The day has arrived. Texas and Oklahoma are now members of the SEC, completing the move that kicked off a wave of realignment in college sports.
After the move was official, the SEC shared a video welcoming the new teams to the league, which now features 16 teams and won’t have divisions in football.
“It’s time to update from 14 deep to 16 strong,” the narrator said over a cut-up of highlights from SEC teams in various sports. “And upgrade your expectations of what college athletics can be. It’s a whole new ball game in the SEC.”
The video began with clips from the teams that had been SEC members, before transitioning to include the Longhorns and Sooners. It prominently showed the likes of Vince Young, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray among others.
The news of the impending realignment was first announced in 2021. As a response to the move, the Big 12 added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida, Arizona and Arizona State.
Texas and Oklahoma’s move set off a shockwave elsewhere as well. The Big Ten announced he additions of Southern Cal and UCLA first, before picking up Washington and Oregon as well, all moves that took effect Monday.
With the Big 12 and Big Ten’s moves, plus the ACC poaching Stanford and Cal, the Pac-12 was effectively destroyed, having been left with just Washington State and Oregon State.
Alabama will travel to Oklahoma in football this season. Auburn will host the Sooners.
