The University of Texas and University of Oklahoma have decided not to renew their Big 12 Conference media rights after 2025 on Monday, they announced Monday.
This confirms rumors of their plans to leave the Big 12 and join the Southeastern Conference, although they have yet to apply to join the SEC.
We reported on the impact of this decision, the top two revenue-producing Big 12 schools leaving the conference, following rumors on Thursday.
“Providing notice to the Big 12 at this point is important in advance of the expiration of the conference’s current media rights agreement,” Texas and Oklahoma said in a joint press release.
“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.”
“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,” Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in the Big 12’s statement.
“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.”
ESPN explained that Big 12 bylaws require schools planning to leave a conference to provide notice of their decision 18 months in advance, or otherwise pay a ’commitment buyout fee,’ equal to the distributions that would be paid to the school during those last two years of its membership.
I think USC and Stanford should join the SEC and just call it the The C!
Is Bowlsby responsible for this move forward ?
SMU to the Big 12?
Honestly, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner, but now it seems like a no-brainer. The TCU-Baylor-SMU rivalry triangle could lift some hearts in Texas.
The SEC doesn’t need Oklahoma
Texas A&M only wants the Longhorns in to rekindle their rivalry
Texas A&M has made it abundantly clear that they don’t want to rekindle the rivalry with the Longhorns, especially in the SEC.
TAMU definitely does not want Texas in the SEC.
The SEC swimming championship just gets better. Interesting to see what Texas will do now that their conference meet is no longer a glorified intersquad meet for them.
Well, Jacoby comes in for Texas on the women’s size. maybe, she can helped devolved a better women’s team and help to rival Virginia in the SEC. In fact Texas men’s team should have been in a better conference to begun with.
Virginia is in the ACC
Texas was 3rd. Not to shabby.
Because of the divers
What is happening to the Texas women team? A very small percentage of them improve or maintain pre college times. They will get crushed in the new conference if only one recruit each year survives.
Swimmers that are top of the nation come to UT, and under Carol’s coaching, they fall off the map. Why is that? It’s like she picks only a few to focus on and the rest fall behind. A good coach should know the success of a team is built by training for the success of the team, not just a few individuals.
Big 12s for swimming men will now be a duel meet…..
They’ll join another conference. Same way that the Big 12 Rowing in includes schools like Alabama and Tennessee and Big 12 Gymnastics includes schools like Denver.
Perhaps its time to have Football only conferences and preserve the NCAA for all other sports.
Thatll be a pretty financially strapped organization….
Finally we can cut swimming to buy the football players another hot tub🔥
Agreed. Beginning to believe football is going to have to be stripped out of conference play and replaced with some sort of “college NFL” system that preserves regional/rivalry play and has its own playoff system and championship. All the “member” schools would share equally in the league TV contract. Otherwise, the race to create a super conference is going to crush a lot of college programs who get left out in the cold.
Now texas will have to taper to win sec’s. Ncaa will be much harder for them now
Said who 😂
if the goal is win NCAAs they don’t need to win SEC conference. just make the cuts and win NCAAs.
Texas will have major competition 5 weeks before NCAA’s. This will make the tougher and faster. Anyone that thinks different doesn’t know coaching.