OKLAHOMA CITY — In a letter to University of Oklahoma President Joseph Harroz on Wednesday, several lawmakers expressed disappointment in the school’s decision to leave the Big 12 and join the Southeastern Conference with the University of Texas.
“Based on the joint statement released Monday from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma you have chosen to advance the interests of the University of Texas as a partner instead of working collaboratively with your in-state partner at Oklahoma State University,” said the letter, signed by 34 lawmakers.
The move is expected to impact football-related revenue, recruiting and prestige.
“We are disappointed in the lack of transparency and making decisions of such magnitude at a time when the Oklahoma Legislature is out of session,” the letter said.
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Rep. Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, one of the signers, said the purpose was to express disappointment with how the move was handled.
“It would be different if it was a private institution looking out for just their own interests,” Hilbert said. “That would be the right thing to do. OU is a public institution and as such, it is part of state government of Oklahoma, just like OSU. We should all be pulling for the same team, the well-being of the state and working together.”
Having a successful athletic program helps with faculty and student recruitment and donations, Hilbert said.
“It is a big deal,” said Rep. Trish Ranson, D-Stillwater, who also signed the letter.
The decision is bigger than just football and will affect Stillwater’s economy, she said.
“Sports at OSU are a big draw to our town,” Ranson said. “Folks who come to the games spend money in Stillwater with staying at hotels, eating at restaurants and shopping downtown. The idea that OU has decided to leave the conference without us is a big deal.”
Sen. James Leewright, R-Bristow, said he was disappointed that OU and OSU were not working together. He also signed the letter.
House Minority Floor Leader Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said she believes the move will be good for the state, despite what critics say.
“The University of Oklahoma, its president and Board of Regents all have a duty to look out for the best interests of the University of Oklahoma, and that is what they have done,” she said.
Sen. Mary Boren, D-Norman, agreed with Virgin.
“OU has overcome the decades-long mediocre, temperamental and dwindling support of the Oklahoma state Legislature with successful business decisions and should remain unhindered to protect the excellence of student athletes and the University of Oklahoma,” Boren said.
Gov. Kevin Stitt’s office had no comment.
The University of Oklahoma did not respond to a request for comment.
Timeline: Big 12 formation, team changes through the years
1994-96: Big 12 Conference forms from SWC and Big Eight
The first Big 12 Conference was announced in 1994 with the remnants of the Southwest (SWC) and Big Eight conferences.
The original members were Big Eight's Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State, along with SWC's Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
The expanded conference also allowed for divisions, with OU and OSU landing in the South division.
Further reading from 1995-96 archives:
Big 12 to continue SWC, Big 8 traditions | Big 12 will share revenues | Big 12 offices Dallas bound | Arkansas would have been perfect fit for Big 12
2010-11: Colorado, Nebraska leave for Pac 12, Big Ten
Colorado made the first move by joining a new Pac 12 Conference with Utah in June 2010. The Pac-12 also reportedly offered membership to OU, OSU, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.
Later the same month, Nebraska accepted an offer to join the Big Ten Conference. The move would be made official on July 1, 2011.
OU, OSU and other Big 12 schools announced that they would stay in their current conference at that time.
Missouri, another Big 12 school that could have potentially moved that offseason, had a vocal supporter in its state's governor for the 10-member Big 12.
Further reading from 2010 archives:
WAC's expansion to 16 teams ended in disaster | Pac-10 commissioner has no animosity toward Texas | Texas, Beebe help Big 12 survive
2011: Texas' 'Longhorn Network' ESPN deal; Big 12's Fox deal
In January 2011, Texas signed a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN. The deal created the "Longhorn Network," a television network that will broadcast Texas sports and other content.
Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne immediately raised concern about the deal.
In April 2011, the Big 12 Conference agreed to a 13-year, $1.17 billion deal with Fox, which would be worth more than $90 million a year. The Big 12's previous agreement with Fox paid the league $20 million annually.
2011-12: SEC adds Texas A&M and Missouri; OU and OSU consider Pac-12
Months after the Big 12 looked stable with 10 members, Texas A&M expressed interest in leaving for another conference. By the end of August, the Aggies made it official. Legal threats from the Big 12 followed.
In September 2011, OU and OSU once again expressed interest in joining the Pac-12. However, later that month the Pac-12 closed the door on expansion.
In late September 2011, the SEC announced Texas A&M as its 13th member.
Then-OU president David Boren expressed some optimism that Missouri would stay in the Big 12, but by late October, the Tigers were also leaving.
The SEC officially welcomed A&M and Mizzou in July 2012. Both schools paid $12.4 million each to leave the Big 12.
