Big 12 to add four schools
IRVING, Texas (BVM) — Today, it seems like the landscape of college sports is always changing. And for one Power 5 conference, the change could be happening sooner rather than later.
Back on Sep. 10, the Big 12 voted to accept BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF into the conference. This move comes as a response to co-founders Texas and Oklahoma announcing they were moving to the SEC.
Oklahoma & Texas make it official: they’re leaving conference & expected to apply for SEC membership pic.twitter.com/65h35M18OF
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) July 26, 2021
“The Big 12 Presidents and Chancellors entered this process with the singular focus to strengthen and stabilize the Conference,” Chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors, and President of Texas Tech University, Lawrence Schovanec said in a press release. “With the addition of these four tradition-rich institutions we have set the Big 12 on a continued path of success. We look forward to having BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston under the Big 12 banner, both athletically and academically.”
Now, these schools won’t be able to join right away according to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) bylaws. According to the bylaws, each school would have to give the conference a 27-month notice and pay a $10 million buyout fee. And with the schools aiming to join the conference by the 2023-24 season, it seems to be a longshot. But a school can always pay more to leave the conference earlier.
Either way, it shows that the Big 12 is ready to move on from Texas and Oklahoma. And with the two prestigious programs ready to leave in 2024, if not earlier, it shows the conference is preparing for the future.
