Big 12 ESPN letter: Big 12 says ESPN has tried to get schools to leave

The shakeup of the Massive 12 Convention has apparently reached a brand new degree of messiness, and ESPN is on the middle of it.

Yahoo’s Pete Thamel first reported Wednesday, and quite a few nationwide retailers shortly adopted swimsuit, that Massive 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby despatched a letter to ESPN telling it to stop and desist speaking with convention colleges about leaving it.

Within the letter, which was addressed to ESPN govt Burke Magnus, Bowlsby writes that “I’m conscious that ESPN has additionally been actively engaged in discussions with a minimum of one different convention relating to that convention inducing further Members of the Massive 12 Convention (beside Texas and Oklahoma, who’ve each began the method of leaving for the SEC) to go away the Massive 12 Convention.”

Bowlsby stated convention colleges have contractually agreed to tv offers with the convention, and “The actions famous above are an obvious try and intervene with and to induce our Members to breach these contractual obligations to the Convention and to encourage additional convention realignment for the monetary good thing about ESPN.”

Bowlsby stated that’s in direct breach of the Massive 12’s contract with ESPN.

“The Massive 12 Convention calls for that ESPN instantly stop and desist all actions that will hurt the Convention and its members and that it not talk with the Massive 12 Convention’s current Members or every other NCAA Convention relating to the Massive 12 Convention’s Members, potential convention realignment, or potential monetary incentives or outcomes associated to potential convention realignment,” Bowlsby wrote.

Bowlsby concluded that the Massive 12 will implement “all of its rights” within the contract with the community and requested that ESPN guarantee the convention in writing by Thursday that it’ll stop the alleged actions.

ESPN responded to the letter by saying, “The claims within the letter don’t have any advantage.”

Stadium’s Brett McMurphy reported, “If Massive 12 implodes, ESPN not chargeable for ultimate 4 years of deal, value $1.06 billion.”

After preliminary studies got here out final week that Texas and Oklahoma can be breaking away from the Massive 12, the 2 colleges formally introduced on Monday that they are going to be doing so after the league’s media rights deal expires in 2025.