Texas Longhorns And Oklahoma Sooners File To Leave Big 12 For SEC

by Seth Udinski
Texas Longhorns And Oklahoma Sooners File To Leave Big 12 For SEC

Seth Udinski, FISM News

 

The NCAA college football landscape is changing dramatically.  Earlier this week, the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma, two historic powerhouses in college football, filed to leave the Big 12 Conference.  According to several sources, they also wrote a joint letter to Southeastern Conference (SEC) Commissioner Greg Sankey on Tuesday requesting an invitation to join the powerhouse conference starting July 1, 2025.  The schools announced Monday that they will not renew their media contracts with the Big 12 after the 2025 season:

The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Oklahoma notified the Big 12 Athletic Conference (on Monday) 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.

Conferences are extremely influential in the interworkings of college football (and college sports in general), so this move could be momentous.  In recent years, the SEC has established itself as a giant in college football, dominating the scene both in talent and media coverage.  Adding two historically great institutions will only bolster the power of the SEC. This will also be a big blow to the Big 12 as Texas and Oklahoma were the two strongest and most recognizable programs in the conference.

SEC administrators will meet Thursday to discuss the specifics of adding these two schools.  A 75% majority among the fourteen SEC leaders is required for the conference to extend a formal invitation to the universities.

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