Joe Castiglione: Oklahoma-Texas Will Remain a Rivalry in the SEC, 'One Way, Shape or Form'

OU's athletic director says the Sooners and Longhorns will play in Dallas "for the foreseeable future" regardless of what the SEC scheduling model looks like.

IRVING, TX — Although there are a lot of options and some entertaining guesses, no one knows what the coming Southeastern Conference football schedule will look like.

One thing that’s not up for discussion is the Oklahoma-Texas game. OU-Texas will be played.

“One way, shape or form,” OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said Wednesday during day one of the Big 12’s annual spring business meetings at the Four Seasons Resort and Club.

The question was about SEC scheduling and the likelihood of permanent rivals. Through expansion to 14 members a decade ago, the SEC has maintained most of its traditional rivalries by establishing permanent opponents. There are drawbacks, such as not getting to play every other team on a regular basis, but holding onto tradition is important, too. 

There’s no reason to think that practice won’t extend to OU-Texas when the Sooners and Longhorns leave the Big 12 for the SEC — projected in 2025. Whether it's one permanent rival or divisions or quads, OU-Texas will endure in the SEC, Castiglione said.

They’ve played 117 times, including their annual grudge match in the Cotton Bowl at State Fair Park in downtown Dallas every year since 1929. The game is under contract there through 2025 — which coincides with their switching leagues.

Fear not, Castiglione said.

“There still will be a game between our two universities in Dallas for the foreseeable future,” Castiglione said.

Even in the unlikely event that the SEC schedule makers somehow don’t align the Red River Rivals in an annual rivalry showdown?

“I don’t think it would get to that,” Castglione said. “ … Until the actual models are decided on, I don’t know how we will get there. But I can promise you, we will get there.”