DALLAS — Everything is bigger in Texas, even college football these days.
The arrival of the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners into the SEC has elevated two of the sport’s biggest brands and supercharged the nation’s top football conference.
“When you look at the Jordan brand, SEC and the OU logo, it’s amazing,” said Oklahoma star linebacker Danny Stutsman, an alum of Winter Garden’s Foundation Academy. “It all comes together. OU’s OU, but now it’s just gotten one step bigger.”
The SEC staged its Media Days this week in Dallas, the first time the league has ventured west of the Mississippi River since the event began in 1985.
Commissioner Greg Sankey’s bold move to plant a flag in the Lone Star State put the SEC newcomers center stage and drew hundreds of additional media members.
“It’s time to update your expectations for what college athletics can be,” Sankey said during his annual address to kick off Media Days.
The Longhorns and the Sooners arrived in Dallas eager to reap SEC spoils.
“It brings more lights, it brings more cameras, more attention,” said Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman Jr., who joined Stutsman on the preseason All-SEC first team. “By us going to the SEC along with Texas, that’s a lot of exposure right there.”
The conference has dominated college football, producing 11 of the last 15 national champions — six since the four-team College Football Playoff began in 2014.
Alabama, Georgia and LSU are the only SEC schools to reach the playoff, but Oklahoma has four appearances — more than anyone but the Crimson Tide (8), Clemson (6) and Ohio State (5). Meanwhile, Texas qualified in 2023.
“The SEC is all about football,” Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold. “Their fans are all about football — and OU’s are the same way.”
Given the new additions and league’s competitive depth, the expanded 12-team playoff will be a boon for the SEC.
Eight teams or more could land in the preseason Top 25. A season after finishing 10-3, Oklahoma was picked by league-wide media to finish eighth in the expanded SEC, which will no longer feature divisions.
“You think about our league, 12-0, 11-1, 10-2, some argue maybe even 9-3 [will qualify],” Gators’ coach Billy Napier said. “It’s a game changer. We thought our game was popular before. We’re going to engage more people than ever in the history of the game.”
Sankey welcomed Texas and Oklahoma in July 2021 with the future in mind.
New experiences and challenges await the two programs.
“It’s going to be new faces, new matchups, new venues,” said Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., the only Longhorns position player voted first-team All-SEC. “Just everything is gonna be able to boost it up because it’s a new experience for everybody.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Orlando Sentinel
