Report: ADs say Oklahoma and Texas Plan to Stay in Big 12 Until 2025

Although the Big 12 Conference’s new commissioner gave Oklahoma and Texas brass the “green light,” it seems each school will wait until their original departure date to leave for the SEC.

"Look, I know people are asking a lot of those questions and it's fair," Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione told ESPN at the Texas High School Coaches' Association conference in San Antonio on Monday. "There's a lot changing around us. If that facilitates a conversation that needs to take place about an earlier departure, then it does.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

“I have said very consistently — I know my counterpart Chris Del Conte said the same thing, as have our presidents — that we informed the conference that we would leave after '25 and we plan on fulfilling our obligations and (doing) the honorable thing."

When asked about their future relationship last week, both future SEC schools and the Big 12 conference were cautious choosing their words.

After Oklahoma and Texas announced their intentions to jump conferences and battle in the Southeast, feelings were quickly hurt and bridges were burned. At times, it seemed like it had gotten to the point of no repair.

The Sooners and Longhorns are set to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC on July 1, 2025, but after the situation went down last summer, it was hard to envision either school honoring that commitment.

At Big 12 media days, however, the conference’s new commissioner, Brett Yormark, seemed calm and concise when discussing the potential rocky future. He said the conference would be willing to seek out a “win-win” situation, even if that meant both schools leaving early.

The vibes between the different sides seemed more hostile last summer, as it seems like everyone wants to move on now. Some coaches even expressed their displeasure with the two teams abandoning ship, questioning their attendance at media days as a whole. With the way things are shaping up, though, both Brent Venables and Steve Sarkisian should each have a few more seasons in the Big 12.

“We're in the Big 12," Del Conte told ESPN. "We're going to honor our commitments. Those things are all premature."