WICHITA, Kan. — One day after Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby sent a cease-and-desist letter to ESPN that accused it of conspiring with other conferences to break up his league, the network has responded with some claims of its own.
“The accusations you have made are entirely without merit,” ESPN president of programming and content Burke Magnus wrote in a letter addressed to Bowlsby. “Apart from a single vague allegation that ESPN has been ‘actively engaged in discussions with at least one other’ unnamed conference, which ESPN disputes, your letter consists entirely of unsubstantiated speculation and legal conclusions. To be clear, ESPN has engaged in no wrongful conduct and, thus, there is nothing to ‘cease and desist.’ We trust this will put the matter to rest.”
If only it could be that simple.
The Big 12 didn’t hold anything back with its accusations of ESPN earlier this week. Bowlsby claimed that ESPN conspired with a conference, later identified by sources and media reports as the American, to try and poach “three to five” teams from the Big 12 in an attempt to dissolve the conference, which would allow ESPN to get out of the remaining money it owes the Big 12 on their TV contract that runs through 2025.
If the Big 12 falls apart, that would also make it easier for departing members Oklahoma and Texas to join the SEC earlier than planned without paying an exit penalty. ESPN owns full TV rights with the SEC.
Bowlsby, in an interview with the Associated Press, described ESPN’s alleged actions as “a complete articulation of deception,” before adding “I have absolute certainty they (ESPN) have been involved in manipulating other conferences to go after our members.”
The Big 12 commissioner said he had irrefutable proof to back up his claims.
Of course, until he shares that proof, ESPN is free to deny any wrongdoing.
Still, a pair of school administrators within the Big 12 said every remaining member of the conference was furious when the AAC attempted to raid the Big 12 and fully supported Bowlsby’s letter to ESPN.
It seems like it will take more than a short letter to rebuild trust between the Big 12 and its primary TV partner.
