![Auburn football Head Coach Bryan Harsin shakes hands with Commissioner Greg Sankey in the main media room in the Hyatt Regency during SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., Thursday, July 22, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]Sec Media Days Auburn](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/7517ec31d944e1f5bee220de8b076f913fc275b4eb7040c06e0fce1cd3961749.jpg "Auburn football Head Coach Bryan Harsin shakes hands with Commissioner Greg Sankey in the main media room in the Hyatt Regency during SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., Thursday, July 22, 2021. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]Sec Media Days Auburn")
Change is coming to the world of college sports, and Auburn football cannot escape it. Players have begun announcing NIL endorsements left and right, and now the news has surfaced that the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns will be joining the SEC.
Though the Big-12 teams have announced that they’ll remain in their conference until their grant of media rights expires in 2025, it’s very possible that both schools could be on SEC schedules as early as 2022-2023.
As a man who hails from out west himself and who has experience with both of the soon-to-be SEC newbies, Auburn football’s first-year head coach Bryan Harsin is not shaken by news of a conference realignment. From 2011-12, Harsin was the Longhorns’ co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, meaning he has experience with both UT and the Sooners.
In Coach Harsin’s opinion, the arrival of two schools and teams with such big brands says a lot about the quality of the SEC. He talked about what they bring to the conference with the press this week, per Tom Green:
"“That is big news,” Harsin said. “You know, that’s something that I think says a lot about the SEC. It’s really what it does, and — you’ve got two really good programs that have done well for themselves. I was at Texas, so I got a chance to experience that and that brand, and then obviously had the chance to play Oklahoma and watching them over the years. I think it says a lot about the conference. I don’t know all the details of it, but we’re going to welcome them in, and we’ll certainly be seeing them like we have already on the recruiting trail and things like that. When it’s time go out there and compete against them, I think it’s going to make the conference — the SEC conference — better.”"
For Harsin, it means that his debut to the SEC will be tough and next year it could be even more difficult. With the recruiting class of 2022 shaping up nicely, Auburn football should be in good shape to welcome the Sooners and the Longhorns to the conference.