Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC is Good for UCF, Plus Recruiting News

It was a topsy-turvy day in college football, as news kept moving forward about conference realignment with Oklahoma and Texas. Those proposed realignments could benefit UCF in a big way, and there’s recruiting news to discuss as well.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Jul 23, 2021 11:03 PM EDT

There’s so much information to discuss about conference realignment that a podcast needed to be dedicated to the discussion, and almost an hour came about and anyone can watch and/or listen below as they see fit (see at the bottom of the article).

Here are the highlights of the discussion, one at a time:

Texas and Oklahoma Bolting to the SEC?

It sure appears that’s all but a done deal, lawyers aside, and it’s likely to come about in 2025 when the contract between each Big 12 schools comes to a close with the television deal the Big 12 currently possesses. This causes numerous potential shifts within the SEC, ACC, Big 12, and every other conference, literally.

Like it or not, the SEC is by far the most dominant conference and it’s not even close. Adding those two schools could cause several other programs and/or conferences to look to make new deals themselves.

For instance, what about Arizona and Arizona State jumping to the Big 12 now that Texas and Oklahoma are likely leaving? These contracts are about big money (like it or not, it’s true), and those two schools hold television markets on the West Coast that the Big 12 and their advertising partners would love to sink their meat hooks into. Further, an old Big 12 team could come back to the fold.

Nebraska, Tired of the B10? Perhaps other Programs to the B12?

Nebraska has been all but irrelevant in the Big 10. Considering the heritage and tradition, the Big Red have stunk up the Big 10 far more often than not. Perhaps a shift back to its roots would help bolster recruiting, which is sorely needed, and allow the Cornhuskers to evaluate their program once more.

It’s speculation. That’s duly admitted. With teams leaving the Big 12, however, there are certainly going to be teams coming into the conference as well. Maybe the Big 12 steals Colorado or perhaps one or both of the Los Angeles schools -- UCLA and USC -- head to the Big 12. It’s hard to say right now, but these back room conversations amongst schools not named Oklahoma or Texas will take place despite the likelihood of every conference and school official saying no comment or simply bold face lying and saying there’s nothing being communicated between teams, conferences, etc.

Yeah, right.

Then there’s UCF. The Knights are a prime candidate for the Big 12 because of the attraction of the Big 12 adding a television market like Orlando (remember, it’s about money), the opportunity to expand the Big 12 recruiting base, and the chance to bring in a high-flying offense that will be good for selling tickets and generating additional fanfare in a largely populated state like Florida. UCF would gain a massive revenue influx, as well as something every school likes to hear.

UCF would also gain an edge with Texas recruiting, so turning it around is good for UCF as the Big 12 schools will certainly attempt to invade the state of Florida for recruits. There is a concern with the move, however.

There are travel and financial concerns for all schools as one must remember that this is a school move, and not just a football move. Do not forget that fact. It’s for “all” sports. It could take considerable time before the analytics of such decisions could come to light.

Beyond football and perhaps one or two other sports, each college program actually loses money and does so big-time. Extra travel could be the fly in ointment for these realignment shifts because that travel adds to the financial losses, but there’s still possible avenues to consider such as the ones above. It’s interesting, that’s for sure. Finally, some recruiting news and evaluation.

Knights in Alabama and Georgia

There are two key players that the UCF Football staff continues to recruit and both are looking closely at the Knights. That information would be located just beyond halfway of the podcast, and there’s some video highlights that are discussed about one of the prospects with the actual recruit’s video being on the screen (for the visual podcast option).

For the podcast with video, Click here: Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC, Plus Recruiting News

For the traditional podcast that one will simply listen, click here:

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