Oct 6, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray (1) runs past Texas Longhorns defensive back B.J. Foster (25) during the second half at the Cotton Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

After accepting an invitation to join the SEC last summer, Texas and Oklahoma have long been expected to leave the Big 12 and formally join their new conference in July of 2025, in time for the 2025 college football season. But it appears that the timeline might be moving up.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark told reporters on Wednesday that he is “not against” having negotiations that could allow the Longhorns and the Sooners to leave the Big 12 for the SEC earlier than expected, but that the move would have to be “in the best interest of the conference, obviously.”

Both Texas and Oklahoma are under contract to stay in the Big 12 conference through the 2024 football season. Negotiations could potentially expedite their move to the SEC and allow them to join the conference a year early, but as Ross Dellenger reports, “the price will be steep.”

Texas and Oklahoma are currently the biggest and most valuable programs in the Big 12. The conference would obviously want to keep them in the Big 12 as long as possible to maximize their revenue. The SEC, however, would want the Longhorns and Sooners to join as soon as possible for the same reason – and to compete with the Big Ten, which will be adding USC and UCLA in 2024.

If Texas and Oklahoma were to switch conferences a year early, they would be joining the SEC the same season that USC and UCLA join the Big Ten. That would make the 2024 season the first year the Big Ten and SEC begin to establish themselves as the megaconferences in college football.

[Brian Davis]