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The Big 12 Conference and network partner ESPN have traded barbs over the last couple of days as it appears the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin are poised to jet to the SEC.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby accused the network on Wednesday of trying to "destabilize" the conference and ordered the station to "cease and desist." ESPN responded by saying there was nothing to cease and said the accusations were made without merit.
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ESPN released a longer letter to the Big 12 on Thursday, according to The Athletic.
"The accusations you have made are entirely without merit. Apart from a single vague allegations that ESPN has been ‘actively engaged in discussions with at least one other’ unnamed conference, which ESPN disputes, your letter consists of entirely unsubstantiated speculation and legal conclusions. To be clear, ESPN has engaged in no wrongful conduct, and thus, there is nothing to ‘cease and desist,’ the letter to Bowslby read.
"We trust this will put the matter to rest."
Bowlsby told the Associated Press he believes there’s some shady dealing going on behind the scenes.
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"I have absolute certainty that they [ESPN] have been involved in manipulating other conferences to go after our members," the told the outlet.
He claimed ESPN has "actively engaged in discussions with at least one other conference regarding that conference inducing additional Members of the Big 12 Conference to leave the Big 12 Conference."
ESPN, which owns the SEC Network, signed a $3 billion deal with the SEC last year that would give the network rights to broadcast all of the conference’s football games starting in 2024.
The Big 12 shares broadcast rights with ESPN and FOX and that deal is set to expire in 2025.
Texas and Oklahoma announced their plans not to renew their media contracts with the Big 12. Such agreements come to an end in 2025. Texas and Oklahoma submitted a request to join the SEC in 2025 on Tuesday.
Bowlsby told the Associated Press he suspected ESPN was involved in some way with the Sooners and Longhorns’ departure, but he can’t prove it.
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"This whole thing has been a complete articulation of deception," he claimed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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