With Oklahoma & Texas submitting notice they will not extend their grant of rights with the Big 12, it sets off the first of a series of dominoes which puts realignment into focus, once again, for the Big Ten.
Their previous expansion efforts have resulted in something between underwhelming (Nebraska losing their AAU status and then many many football games) and expected poor performance (the records of Maryland & Rutgers speak for themselves) but plenty of dollars: annual television rights now exceed $50M per school. Now, the conference is faced with not just maximizing their dollars but doing all they can to ensure the conference’s athletics exist in something resembling the current form in the long term.