Chad Weiberg on OU, Texas Leaving Big 12 in 2024: ‘At Some Point It’s Just Time to Move On’
A few weeks ago, the news that everyone around the Big 12 has been waiting on for nearly two years finally came as the timeline for when Oklahoma and Texas are leaving for the SEC moved up by one calendar year.
In 2024, the Sooners and Longhorns will join the nation’s premier football conference, leaving behind programs that it has called partners since the Big 12 was officially born in 1996.
When the news broke that OU and Texas were headed out back in the summer of 2021, the Big 12 seemed to be in deep water, but Bob Bowlsby and company made a pivotal move by adding the top four options available to the Big 12’s membership.
Now, with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF set to join the conference in 2023, all parties involved are simply ready to move into the next chapter and get on with the next phase of life.
Last week, Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard joined 365 Sports in an interview and wasn’t bashful about his program’s desire to see the Longhorn Network become a thing of the past.
“Can’t leave soon enough,” Pollard said quickly, sending the entire 365 staff into a flurry of laughter. “Does that answer your question? Does that answer your question?“
Then, just after Pollard’s interview, Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg shared the same sentiment during an interview with 365 Sports: It’s time for everyone to go their separate ways.
“I think it’s probably the same feeling with everyone involved, right? Including [Oklahoma and Texas]” Weiberg said, agreeing that pretty much everyone in the room feels like Pollard did last week. “You know how it’s going to end and so at some point its just time to move on and get there. I give a lot of credit to commissioner [Brett] Yormark on being able to get all the parties together.
“It’s a very complicated deal, right? You’ve got two schools, two television networks, and two conferences. So, there’s a lot of players at the table, and for everyone to come together and get it done as best as can be done for everyone to move forward, I think that was a good thing.
“So, yeah, it’s time to move on. For us, and for them.”
Oklahoma State is certainly moving forward into the future, as the school announced a new $325 million athletics vision plan in Stillwater. Check out all the details on that story, here.
