“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,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. However, it’s still unclear how fast a 16-team SEC could begin play. It’s possible the SEC will vote on expansion this week, a high-ranking Texas source told the American-Statesman. Texas and OU are not expected to have any problems getting enough votes to join the conferences. Any new member must get 11 schools to vote yes four no votes would deny expansion. Texas officials would need to formally ask the SEC to join its 14-member league. The schools did not specify which conference they intend to join, but all signs point to the Southeastern Conference. However, both universities will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape as they consider how to best position their athletics programs to the future." The universities intend to honor their existing grants of rights agreements. "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 University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin notified the Big 12 Athletic Conference today that they will not be renewing their grants of media rights following expiration in 2025," the two schools said in a joint statement. Oklahoma and Texas have informed the Big 12 of their intent to withdraw from the conference, the two schools announced Monday, in a move that paves the way for the powerhouse programs to become the newest members of the SEC. These factors clearly don’t always translate to success on the football field - look no further than the Big 12’s past two seasons, in which Oklahoma and Texas (the league’s two most profitable brands) failed to reach the conference title game at the expense of Oklahoma State, Baylor, TCU, and Kansas State.Watch Video: Texas and Oklahoma moving to SEC changes college football as we know it CBS recently reported that the Big 12 has held regular talks with the “Four Corner” schools of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah about joining the conference and leaving the Pac-12.Ĭonference realignments and expansion moves are made with many things in mind, such as a school’s prestige, academic standing, donor/alumni support, access to media markets, and geographic fit. With new and potential “unknowns” out there such as the effects of new NIL deals and the continuation of open transfers, the Big 12 would do well to consider further expansion. We know that new Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark isn’t afraid to approach all sorts of possibilities in helping the conference navigate the realignment waters of today’s college athletics. If it were to prioritize recent results, Big 12 football should consider adding these schools. For now, the Pac-12 will stay put - as long as the Big Ten doesn’t also try to woo programs like Washington and Oregon. With other changes set to occur in major conferences like USC and UCLA planning to join the Big Ten, it’s worth revisiting the idea that more realignment shifting will take place in college football. The Big 12 will contain 14 members for just one season before the departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC officially take place following an early exit agreement of $100 million in fees. This will mark the first football season in which the league’s four new members will take the field from either the independent ranks (BYU) or the American Athletic Conference (Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Houston). There’s been plenty of speculation about the future of Big 12 football with this fall approaching.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |