Texas and Oklahoma ready to be ruled by Birmingham; Schools formally request SEC admission

The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma have requested admission into the SEC.

The presidents for both schools formalized their requests in a letter addressed to Greg Sankey, commissioner of the SEC, on Tuesday.

Texas president Jay Hartzell and Oklahoma president Joseph Harroz, Jr. wrote, “We believe there would be mutual benefit to the Universities on one hand, and the SEC on the other hand, for the Universities to become members of the SEC.”

The joint request seeks admission to the conference beginning July 1, 2025. It remains to be seen if the schools’ current conference, the Big 12, can remain viable through that date.

Associated Press college football writer Ralph Russo tweeted a copy of the short, but consequential, letter:

Letter from Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC pic.twitter.com/Ja1fmDNwaN

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) July 27, 2021

News of the schools’ intent to seek admission to the nation’s most powerful athletic conference broke during last week’s SEC Media Days in Hoover. It drew immediate pushback from Texas’ in-state rival, and current SEC member, Texas A&M.

Representatives of the Aggie athletic department initially said the school would oppose any move to admit the Longhorns into the SEC.

The Texas A&M administration has since clarified its position. While not saying her school would welcome Texas to the SEC, Aggie president Katherine Banks stated that her school was ready to continue moving forward as a member.

Admission of a new member requires the approval of 11 of 14 conference members. No formal opposition to the request is expected.

The move signals an acceptance of the current landscape in college football — especially for Texas — one in which the Alabama-based conference has exerted unmatched power during the last two decades. SEC programs have won 11 of the last 14 college football national championships.

In leaving the Big 12, the Longhorns will no longer fall under the direction of conferences offices in nearby Irving, Texas. The Big 12 has long been viewed as being either an extension of the UT athletic offices or beholden to the Longhorns at different times during the conference’s existence.

The SEC has its headquarters in downtown Birmingham.

Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia