Oklahoma and Texas have negotiated a deal that will see them leave the Big 12 a year early and are now set to join the SEC in 2024, per an announcement from the Big 12 on Thursday night.
The conference’s commissioner, Brett Yormark, said the following in a news release:
As I have consistently stated, the conference would only agree to an early withdrawal if it was in our best interest for Oklahoma and Texas to depart prior to June 30, 2025.
By reaching this agreement, we are now able to accelerate our new beginning as a 12-team league and move forward in earnest with our initiatives and future planning. I appreciate the approaches of OU president Joe Harroz and UT president Jay Hartzell to ensure an amicable conclusion to this process, and look forward to the bright days ahead for the Big 12 conference.
As a result of the moves, the programs will forfeit a combined $100 million in revenue distribution, though the agreement still requires approval from the Oklahoma and Texas governing boards.
The SEC prompted a realignment when it invited Oklahoma and Texas to join its conference in 2021. Membership was supposed to have kicked in on July 1, 2025, with the heads of both schools stating they were willing to wait for the date, which marked the Big 12’s media rights expiry.
However, it appears some impatience has set in and the schools will be joining the SEC when the conference’s new deal with ESPN kicks off. The College Football Playoff is also due to expand to a 12-team format then, with USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten.
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The SEC will become a 16-member conference next summer.
