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OSU's Gundy: Oklahoma, Texas 'took the money and ran' to SEC

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Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy said Tuesday that the Big 12 is losing a lot of history after Oklahoma and Texas "took the money and ran" to the SEC, according to ESPN's Chris Low.

"Let's just cut to the chase. They made a choice to financially secure their athletic departments for the next 12-to-15 years," Gundy said. "People can talk about all the reasons, but that's why they did it, all for the money, and took a lot of history out of this league and a lot of history out of college football with them.

"Now, they're not the first ones to do it. Texas A&M did the same thing when they jumped ship to the SEC (in 2012)."

Oklahoma and Texas are set to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025, barring an early exit with a settlement.

The 55-year-old Gundy, who's been the Cowboys' head coach since 2005, will miss "some great rivalries" that will be lost with the Sooners and Longhorns switching conferences, including the Bedlam Series between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

"They sort of made that decision when they left for the SEC," Gundy added. "It's just not going to be feasible. We're scheduled out to 2036, I think, and I'm sure the SEC is going to nine conference games. They'll have to, or the media will kill them. The fans would love to keep playing (Bedlam), but the people behind the doors who make the decisions are going to say, 'No.'"

But Gundy is still optimistic about what the future holds for the Big 12, which will add Cincinnati, Houston, UCF, and BYU in 2023.

"They have great television markets in different locations in the country that we didn't have," Gundy said. "The SEC and Big Ten are going to be strong, but after that, we're right there."

The Big Ten is welcoming its own new powerhouses, as USC and UCLA agreed to leave the Pac-12 in 2024.

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