The SEC voted unanimously to extend membership to Texas, Oklahoma

Adios Big 12 and hey SEC.

The presidents and chancellors of the Southeast Conference on Thursday unanimously voted to extend invitations to membership at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas to join the SEC on July 1, 2025, when the competition begins in all sports for the academic year 2025-26. .

Both schools will have to pay a $ 75 million acquisition to become the 15th and 16th members of the SEC.

The change will unite Texas and Texas A&M in the same league when they haven’t played since Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012.

The Big 12, formerly known as the Big 8 before its disintegration in 1996, would be reduced to eight schools: Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas Christian, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State. There is widespread speculation that other leagues, including ACC and Pac-12, would like to conceal some of these schools.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey forwarded the invitations to the respective presidents of the two universities after a video conference meeting on Thursday with the conference presidents and chancellors. The meeting was convened after two universities submitted separate membership requests to the SEC on Tuesday.

“Today’s unanimous vote is both a testament to the SEC’s long-standing spirit of unity and mutual cooperation and a recognition of the outstanding legacy of academic and sporting excellence created by the Universities of Oklahoma and Texas,” Commissioner Sankey said. “I greatly appreciate the collective efforts of the presidents and federal chancellors as we consider and act on the membership benefit of each school.”

Meanwhile, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby accused ESPN of trying to destabilize his conference.

I am absolutely certain that they (ESPN) have been involved in manipulating other conferences since Members Bowlsby. said Associated Press on Wednesday after posting stop and reject the letter network.

A letter to Burke Magnus, director of ESPN, director of programming and content, said the Big 12 was aware that the network had taken action not only to harm the Big 12 conference but also to generate financial benefits for ESPN.

The allegations made in the letter have no merit, ESPN said in a statement.

The AP participated in the reporting.