Four new members officially set to join the Big 12 conference in 2023Cami Griffin, Longhorns WireJune 10, 2022 1:26 pm CTThe lengthy discussions regarding Houston, Cincinnati, UCF and BYU joining the Big 12 conference is finally official.
Max Olson of The Athletic reported on Friday that UCF, Cincinnati and Houston have reached an agreement to join the Big 12 conference in the summer of 2023. The schools came to an agreement on exit fees with the American Athletic Conference.
Since BYU had already reached an agreement prior to the other three members, the Big 12 expansion has been finalized.
Shortly after the news became official, Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman reported that 2024 is the realistic target date for Texas and Oklahoma to join the SEC early.
The four new programs will get at least one shot at facing the Longhorns and Sooners prior to their departure.
Brian Davis
@BDavisAAS
One high-ranking Texas source tells me now that 2024 is still a more realistic target date for Texas and OU to join the SEC early. So Horns, Sooners teams likely going to Provo, Houston, Cincy, Orlando in 2023
Texas and Oklahoma may be targeting 2024 move to the SECTyler Nettuno, USA Today SportsJune 12, 2022 10:00 am CTWhen it comes to the SEC’s outlook for the rest of the decade, there’s really only one certainty: The league will be growing in the near future.
Big 12 schools Oklahoma and Texas have agreed to jump ship and join the conference. The Big 12’s current grant of rights deal expires in 2025, meaning the Sooners and Longhorns are theoretically locked in until then. There has been speculation that a move could still come earlier, but the timeline remains murky.
It may be getting clearer, though. On Friday, the American Athletic Conference announced that Cincinnati, UCF and Houston — which are heading to the Big 12 along with independent BYU as a result of the new wave of conference realignment — will depart in 2023. It’s likely that the Cougars will follow suit.
This began a flurry of speculation that the SEC could target an expansion to 16 games that same year, but based on a report from the Austin American-Statesman’s Brian Davis, that doesn’t sound very likely.
A departure in 2024 would still require a negotiated exit prior to the end of the media rights contract. It could, however, be significantly cheaper. CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd reported that an exit fee in 2023 would be nine figures, but per his colleague David Cobb, those fees could be more manageable in the final year of the contract.
For its part, the Big 12 is operating under the assumption that both schools will remain in the league through the 2024-25 season and is prepared to operate with 14 teams for the next two seasons, which would necessitate the restitution of divisions.
As things currently stand, both schools will officially join the conference on July 1, 2025, but at this point, it seems very likely the move will come sooner than that.
