Big 12 to Distribute Record $426M of Revenue to 10 Schools for 2021-22 School Year

The Big 12 is about to undergo some major changes, but the 10 schools in the current version of the conference are receiving quite the financial windfall.

Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press reported Friday that the league is distributing $426 million of revenue to its member schools for the 2021-22 academic year. That is a record and approximately 25 percent more than last year.

"We find ourselves in a very strong position today," said Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec, who serves as chairman of the Big 12 board of directors.

Change will be the main theme for the Big 12 in the coming years.

Bob Bowlsby announced he is retiring when a replacement is appointed by the middle of July. The board responded by renaming the conference's men's and women's sportsmanship awards the Bowlsby Award to recognize the commissioner, who has held his title since 2012.

While a commissioner change is a major development, it isn't even the biggest one involving the league.

Its traditional football powerhouses of Texas and Oklahoma will depart to join the SEC no later than July 1, 2025. The Longhorns and Sooners may not wait that long, which would be a major development in the football world.

The SEC has been king of college football of late, and adding blue bloods like Texas and Oklahoma likely won't do anything to change that.

As for the Big 12, it will replace the teams with the addition of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. They will likely arrive next summer, and it isn't just an instance of quantity over quality considering the Bearcats are coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, while the other three have been some of the strongest non-Power Five programs in the country.

Replacing the brands that are Texas and Oklahoma will be no easy task, but the conference is in a favorable financial position.