For a brief moment, it seemed that the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns were doomed to stay in the Big 12 until 2025. This time, it was the TV networks that couldn’t come to an agreement. Then, Sooners and Longhorns fans finally got the news they’ve been waiting for. OU and Texas will be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC in 2024, a year earlier than originally planned. And they won’t be the only ones moving conferences next year.
UCLA and USC will also be on the move in 2024, moving from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, giving the conference a country-wide footprint from Maryland to California.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, the 12-team College Football Playoff will make its debut in 2024, giving postseason hopes to many programs across the country. While 12 teams might be overkill, more programs being “all in” and attempting to earn playoff berths is beneficial for the sport. With bowl season becoming more and more irrelevant with players opting out, the expanded playoff could be the new lease on life it needed.
OU finally getting to the SEC will be a major boon for the program. Brent Venables is already recruiting like an SEC head coach, and the university is working on building its SEC-level facilities. If Venables can improve the on-field results in 2023, the Sooners will be in a very good position heading into the SEC and the expanded playoff field for 2024.
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