Earlier today, Big 12 rivals Oklahoma and Texas officially took their first step toward leaving the league–and potentially joining the SEC.
In a joint statement, OU and Texas said they will not be renewing their new grant of rights agreement with the Big 12 after the current one expires in 2025. Now, we’ll wait and see if the two schools negotiate a way to get out of the conference before then.
This news comes after the Big 12 had a meeting with both schools on Sunday night. According to Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel, the league conveyed a pretty clear message to the potential defectors during their conversation.
“Don’t play us. If you are willing to come with ideas or elements you’d need, do it genuinely. If this is done, let us know,” the source reportedly told Thamel.
Another source told Yahoo that the Big 12 Executive Committee’s message to Oklahoma and Texas was clear: “Don’t play us. If you are willing to come with ideas or elements you’d need, do it genuinely. If this is done, let us know.”
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 26, 2021
The joint announcement today is Oklahoma and Texas’ way of fulfilling the demands laid out by the Big 12. They are clearly letting the conference know they are done with it.
If we were to guess, the Sooners and Longhorns will work out a way to leave the Big 12 before the current grant of rights agreement runs its course. It has been commonplace throughout the many rounds of conference realignment for schools to pay buyouts to arrange earlier exits.
Over the next few weeks and months, we’ll see how the OU/Texas divorce from the Big 12 plays out.
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