Big 12 buyouts for Mizzou, A&M still need approval

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - The chairman of the Big 12's board of directors says the conference has agreed to terms with Texas A&M and Missouri on the schools' exit penalties but the league's members must still give final approval.

Oklahoma State President Burns Hargis said Friday that the schools agreed to the terms "long before" West Virginia's entry into the conference was finalized this month.

The university's board of regents voted Friday to grant Hargis power to execute final settlements, and he says every conference member must take a similar step before the arrangements are finalized.

Hargis refused to comment on terms. League bylaws call for 90 percent of the schools' payouts over the next two years to be withheld.

Conference spokesman Bob Burda also confirmed that the settlements had not been finalized.