No place mixes college football and politics quite like Texas.
The two converged on Monday when a state senate select committee held a hearing on the “Future of College Sports in Texas,” just three days after the University of Texas and Oklahoma announced their departure from the Big 12 to join the SEC, effective July 1, 2025.
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The move significantly impacts the college football landscape and particularly the Big 12, where eight schools remain. Three of them are in Texas — Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech. Leaders from all three schools, as well as Texas president Jay Hartzell and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, testified during the six-hour hearing on Monday, which was called by Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick just a week ago.
The hearing won’t derail Texas and Oklahoma’s future plans, but it provided a wealth of information from the timeline of Texas’ decision to leave the Big 12, Bowlsby’s perspective on the move and where the other three Big 12 schools in the state go from here.
Here’s a breakdown of what went down.
In the 86 minutes that Texas president Jay Hartzell was in front of the committee, several key facts came to light, most notably the timeline of how this all unfolded.
Hartzell, who was installed as the school’s permanent president on Sept. 23, 2020, after a five-month interim stint, alluded to a conversation after his appointment with Oklahoma president Joe Harroz. The talk centered on the climate of college sports and the coming changes.
“I can’t recall when (Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC) came up, but I know we started talking about the future of college sports and our shared mutual concern over the way things were heading,” Hartzell said.
It was that call that planted the seed. Hartzell said some time after that call but before spring, he and Harroz discussed the idea of leaving the Big 12. Hartzell said his first contact with the SEC was this spring, when he had a Zoom call with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey to gauge the league’s interest.
“It was a question of if this was a path that was even somewhat feasible,” Hartzell said. “And we heard it was somewhat feasible. After that, there were follow-up conversations trying to decide if we wanted to pursue this course of action or not and then ultimately arrive at a decision that we did.”
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Texas’ decision-making process included primarily a four-person group, Hartzell said: himself, board of regents chairman Kevin Eltife, athletic director Chris Del Conte and deputy athletic director Shawn Eichorst.
As Texas leadership mulled the decision, several factors were considered, Hartzell said. Uncertainty in college sports prompted by the pandemic, the NCAA’s Supreme Court defeat in the Alston case, athletes profiting off their name, image and likeness, the introduction of the transfer portal and an unstable media rights future because of cord-cutting were among them.
Hartzell said with the Big 12’s grant-of-rights set to expire in 2025, he tried to forecast the future.
“We feel like the SEC has more security, more stability to be in a better spot in 2025 than the Big 12 does,” he said.
He said the SEC was better positioned to “weather the storm” of the turbulence in college athletics. The league’s financial outlook, recruiting, the additional marquee games that come with SEC competition and renewing the rivalry with Texas A&M — which is 118 years old but ended in 2011 — were key factors considered.
“I did think through, ‘Can the Big 12 get to that SEC-like future,’” Hartzell said. “And in my estimation, it was a low-probability event.”
The SEC wasn’t the only conference the Longhorns considered. Asked if Texas leadership explored the idea of going to the ACC, Big Ten or Pac-12 instead of the SEC, Hartzell said yes but that he never reached out to those leagues.
As it became clear that Texas was gearing up for a move, Hartzell said he became concerned with how to properly disclose to the league that it wasn’t going to renew its grant-of-rights upon expiration in 2025. News of Texas and Oklahoma’s flirtation with the SEC broke before either school officially provided the conference notice of its intent.
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On July 25, the day before Texas and Oklahoma notified the Big 12 that they would not renew their grant-of-rights, Hartzell and Harroz met via video conference with the Big 12 executive committee, which includes commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Baylor president Linda Livingstone and Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec.
The committee was looking to assuage the schools’ concerns about the league’s future and find a way to keep them in the league. Hartzell said on Monday that he went into that call “in good faith” and informed Bowlsby that Texas was “on this path” to not renewing, but he was willing to listen.
“I think there was a little bit of a mismatch in the conversation where they wanted to hear a list of demands from us and we wanted to hear what they were thinking,” he said. “Neither side came into that conversation prepared to deliver what the other side was looking for.
“Ultimately, it didn’t change our course.”
As the senators tried to drill down on why Texas would leave the Big 12 for the SEC, Hartzell elaborated on several factors.
