TCU issues statement with Oklahoma, Texas leaving the Big 12
TCU has finally spoken on the uncertainty surrounding the Big 12’s future.
The league finds itself on life support after Texas and Oklahoma formally indicated they would be leaving it by June 2025 when the current grant-of-rights agreements expire. The expectation is both schools will likely depart for the SEC before then, but a legal battle appears to be on the horizon.
The next step for UT and OU is to let the SEC know they’d like to join the conference while the remaining Big 12 programs such as TCU scramble to chart a path forward.
“TCU will continue to make decisions in the best interests of our student-athletes, our community and the long-term vitality of our athletic programs,” the school said. “Athletics are a part of TCU’s national reputation and build upon our core strengths of academic achievement, scholarly pursuit and an unparalleled student experience. We have nothing to announce at this time but have been engaged in deliberations with our conference colleagues and others and continue to support the Big 12 and its members.”
TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012. The school bounced around a number of conferences when the Southwest Conference (SWC) dissolved in 1995-96. The Frogs had stints in the Western Athletic Conference (1996-2000), Conference USA (2001-04) and Mountain West (2005-12) before landing in the Big 12.
TCU has held its own as a football program in the Big 12, winning a conference championship in 2014 and playing in the championship game in 2017. The Frogs have finished ranked in the top 10 in the country three times in that span as well. But now TCU enters a time of uncertainty with the remaining Big 12 schools.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby issued his own statement on Monday, writing: “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.
“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.”
Trust is the No. 1 issue going forward if the league is going to stick together. It’s hard to envision a school staying pat if they receive an invite from a conference such as the Big Ten, ACC or Pac-12.
So it’s fair to wonder whether the Big 12 can survive this latest conference shakeup. Texas and Oklahoma were two founding members of the league in 1996. UT won three football titles, including the inaugural one in 1996, while OU has won 14 football championships, including six straight going into 2021.
The Big 12’s executive committee met with the presidents of Oklahoma and Texas on Sunday, but both schools have reportedly been in talks with the SEC regarding this move for months.
The Big 12 managed to weather the storm of previous departures such as Nebraska going to the Big Ten and Colorado to the Pac-12 in 2011, and then Texas A&M and Missouri to the SEC in 2012. But it’s hard to see how the conference makes up for the losses of UT and OU this time around.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 12:35 PM.
