First Down Kentucky: A New Era of SEC Football

A move three years in the making is finally official. News of Texas and Oklahoma’s entrance into the SEC broke at Media Days in 2021. The conference realignment quake is still sending shockwaves years later. Today the expansion of the SEC to 16 teams finally became official, and with it, there comes a lot of baggage. Up first, let’s focus on the little changes that may cause a big headache for some.

Logistics of Conference Realignment

While fans excitedly look forward to new matchups and the return of old rivalries, administrators are faced with unusual fact-finding missions. Officials in the Oklahoma athletics administration were tasked to scour the campus and catalog every single Big 12 logo that needed to be replaced. They updated their stadium to include flagpoles for all 16 members of the Southeastern Conference.

The change in signs also applies to uniforms. Oregon has an army of seamstresses adding B1G patches to their seemingly countless uniforms. There’s also the logistics of travel, where many of these programs are venturing for the first time. “Where do we order food for the team?” Should have a simple answer, but planning to feed hundreds of hungry mouths requires significant planning. There’s another quirk to travel plans for Big 12 schools: the state of Arizona.

“People still don’t understand our time zone,” said Doug Tammaro, who runs Arizona State’s media relations department. The state of Arizona — with the exception of the Navajo Nation — does not observe daylight saving time. Therefore, the time difference from Tempe to, say, Orlando or Morgantown will be different at different times of the year.

“Mountain Standard Time perfectly makes sense half the year. This time of the year, Mountain Standard Time is the same as Pacific. And everybody in the Pac-12 understood that. I don’t know if half the teams in the Big 12 are going to understand it. When you come here in the fall, we’re actually on Pacific time. But if you come here and play November through March, you’re actually on real Mountain time.”

ESPN

Prepare for the “Texas Armada”

There are many uncertainties that lie ahead, but one thing is certain: Texas does not lack confidence.

“We’re going to be everybody’s biggest game, for sure,” Quinn Ewers said Friday at the Manning Passing Academy.

That confidence comes directly from the top. Athletic Director Chris Del Conte has made it known to all of his athletes that Texas will be everybody’s Super Bowl in the SEC. Last year’s victory at Alabama only threw more gasoline on the fire. He’s ready for Texas to take over every single town in the conference.

“We rolled into the Embassy Suites, it was $2,800 a night for a three-night minimum,” Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said of the fan hotel that weekend. “They took full advantage of the Longhorns rolling into town. At one point, we had 52 jets that could not land in Tuscaloosa. When we come to a game it’s an armada, folks that come. You’ll see it.

“Everyone says, ‘They can’t make it, they can’t do it,'” Del Conte added. “Watch, you’ll see. … We’re ready.”

CBS Sports

Texas, Oklahoma Make Significant Capital Campaign Investments

Texas and Oklahoma have some of the deepest pockets in all of college athletics. They’re digging into them for the big move to the SEC and it’s not just for football.

In the middle of its transition to the SEC, in 2022 Texas opened the new $375 million Moody Center, a 16,000-seat arena that serves as the home for Longhorn basketball. Oklahoma is in the middle of something with an even bigger price tag. Joe Castiglione has included a new OU basketball arena with an entertainment district project in Norman that will cost around $1 billion. If approved, construction could begin as early as 2025.

The Crowds on Campuses are Crazy

Texas fans rang in the announcement with fireworks on campus, followed by a Pitbull concert. Oklahoma fans gathered in the heat to cheer behind Paul Finebaum’s stage. They understand the assignment.

Why did Oklahoma take the Boomer Schooner to Rupp?

Horses drive the wagon. One of the most famous horse racing tracks is right down the street, and you chose Rupp? Right idea, wrong place.

𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 ☝️#OUxSEC pic.twitter.com/TLhNSEe6EU

— Oklahoma Sooners (@OU_Athletics) July 1, 2024

Texas Tech Rips Off the Band-Aid

While most folks around the Big 12 were getting creative to send off their old conference foes, Texas Tech tried to step into the limelight with a little help from the best athlete to ever suit up for the Red Raiders. I was today years old when I learned Patrick Mahomes is a partner with Adidas and has his own logo. The Red Raiders unveiled new threads and a field with each of those logos right next to the interlocking Ts.

Has the University of Louisville taught us nothing? Prominently featuring an Adidas logo in your stadium is the fastest way you can possibly stir up scandals that will send your programs to the sewers for years.