On recruiting: “We’ve got to attract great student-athletes, and they want to play against the very best competition on a big platform on a big stage. In many sports … the SEC has the biggest stage.”
On television deals: “Uncertainty over what the eventual media rights deal the Big 12 would garner is uncertainty that I thought was real and a serious source of financial risk. It’s a factor … I wouldn’t say it was the deciding factor. We receive more revenue from the home games than we do from the media deal. So, I don’t want you to think that the sole driver … is the TV rights deal.”
On game day experience: “Our fans want to watch great games on Saturdays, and we have many great Big 12 games on Saturdays. But there are more opportunities for some of those marquee games in (the SEC) based on historical viewership and trends.”
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Some have asked why Texas and Oklahoma are making this decision now, with four years left on the grant-of-rights. Hartzell pointed to the events of the last year and the infrequency in which Texas can make such a move. The length of the grant-of-rights and broadcast contracts leave Texas with a short window to plan its future, he said.
“I’m doing the best I possibly can to forecast where the world is heading,” he said. “What’s the best spot for University of Texas at Austin given the way the world’s heading, knowing that 2025 is a potential move date? And I’m assessing the landscape of college sports, and in my view, the SEC was a more stable, strong home for UT-Austin, starting in 2025, than the Big 12. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
ESPN’s role in realignment became a hot topic after Bowlsby sent a cease-and-desist letter to the network, accusing it of encouraging another conference to poach Big 12 members.
Hartzell was asked by the committee whether Texas officials had any conversations with ESPN about potentially moving to the SEC.
“I can tell you categorically, absolutely, no,” Hartzell said. “To my knowledge and direction, absolutely zero conversations between us or any of our representatives in ESPN or any network.”
Last week, ESPN executive Burke Magnus responded to Bowlsby, calling the accusations “entirely without merit.”
Hartzell did offer some brief though not entirely unexpected news about the Longhorn Network, which is owned by ESPN.
LHN, which was launched in 2011 as the third-tier TV rightsholder for Texas athletics, nets the school $15 million per year and is under contract until 2031. But all SEC members pool their third-tier rights for the SEC Network, also owned by ESPN.
During Monday’s hearing, Hartzell said Longhorn Network will likely dissipate upon entry to the SEC.
“The expectation is we’ll wind it down,” he said, “but we haven’t talked specifically about what that will look like.”
Several committee members took turns getting in jabs about Texas while Hartzell was testifying. The sharpest one came from state senator Lois Kolkhorst from Brenham.
Kolkhorst, a TCU graduate, asked Hartzell what Texas’ athletic budget is.
“It’s over $200 million, it’s probably $220-225 million, in that range,” Hartzell said.
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After establishing that it puts Texas first in the country in that category, Kolkhorst said, “and that’s without a winning football team of late.”
Hartzell smiled and said, “We’ve been winning, just not like we’d like to win.”
Kolkhorst deadpanned: “3-7 against the Horned Frogs,” as other committee members giggled. “Maybe your fan base would rather lose to Alabama than TCU.”
For the record, Texas is 2-7 against TCU since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in 2012.
Senator Lois Kolkhorst (a TCU alum): "What's your athletic budget?"
UT President Jay Hartzell: "Probably $220-225."
…Kolkhorst: "And that's without a winning football team… 3-7 against the Horned Frogs." pic.twitter.com/rcJawSpr06
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) August 3, 2021
Bowlsby testified for nearly two hours on the state of the Big 12, the “major and perpetual blow” that Texas and Oklahoma’s planned exit represents and the many issues that lie ahead. The commissioner said he had no knowledge that Texas and Oklahoma were in talks with the SEC until July 21 when the Houston Chronicle report emerged. He’d spent the day on Kansas’ campus, didn’t find out until he landed from a flight that day and admits he was “completely surprised.”
“I was not aware of anything prior to that day,” Bowlsby said.
He shared an estimate that Texas and Oklahoma account for about 50 percent of the value of the Big 12’s current rights agreement with its TV partners and added that viewership numbers bear that out. The conference distributed $34.5 million per school this year — a reduction impacted by COVID-19 — and Bowlsby said $28 million per school came from TV revenue. Thus, each remaining Big 12 member is potentially staring at a loss of roughly at least $14 million per year after the two SEC-bound schools do exit if the league can’t find comparable replacements.
