INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Big 12 leaders held a call without Texas and Oklahoma on Thursday to discuss how to keep the league’s flagship schools from bolting to the Southeastern Conference — and contingency plans to survive without them.
“There was no panic,” a person familiar with the meeting told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Big 12 was not making its internal discussions public. “All options are on the table.”
The Big 12 put out a statement Thursday night that revealed few details, but made clear the eight members in danger of being left behind want the Longhorns and Sooners to stay put. And that leaving could be costly for Texas and Oklahoma.
“There is a recognition that institutions may act in their own self-interest, however there is an expectation that members adhere to Conference bylaws and the enforcement of Grant of Rights agreements,” the statement said.
The Big 12′s grant of rights, which ties a school’s media rights to the conference, runs through the current television deals with ESPN and Fox. Those expire in June 2025.
For Oklahoma and Texas to leave the Big 12 sooner they would either relinquish tens of millions in television revenue for every year the grant is in effect or agree to a financial settlement with the conference.
The person familiar with Thursday’s call said Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, athletic directors and school presidents and chancellors discussed possible options for persuading Texas and Oklahoma to remain in the Big 12 and potential ways to keep the conference going if they leave.
Texas and Oklahoma were invited to join the call, and the hope is the Big 12 will soon hear directly from their conference mates, the person said.
Texas and Oklahoma have discussed a move to the SEC with officials from the powerhouse conference, but no formal invitation has been extended nor have the schools officially informed the Big 12 they intend to leave.
Earlier Thursday, leaders from other conferences leaders were hesitant to speculate on what’s next, but some observers were concerned about the potential consequences.
“College football is filled with people operating in silos and what they fail to realize is that if they only look at and try to build their silo as big and as shiny as possible than the entirety of the sport is not going to be as strong as it needs to be,” said former Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt, the lead college football analyst for Fox, which holds television rights with the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12.
“I think a move like this would be to the detriment of the sport overall.”
Former Oklahoma quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield put it more starkly: “It would ruin the Big 12. It would be done,” Mayfield said during a break in shooting TV commercials in Cleveland.