There is breaking news in realignment as of this morning, although it was entirely expected:

Oklahoma and Texas have formally requested membership in the Southeastern Conference.

That's step two of approximately four major steps in the process that will likely have to occur before Oklahoma State or any of the other remaining Big 12 schools can start making moves of their own. We'll break down those steps and what has occurred so far, what's scheduled and what's not happened (yet).

Step one was the two departing schools notifying the Big 12 last Friday, July 23 that they will not be renewing the Grant of Rights (television) in 2025. That step triggers everything else in the process of the two schools joining the SEC. In the short term, at least, it means they can leave, but not until after the 2024-25 athletic year.

Today, the two have formally requested membership in the SEC on July 1, 2025. It is important to note that you do not publicly make a request like this unless you already know the answer. This is step two.

On Friday, the Board of Regents at each of the two schools have both scheduled special meetings for Friday, July 30th. This represents (most likely) step four - approval of changing athletic affiliations from the Big 12 to SEC for each school.

It is very likely that the SEC will respond to the schools' requests for membership with a formal invitation between now and Friday. This is the necessary step three.

For now, the SEC is publicly making their "due diligence" known.

So, assuming that all four steps occur this week, where does that leave things for OSU? Well, once OU and Texas have formally departed the Big 12 as of (for now) July 1, 2025, the door then opens for formal talks with other conferences. In much the same way that the departing schools and SEC have clearly been in discussions for months, OSU is currently having similar discussions with other conferences, through third parties.

Things could move very quickly once OU and UT have formally joined another conference. That immediately eases the legal burden for OSU and other schools to begin formal processes.

The end game for the departing schools has to have always been that their departures would eventually lead to the dissolution of the Big 12. The Big 12 by-laws require a 75% supermajority vote to dissolve the entity. That means eight of ten member schools. Dissolution means OU and Texas (followed by others) could join their new conference as soon as the next athletic year, without paying the exit fee or the Grant of Rights.

The next steps could be a slow drip, or move remarkably fast. For example, if OSU is offered a spot in the ACC or B1G and accepts, but is the only one of the remaining eight with an offer, the process will look much like OU and UT's departure. That means formal following of the general steps above, with an exit date of July 1, 2025 because that is only three of the eight votes needed.

In a different scenario, where six of the remaining eight are offered spots in new conferences and accept, then it could happen remarkably fast as that reaches the supermajority status.

Where it gets very murky is if, say, seven total schools (counting OU and UT) formally notify the Big 12 of their intent to exit. That would not constitute a supermajority. However, the Big 12 would no longer be viable at that point and the remaining three schools would likely be in a position where a court of law is their only option.

So, it could be a bumpy ride for a period of time. Logically, the only way the Big 12 survives this is if none of the remaining eight have options. That scenario would be a disaster for those eight schools. It's not likely it will come to that, however. The Big 12 will end on July 1, 2025 at the latest. It's more likely that this will be the final season for the league.