Texas and Oklahoma playing in New Year's Six bowls added about $6M to the conference's revenueGETTY IMAGES
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that the conference "will distribute" $38.8M in revenue to each school, up from nearly $36.5M last season, according to Chuck Carlton of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. The Big 12, by having Oklahoma and Texas in New Year's Six bowls, "gained an additional" $6M. The figure "puts the Big 12 behind the SEC and Big Ten," and "ahead of the ACC and Pac-12." Unlike other Power 5 conferences, the Big 12 total "doesn't include third-tier rights, which can range from a million or two" to the ESPN-Longhorn Network deal that averages $15M. West Virginia President E. Gordon Gee said that by the time the conference's TV contract with ESPN and Fox expires in '24-25, the revenue distribution "could hit" $44-45M (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/1). In Oklahoma City, Berry Tramel noted most Big 12 schools "make little money on third-tier rights." But the conference has signed with ESPN+, which will place events on a "bigger platform, though that is not expected to produce immediate financial results." The Big 12 is in "much better financial standing than anyone thought when the league fractured almost a decade ago and when conference realignment bubbled up again about five years ago" (OKLAHOMAN, 6/1).
