Greg Sankey calls Tim Weiser's claims about Texas, Oklahoma's SEC move 'fiction'

Big 12 Conference deputy commissioner Tim Weiser recently claimed there was more to Texas and Oklahoma‘s move to the SEC than meets the eye. On Sunday, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the statement.

“I’m going to be as clear as I can,” Sankey said, “that’s fiction. Period. That’s fiction. The outreach was from both equitably. It was from the presidential level directly and clearly. And Joe Harroz and Jay Hartzell were both equally clear about their interest in joining the Southeastern Conference.

“As I recall, they said, ‘We’ve watched how you’ve led’ — which is a compliment to me — ‘and how our group has made decisions and how we’ve functioned, and they want to be a part of that.’ That’s as clear as I can be,” Sankey said.

The boss man isn’t playing around. For reference, Weiser’s claim about Texas referred to the level of competition in the SEC.

“I continue to maintain that the choice Texas made wasn’t a financial one. Because we all know what Texas resources are like. I think there was more about affiliating with a group of schools that — on a given Saturday, they would rather get beat by Alabama than they would Kansas State. Or Florida than Iowa State. That, I think, was really what was driving the way they looked out down the road,” Weiser said of the Longhorns’ decision to move on.

As for Oklahoma, Weiser alleged the program wasn’t quite as excited about joining the SEC as advertised.

“And in Oklahoma’s case, I’m not as convinced that that was the issue for them. I think they were more of what I would call ‘the reluctant bride’ that kind of felt like, ‘Wow, if we don’t go, what happens to the Texas-OU football game? Basketball?’ All the things that we know from an OU and Texas standpoint are really important,” Weiser said. “So, I kind of felt like if I was in Oklahoma’s case, it would’ve been hard for me not to think about the long term and don’t we want to be affiliated with Texas and now these other schools?”

Oklahoma and Texas are scheduled to join the SEC on July 1, 2024, one year earlier than originally scheduled. According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, the two schools will owe the Big 12 a combined $100 million in an exit fee to join the SEC.

The addition of Oklahoma and Texas will be the first expansion by the conference since adding Texas A&M and Missouri in 2012, which are also both former Big 12 schools.