College football expansion: Update on when Texas and Oklahoma will join SEC
Texas and Oklahoma hatched a plan to jump ship from the Big 12 and join the SEC in the latest phase of college football expansion and realignment.
The only question was: when?
According to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, the schools are set to remain in the conference through the league's current grant of rights, which is set to expire in July of 2025.
“They’re going to be here through ‘25,” Yormark told reporters at Big 12 Basketball Tip-Off, via Tulsa World.
“They’ve committed themselves in advance of me getting here and they’ve reiterated that commitment.
"So they’ll be here through the duration (of the grant of rights). And my relationship with both Texas and Oklahoma is very, very strong. And they are full members and we’re looking forward to working with them.”
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There were rumors that Texas and Oklahoma could leave for the SEC earlier than that date, but such a move would have cost both schools in the tens of millions of dollars in early exit fees.
The schools were also full representatives at the most recent Big 12 meeting in Dallas, in addition to future members Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, and UCF.
That meeting included plans for a future football schedule in which the Big 12 will increase to 14 members starting in the 2023 college football season, implying that the league believes Texas and Oklahoma will be members at that point.
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