Auburn football and the entire SEC have a wealth of possibilities coming with the likely addition of Oklahoma and Texas to the conference.
The two Big 12 powerhouses were connected to the SEC at the end of last week and the news was soon followed up by even more rumors that a pair of historically dominant duos from two other Power Five conferences–Clemson and Florida State of the ACC, and Ohio State and Michigan of the Big Ten–could soon follow.
Those are much less concrete rumors than the seemingly imminent eastern swing of the Red River Showdown’s interstate rivals, though.
Yesterday, the Big 12 held a press conference to salvage the relationships. It doesn’t appear much has changed from it, according to ESPN’s Dave Wilson:
"Big 12 sources told ESPN’s Heather Dinich they are still expecting Oklahoma and Texas to formally notify the league on Monday that they don’t intend to extend their existing media rights deals with the conference, which expire in June 2025. While that is the first formal step toward exiting the conference, it also leaves open the possibility that both schools remain in the Big 12 until the deal expires. It’s a possible legal strategy, one source surmised, that would supersede the reality of the fractured relationships it’s bound to cause within the league."
Some key points: the fractured relationship with other member schools and unchanged intent of Oklahoma and Texas to notify the Big 12 that their deal is not once they want to continue pursuing.
Assuming the Sooners and Longhorns end up being SEC-bound, let’s assess the winners and losers from this arrangement:
Winners: The SEC West
One would assume it would be the SEC West that would bring on Texas and Oklahoma considering their geographical standing. That means that Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, and Auburn football would all gain marquee matchups with two programs that have won a National Championship since the turn of the century.
That is unless…
Winner: Auburn football
That is unless Auburn football ends up in the SEC East as a way to balance out the conference. If you look at a map, the Plains lies east of where Tennessee, Missouri, and Vanderbilt all sit, so they kind of already have a case to be in the SEC East.
The Tigers’ second biggest rival behind Alabama is Georgia, and the Iron Bowl would obviously go nowhere with the realignment. A move to the SEC East would make for a much easier regular season, a welcome change given Auburn’s current situation of owning one of the nation’s toughest schedules.
But even if AU remains in the West, who is against Jordan-Hare Stadium one day hosting Texas and Oklahoma with relative regularity?
Exactly.
Winners: The Red River Showdown
Last time I checked, there is no longer a Big 12 Network. I hate to be petty like that, and I wish it returned. But I say that with the point to convey that the Red River Showdown itself would benefit from this move.
Beyond the obvious on-field ramifications, the two schools will now be part of the most collectively passionate conference in the nation between all of its member schools. They’ll also have more coverage and a production team that will spruce up their presentation and product.
The ESPN machine supports the SEC the most. That’s a very underrated perk of it all just meaning more in the SEC.
Loser: Texas A&M
The Aggies are not happy that Texas and Oklahoma are seemingly following them after TAMU escaped the two in 2012 during the last SEC realignment. There is now a frayed relationship with the conference, but it is not one that will cause the two to terminate the partnership.
Instead, Texas A&M wants to appear ready. Too bad the damage may be done and that may be a tall task after their public displeasure with more local and familiar competition returning to the picture.
The Aggies are rumored to be the one school likely to veto the OU/UT move, meaning they will go down as the one team that was against what could be the first major step towards a mini collegiate sports monopoly for the SEC.
Wanting to not have in-state competition is a loser’s mentality, even if they no longer hold that stance.
Losers: Other Big 12 member schools
The true losers we want to focus on here are the schools that will be losing their biggest games on the calendar should this OU/UT exit one day be finalized. West Virginia, Texas Tech, Baylor, TCU, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State (not the two P5 Kansas programs) will all undeservedly lose their biggest cash cow contests.
This move may lead to even more exoduses from the Big 12 if there isn’t a bold and cohesive plan to move forward past the losses.
Losers: College football purists
College football is starting to look pretty unfamiliar to longtime fans. The Big 12’s death would be jarring and signal that the times are rapidly changing.
Optimistically assuming the conference survives, it’s going to be a much different power balance across the country. The sport as we know it would be drastically different.
Ohio State and Michigan (and to a lesser degree FSU and Clemson) following Texas and Oklahoma’s collective lead would be the death knell to what we know as normal.