[Editor's note: The news that Texas and Oklahoma were planning to leave the conference -- which became official on Friday -- was a reminder that in college football, the past is never really the past. ESPN reporters Heather Dinich, Mark Schlabach and Dave Wilson show how the roots of this decision date back to the creation of the Big 12 itself and why, this time, it reached a breaking point.]
Last Tuesday, the Big 12 conference athletic directors had the same weekly call they've been having since the onset of the pandemic. All 10 schools participated, along with commissioner Bob Bowlsby.