Breaking: It's official, Texas and OU are joining the SEC

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Per Chip Brown, Texas 247:

"Texas and Oklahoma, the founding members of the Big 12, are leaving the league - and barring any unforeseen developments, will join the Southeastern Conference, a high-level source close to the situation told Horns247.

Texas and OU officials plan to inform the Big 12 on Monday that they won’t renew when the league’s grant of rights expire in 2025, a step that clears the path for the SEC to formally consider adding Texas and OU.

Again, barring unforeseen circumstances, an SEC vote on adding Texas and Oklahoma "could move quickly," the source told Horns247.

“In this changing landscape of college athletics, this is what’s best (for Texas and Oklahoma),” the source said.

Horns247 reported previously that Texas and Oklahoma are prepared to wait until the current grant of rights agreement expires in 2025 before moving on from the Big 12.

To leave earlier, Texas and OU would be contractually bound to give up their four remaining years of Big 12 television revenue, which would total nearly $160 million each (based on 2019's $37.7 million payout per school) - although such situations in the past have been settled in court to allow both sides to move on.

Even the anticipation of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the SEC has set off a seismic reaction that will reshape college athletics for years to come. Whether it results in more schools jumping conferences or Power Five members finally breaking away from the NCAA in football to form their own governing body remains to be seen.

Texas and Oklahoma were the founding members of the Big 12 back in the mid-1990s, when the Big Eight (OU, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Iowa State) and four schools from the Southwest Conference (Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor) came together under the leadership of then-Texas and OU athletic directors DeLoss Dodds and Donnie Duncan.

Following a call among Big 12 athletic directors and CEOs on Thursday night - a call that Texas and Oklahoma didn’t participate in - the league released a statement that sounded like a breakup letter.

“Oklahoma and Texas are founding members of the Big 12 and we value their traditions and history of success,” the league said in a statement. “The eight members strongly desire to retain the current composition, which has proven it can compete at the highest levels.

“There is a recognition that institutions may act in their own self-interest, however there is an expectation that members adhere to Conference bylaws and the enforcement of Grant of Rights agreements.

“This is a time of dramatic change within intercollegiate athletics that presents both opportunities and challenges, and the Big 12 Conference looks forward to continuing to play a major role in its evolution.”

One industry source said Texas and Oklahoma could go independent and do an exclusive broadcast agreement with a partner like Fox, and create schedules full of Big Ten and Pac-12 opponents, because Fox already has media rights agreements with the Big Ten and Pac-12.

“Fox could probably put up some big numbers to make that kind of a deal really worth Texas and Oklahoma’s while,” the source said.

A year ago, when discussions in the Big 12 started turning to re-negotiating the league’s media rights package ahead of its current 2025 expiration date, Texas officials wanted to see if they could do better - especially with a rapidly changing college athletics landscape.

With student-athletes able to earn money from their name, image and likeness for the first time and the College Football Playoff likely expanding to 12 teams, there’s a sense even more change could be coming to college athletics - whether it’s new streaming partners bidding on broadcast rights or the top 60 or 64 schools breaking away from the NCAA to form their own governing body.



Amidst all of that, Texas officials wanted to make sure they were in the best spot to maximize their brand/position in a changing landscape and felt like it was the SEC.

Texas officials began conversations with Oklahoma brass a year ago - and six months ago those conversations culminated with intermediaries reaching out to officials in the Southeastern Conference about the possibility of Texas and OU joining the SEC, sources told Horns247.

“There is mutual interest on both sides,” a high-ranking source close to the situation told Horns247 regarding the SEC.

If Texas becomes SEC-bound, UT officials would be willing to let go of the more than $150 million still remaining on their 20-year, $300 million contract with ESPN for the Longhorn Network, which currently runs through 2031, sources told Horns247.

“There’d be more money down the road,” one source close to the situation said.

Critics of Texas and OU leaving the Big 12 are now working feverishly to slow things down.

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State Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, a Baylor graduate, announced on social media Thursday he’ll be filing a bill “requiring legislative approval for UT to bolt the BIG XII.”

“The lack of transparency by our flagship institution is wrong,” Leach said on Twitter. “Such a monumental economic and educational decision impacting the entire state must not be made in a bubble on the forty acres.”

Texas Tech System chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell said on social media following Thursday night’s Big 12 call:

“Like many across our state and within the footprint of our league, I’ve been extremely disappointed by the actions and intentions of our friends in Austin and Norman. From day one of the Big 12 Conference’s existence, Texas Tech has been a proud and trustworthy partner.

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“As the landscape of collegiate athletics shifts, I can promise Red Raider Nation that our leadership will diligently pursue all options to best position Texas Tech for long-term success.”