Texas A&M could make its departure from the Big 12 official as early as Tuesday after university president R. Bowen Loftin sent a letter to Big 12 board chairman Brady Deaton notifying the league of its formal withdrawal, according to both Orangebloods.com and The New York Times.
This move is the next expected step in A&M's effort to join the SEC.
However, the Aggies still face a large exit fee, which has yet to be fully negotiated. Early reports indicate that the amount will be close to $15 million. The SEC presidents also have to approve the deal, with nine of the 12 needing to vote "Yes" in favor of A&M joining the conference.
Of course, Loftin would not be this far along in the process if he didn't expect admission into the SEC.
The school said Monday it had received a letter from Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe outlining the procedures for leaving if the Aggies decided to do so. Last week, A&M formally told Beebe it was exploring its conference affiliation options and asked the league to outline the departure process if the school decided to bolt.
On Tuesday morning, in a brief statement issued by school spokesman Jason Cook, Texas A&M maintained that it had not sent a letter of withdrawal to the Big 12.
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