Cincinnati, Houston and UCF reportedly negotiating exit fees with AAC in order to join Big 12 in 2023
There’s no time like the present, right?
That’s the attitude it appears current AAC programs Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have as they prepare to transition into the Big 12. That move wasn’t expected to happen in time for the 2023 football season but, as has been the case with some major realignment over the years, things change quickly.
Per Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, the 3 AAC schools are negotiating a settlement, believed to be in the $17-$20 million range, to leave the AAC and join the Big 12 for the 2023-24 academic year:
Cincinnati, Houston & UCF negotiating $17-$20 million settlement to join Big 12 next year, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ. AAC commish Mike Aresco initially sought $35 million from the schools. Also, buyout info on teams leaving C-USA for AAC & Sun Belt https://t.co/WWH2yGIXAJ
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 3, 2022
If these negotiations are successful, those 3 teams would join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023. Per McMurphy’s report, that would then pave the way for some Conference USA teams to join the AAC:
The completion of that deal would then allow the six Conference USA schools — Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA — to join the AAC on July 1, 2023.
Over in the SEC, it’ll be interesting to see how these negotiations impact the timeline for Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 to join the league, if it impacts that timeline at all.
