Smith explains why Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC is great for the conference, but would be awful for the rest of college football.

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

The next step would be for Oklahoma and Texas to formally let the SEC know they want to join the conference.

The Longhorns and Sooners, bitter rivals on the field, became partners off the field in announcing their intent to explore bolting the league they helped co-found 25 years ago, with OU and the Big Eight joining with four Texas teams from the dissolving Southwest Conference.

The two schools previously signed agreements with the Big 12 that granted their first- and second-tier media rights to the league through June 30, 2025, and the Big 12 would own their rights until the deal expires -- even if they leave.

The Longhorns, meanwhile, found the league hospitable in other ways, most notably in that it allowed them to hold on to enough of their media rights to have their own television property, the Longhorn Network, a partnership with ESPN.

A split would have historic ramifications, including jeopardizing the Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, which has been played 115 times, dating to 1904.

Alabama and LSU have combined to win four of the seven College Football Playoff national championships since 2015; the league has had at least one team in the CFP every season since its inception.

With the sport trending toward a 12-team playoff format, the league could place even more teams in the field -- a possibility that concerns other power brokers throughout college football and could alter their opinion of the CFP's proposal at a critical time in their summer feasibility study.