SEC commissioner Greg Sankey believes the additions of Oklahoma and Texas are right in line with the identity of the conference. The Sooners and Longhorns both bring supportive fan bases and a history of athletic success with them.
That was a big factor in what led Sankey to extend the offer to both schools, whose acceptance set the college sports world on fire in 2021. Now with OU and Texas set to officially join the SEC on July 1, Sankey spoke on what it means for the conference in a recent appearance on SEC Network.
“It goes back to an athletic directors’ conversation,” he said. “Scott Stricklin at Florida, we were talking generally about potential new members years ago and he said, ‘you need to apply the It Just Means More test.’ So, on a campus and in an athletic department an university, does what they do as an athletic program meet that kind of expectation that we have? Obviously (Oklahoma and Texas) do.”
The Sooners and Longhorns have combined for 110 national championships across all sports. Not to mention, Texas recently made an appearance in the College Football Playoff this past season while Oklahoma softball has won four straight national titles.
The football tradition of both programs rings strong with 11 national championships and nine Heisman winners between them. They also bring one of the fiercest rivalries in the country between each other, which should draw even more interest to the SEC.
In fact, as Sankey set in Austin to take in the excitement from fans ahead of the SEC move, he revealed stories of fans from other programs who are also looking forward to the move.
“I’ve been told the number of people on Friday when we toured this footprint,” he said. “I think we’ve exceeded that number. It’s interesting to travel the country and I hear from fans of the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma about their excitement. I was on an airplane in Syracuse, New York, two weeks ago with a Gator fan and a Georgia fan saying that they’re excited about the future because they both played Texas this year. So I think that’s the reflection of meeting that excitement test.”
Oklahoma and Texas are officially set to become members of the SEC on July 1. The upcoming football season will be sure to provide plenty of intrigue, especially with the Longhorns recently make an appearance in the playoff.
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