Texas takes first official step in changing conferences, sends letter to Big 12
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
The last few days were a whirlwind of reports stating that Texas and Oklahoma were interested in leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC. On Monday, the first official step was taken to back up these claims.
The Longhorns and Sooners each sent a letter to the Big 12 to inform them that they would not extend the grant of rights, which is currently set to expire in 2025. However, don’t expect the two powerhouse programs to remain in the Big 12 until 2025.
Texas and Oklahoma could fulfill their contractual obligation and not have to pay anything, but money doesn’t appear to be an issue for either side and a move as soon as the 2022 or 2023 season is certainly possible.
Texas sends critical letter to Big 12 officials, signaling the Longhorns intend to leave for SEC. First official step in changing conferenceshttps://t.co/fnCJWBLUNG
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) July 26, 2021
“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.”
The next step in the process is for Texas to formally ask the SEC to join. As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, the Longhorns would need 11 of the 14 schools to vote yes, meaning if four programs vote no, it would deny expansion.
Receiving enough votes doesn’t seem to be an issue, as only Texas A&M appears to be against the move.
