With the moves last week by the Universities of Texas and Oklahoma to join the Southeastern Conference, there’s concern at the potential of the Big 12 either ceasing to exist or being shifted from being known as a “Power 5” conference.
Kansas Board of Regents President and CEO Dr. Blake Flanders tells KMAN it’s understood that that classification has an economic impact on not just Manhattan and Lawrence.
Flanders says there is not a hard rule in place to keep Kansas State and the University of Kansas together in a conference going forward.
Because of the current media contracts, neither OU or Texas is slated to leave for the SEC until the 2025 school year, though changes can be negotiated.