Oklahoma, Texas leave for SEC by leaving an estimated $100m behind.

On July 1, 2024, Oklahoma will officially be a member of the South Eastern Conference.

This has been known since February after the university announced its intentions to leave the Big 12 a year early. But the school’s Board of Regents made it officially official on Friday at a special executive meeting in Norman. The original plan was for Oklahoma and Texas to stay in the Big 12 through 2025. 

But with the additions of Cincinnati, Houston, BYU, and UCF to the Big 12 in 2023, it made sense for this to be their final year in the conference. Oklahoma and Texas also wanted to join in Year 1 of the SEC’s television deal with ESPN, which begins in 2024. 

“We always talked about being there and completing the entire term of the agreement and we were absolutely prepared to do that,” OU President Joe Harroz said Friday. “But as we went into it, you had the four new schools coming in and we all sat down and talked about it. (Big 12) Commissioner (Brett) Yormak was terrific and engaged in a really constructive conversation of – at the end of the day, is it better for everybody if we expedite this? That was the agreement and that’s one of the reasons why this all came together as it did.” 

Oklahoma and Texas will pay a combined $100 million in early exit fees, which will be paid out to the remaining eight legacy institutions. The way that money will be paid, according to Harroz, is leaving behind their share of the Big 12’s television rights. 

“It depends on how you count money, but yeah, that $40ish million stays behind,” Harroz said. “We’re leaving a year early and by leaving a year early, we’re leaving behind that conference share. So we’ll participate exactly as the other existing eight schools, Oklahoma and Texas, this coming year. But by leaving a year early, that’s a full share we’re leaving behind for the rest of the members.” 

Oklahoma has worked closely with Texas and the SEC in the past months, after announcing the decision to leave in July 2021. 

The move has been a massive undertaking for athletic director Joe Castiglione and his staff. They’ve already started discussing and finalizing future budgets and schedules. He will also be attending the SEC’s spring meetings at the end of May and early June. Though, neither school will be voting members until July 1, 2024. 

“For us, we saw this as the best place for our university going forward in how we project the twenty-first-century college-athletics model,” Castiglione said. “So this is something we’re very excited about. Obviously, first and foremost we want to focus on our final year in the Big 12. 

“We know we’re facing outstanding competition in the Big 12. Let’s not overlook how well the Big 12 has done the last few years and in particular this year, having another stellar year. So we’re very respectful of all of our institutions and the competition we face. We know there’s a lot of excitement and it comes up in the conversation because we’re recruiting athletes that are going to be playing in a different league.”

It’s a balancing act for Castiglione and the rest of the OU administration, as they prepare to make the move while also competing in their final year in the Big 12. Castiglione doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, but he also is forced to look to the future. 

That’s why he and Harroz created a committee last year to help not only the university make the move, but also the community. Because one of the biggest questions surrounding the move is if Oklahoma, and its fanbase, are ready for the SEC? 

“It is a big lift. And it’s something we’ve been talking about and working with the city of Norman, the city of Oklahoma City, the city of Moore,” Harroz said. “How do we accommodate all of it? How do we make sure we put our best foot forward as a state? Because there’s a huge opportunity here… So you’re right – preparation for this is ongoing. It has to be aggressive. We know more fans come and so everybody aspect – from the airport to accommodations – we’re looking at creating a great partnership with those cities and state leaders.” 

As for on the field, court, and diamond, Castiglione feels they’re more than prepared to compete from the jump. 

“We’ve been competing against quite a few members of the SEC both in the regular season – we’ve seen them come through here on a regular basis – and certainly in the postseason,” Castiglione said. “The other sports – obviously of football – usually, the national championships have gone through competition in the SEC. Now, we’ll be in the same conference as them.”