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The University of Texas’ exit from the Big 12 Conference is expected to take place in a few days. Then it appears that the school will join the SEC.
The most likely scenario is that the Longhorns and OU will debut in the Southeastern Conference with the 2023 football season. This gives both schools time to negotiate the terms of their exit from the Big 12.
RELATED: Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners could join the SEC in weeks, sources say
With a seismic shift in college athletics, the only SEC school in the state doesn’t sit idle while the moves are in the works. Neither are some state legislators.
On Monday, the Texas A&M System Board of Regents will hold a special session on issues related to the school and the SEC.
The regents will meet at 5 p.m. and move to an executive session that is closed to the public.
After the closed session, the board will meet in an open session to discuss and take possible action on contractual and governance issues, according to a statement from the Texas A&M University System.
Although the exact details of these issues are not known, it is clear that A&M had a “gentleman’s agreement” with other SEC schools that gave them “absolute veto” against adding another school to the conference, according to R. Bowen Loftin , President Emeritus of Texas A&M.
On Saturday, Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks issued the following statement:
The past few days have been challenging in many ways, and I know that changes in college athletics are often troubling to those who love their institutions. Rest assured, the Registrar, our Sporting Director, and I, and everyone involved in this matter, are focused solely on what is best for Texas A&M University. We have been a proud member of the best intercollegial athletics conference in history since 2011 and look forward to further successful years of our SEC partnership.
On the street of Austin’s famed 40 acres, a group of Texan lawmakers tabled a law on Friday banning public colleges and universities in Texas from changing affiliation to college sports conferences without the consent of the lawmaker. The filing is largely symbolic as legislative work has stalled due to the self-imposed exile of the Texas Democrats.
The Austin American-Statesman reported Friday that a Big 12 source believed talks between the SEC, the UT and the OU had been going on for more than six months, even though SEC member Texas A&M had been excluded from the discussions. An SEC source told ESPN’s Heather Dinich that it was inaccurate that A&M was excluded from the conversation.
The departure of UT and OU from the Big 12 likely means trouble for the conference, although it won’t be broke if it happens.
ESPN reported Thursday that both Texas and Oklahoma would likely owe the Big 12 more than $ 76 million apiece to buy out the remainder of their media rights agreement, which runs until 2025. However, a new agreement with the SEC would likely make this price tag for the two powerhouses easily affordable.
Big 12 officials held a call Thursday to discuss the future of the league, with both Texas and Oklahoma absent from the discussion.
If the move were to become a reality, the impact on the rest of college football would be massive, and the administrator believes the larger impact could do significant harm to the sport.
Several ACC sporting directors believed their league would make a push over the next several years to add both Texas and Oklahoma – along with Notre Dame, who is currently an ACC member – to restructure their TV deal, but the sudden one The Longhorns and Sooners’ move to the SEC surprised her.
One ACC AD wondered if this could be the first domino to cause a massive shake that would ultimately result in a 32-team super conference. Two other ADs suggested that the best path for ACC, Pac-12, and others might be to work together on a new media rights package that could help counter the oversized strength of a 16-team SEC, though one AD also said he was believed that what would be left of the Big 12 has minimal value.
ESPN and The Texas Tribune contributed to this report.
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