Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Texas, Oklahoma joining SEC
Texas and Oklahoma have both accepted invitations to join the SEC. This news has sent shockwaves throughout the college sports world. ESPN College Gameday host Kirk Herbstreit is concerned about the direction that this news is taking college athletics.
Herbstreit says it is now all about the money
“What’s becoming abundantly clear, and I hate to say this because I’ve always tried to fight it, is people are trying to stay at the top,” Herbstreit said on SportsCenter on Friday. “They’re trying to compete with the SEC, and it’s all about money. It’s no longer about tradition. It’s no longer about the things that I think college football has always tried to stand itself on top of and really look at and appreciate rivalries and tradition and things of that nature.”
This is not the first time that Texas has been rumored to leave the Big 12.
“I guess it’s our new world, our new reality,” said Herbstreit. “I don’t know how you feel. I’m a bit of a traditionalist. I think when we did this realignment a few years ago and you saw teams like Nebraska leave and go to the Big Ten and Colorado leave. It was at that time we were thinking that Texas might leave and join the Big Ten or the Pac-12, and the Big 12 would have this same situation.”
One of the best parts of sports, especially collegiate sports, is the traditions and histories of each program. The most disappointing part of this SEC expansion to Herbstreit is the thought that those valued traditions and histories are being thrown away.
“I just hate losing the tradition of this sport,” he said. “I’ve always been, I guess naïve to it. I’ve always tried to be the guy that’s like, ‘No, we’re gonna hold on to our traditions. People care about those traditions. They care about the rivalries.’ Clearly, the decision-makers don’t. And we’re now in an arms race and it’s about the money.”
In joining the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma are stepping forward while they have the chance to. The SEC has tremendous power and money. That is something that the two programs jumped for. ESPN and the SEC have a new television rights deal that would pay the conference $300 more annually. And that is before the additions of Texas and Oklahoma, according to Mark Heim of The Alabama Media Group.
“Right now, I think it’s about money and keeping up with the Joneses. Right now, Texas and OU, they’re looking over in the horizon to the east and they’re seeing that SEC and all that money. They’re saying we can’t be left behind,” Herbstreit says. “We want to go into that neighborhood, and we want to join that group of teams, and that’s basically why we are where we are. And what this will do as far as the future, you know, if you and I are sitting here three years from now talking about college athletics. I have literally no idea where we are heading. But I feel like these are two big dominoes that are falling.”
Image courtesy of: Mike Stobe via Getty Images.