Just last week, it was reported that Texas and Oklahoma would not leave the Big 12 early, instead leaving for the SEC in 2025.
How quickly things change.
Texas and Oklahoma will officially be exiting the Big 12 after the 2023-24 athletic year, joining the SEC in time for the 2024 football season, the Big 12 announced on Thursday.
The Longhorns and Sooners’ early exit has a penalty of a combined $100 million to the Big 12, which will “be withheld form distributed revenue, per Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger.
In its first football season as a member of the Big 12, BYU will play Texas and Oklahoma in the two schools’ final season in the conference.
The Cougars play Texas in Austin on Oct. 28 and host Oklahoma in Provo on Nov. 18.
“As I have consistently stated, the Conference would only agree to an early withdrawal if it was in our best interest for Oklahoma and Texas to depart prior to June 30, 2025,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said in a press release.
“By reaching this agreement, we are now able to accelerate our new beginning as a 12-team league and move forward in earnest with our initiatives and future planning. I appreciate the approaches of OU President Joe Harroz and UT President Jay Hartzell to ensure an amicable conclusion to this process, and look forward to the bright days ahead for the Big 12 Conference.”