Texas and OU have expressed interest in joining SEC

[atlantacowboy]

Did you hear about this somewhere or just throwing the merger idea out there? Not sure how that would work with football but all other sports could be interesting.

Just throwing it out there. Recruiting will dictate how quickly this happens. OU and Texas are just following the money which is tied to TV contracts and now tied to recruiting. If the SEC extends invites to Clemson and OSU............ why wouldn't Michigan and PSU try to get in on it? I hate this b/c I think traditional rivalries are good for college football. I like the conference system I grew up watching. I just think the new transfer rules and NIL money are going to dramatically change everything.

 

[atlantacowboy]

I would agree with the idea of moving Texas-OU either to indoor AT&T Stadium or night time at the Cotton Bowl - just because of brutal daytime heat.

I hate indoor football. Football was intended to be played on real grass outside. Go catch a ND home game and then tell me its not better than watching a game inside a dome.

 

[Diehardblues]

I see a lot of people say that, but I don't think from the viewers' standpoint all that much is going to change (especially the casual viewer). I mean, I am going to get out of bed on Saturday mornings and watch college football. It doesn't really matter to me sitting at home if the QB is making nothing or a million. All this restructuring will probably make for more marquee matchups, which is a good thing. And I have advocated for expanding the playoffs ever since the current format was created, so that's a good thing too.

I’m not a casual fan. I’m an alumni with one of the schools in Big 12 not invited to SEC losing the rivalries we’ve had for generations and a Century.

It not only effects how we will attend games and support our Alma Maters but it has economic effects on our schools, communities and business.

 

[Diehardblues]

It always pissed me off to have to get up to watch a Texas-OU game at 11am in the morning. I'm not even sentimental about the Cotton Bowl. I'd prefer moving the game to Arlington at night.

It will be interesting to see if they continue the tradition at the Cotton Bowl. If you’d ever attended a game there you’d appreciate the history. But I’d agree the game could be moved back to afternoon or night.

 

[CouchCoach]

Doesn't work that way. Their rights are owned fully through 2024. They had to give 18 months notice and pay 2 years severance to leave IN 2025.
So they are either hoping the Big 12 disbands or they are going to negotiate trying to pay much MORE money to get out earlier.
Otherwise they stick another year plus and face insanely hostile crowds and opponents.

ESPN is driving this. So they'll figure it out but contracts signed are contracts signed and the conferences learned from the last round of realignment to protect themselves.

This is happening but it may not be quick or easy.
Football season starts in a month.

Both OU and UT will pay the exit fee to get in on the 2022 SEC season. They have both tried to make this look like a crawl, walk, run process but they'd already made that decision when they went after the SEC.

The other side of this is that UT saw what AR had to deal with when they announced they were leaving for the SEC and they are not about to send their athletes into Big 12 markets for anything longer than this season. This is about two things, money and recruiting, and they need to move quickly.

 

[Rockport]

Just throwing it out there. Recruiting will dictate how quickly this happens. OU and Texas are just following the money which is tied to TV contracts and now tied to recruiting. If the SEC extends invites to Clemson and OSU............ why wouldn't Michigan and PSU try to get in on it? I hate this b/c I think traditional rivalries are good for college football. I like the conference system I grew up watching. I just think the new transfer rules and NIL money are going to dramatically change everything.

UT vs. A&M one of the best rivalries is back.

 

[CouchCoach]

As a Hog, I welcome this because I have already survived the transition from the old SWC to the SEC and I still miss the old rivalries and it definitely hurt AR recruiting in Texas for football.

Change for tradition is hard but I have learned that tradition has a price and will sell out for it.

I know this will be tough on some fans here. If you make the drive down I-35 from Dallas, that feeling you get when you see Baylor's stadium on the left and an hour later, UT's on the right will not be there any longer.

If you are a TT alum like my cousin, that annual game against the hated Longhorns with all the money will no longer be the high point of the season. Baylor, Texas Tech and TCU had to deal with the death of the SWC and now they face the same thing with the Big 12. It's not right but it is the American Way.

On the other side of that is that the Aggies have to deal with Texas back in their conference and they're madder than a herd of wet cats.

