Why is Texas leaving the Big 12? How will it affect the ambitious re-alignment plans of the conference?
The Texas Longhorns are leaving the Big 12 Conference following the 2023 season as they are heading to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Losing an exciting program like theirs is not a great look for the Big 12 as they continue to try and expand their conference.
There are a few reasons why Texas has decided to join the SEC beginning in the 2024 season. Will the Longhorns leaving be a cause for concern for the Big 12 as they try to be viewed as a dominant Power Five conference?
Why did the Texas Longhorns leave the Big 12 and join the SEC?
The Texas Longhorns have a lot of excitement with a young quarterback battle between the incumbent Quinn Ewers and the newcomer Arch Manning. However, after this season fans are going to see them in the SEC beginning in 2024.
A major reason for the move is money. The SEC has a seven-year, $7 billion contract coming into effect to begin the 2024 college football season, and that massive upgrade is certainly appealing to the Longhorns.
With the significant raise by leaving the Big 12 and hopping onto the SEC, it seems like it makes financial sense.
What does this mean for the future of Big 12 Conference expansion?
The Big 12 might have lost the Texas Longhorns, but that is not going to stop the conference from looking at expansion. They were able to add the Cincinnati Bearcats, BYU Cougars, UCF Knights and Houston Cougars and are reportedly in the mix for some more programs to join the Big 12.
They are reportedly linked to the Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon Ducks if the Pac-12 Conference shows they are not going to be able to survive. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish also are wanting to triple their television rights deal and they will need to join a Power Five Conference to do so.
Texas is a big hit but it is not going to be a death knell for them.
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has great aspirations for the conference as they look to continue finding more revenue streams. One thing they are looking at is taking the conference internationally as they were looking at a potential bowl game in Monterrey, Mexico.
The Big 12 is likely going to be able to surge even with the departure of the Longhorns.