President Joe Harroz and UT President Jay Hartzell to ensure an amicable conclusion to this process, and look forward to the bright days ahead for the Big 12 Conference.”
The departure of both Oklahoma and Texas one year earlier than originally announced is subject to final approval from the University of Oklahoma and University of Texas governing Boards.
“The Southeastern Conference learned today of the decision by the Big 12 Conference to alter the membership exit date for the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas,” said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. “We are continuing our preparation for this membership transition, and we look forward to welcoming the Conference’s new members and moving into our future as a 16-team league.
“The Presidents and Chancellors of the SEC previously voted with unanimous approval to accept the application of Oklahoma and Texas to join the Conference on July 1, 2025 and have now authorized the Conference Office to proceed with facilitating the transition of Oklahoma and Texas to become full members of the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2024.”
In order to depart the Big 12 one year early, Oklahoma and Texas had to agree to terms with the conference and its media partners, ESPN and FOX, per a report from Brett McMurphy of The Action Network.
Instead of Texas and OU paying an exit fee — which was expected to be about $50 million each — the Big 12 allowed OU and Texas to leave early by forgoing $100 million of revenue distribution. FOX will receive $20 million of that revenue distribution to offset not getting any future Texas or Oklahoma games after 2023, sources told Action Network.
The remaining $80 million of the revenue distribution will be divided by the eight remaining Big 12 schools ($10 million each).
This allows the Big 12’s remaining members to be “made whole,” despite the early exit by the Sooners and Longhorns, sources said.
Also, in their first year in the SEC in 2024-25, Oklahoma and Texas will not receive a full share from the SEC and actually will receive less than the $40 million they would have received if they remained the final year in the Big 12, sources said.
With the addition of Oklahoma and Texas, the SEC will expand to 16 teams in 2024. Barring the addition of any new members, the Big 12 will go from 14 to 12 teams that season.
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