The Extra Point: Impact of Texas and Oklahoma's Official SEC Move

The much-anticipated SEC shakeup of adding Texas and Oklahoma became official July 1.

Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, at right, and Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talk before the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY

After years of buildup and anticipation, a major shift in conference realignment became official at last on July 1. As of Monday, Texas and Oklahoma are officially members of the Southeastern Conference.

The two storied athletic programs moved from the Big 12, an exodus that was set in stone back in 2021 and initially slated for 2025. Now, the SEC is a 16-team league, and the Sooners and Longhorns bring their high-level varsity programs to the conference.

This move is far from the only domino to fall in recent times. In fact, the landscape of collegiate sports has changed forever following many other changes across other major athletic conferences, including the dissolution of the Pac-12 as it once was.

Texas and Oklahoma are, of course, major brands in football, but add much more than just that to their new league. In softball, for example, Oklahoma has won the last four national titles in a row. This past season, Texas was the top overall seed in the NCAA softball tournament bracket. In baseball, Texas has just completed a stunning move to bring over former Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle, shortly after the Aggies reached the national title game. Among other matchups, the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry is now a conference tilt.

The Sooners and Longhorns have shaken up the football schedule, and for Alabama in particular, this means a road game against Oklahoma in November after two straight seasons of facing Texas. The Longhorns made the final four-team College Football Playoff last season months after becoming the sole team in the Nick Saban era to beat the Crimson Tide by double digits in Tuscaloosa.