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When asked by a committee member if Texas and Oklahoma can simply pay the buyout cost — believed to be close to $80 million per school — and depart the conference, Bowlsby reiterated that if those two do decide to give notice of their desire to leave before 2025, the grant of rights will still be enforced through 2025. “It is an irrevocable granting of TV rights to the conference,” Bowlsby said. He did acknowledge that the grant of rights would likely become null and void if the Big 12 were to dissolve before then.
“I believe our members think that our best opportunity is to stay together and find solutions together, and that is the plan at this time,” he said.
Bowlsby took aim at Texas and Oklahoma for their deception and for breaking the Big 12’s bylaws. With the approval of the Big 12’s board of presidents and chancellors, he has sent letters to both institutions alleging they’ve violated bylaws they once helped construct.
Bowlsby asserted that neither school notified him of their conversations with the SEC within 12 hours of them first taking place, which is required in bylaw 3.2 for withdrawing members. Members are also required to “immediately and unconditionally reject that offer” after notifying Bowlsby.
“I acknowledge that institutions have every right to envision their future and to act upon those visions,” he said. “Regrettably and inappropriately, these two universities chose to ignore their prior commitments and instead moved ahead to deceive and undermine the institutions to which they pledged their loyalty.”
Hartzell said Texas sent a letter to Bowlsby on Monday stating they have not violated any Big 12 bylaws. He defended their stance by arguing a different interpretation of section 3.2. “The bylaw says if a conference reaches out to us or induces us to move, then I have a duty to report that and to deny it,” Hartzell said. Texas doesn’t believe it broke that rule by initially contacting the SEC in the spring.
“That’s splitting hairs in a big way,” State Sen. Charles Perry told Hartzell.
Said Hartzell, “To our mind, we were transparent. We reached out as soon as we made a decision, and that’s why we’re here today.”
Bowlsby was on the receiving end of much questioning about the decisions he and Big 12 leadership made in 2016 when they pursued and then halted efforts to explore expansion.
State Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa bluntly told Bowlsby he should’ve been more aggressive in preparing for this future possibility of a life without Texas and Oklahoma and worked harder to increase revenue for members.
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“I disagree with that assertion,” Bowlsby said.
The commissioner said the Big 12 conducted interviews with leadership from 18 schools during their three-month expansion process that he called “transparent,” and his board ultimately decided not to expand. “We’re happy that we did the research the last time around,” he said. “That will give us a jump start going forward.” But it’s worth noting that the Big 12 was financially incentivized to stay at 10. Bowlsby said they dropped their pro rata clause with ESPN at the conclusion of that expansion exploration — reportedly for an extra $10 million over the remainder of its current agreement — in exchange for other considerations around their revived conference title game and their ESPN+ streaming deal. That decision was also based on a recognition that their 10 members benefitted by “slicing the pie in fewer directions,” Bowlsby said.
When challenged by State Sen. John Whitmire about whether the Big 12 has already begun conversations again around expansion, Bowlsby offered no timetable but insisted no formal conversations on candidate members has occurred and that he hasn’t spoken with representatives of any institution about joining the conference.
Whitmire also pushed for answers on why the Big 12 declined to extend an invitation to Houston five years ago. Bowlsby made the argument that adding the Cougars to the conference would not have been “additive” from a cable households standpoint based on the league’s current presence in that market. But he also pointed the blame for their exclusion towards the departing powers.
“It was just one of the many ways in which we’ve tiptoed around the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma over the years,” he said, “because they were not in favor of expanding.”
Bowlsby joined Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, Ohio State AD Gene Smith and others in expressing doubt about the status of the 12-team College Football Playoff proposal in light of the SEC’s move, referring to its possible adoption as a “maybe” going forward. Bowlsby was a member of the four-man subcommittee that created the proposal, as was SEC commissioner Greg Sankey.
“The tectonic plates have shifted a bit since the recommendation was made,” Bowlsby said. “That’s not a personal opinion at this point, it’s a reflection of what I’m reading in the trade publications. There’s a lot of chatter about people not being excited to move forward given what’s happened in the last two weeks.”
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Bowlsby was asked early on in his 110-minute appearance about the allegations he made against ESPN last week for meddling in realignment and the Big 12’s fate. We won’t be hearing much more about that feud going forward.
