Could Texas And Oklahoma Announce New SEC Departure Date at Big 12 Media Days?
The Big 12 is set to host its annual media days this week in Arlington, but most of the focus won't be on the impending season. Instead, new commissioner Brett Yormark will likely be answering questions on the status of conference realignment.
Texas and Oklahoma will be facing a similar question for life past the Big 12. Last July, the two programs announced their intent to leave the conference in favor of the SEC by no later than 2025.
Have things changed with the recent additions and other surrounding variables in the sport?
Since the announcement, USC and UCLA have accepted an invite to join the Big Ten and will become members in 2024. The Big 12 is expanding come 2023 back to 12 teams with the arrival of BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.
Both Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione have held firm to the 2025 departure date as of this time. However, the two schools could be looking to cash in now that the Trojans and Bruins are joining the Big Ten a year earlier.
For anything to happen, both Del Conte and Castiglione would have to be on board for an early exit. The schools would also have to be willing to pay a buyout fee for breaching their grant of rights agreements prior to the end of the current membership.
USC and UCLA have different contract situations compared to Texas and Oklahoma. The Pac-12 is up for a new television deal starting in 2024 as is the Big Ten. One of the main factors for the departure of the two Pac-12 flagship programs is due to the revenue that is expected to come with a new deal set by Fox Sports or ESPN for the Big Ten's future streaming rights.
According to reports, the new Big Ten deal could be worth a record-setting $1 billion per season. This would leave to an extensive payout for all 16 programs in the near future. In 2020, the Pac-12 only distributed $33.6 million to each of its members. That same year, all 14 Big Ten institutions received at least $49.2 million in revenue, with 12 schools averaging over $54 million.
The Big 12 has distributed $42.6 million to each of its members for the impending academic year. Texas and Oklahoma could want more in the coming years as the two bring in the most internal revenue among those in the conference. Meanwhile, the SEC agreed to terms on a new $300 million deal with ESPN last year that gives the network rights to all SEC football games beginning in 2024.
With the new deal, the conference's annual distribution is expected to bump up to at least $68 million per team in the conference. Could that be enough for Del Conte and Castiglione to pay a one-year fine for more revenue earlier?
Both programs were set to remain in the Big 12 through their current contracts. Things have changed in the realm of college football to where all offers are on the table moving forward. By Thursday, there should be a clear answer as to when Oklahoma and Texas are expected to begin their next chapters in college football.
Of course, nothing is ever cut-and-dry in terms of conference realignment.
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