How Texas, Oklahoma worked together on SEC move, benefitted each other

Occasionally, even the most bitter rivals have to put their biases aside to work together toward a common cause. In Texas and Oklahoma‘s case, the common cause was joining the SEC.

In a conversation with On3’s Andy Staples, Inside Texas’ Joe Cook revealed how the two competing programs worked together to make the move to the SEC.

“These teams have been together since ’96 in the same league,” Cook said. “They’ve competed for Big 12 South championships. They competed against each other in a Big 12 Championship in 2018. And they always compete with each other during the second Saturday in October in the Cotton Bowl.

“Both [Texas athletic director] Chris Del Conte and [Oklahoma AD] Joe Castiglione have had, like I mentioned, a great working relationship and realized the Big 12 is not this long-term solution for us as a conference because, like we mentioned earlier, they’re going to keep looking and seeing the disparity in funds.”

The SEC, along with the Big Ten, is financially superior to the other conferences. According to a report by CBS Sports, the Big Ten and SEC each raked in over $800 million in revenue in 2022. The next closest conference was the ACC, which barely reeled in more than $600 million. The Big 12 only brought in $480 million.

Texas and Oklahoma’s move is bigger than football

Of course, these numbers will change as conference realignment redefines the collegiate landscape this year. Yet, the SEC and Big Ten are expected to remain atop the lucrative ladder. Cook emphasized football won’t be the only sport that benefits from the move.

“Both of these athletic departments have very proud programs and a number of both revenue and non-revenue sports,” Cook said. “Think of softball and gymnastics at Oklahoma. You think of swimming and tennis and golf and volleyball at Texas, in addition to the men’s sports.

“These are programs that like winning, not just on the gridiron, but everywhere. I think they understood that the next place for them to all find success, but football-driven success primarily, was in the SEC.”

The financial front isn’t the only area the SEC is a frontrunner. In February, the SEC and Big Ten formed a joint advisory group of university presidents, chancellors and athletics directors that will address issues in college athletics.

The joint advisory group will reportedly handle issues such as “recent court decisions, pending litigation, a patchwork of state laws and complex governance proposals.” The group will protect programs under its umbrella, now including Texas and Oklahoma.