Tonight, at 6 p.m. CDT, you can tune into the SEC Network to watch the release of the conference’s full 2022 football schedule.
Everybody already knows who is playing who. The SEC is just putting those games in a certain order and letting people argue over them. As if the current season happening in front of our eyes was not good enough.
One thing is missing, though. Actually, two.
Texas and Oklahoma.
When the two Red River schools formally accepted their invitation to the SEC, the first question was when would they officially join. The Big 12’s television contract runs through the 2024 season and would require a large buyout from both schools to forgo the rest of it.
Next season was always thought to be the goal. Texas was even going to help Oklahoma pay their buyout with money from the Longhorn Network. If not 2022, then 2023 was the next best option, and so on until the actual date arrived.
For now, it seems as if the Big 12 and SEC will be business as usual as far as next year’s scheduling goes. But there is always time to make quick adjustments.
Moving on the fly would be nothing new to the SEC. COVID-19 showed a conference can make decisions fast and effective. Schedules can be released on a couple of week’s notice. Opponents can even be switched four days prior to kickoff.
I’m sure commissioner Greg Sankey and his staff have a second set of schedules ready to roll, just in case. They know how the divisions will work or if pods are the answer. Venues for neutral site games aware of multiple dates.
Texas, Oklahoma, and SEC kept this entire story under wraps for nearly six months. I think the three can keep their move-in date a secret as well.
A television schedule release will not affect plans.
Back in July, we constructed a hypothetical football schedule for the Longhorns once in the SEC. You can check it out here.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby could have some scheduling issues present himself too. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF are set the join the conference in the upcoming years. If Texas and Oklahoma stay, how does the conference handle a year or two of 16 teams?
A wide variety of schedules could be in front of Texas in the upcoming years. One season, a trip to Provo, UT, and Morgantown, WV could be on the docket. The next? Auburn, AL, and Nashville, TN.