Texas, Oklahoma accept invitations to join the SEC

Texas and Oklahoma didn't have to think about it for long. 

Less than 24 hours after the SEC formally extended membership offers to Texas and Oklahoma regarding their requests to defect from the Big 12, both institutions accepted the invitations and announced their intentions to leave the Big 12 when that conference's media rights deal expires at the end of June 2025. 

"This is the right decision at the right time for the future of our UT athletics programs," Texas president Jay Hartzell explained in a statement. 

Texas vice president and athletics director Chris Del Conte added that "we feel great about our future" and vowed to "continue to compete proudly as members of the Big 12 as we prepare for our future in the SEC in 2025." 

Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz Jr. and athletic director Joe Castiglione also said OU will remain in the Big 12 through June 2025. 

"We believe that joining the Southeastern Conference will sustain our tradition of national-caliber athletics excellence, strengthen our flagship university as a whole and serve the wider interests of the state of Oklahoma," Harroz said. "The entire Sooner Nation and Oklahomans throughout the state stand to benefit from this move, and we're thrilled for a new platform to tell the OU story all across the country." 

As ESPN's Heather Dinich and Mark Schlabach noted, both Texas and Oklahoma could attempt to leave the Big 12 before the summer of 2025 even if doing so means paying "at least $75 million to $80 million" to break the media rights agreement. That deal would become null and void if the conference dissolves due to additional defections at any point before June 2025.