With eye on SEC, Oklahoma, Texas move toward leaving Big 12

(AP) – Oklahoma and Texas took the first formal step toward moving to the Southeastern Conference, notifying the Big 12 that they would not be renewing an agreement than binds the league’s members through 2025.

The schools sent out a joint statement that made no mention of the SEC and said “the universities intend to honor their exiting grant of rights agreements.”

The “grant of rights” gives the conference control of the school’s media rights and runs concurrent with the Big 12′s television contracts with ESPN and Fox.

Revenue from the Big 12’s TV deals make up the bulk of the $34.5 million the league distributed to its members this year.

Texas and Oklahoma have been in discussions with the SEC about joining the league, though neither school nor the powerhouse conference has acknowledged that publicly.