“I have spent a number of conversations with representatives of ESPN,” Bowlsby said, “and we have agreed to not escalate this publicly. It’s in neither party’s best interest to do so.”
Monday’s hearing wasn’t just aimed at getting Hartzell and Bowlsby to testify to their actions and intentions. Much of the afternoon was dedicated to letting leadership from Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech make their plea for help to the committee of Texas politicians.
“Do everything you can — use your time, efforts and resources — to help preserve the Big 12,” Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades asked.
The Lone Star State’s three remaining Big 12 members could be in jeopardy of losing their Power 5/Autonomy 5 status if the conference isn’t able to recover from this setback or splinters. The Big 12 board members and ADs from the three schools made their pitch for why they still deserve a seat at the Power 5 table.
“We need to make sure that for this state of Texas, that this is not a demotion for us three schools,” Rhoades said. “Because that’s what it feels like right now.”
At TCU, they know exactly what it would mean to go from have to have-not. Moving from the Mountain West to the Big 12 allowed them to raise their athletics revenue from around $28 million to $80 million this year. Applications to TCU almost doubled in the year after the Horned Frogs won the 2011 Rose Bowl. Season ticket sales went from 18,000 to 30,000 annually. Athletic director Jeremiah Donati said donations and private funding tripled within a few years and added that TCU just led the conference in fundraising for the fourth year in a row.
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But the memories of being left behind when the Southwest Conference fell apart are still fresh and painful for their supporters.
“I’ve heard from our donors and our alums. The scars of that often reveal themselves almost every day,” Donati said. “And when the news broke last week, of course, I heard from probably all of them: Don’t let this happen again.”
Losing not just that Power 5 status but the current level of revenue distribution TCU enjoys in the Big 12 would require “massive cuts,” Donati said. When only two of your 21 sports generate revenue, you’d be forced to dramatically scale back. TCU chancellor Victor Boschini argued those cutbacks would most of all hurt the female, minority and first-generation students who make up so much of their student-athlete population.
At Texas Tech, the Red Raiders athletic department will operate with a budget of approximately $93.4 million this year. But president Lawrence Schovanec fears the potential impact of losing Texas and Oklahoma could reach a figure as high as $30 million a year. Athletic director Kirby Hocutt says their goal right now is exploring any pathway forward that keeps them “financially whole and nationally competitive.”
They know they’re working from a disadvantaged position, though, in this upcoming round of potential conference realignment. The state of Texas only has three universities in the Association of American Universities (AAU) — Texas, Texas A&M and Rice — and Schovanec admits it’s a “stretch” to think they can break into that exclusive club as an institution in the next few years. As important as football is, that academic affiliation goes a long way in selling other Power 5 presidents on extending an invitation to their league.
“We’ll make the case of what we bring,” he said, “but certainly to the uninformed, they may not see the full value of Texas Tech.”
Baylor is already having to reckon with the financial uncertainty of their predicament. Their athletic department was ready to get to work on building a $125 million basketball arena and a $65 million football operations building. Rhoades is meeting with the school’s CFO soon to determine if those ambitious capital projects need to be reevaluated.
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“It’s the ability now to go out and borrow money,” he said. “We’ve certainly raised a bunch of money for those facilities, but will we still have that same ability to build those facilities given the flux of our future in a Power 5 conference, given our flux in terms of potential revenue? Even if the Big 12 remains vibrant and stays Power 5, I think it’s really difficult to envision a scenario where we remain whole, no matter what.”
Rhoades says he’s had no formal conversations with any other conferences and is committed to supporting the survival of the Big 12. But an athletic department that is succeeding at the highest level while operating on about 48 percent of Texas’ athletics budget is suddenly facing a potentially scary future if this league cannot stick together and withstand what losing Texas and Oklahoma will do to this conference.
“Many of my colleagues around the country — and I’ve spoken to quite a few in the last two weeks — believe that the University of Texas created this situation because they think so highly of themselves,” Rhoades said. “My humble opinion: I completely disagree. I think it’s because they felt too little of themselves. The high-profile success of a neighboring conference has created in them an unwarranted insecurity that has metastasized.
“And unfortunately, so many of us bear the fallout.”
(Screenshot from The Texas Senate)