How Texas, Oklahoma would have voted in SEC football schedule debate
After a ton of speculation and debate on what would happen, in the end the SEC kept things status quo, electing to play an eight-game conference football schedule without divisions starting in the 2024 season when Texas and Oklahoma make their historic move into the league.
Those two football powerhouses didn't have a vote on the schedule as they're not officially members of the SEC just yet, but that didn't keep decision-makers at both schools from having an opinion, and making it known to their future partners.
How would Texas and Oklahoma have voted if they had the chance this time around? Both were apparently in favor, hoping the SEC would adopt the nine-game schedule, according to college football insider Brett McMurphy.
Had the two schools been able to vote on the measure, however, it still may not have passed. Insiders with knowledge of the situation say that the nine-game schedule had support from Georgia, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, and Missouri.
If so, that would have given the nine-game schedule seven votes in total, still a minority against the nine other members who voted for the eight-game slate.
And that's even with the reported support of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who, while he has kept his opinion to himself during the process, is believed to have been in favor of the expanded nine-game conference schedule.
But things could change next year. While the SEC voted to keep the eight-game format as is, Sankey said that the vote was for a one-year schedule for the 2024 football season, with plans to address the issue again after that.
That gives Texas and Oklahoma, and their comrades on the nine-game side of the aisle, a year to sell the idea of adding another SEC game to the football schedule to the other members.
(McMurphy)
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