We finally have a date for the arrival of current Big 12 programs Oklahoma and Texas in the Southeastern Conference.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey announced Thursday that the Big 12 has reached an agreement with the Sooners and Longhorns to expedite their departure by a full calendar year. Previously expected to join the SEC in 2025, the two big-name programs will now be joining the SEC ahead of the 2024 college football season.
2024 is expected to be a big year in the college football world. Along with Oklahoma and Texas changing their environment, USC and UCLA will be leaving the Pac-12 and joining the Big Ten. The new college football landscape will also see the College Football Playoff expanded from four to twelve teams, also beginning with the 2024 season.
Statement from @SEC Commissioner @GregSankey on Oklahoma and Texas membership transition: pic.twitter.com/qZZI6YaRJp
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) February 10, 2023
The last wholesale change to college football came with the introduction of the four-team CFP ahead of the 2014 season, the same year Louisville joined the ACC and Maryland and Rutgers joined the Big Ten. Before that, 2013 saw Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame (all non-football sports) join the ACC, the end of the Big East Conference, and the birth of the American Athletic Conference. That followed a 2012 that included Texas A&M and Missouri joining the SEC and West Virginia and TCU joining the Big-12.
This latest move will give the SEC 16 member institutions beginning in 2024, with football scheduling expected to dominate conversations until then. In the meantime, Oklahoma and Texas will play 2023 as part of a 14-team Big-12 conference, after the addition of UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU to the conference.
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