Joe Castiglione, Chris Del Conte says 2025 SEC arrival date has not changed

Oklahoma and Texas are both members of the Big 12 until 2025, at least on paper, before leaving in favor of the SEC. However, there has been a lot of speculation as to when the two programs would be leaving for their new home, with as soon as the 2023 football season being thrown as well. According to both athletic directors, that’s unlikely.

Joe Castiglione said both Oklahoma and Texas want to “do the honorable thing” by staying with the conference for at least another three years. He points out how things can change on a whim, meaning if there needs to be a discussion about bolting for the SEC early, they can occur.

“Look, I know people are asking a lot of those questions and it’s fair,” Castiglione said via ESPN’s Pete Thamel. “There’s a lot changing around us. If that facilitates a conversation that needs to take place about an earlier departure then it does. But I have said very consistently — I know my counterpart [at Texas] Chris Del Conte said the same thing, as have our presidents — that we informed the conference that we would lead after ’25 and we plan on fulfilling our obligations and do the honorable thing.”

While Del Conte did not give as thought out of an answer as his Red River rival athletic director, he had the same sentiment. Texas is going to “honor” their commitments to the conference they help founded back in the late 1990s, calling any kind of movement of the next couple of years premature.

“We’re in the Big 12,” Del Conte said. “We’re going to honor our commitments. Those things are all premature.”

There are a couple of factors that could play into Oklahoma and Texas possibly staying or leaving before the 2025 date.

First up is the Big 12 adding for teams before the 2022 season. Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF will be joining from the AAC, while BYU has spent time as an independent in football. If the Sooners and Longhorns remain in the Big 12, that would bring the conference up to 14 members until their departure.

Another is USC and UCLA, who will be leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten come 2024. If the SEC decides they want to sync their major realignment move with the Big Ten, Oklahoma and Texas could see some early shift.

One thing is known for sure — the conference landscape is set for the 2022 season. Moving forward is where questions will arise, even if Castiglione and Del Conte say otherwise.