Big 12 Deputy Commissioner Says Oklahoma, Texas Would ‘Rather Get Beat By Alabama Than Kansas State’
The Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners are set to move from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC after this season.
The move has long been in the works, as it was announced after Big 12 Media Days in 2021. Earlier this year, the Longhorns, the Sooners and the Big 12 announced an agreement to facilitate the pair’s move to the SEC one season early.
Perhaps the biggest reason the two teams are leaving is the SEC’s media deal, which is one of the best in college sports.
But that didn’t stop a Big 12 officer, deputy commissioner Tim Weiser, from taking a shot at the two schools during their final media day.
While talking with the KC Sports Network, Weiser said that he believed the two schools had other reasons for leaving the Big 12.
“I continue to maintain that the choice Texas made wasn’t a financial one because we all know what Texas’ resources are like,” Weiser said. “I think there’s was more about affiliating with a group of schools that on a given Saturday, they would rather get beat by Alabama than they would Kansas State. Or Florida than Iowa State. That I think is what drove what they were looking at down the road. In Oklahoma’s case, I’m not so sure that was the issue for them. I think they were more what you would call ‘the reluctant bride’ that kind of felt like, ‘Well, if we don’t go, what happens to the Texas-OU football game? The basketball game?’ All of those things we know are important from a Texas-OU standpoint. If I was in Oklahoma’s case it would be hard for me to not think about the long term, do we want to be affiliated with Texas and these other schools.”
These days Weiser is the league’s chief operating officer. At one time, he was Kansas State’s athletic director.
On Wednesday at Big 12 Media Day, commissioner Brett Yormark said that he wanted the league to “celebrate” the legacies of both Oklahoma and Texas, who were founding members of the conference.
Those comments were less than celebratory.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
