Southeastern Convention college presidents voted Thursday to ask Texas and Oklahoma to the league and create a 16-team powerhouse on the sphere and on the financial institution.
The most recent step in transfer that has potential to assist reshape school sports activities got here two days after Texas and Oklahoma requested to affix the SEC in 2025. That is when the colleges’ media rights settlement with the Large 12 expires.
The SEC mentioned in an announcement that its leaders voted unanimously to increase invites to the Longhorns and Sooners and convey them into the convention efficient July 1, 2025.
Now the method goes again to the colleges. Texas and Oklahoma each have board of regents conferences schedule for Friday with convention affiliation on the agenda. Whether or not the boards will transfer to simply accept the invites at these conferences is unknown, however it’s nearly sure they are going to sooner or later.
Then the query turns into: Can Texas and Oklahoma discover a method to be part of their new convention earlier than 2025? It has the makings of being a messy divorce with the Large 12 that might embody ESPN.
Earlier Thursday, ESPN responded to Large 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby’s accusations of making an attempt to destabilize his beleaguered convention by saying it has accomplished nothing fallacious.
Bowlsby despatched a cease-and-desist letter to Magnus a day earlier, alleging ESPN was incentivizing at the very least one different convention to raid the league in an effort to hasten the departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Convention.
Bowlsby instructed AP on Wednesday he had “absolute certainty” ESPN was appearing inappropriately behind the scenes and that he suspected ESPN was concerned in Texas and Oklahoma’s months-long planning to exit the convention.
“It is intentional deception,” Bowlsby mentioned of Texas and Oklahoma’s actions.
ESPN holds a rights settlement with the Large 12, sharing the convention’s soccer video games with Fox, via the 2024-25 college yr.
An early exit may price Texas and Oklahoma a buyout value tens of tens of millions of yank {dollars} — if the Large 12’s different eight faculties hold the convention going.
