It finally happened.
Texas and Oklahoma announced their intention to join the Southeastern Conference way back in July of 2021, while of coursing stating their intention to honor their obligations to the Big 12 Conference thru the 2025 school year.
Wink, wink.
It is rare for these things to take that long, because once you state your intentions in leaving it just becomes more and more awkward by the day. At first, most assumed 2022 would be the year, then hopeful eyes turned to 2023, but then Inside Texas and others proclaimed that word behind the scenes stated 2024, and held firm on that even after the report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel not a week ago that the negotiations were dead in the water.
And then Thursday night, we saw this:
And then there was rejoicing.
There is no mistake that the SEC is a massive step-up in competition (across all sports), and that Texas had better get its act together because it has hardly contended in the Big 12 Conference the last 12 years (in football), but this is the premier conference in America, and Texas is the premier brand in American amateur athletics.
It is a match made in heaven.
Mostly.
There are concerns about the morality of programs that hire guys like Hugh Freeze, and there are concerns about culture fit and academic fit, but the best of the best want to play in the SEC, and Texas was at a disadvantage when trying to recruit those players.
So here we are.
Basketball might actually be a step down in competition, but baseball is going to absolutely insane every weekend at Disch-Falk. Sports like swimming might have real competition now.
Steve Sarkisian has another year to build in the trenches, and another year to develop a quarterback room, and find replacements for Bijan and Roschon and those that will be departing the program after this year.
And the groundskeepers at Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium have a year and a half to start growing hedges because I’m pretty sure that is a requirement.
Please consider donating to the Texas One Fund, because we’re gonna need it.