Oklahoma i Texas have officially notified the SEC that they are seeking a “membership invitation” starting July 1, 2025, according to a joint statement by the Greater 12
According to the statement, the OU and Texas sent SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on Tuesday morning.
“The two universities are looking forward to the prospect of talks on the issue,” the statement said.
According to a letter dated July 27 and released, Texas President Jay Hartzell and Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz Jr. they wrote, “We believe that universities would benefit each other on the one hand, and the SEC on the other hand, that universities become members of the SEC.”
Sources said that the presidents of the SEC and the chancellors meet on Thursday to consider the possibility of the OU and Texas for official membership in something that would become the first superconference with 16 teams. Despite an official announcement from the Big 12 schools, a source familiar with the procedure warned that it still does not guarantee that the SEC will vote at the time. An extension of the call would require a three-quarters majority of the SEC president and chancellor (11 out of 14).
Sources told ESPN earlier that it is believed that enough SEC schools will vote to add two new members.
“While the SEC has not proactively sought new members, we will follow significant changes when there is a clear consensus among our members that such actions will further enrich the experiences of our student athletes and lead to greater academic and athletic achievement on our campuses,” Sankey said in a statement. “The presidents and chancellor of the SEC, in their capacity as executive directors of the conference, will consider these requests in the near future.”
The Board of Regents for both Texas and Oklahoma has scheduled separate special meetings for Friday morning, during which membership in athletic conferences will be discussed. The Oklahoma Regents will meet in Oklahoma City, while the Texas Regents will meet via conference call.
Texas and OU said in a letter that they intend to stay in the Big 12 until June 30, 2025 because that’s when the current Big 12 media rights deal expires – but that doesn’t guarantee they won’t find a way to leave before then. If this happens earlier, each university would have to pay a fine of at least $ 75 to $ 80 million to violate that agreement; or hope that the Big 12 will be disbanded before the grant agreement expires.
One source from the Big 12 suggested the possibility that OU and Texas are earning for a relationship that will turn in the next few years, the Big 12 agrees to release them for less.
A source from the SEC said Longhorns and Sooner “have to do a lot of legal work before they can just reach us”.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.
.
0 Comments