Oklahoma, Texas tell Big 12 they will leave
Oklahoma and Texas took the first formal step Monday toward moving to the Southeastern Conference, notifying the Big 12 they would not be renewing an agreement that binds the league’s members through 2025.
The schools sent out a joint statement that made no mention of the SEC and said “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 in the future,” the schools said.
Texas and Oklahoma have been in discussions with the SEC about joining the conference, though neither school nor the conference has acknowledged that publicly.
The “grant of rights” gives the conference control of the school’s media rights and runs concurrent with the Big 12’s television contracts with ESPN and Fox, which expire in 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,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement.
The remaining eight Big 12 schools — Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Baylor, Texas Tech and West Virginia — were still hoping to persuade the conference’s flagships schools to stay.
The Big 12’s TV deals make up the bulk of the conference’s revenue. The conference distributed $345 million to its 10 members this year ($34.5 million apiece), down from the 2019 because of the pandemic.
Without Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 is in danger of falling apart. Even if it were to stay together by adding schools, the value of the league likely would be severely diminished when it goes looking for its next television contract.
ELSEWHERE Grizzlies, Pelicans swap centers, picks
The Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Steven Adams, guard Eric Bledsoe and an exchange of firstround choices in this week’s draft, a person familiar with the situation said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no trade can be official until Aug. 6.
The trade, first reported by ESPN, sends New Orleans’ 10th and 40th overall draft choices to Memphis for the Grizzlies’ 17th and 51st overall picks this year.
Memphis also will receive a protected 2022 firstround choice from the Pelicans.
The deal clears the way for young New Orleans guards Nickeil AlexanderWalker and Kira Lewis Jr. to receive more playing time and gives the Pelicans more than $20 million in additional space under the salary cap heading into free agency.
NHL: The Sharks traded defenseman Christian Jaros to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Nick Merkley. Jaros, 25, split last season between San Jose and its AHL affiliate.
Merkley, who split last season between New Jersey and Binghamton of the AHL, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent after the Sharks did not issue a qualifying offer. San Jose also didn’t retain the rights to fourthyear forward Ryan Donato.
⏩ Sam Bennett resigned with the Florida Panthers, inking a fouryear contract worth $17.7 million. The Panthers also resigned defensemen Lucas Carlsson and Noah Juulsen.
⏩ The Boston Bruins did an aboutface by not issuing qualifying offers to forwards Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie, both of whom are eligible to become unrestricted free agents Wednesday.
Track and field: Coach Alberto Salazar has been permanently banned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for sexual and emotional misconduct.
Salazar has 10 days to appeal the decision, which was announced Monday.
In 2019, a handful of runners, including Mary Cain, Kara Goucher and Amy Yoder Begley, revealed that they had been emotionally and physically abused while working with Salazar as part of the Nike Oregon Project team.