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Heather Dinich
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ESPN’s lead writer- University football reporter
- He joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of Indiana University
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Adam Rittenberg
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ESPN’s lead writer- University football reporter.
- He joined ESPN.com in 2008.
- Graduate of Northwestern University.
BYU, Houston, UCF and Cincinnati are scheduled to apply next week to join the Big 12, sources confirmed to ESPN on Friday.
Schools could be approved to be admitted as early as a Sept. 10 meeting of the big 12 presidents, according to Sports Illustrated, which first reported on the story.
“Things are moving really fast,” a source told ESPN on Friday. “There is a clear drive to get votes on the board.”
The statutes of the American Athletic Conference require schools to give 27 months ’notice before they leave and pay a $ 10 million purchase fee. In this scenario, joining the 2023 season would be very long, but a previous exit and a superior purchase could be negotiated. According to sources, the most realistic chronology is 2024.
U.S. sources told ESPN that Houston, UCF and Cincinnati have not officially informed the conference of their intention to leave.
ESPN reported Thursday that officials from all four schools had made informal contact with the Big 12 about membership.
“All of these schools contacted us,” a Big 12 source with knowledge of the discussions said. “It wasn’t like we were stealing them. They all made the initial communication.”
The big 12 presidents are expected to meet next week, but a conference source said there could only be eight presidents for their regularly scheduled meeting. A vote on new members requires the presence of the plenary, according to a source, which still includes Oklahoma and Texas. The Big 12 is expected to have eight of the ten votes needed to officially accept schools at the conference.
Oklahoma and Texas have said they will abide by their rights agreement before joining the SEC on July 1, 2025. If this is true, it is possible that the Big 12 will function as a 14-team conference during a year, with new members. competing alongside the co-founders of the outgoing conference. It is also possible that BYU, independent of FBS, will join the Big 12 before American schools.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby turned down comments Friday.