Oklahoma, Texas Officially Apply For SEC Membership
On Tuesday morning, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas officially applied for membership into the Southeastern Conference.
The two schools issued this joint statement:
"The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Oklahoma (the “Universities”) request invitations for membership to the Southeastern Conference (the “SEC”) starting on July 1, 2025. We believe that there would be mutual benefit to the Universities on the one hand, and the SEC on the other hand, for the Universities to become members of the SEC.
"We look forward to the prospect of discussions regarding this matter."
July 1, 2025 is when the media grant of rights ends for both schools with the Big 12 but the expectation is that realignment could happen much sooner than that.
The Sooners and Longhorns will need 11 of the 14 SEC schools to vote yes for expansion to take place. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addressed the issue of conference realignment.
"The University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas today submitted formal requests for invitations to become members of the Southeastern Conference in 2025," Sankey said in a statement.
"While the SEC has not proactively sought new members, we will pursue significant change when there is a clear consensus among our members that such actions will further enrich the experiences of our student-athletes and lead to greater academic and athletic achievement across our campuses. The Presidents and Chancellors of the SEC, in their capacity as the conference’s Chief Executive Officers, will consider these requests in the near future. Per the Bylaws of the SEC, a vote of at least three-fourths of the SEC’s 14 members is required to extend an invitation for membership."
