OU and TX timeline

[ScoobaDawg]

Will file a letter with the SEC in the morning requesting to join.

Votes should happen Thursday.

https://twitter.com/JasonWhitely/status/1419870246538600450

[Johnson85]

Will file a letter with the SEC in the morning requesting to join.

Votes should happen Thursday.

https://twitter.com/JasonWhitely/status/1419870246538600450

Next need to know what kind of payout leaving the Big 12 requires and what kind of extra money ESPN will pay per year once UT and OU join.

I am assuming that they will buy out of the last year or two of the deal, unless ESPN already gets a lot of money off of big 12 games and therefore it doesn't make sense to incentivize them to leave the Big 12 sooner rather than later.

[ScoobaDawg]

And it's happening.
https://news.utexas.edu/2021/07/27/joint-statement-from-the-university-of-texas-at-austin-and-the-university-of-oklahoma-2/

The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Oklahoma sent the request below to Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey this morning. The joint request seeks an invitation for membership in the SEC starting on July 1, 2025. The two universities look forward to the prospect of discussions regarding the matter.

[ScoobaDawg]

Next need to know what kind of payout leaving the Big 12 requires and what kind of extra money ESPN will pay per year once UT and OU join.

I am assuming that they will buy out of the last year or two of the deal, unless ESPN already gets a lot of money off of big 12 games and therefore it doesn't make sense to incentivize them to leave the Big 12 sooner rather than later.

That's the questions that are buzzing around.. the 2025 is just because they legally have to say that.
Will they negotiate a buyout to leave early?
Or does 4 more members of the Big 12 leave and the conference GOR falls apart with no penalty?
When UT joins, does the SEC force them to turn off the LHN and therefore UT gets a buyout from ESPN for the network which goes until 2031 I believe...
Also.. what happens when OU and UT join next fall.. Will CBS / ESPN renegotiate immediately and up the pot or will our distribution shrink for 3 years until the new agreement kicks in with ESPN in 2025?

[StarkVegasSteve]

That's the questions that are buzzing around.. the 2025 is just because they legally have to say that.
Will they negotiate a buyout to leave early?
Or does 4 more members of the Big 12 leave and the conference GOR falls apart with no penalty?
When UT joins, does the SEC force them to turn off the LHN and therefore UT gets a buyout from ESPN for the network which goes until 2031 I believe...
Also.. what happens when OU and UT join next fall.. Will CBS / ESPN renegotiate immediately and up the pot or will our distribution shrink for 3 years until the new agreement kicks in with ESPN in 2025?

1. I believe that lawyers are currently working on the buyout to get them here by 2022 but nothing can be said legally until they come to an agreement with the Big 12. This is due to the Big 12 owning their media rights until 2025.

2. I'd imagine the Big 12 is done. They may try to add some teams to keep it alive, but it would only be for a couple of years. I'd imagine they'll lose power conference designation when the CFP goes to 12. Their best bet is to forge an alliance with the Pac 12.

3. The Longhorn Network is done. ESPN will absorb it and turn it into SECNetwork2 or SECNetwork+.

4. This will cause the SEC and Disney to go back to the negotiating table for a new rights deal. I would imagine the number will be upped by at least 1.5 billion.

[Tbonewannabe]

That's the questions that are buzzing around.. the 2025 is just because they legally have to say that.
Will they negotiate a buyout to leave early?
Or does 4 more members of the Big 12 leave and the conference GOR falls apart with no penalty?
When UT joins, does the SEC force them to turn off the LHN and therefore UT gets a buyout from ESPN for the network which goes until 2031 I believe...
Also.. what happens when OU and UT join next fall.. Will CBS / ESPN renegotiate immediately and up the pot or will our distribution shrink for 3 years until the new agreement kicks in with ESPN in 2025?

Seems like I read that the SEC has the right to renegotiate if teams are added.

[Johnson85]

That's the questions that are buzzing around.. the 2025 is just because they legally have to say that.
Will they negotiate a buyout to leave early?
Or does 4 more members of the Big 12 leave and the conference GOR falls apart with no penalty?
When UT joins, does the SEC force them to turn off the LHN and therefore UT gets a buyout from ESPN for the network which goes until 2031 I believe...
Also.. what happens when OU and UT join next fall.. Will CBS / ESPN renegotiate immediately and up the pot or will our distribution shrink for 3 years until the new agreement kicks in with ESPN in 2025?

I can't imagine the SEC would let Texas keep the LHN. But I'm also not sure ESPN wants to keep LHN going. I know LHN was a good money loser for ESPN for a while even though they were "only" paying texas $15M a year (this is dated; maybe it's doing fine now). This could be a situation where Texas gets another ten or twenty million a year and ESPN saves a good bit of money by shuttering LHN and rolling texas eyeballs into a profitable SEC Network deal.

[KOdawg1]

They'll be playing in the SEC in 2022.

2023 at the very latest.

[FISHDAWG]

They'll be playing in the SEC in 2022.

2023 at the very latest.

I'm sure it's possible but it would seem like both schools would have to pay some kind of settlement to the schools they were originally scheduled to play outside of the B-12 and that would take some time to work through

[Johnson85]

I'm sure it's possible but it would seem like both schools would have to pay some kind of settlement to the schools they were originally scheduled to play outside of the B-12 and that would take some time to work through

They wouldn't have to cancel any of those games. The Big 10 play 9 conference games. So if they have 3 OOC games schedule for those years and joined the SEC, they would have to find a fourth non-conference team to play unless the SEC went to a nine game schedule.

Not sure how they work conference matchups and whether there are any obligations beyond buying out of the media deal for those.