If you missed it this morning, conference realignment is officially underway as Texas and Oklahoma issued a joint statement informing the Big 12 Conference that they plan to leave.

Here is the statement issued by the two schools:

“The University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin notified the Big 12 Athletic Conference today that they will not be renewing their grant of media rights following expiration in 2025. Providing notice to the Big 12 at this point is important in advance of the expiration of the conference’s current media rights agreement. The universities intend to honor their existing grant of rights agreements. However, both universities will continue to monitor the rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape as they consider how best to position their athletics programs for the future.”

Texas and Oklahoma are currently locked into the Big 12 Conference through 2025 but as SDS’ Matt Hayes reports, the expectation for some within the SEC is that both Texas and Oklahoma will be able to join the league as soon as 2022.

In response, Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby has issued the following statement:

Today the Big 12 Conference received notice from University of Oklahoma President Joe Harroz and University of Texas President Jay Hartzell that their universities do not intend to extend their Grant of Rights when the current agreement expires on June 30, 2025.

“Although our eight members are disappointed with the decisions of these two institutions, we recognize that intercollegiate athletics is experiencing rapid change and will most likely look much different in 2025 than it does currently,” stated Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “The Big 12 Conference will continue to support our member institutions’ efforts to graduate student-athletes, and compete for Big 12 and NCAA championships. Like many others, we will use the next four years to fully assess what the landscape will look like in 2025 and beyond. The remaining eight institutions will work together in a collaborative manner to thoughtfully and strategically position the Big 12 Conference for continued success, both athletically and academically, long into the future.”