The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are set to embark on their final journey through the Big 12. The flagship institutions will make their move to the SEC officially on July 1, 2024, taking on a new adventure.
Their journey coming over the next few months reminds me of a number from the world-wide sensation, “Hamilton.”
At the end of Washington’s tenure in the musical’s second act, the first president of the United States, played originally by Christopher Jackson, performs a song titled, “One Last Time.” The song acts as a goodbye letter, using Washington’s own words to help move the country along in its early stages.
And in a way, that’s where the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns are. Though they’ve had differing levels of success over the course of the Big 12’s existence, the two programs have acted as figureheads on the national stage for the last 25-plus years.
Oklahoma in particular, with its 14 Big 12 titles, and until TCU in 2022, its only playoff appearances. The branding that comes with the Longhorns and the Sooners helped keep the Big 12 afloat during the realignment a decade ago that saw Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas A&M disperse for greener pastures. Those schools have found limited success while the Big 12 survived and built a strong brand.
And as the last couple of years have shown, since Oklahoma and Texas were invited to the SEC, the Big 12 has enough cache to be a player on the national level.
In 2021, Oklahoma State was literally inches away from securing a College Football Playoff berth. Had they beaten Baylor, they would have had a great shot at taking the fourth spot in the playoff.
In 2022, Kansas State and TCU played for the Big 12 title. The Wildcats upset the Horned Frogs but it didn’t diminish TCU’s playoff odds.
The Big 12 and its departing Red River members are ready to move on. That’s what the early exit agreement set out to do. There are hard feelings toward Oklahoma and Texas. Brett Yormark’s comments last week to a Texas Tech gathering revealed how he feels about the split. We know the Big 12 schools of the last decade have hard feelings about it.
Well, the 2023 season provides one last time for everyone to take their shot at the conference powers.
The 2023 season also provides one last time for the Sooners and Longhorns to say goodbye to their Big 12 brethren before heading off to the SEC.
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