Texas and Oklahoma made official Monday their intent to leave the Big 12 for the SEC after the 2024-25 season.
The schools issued a joint statement, which read:
The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Oklahoma notified the Big 12 Athletic Conference today that they will not be renewing their grants of media rights following expiration in 2025. Providing notice to the Big 12 at this point is important in advance of the expiration of the conference’s current media rights agreement. The universities intend to honor their existing grant of rights agreements. However, both universities will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape as they consider how best to position their athletics programs for the future.
Brian Davis of The Austin American-Statesman offered the possibility that the move may occur sooner.
Chip Brown of Horns247 reported Monday that the earliest the move could likely take place is 2023 — unless, of course, several circumstances occur.
Big 12 bylaws also require 18 months notice for schools leaving the conference, meaning the earliest Texas and OU could join the SEC is June 2023 — again, unless a settlement agreement is reached or the Big 12 dissolves.
The only current Texas institution in the SEC also holds some cards here. Texas A&M announced Friday its intention to meet later today regarding its conference future.
UPDATE (Monday, 2:00pm Eastern): Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby issued this statement regarding the departures:
Although our eight members are disappointed with the decisions of these two institutions, we recognize that intercollegiate athletics is experiencing rapid change and will most likely look much different in 2025 than it does currently,” stated Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “The Big 12 Conference will continue to support our member institutions’ efforts to graduate student-athletes, and compete for Big 12 and NCAA championships. Like many others, we will use the next four years to fully assess what the landscape will look like in 2025 and beyond. The remaining eight institutions will work together in a collaborative manner to thoughtfully and strategically position the Big 12 Conference for continued success, both athletically and academically, long into the future.
Further updates will be provided as they are available.
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