ESPN Says Big 12 Allegations “Completely Unfounded”

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(AP) ESPN responded on Thursday to accusations by Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby of trying to destabilize his beleaguered conference by saying he had not done any reprehensible behavior and that there was nothing to stop and to abstain.

The accusations you have made are completely unfounded, ESPN director Burke Magnus, president of programming and content, said in a letter to Bowlsby released by the network.

Big 12 accuses ESPN of trying to manipulate members and destabilize conference

The Big 12 sent a cease-and-desist letter to the network a day earlier, alleging that ESPN was prompting at least one more conference to attack the league in a bid to hasten Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the Southeastern Conference.

Earlier this week, the Longhorns and Sooners formally applied to join the SEC, starting in 2025, when its media rights deal with the Big 12 expires. An early exit could cost Texas and Oklahoma a buyout of tens of millions of dollars.

SEC chairmen were due to meet later Thursday and could vote on whether to invite the flagship members of the Big 12.

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