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SEC Day: Brent Venables Says Oklahoma 'Takes a Back Seat to Nobody'

The Sooners kicked off a full day of activities in their first day in the Southeastern Conference on Monday in Tulsa.

John E. Hoover

Brent Venables
Brent Venables / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY
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At the stroke of midnight, Oklahoma officially became a member of the Southeastern Conference.

Before the SEC’s big takeover of college football — the league has won 13 of the last 18 national championships — the Sooners were consistently one of the sport’s top programs.

OU head coach Brent Venables, who was defensive coordinator and Bob Stoops’ assistant head coach on the best of those Sooner squads, kicked off Oklahoma’s new era on Monday sounding like he intends to run it all back.

“This program defines excellence. It defines success,” Venables told fans in a “Wake Up In the SEC” event at Mother Road Market in Tulsa. “In sports, probably the best quality you can have is to be consistent. And we’ve been one of the top two or three programs in the history of college football.

“This is a program that takes a back seat to nobody, one that we’re incredibly looking forward to. An amazing opportunity for us.”

OU and Texas formally became the 15th and 16th members of the SEC on Monday. Venables’ trip to Tulsa — he was accompanied by coaching legend Barry Switzer and others — began a series of all-day festivities that will conclude at Memorial Stadium in Norman.

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“But what I’m most excited about from a transformation standpoint going into the SEC is this incredible alignment — starting with Oklahoma — and amazing leadership … and elite-level success, championships, strength and honor, integrity,” Venables said. “All the amazing brands that are out there represented, that’s what Oklahoma stands (for). So we’re aligning with the an organization in the SEC that represents those same things. 

“We’re not gonna get ahead of ourselves. We have a season that’s sitting in front of us. For us as a program — this isn’t always real sexy — but for us as a program, every area of our program, in our football organization, everybody focus on just daily improvement. Just get a little bit better. And if we can do that individually, if our players can do that individually, then we as a team and as a program will get better and be ready to compete. The level of competition (in the SEC), the depth is amazing. So, great, great opportunity for us.”

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John E. Hoover

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.

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