 

[CouchCoach]

UT vs. A&M one of the best rivalries is back.

AR v UT as well, if AR can keep their progress going and actually make it a rivalry.

 

[Rockport]

AR v UT as well, if AR can keep their progress going and actually make it a rivalry.

Oh yeah, forgot about that one.

 

[Rockport]

AR v UT as well, if AR can keep their progress going and actually make it a rivalry.

They went downhill once Jerry graduated LOL!

 

[Ghost12]

UT vs. A&M one of the best rivalries is back.

It will be interesting to see how often this game is played. I read an article about the scheduling conundrums the SEC is now facing. You simply can't give everyone everything. The "pods" format works great for the regular season but screws up the conference championship. But staying with the current format has drawbacks too. A lot of people are suggesting shifting Alabama and Auburn to the East, but could you imagine Texas joining the SEC then only plays Alabama or Georgia once every 7 years?? (Well, they actually have 2 OOC games against Alabama coming up in 2022 and 2023, but who knows what will happen to those).

There's simply no solution that will please everyone.... they all have good points but also major drawbacks....

 

[Diehardblues]

Aborting century old traditions and rivalries for the almighty dollar when already wealthier than sin. I hope they never see the light of a championship again. Screw em!!!

 

[Rockport]

Aborting century old traditions and rivalries for the almighty dollar when already wealthier than sin. I hope they never see the light of a championship again. Screw em!!!

Getting back to century old rivalries with UT vs A&M and UT vs Arkansas

 

[Ghost12]

Getting back to century old rivalries with UT vs A&M and UT vs Arkansas

Those rivalries will be renewed, but it is yet to be seen if they will be annual games or not. If Texas-A&M is not an annual game, we could potentially see a season where the University of Texas plays a full season without playing against a single game against another Texas school.

It is worth noting, however, that this would depend on how OOC games are impacted.... right now, Texas plays 1 OOC game against G5 Texas schools every year, so they would have to keep that up. Still, IMHO, it would be pretty pathetic if Texas went an entire season and the only other Texas school on the schedule was a sad sack P5 program like UTSA, UTEP, Rice or TX St.

 

[Diehardblues]

Getting back to century old rivalries with UT vs A&M and UT vs Arkansas

Sacrificing many more for teams which also aborted . And they haven’t seen the light of a conference championship or beyond since either.

If they truly cared for their rivalries they could have included some with the package. Which they said , screw em!!!!

 

[Diehardblues]

If you’re not a fan or alumni of one of the remaining Big 12 teams I’m not really interested in your response. No way you can relate .

 

[Rockport]

Sacrificing many more for teams which also aborted . And they haven’t seen the light of a conference championship or beyond since either.

If they truly cared for their rivalries they could have included some with the package. Which they said , screw em!!!!

The biggest rivalries for UT have been Oklahoma, A&M and Arkansas. Now they'll all be in the SEC playing each other. Another advantage of being in the SEC is recruiting. That's big for the top recruits who want to showcase their talents. UT is back baby!!!

 

[Diehardblues]

The biggest rivalries for UT have been Oklahoma, A&M and Arkansas. Now they'll all be in the SEC playing each other. Another advantage of being in the SEC is recruiting. That's big for the top recruits who want to showcase their talents. UT is back baby!!!

But Tech, Baylor and TCU are big rivalries too. And in their circles , bigger. Like I said . If you aren’t from one of the schools left out then you can’t relate. Screw you too!!!

 

[Rockport]

But Tech, Baylor and TCU are big rivalries too. And in their circles , bigger. Like I said . If you aren’t from one of the schools left out then you can’t relate. Screw you too!!!

Tech, Baylor and TCU big rivalries?

 

[CouchCoach]

But Tech, Baylor and TCU are big rivalries too. And in their circles , bigger. Like I said . If you aren’t from one of the schools left out then you can’t relate. Screw you too!!!

Baylor v TCU = JIHAD!!!!!!!

TCU has distanced themselves from that over the years but it was still one of Randy Galloway's best bits when his sidekick was one of your fellow alums.