From The Athletic and the OU Board of Regents:
OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. spoke for more than 25 minutes, painstakingly detailing the reasons behind this decision.
He cited a world of college athletics that is rapidly transforming, as well as the Big 12’s diminished position in the media rights pecking order that made deals less lucrative and forced OU into a frustrating number of 11 a.m. CT kickoffs. Athletic director Joe Castiglione and coach Lincoln Riley have fought that battle publicly for years, with it coming to a head this summer after Fox announced that the long-awaited renewal of the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, set for Sept. 18, will have a morning kickoff. Castiglione issued a statement saying he was “bitterly disappointed.” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby responded earlier this month at the league’s media days by saying, “We all signed the TV contract.”
OU president Joseph Harroz Jr. spoke for more than 25 minutes, painstakingly detailing the reasons behind this decision.
He cited a world of college athletics that is rapidly transforming, as well as the Big 12’s diminished position in the media rights pecking order that made deals less lucrative and forced OU into a frustrating number of 11 a.m. CT kickoffs. Athletic director Joe Castiglione and coach Lincoln Riley have fought that battle publicly for years, with it coming to a head this summer after Fox announced that the long-awaited renewal of the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, set for Sept. 18, will have a morning kickoff. Castiglione issued a statement saying he was “bitterly disappointed.” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby responded earlier this month at the league’s media days by saying, “We all signed the TV contract.”
