Did Oklahoma Panic in Leaving the Big 12?
Their reasons for leaving have not stood the test of time
Searching for realignment documents online I came across the minutes of the July 2021 meeting where the University of Oklahoma voted to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. The minutes captured verbatim the speeches of university officials before the consequential vote. I’ve attached those minutes at the end of this summary, annotated with some clumsy color coding to separate the different arguments proffered for leaving the Big 12. I found it an entertaining demonstration of disingenuous appeasement that stands the test of time.
The fundamental premise of the decision to join the SEC is that “as athletic programs thrive, university programs thrive.” (Pipe down, Cal and Stanford. No one cares what you think.)
After heaping endless praise on their Big 12 colleagues, Oklahoma officials presented their case in two sets of fours. One set of fours provides context for the decision and one set outlines the criteria used to make the decision. Spoiler alert: Oklahoma State fans will LOVE the criteria.
Four Distinct Timeframes for Context
2012-2016: “Everything seemed terrific, and it was…We saw the emergence of the first DVRs called TiVo…people didn’t record it and then just rush through the commercials. So the value of all those [media] contracts continued going up during that time period and everybody won.
2016-2018: “We see for the first time the emergence of name, image and likeness…the rise of antitrust lawsuits…and that the media landscape began to change because cord cutting as they call it began to take place.”
2018-2021: “It became clear that the Big 12 was the last in line for media negotiations...Being last in line has consequences…A big factor is the time slots are filled by those that negotiate before you.”
June 2021: “There wasn’t an interest in negotiating early for the Big 12….we see the United States Supreme Court decision comes down in June that finds against the NCAA…calling into question through the anti-trust laws, the future of the NCAA being able to regulate the way it has.”
Oklahoma makes a case that the above events tell “the importance of the conference you’re in and it [the conference] being the one that best fits the institution’s abilities and needs.”
What Matters to Oklahoma?
“How do we fulfill our goals and our dreams as an institution? How does that relate to intercollegiate athletics? We broke it down into four pieces. Two groupings of two.“
Two Imperatives
“Remain a premier, national-caliber athletics program.”
Remain “among a very small handful of universities* across the country where our athletics budget is not subsidized by student tuition fees, and is not subsidized by the state.”
* About a third of the Power 5 schools are near or at zero subsidy
Two Preferred Priorities (Not the musts, but that we care about a lot)
Be in the same conference as Oklahoma State University
Play the University of Texas every year in Dallas.
After lamenting that they can only do three of the four things that matter (sorry Oklahoma State), the university officials make their case for leaving Oklahoma State behind.
Leaving Oklahoma State Behind
University officials spent just as much time explaining why they left OSU behind, as they did explaining why they were leaving for the SCE. Here are the primary talking points for ditching the Cowboys.
It’s “not what the market we’re pursuing allows.”
The move (alone) is best for the state.
In the Big 12 right now there is membership from 4 states versus 12 states in the SEC. This exposure has a real impact on the growth of the university.
None of this will “impact our commitment to continue to working, to continue to work with Oklahoma State.”
“We want the Bedlam rivalry to continue and make no mistake. Even with this change, we want to play Oklahoma State in every sport and every year.”
“(L)et us tell the OU story and the Oklahoma story across the country.”
Did Oklahoma Panic?
Hindsight is 20-20. There is a case to be made that Oklahoma panic. They misread the media landscape. The Big 12 did not end up last in line. Oklahoma could have stayed in the Big 12 and met their “Two Imperatives” and their most important priorities.
The Big 12 now covers 11 states with the additions of the “four corner schools,” BYU, Cincinnati, UCF, and Houston. Oklahoma will soon “tell its story” in weaker states, economically, than they would have in the new Big 12. They will reach fewer out-of-state students with the economic means to attend UO.
The Bedlam Rivalry has not been extended as promised. It did not have to die.
The Big 12 picked up competitive schools from the Pac 12, and can do the same from the ACC if that conference implodes. With Oklahoma, and a few ACC additions, the Big 12 would be a legitimate Power 3 Conference.
Minutes from Oklahoma’s Farewell Speech to the Big 12