2011-12: TCU and West Virginia join; Big 12 gets new commissioner
With Texas A&M on its way out, the Big 12 began negotiations with a replacement team from Texas in October 2011, TCU. This was despite the fact that the Horned Frogs planned to leave the Mountain West for the Big East the following year.
The Big 12 voted unanimously to accept TCU soon after, with TCU reciprocating.
Also in October 2011, the Big 12 needed to find a replacement for Missouri, and found one in West Virginia. It took a WVU lawsuit against the Big East for the Mountaineers to switch the next season.
By summer 2012, West Virginia and TCU were official Big 12 members. Also during the football offseason that year, the Big 12 hired previous conference commissioner, Bob Bowlsby.
The Big 12's additions also had ramifications on other conferences: The Big East initially looked in all directions (including westward to San Diego and Boise) for new football members before becoming a basketball focused conference, while Conference USA and the Mountain West dissolved their conferences to form Tulsa's current conference, the American Athletic.
2016-17: Big 12 considers expansion; declines
In 2016, the Big 12 Conference reportedly considered quite a few programs for expansion, including Air Force, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado State, UConn, Houston, Rice, South Florida, SMU and Tulane. The favorites were considered BYU, Houston and Cincinnati.
Then-OU president David Boren spoke multiple times about the topic at the time with the media.
However, with the Big 12 allowed to host a football championship game once again despite having fewer than 12 members, the conference ultimately decided not to expand.
July 2021: OU and Texas may leave for SEC
The reports began in late July 2021 that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns were interested in leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference. OU and UT did nothing to quell the rumors by missing a meeting of Big 12 athletic directors and CEOs.
The Sooners and Longhorns declined to extend the grant of rights media deal with the rest of the Big 12, and have both publicly applied for SEC membership.
Further reading:
Bob Stoops: ‘OU’s move to the SEC is what’s best for Oklahoma’ | Guerin Emig: Big 12 could have a future with Nebraska, A&M, Mizzou, Colorado back aboard... but only in Dreamland | Oklahoma State president Kayse Shrum reacts
July 30, 2021: OU, Texas regents vote to accept SEC invitations
One day after the Southeastern Conference voted unanimously to invite OU and UT, both universities' boards of regents voted to accept the invitations.
Sept. 10, 2021: Big 12 unanimously accepts four new members
BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston are set to become the newest members of the league following an affirmative vote from the Big 12's Board of Directors and approval from the conference's eight remaining members, per a Big 12 release. OU and Texas were not involved in the process.
The Big 12 announcement did not specify arrival dates for its new schools.
June 10, 2022: AAC reaches agreement for teams to join Big 12 in 2023
The American Athletic Conference announced an agreement with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF that paves the way for the schools to join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023.
Along with the addition of BYU in 2023, the Big 12 is set to be a 14-team conference that year.
Feb. 9, 2023: OU and Texas to join SEC in 2024
OU, Texas, the Big 12 and its television partners have agreed a deal that will grant OU and Texas early exits for the SEC at the end of the 2023-24 athletic year, confirmed in an announcement from the Big 12.
The agreement will send OU and Texas to the SEC on July 1, 2024, one full year before the expiration of the Big 12’s current grant of rights in the summer of 2025.
May 5, 2023: OU regents approve move to SEC
The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents voted to authorize the Sooners’ early departure for the Southeastern Conference in a special meeting, the final formal step in sealing OU’s impending exit from the Big 12 in 2024.
The regents’ vote followed similar action from the University of Texas Board of Regents that week and sealed the Sooners’ SEC arrival date alongside the Longhorns. OU will now officially exit the Big 12 after June 30, 2024 and join the SEC the following day.
The 2023-24 academic year — which includes the upcoming 2023 football season — will mark the Sooners’ last in the Big 12, the league OU has called home since 1996.
July 26, 2023: Colorado returns to Big 12
Following a board of regents meeting at the University of Colorado on July 26, a second meeting was scheduled July 27, where the school is expected to discuss a potential move back to the Big 12, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Colorado made the news official that week.
Aug. 4, 2023: Several more Pac-12 schools join Big 12
The Big 12 releases an official statement on its Twitter account, welcoming Utah, Arizona and Arizona for the 2024-25 academic year. The additions increased the Big 12's membership to 16 teams.
This, combined with Oregon and Washington leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024, and the ACC accepting Stanford and Cal, left that conference with two teams: Oregon State and Washington State.
July 1, 2024: New era of Big 12 Conference begins
Will the Big 12 Conference change its name considering it will have 16 teams going into the 2024-25 fall sport season, or even consider conference naming rights?
July 1 marks the date OU and Texas officially become Southeastern Conference members, while Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado move from the Pac-12 to the Big 12.
Berry Tramel: Ranking the 118 Big 12 football games in the 2024 season
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