Texas president explains what will happen to Longhorn Network after joining the SEC

The Texas Longhorns are joining the SEC. It’s official. The only question is when that move will actually take place.

Once the move happens, though, it puts the future of the Longhorn Network in serious jeopardy. That was fine in the Big 12, but it isn’t going to fly in the SEC, especially since ESPN already has the SEC Network.

During a hearing with Texas lawmakers on Monday, university president Jay Hartzell said he expects the network will wind down as the Longhorns join the SEC:

Texas president Jay Hartzell on the Longhorn Network: "The expectation is that we'll wind it down, but we haven't talked specifically about what that will look like."

— Sam Khan Jr. (@skhanjr) August 2, 2021

The Longhorn Network deal between ESPN and Texas runs through 2031 (it was a 20-year deal signed in 2011), but obviously, ESPN would be willing to renegotiate that if and when the Longhorns join the SEC.

It seems we could be seeing the last years of the Longhorn Network.