Texas and Oklahoma completed their groundbreaking move from the Big 12 to the SEC as all of the changes associated with this offseason’s conference realignment took effect July 1. Two of college athletics’ premier brands are now officially members of the most successful league in the Power Four structure, and while they are largely positioned for success among their new peers, things may not come as easily for the Longhorns and Sooners as they did in their former conference.
The level of competition from top to bottom in the SEC is tougher, especially in football, than it was in the old Big 12 — which itself added four new schools Monday to backfill the losses of its two flag-bearing athletic departments. Two programs that accounted for the vast majority of recent Big 12 football championships have a more difficult path to conference supremacy, though their recruiting and coaching remain on levels that rival anyone in the sport.
“Whoever you play, it’s their Super Bowl,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said of his school’s move to the SEC, via ESPN. “It’s the power of the brand. That won’t change in the SEC.”
Texas’ exit from the Big 12 sparked much tension between the school and its former conference rivals. TCU took a parting jab at both the Longhorns and Sooners after the two universities made their SEC arrival official. While the schools further elevate the SEC’s profile, they may not be welcomed with open arms on game days.
“I love all that, by the way, the Horns Down stuff,” Del Conte said. “I think it’s comedy.”
July 1 ended a tense final stanza of the Texas-Oklahoma Big 12 era in which even conference commissioner Brett Yormark took apparent jabs at the two proud athletic departments. Yormark said as recently as the Big 12 spring meetings that the league is “more relevant now than we’ve ever been” despite the losses of two perennial national title contenders in multiple sports.
The SEC, meanwhile, gears up for perhaps one of its most highly anticipated college football seasons on record. Texas joins the league as an immediate national championship contender while Oklahoma brings Playoff experience to the mix as a squad that can shake up the league title race, even against a difficult Year 1 schedule.
Both newcomers will account this season for some of college football’s biggest games. Few will be more impactful, though, than the one that sends Georgia to Darrell K Royal-Memorial Stadium for a showdown with the Longhorns. What could be a top-five battle guarantees to deliver Playoff and national title implications and may be a preview of the SEC Championship Game.
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Texas also renews its rivalry with Texas A&M, and Oklahoma battles conference contenders Tennessee, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama and LSU to round out the most intriguing matchups involving the newest SEC squads.
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