State Lawmakers Want To Have Power To Veto Potential University Of Texas Move To SEC - Forbes

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Topline

More than 30 Texas lawmakers signed onto a bill Friday that would require any state university to get approval from the legislature before switching athletic conferences, in apparent response to widespread reports that the University of Texas is planning to move to the Southeastern Conference.

Key Facts

The University of Texas and University of Oklahoma are reportedly in talks to leave the Big 12 and join the SEC, which would be a massive shift of power and money in college sports.

State Rep. Dustin Burrows (R), who attended Texas Tech University, filed the bill Friday amid concerns about how the move could impact other universities in the state.

But the bill could face a major roadblock: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is a University of Texas grad, and the governor would have to add the bill to the special session agenda for it to be considered.

Abbott doesn't appear to have taken a public stance on the reported move, and his office didn't return a request for comment from Forbes on the issue.

Lawmakers with ties to three Texas-based Big 12 universities (Texas Tech, Baylor and TCU) and Texas A&M, which plays in the SEC, reportedly met with the governor's staff Thursday to discuss the reports.

Big Number

$276 million. That's the combined average annual revenue of the Texas and Oklahoma football programs alone, according to Forbes' most recent list of College Football's Most Valuable Teams, released in 2019. Texas is ranked second behind only Texas A&M, while Oklahoma came in at No. 6.

Key Background

The bombshell news was first reported Wednesday by the Houston Chronicle, leading to speculation there could be a major shakeup coming to the college sports landscape. Texas and Oklahoma moving to the SEC would make the league, which is already widely considered the most powerful in college sports, even more elite, with nine of the top 12 most valuable college football programs among its members. Along with making the SEC the largest conference in terms of membership in the NCAA's Division I, it would also deliver a crushing blow to the Big 12. Since it was established in the mid-1990s, the Big 12 has been one of the strongest conferences in collegiate sports, but losing Texas and Oklahoma would leave the conference without a single member among college football's 25 most valuable programs.

Chief Critic

Texas A&M is strongly against the move, and should a vote be held soon, it's expected to be the only SEC member to vote against admitting Texas and Oklahoma. Playing in a stronger conference gives Texas A&M one edge in recruiting over Texas, which would evaporate if the two were both in the SEC. "We want to be the only SEC team from the state of Texas," Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said Wednesday.

What To Watch For

According to Sports Illustrated, even if Texas and Oklahoma are approved to join the SEC, they might stay in the Big 12 until 2025, when the universities' Big 12 media contracts expire. Should the two leave before then, they would each be required to pay an exit fee of at least $70 million to the Big 12.

Surprising Fact

Big 12 university presidents and athletic directors held a meeting on Thursday evening. Neither Texas nor Oklahoma officials showed up, according to ESPN.