Going the Distance: Where Oklahoma Ranks Among SEC Teams In 2024 Travel Miles

The Sooners have just four road games this season and are in the middle of the pack among Southeastern Conference opponents.

John E. Hoover | Jul 9, 2024

Oklahoma Sooners take Owen Field / NATHAN J. FISH / THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK

In this story:

Oklahoma Sooners

Having an address in the 12th out of 12 states in the new Southeastern Conference doesn’t necessarily add to Oklahoma’s task in 2024.

At least not geographically.

The Sooners have one of college football’s most demanding schedules this fall, rated between the No. 2 and No. 9 strength of schedule in 2024, depending on the metrics.

But being the new kid on the block, along with Texas, won’t put any undue difficulty on the Sooners’ 12-game schedule.

In terms of distance to travel for this season, Oklahoma ranks No. 6 overall in the SEC, according to Bookies.com, which used data from Google Earth to measure nautical miles between stadiums. The Sooners have just four road games this season, with all four non-conference games and three of their eight SEC games at Owen Field and another in Dallas.

OU will travel 4,411 round trip miles this season, with an average road trip distance of about 882 round trip miles. That includes the longest trip (1,416 round-trip air miles) to Auburn and the shortest trip (344 round-trip road miles) to Dallas to play Texas.

Interestingly, OU and Arkansas are the only teams that don’t have to cross a time zone this season. Mississippi State crosses eight time zones in 2024, while South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee each cross six.

LSU will log the most round trip air miles of any SEC team this fall, a total of 6,789, including a non-conference game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas against USC. Missouri is right behind LSU at 6,600 miles, while Texas A&M (5,796), Texas (5,371) and Mississippi State (5,228) come in ahead of OU.

Behind the Sooners are Ole Miss (4,267), South Carolina (4,236), Alabama (4,091), Kentucky (4,080), Georgia (4,043), Florida (4,039), Arkansas (3,372), Tennessee (3,268), Vanderbilt (2,963) and Auburn (2,481).

Mississippi State has the second-longest road trip (2,662 round trip miles to Arizona State), while Texas (2,267 miles to Michigan) and Missouri (2,123 miles to Massachusetts) are the other schools with trips in excess of 2,000 miles.

Other schools will also likely drive for certain games, such as Florida to Jacksonville and Tallahassee and Auburn to Alabama and Georgia.

OU’s other road games consist of trips to Columbia, MO (381 one-way air miles) to play Missouri, Oxford, MS (453 one way), to play Ole Miss, and Baton Rouge, LA (490 one way)), to play LSU.

Published Jul 9, 2024

JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.