The SEC has now become the true power broker on the college football landscape.
And I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.
With the impending additions of Oklahoma and Texas into the SEC, it stands to reason that more is on the way. Why stop at 16 when it seems the time is right to grab ahold of the country and completely get rid of the NCAA.
Of course, rumors ran wild last week when it was reported that both Oklahoma and Texas had joined forces to leave the terrible Big 12, but now we know that talks between the schools and the SEC have been ongoing for months, which will give the SEC almost every one of the all-time winningest college football programs in the country in one conference.
Texas A& M is miffed because they left the Big 12 in 2011 for the SEC to get away from what they felt was Texas’ overwhelming grip on the conference and the revenues the conference divided.
Now, some 10 years later, here comes Texas along with Oklahoma. Like most SEC schools, Texas A& M has just grinned and said we can’t wait to “whip Texas’ butt.”
One thing that has to be abundantly clear is Texas will not be calling the shots when they do enter the SEC.
The SEC under Greg Sankey has strong leadership which won’t bow down to any school, much less a newcomer. Both the Longhorns and Sooners will have to earn their keep, but the truth is, they won’t be the last new schools to join the SEC in my opinion.
I mentioned the NCAA before and it does seem like Sankey has taken his disbelief of the NCAA’s leadership to the next level and his helping build the first of several ‘Super Conferences.’ That would put the NCAA completely out of business, something that is well past its time.
The NCAA saw its future go out the window a month or so ago when the name and likeness rule for athletes was handed down by the supreme court. The NCAA has had nothing to do with the college football playoff since its inception and now it looks like they are going to lose everything. Good riddance.
But the SEC will probably not stop with Texas and Oklahoma, there are other schools out there. USC, Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, the list goes on and on. The SEC won’t get all those schools, but this first move with Texas and Oklahoma will start the dominoes falling.
As soon as Missouri and Texas A& M joined the SEC there was a shuffling of schools and their conferences. The same will happen again, except this time the Big 12 is going to be gone. They may reform under the old Southwestern Conference flag, but the real truth is the Longhorns and Sooners are the major players and this past Monday they served divorce papers to the conference saying they are not renewing their broadcast rights with the Big 12 when it expires in 2025.
It won’t take that long.
Texas and Oklahoma will play their final season in the Big 12 this season and I fully expect them to play in the SEC next year, 2022. A& M said they were leaving in 2011 and began play in 2012. Like it or not, Texas and Oklahoma will not hang around with the Big 12 for another four seasons.
If we get a steady diet of the kind of games we can expect now from the SEC and possibly throw in a Notre Dame or USC or some of the other schools I mentioned, I can’t imagine what type of television we will see, enjoy and look forward to. The SEC has long been considered the best conference and now they are really flexing their muscles.
If you see me, say “Hey!”
Dee McLelland is Publisher of the Coastal Courier and the Bryan County News.