Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns formally notify SEC of membership request in 2025

Oklahoma and Texas have formally notified the SEC they are seeking "an invitation for membership" beginning July 1, 2025, according to a joint statement from the flagship programs of the Big 12.

According to the release, OU and Texas sent SEC commissioner Greg Sankey their request this morning.

"The two universities look forward to the prospect of discussion regarding the matter," the statement read.

In a statement, Sankey said the SEC presidents and chancellors would consider the requests, noting that at least three-fourths of the SEC's 14 members schools is required to extend an invitation.

 "While the SEC has not proactively sought new members, we will pursue significant change when there is a clear consensus among our members that such actions will further enrich the experiences of our student-athletes and lead to greater academic and athletic achievement across our campuses," he said in the statement.

Sources said SEC presidents and chancellors are expected to meet Thursday to consider the schools for membership.

A source told ESPN on Tuesday morning that he wasn't sure whether the league's presidents and chancellors would vote Thursday because there was still much work to do in terms of existing TV contracts.

"There's a lot to do in a short amount of time in order to get to a vote by Thursday," the source said.

On Monday, Oklahoma and Texas said in a joint statement released by both schools that they officially notified the Big 12 they will not be renewing their grants of media rights after their expiration in 2025.

It's still unclear when the Longhorns and Sooners would plan to start competing in the SEC, or how much resistance they'll receive from the remaining eight Big 12 schools.

Texas and Oklahoma could either stick around through June 30, 2025, when the current Big 12 media rights deals expire; pay a penalty of at least $75 million to $80 million to break that agreement; or hope that the Big 12 dissolves before the grant of rights contract expires.

A source said the Longhorns and Sooners "have a lot of legal work to do before they can just walk over to us."