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Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire through Getty Images
Oklahoma State head soccer coach Mike Gundy did not mince phrases when talking about Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, saying that the two rivals “took the money and ran.”
“Let’s just cut to the chase. They made a choice to financially secure their athletic departments for the next 12 to 15 years,” Gundy instructed Chris Low of ESPN. “People can talk about all the reasons, but that’s why they did it, all for the money, and took a lot of history out of this league and a lot of history out of college football with them.
“Now, they’re not the first ones to do it. Texas A&M did the same thing when they jumped ship to the SEC [in 2012].”
Texas and Oklahoma will officially leave the Big 12 for the SEC on July 1, 2025, and each colleges are sure to absorb far more money thanks to the seemingly bottomless pit of cash ready for SEC establishments, as Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News famous on Feb. 18, 2022:
“The latest staggering number came Feb. 10, when the SEC reported $777.8 million in revenue for the 2020-21 fiscal year. That translates into $54.6 million for each of the 14 member schools, including Texas A&M. The figure represented a $9.1 million increase over 2019-20, the first fiscal year to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and paves the way for a lot of pricey contract extensions and facility upgrades.”
Jabari Young of CNBC reported in July 2021 that Texas and OU had “received about $34 million from the Big 12 over the last year.”
Gundy also noted that “some nice rivalries and quite a lot of historical past” will be lost with Texas and OU leaving, including the infamous “Bedlam” showdown between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
“It’s just not going to be feasible,” Gundy mentioned partly. “We’re scheduled out to 2036, I think, and I’m sure the SEC is going to nine conference games. They’ll have to, or the media will kill them.”
As far as the Big 12’s future goes sans Oklahoma and Texas, Gundy isn’t overtly concerned that their exodus will negatively affect the conference.
“The Big 12 is going to be fine, and I’m just giving you my opinion and know people get upset with my opinion, but we were fortunate that the two teams that left did it when they did [last year] and not now,” Gundy mentioned.
Gundy also praised the four schools (BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF) who will be joining the Big 12 with Texas and Oklahoma now leaving, noting they “can compete at any degree.”
“They have great television markets in different locations in the country that we didn’t have,” he mentioned. The SEC and Big Ten are going to be sturdy, however after that, we’re proper there.”
Gundy is getting into his 18th season as the Cowboys’ head coach. His workforce is ranked No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press ballot and is slated to start the 12 months towards Central Michigan on Sept. 1.
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story by The Texas Tribune Source link
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