(Update, July 26): Texas and Oklahoma officially notified the Big 12 on Monday “that they will not be renewing their grants of media rights following expiration in 2025,” the first step toward the Longhorns and Sooners leaving the conference to join the SEC.
The Red River Rivalry could be headed to the SEC.
According to a report from the Houston Chronicle, both Oklahoma and Texas have reached out to the SEC about joining the conference, and an announcement on their potential addition to the SEC could be coming in the next few weeks.
While neither the SEC or the Big 12 addressed the report directly, Pete Thamel reports that the Big 12 is not aware of this potential move.
Any notion of OU and Texas going to the SEC would be news to the Big 12. There's a feeling it wouldn't make sense competitively, as there'd be a much more difficult road to the College Football Playoff.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) July 21, 2021
The schools, meanwhile, chose not the directly address the rumors, but certainly did not deny them, either.
Texas' statement: "Speculation swirls around collegiate athletics. We will not address rumors or speculation."
Oklahoma's statement: "The college athletics landscape is shifting constantly. We don't address every anonymous rumor."
Needless to say, we could be in for a wild couple of weeks.
