The conference’s commissioner fessed up to one mistake that he made when working to add the two football powerhouses.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey admitted earlier this week that he could’ve done a better job at communicating with the rest of the conference’s member schools about the high-profile additions of Oklahoma and Texas last summer.
“I didn’t communicate effectively. I’ll own that,” Sankey told the Houston Chronicle on Thursday night.
Sankey and the SEC shocked the world last July when news broke that Oklahoma and Texas planned to exit the Big 12 and make way for the SEC. The conference extended an official invitation on July 29 and the board of regents at both schools voted to accept the following day, making the move official.
The whirlwind process finished just a week after reports leaked out the Sooners and the Longhorns were looking to form the first 16-team ”superconference.” To ensure that the move came off without a hitch, the SEC’s current member schools were left mostly in the dark.
Although speculation has swirled that Oklahoma and Texas could join their new conference ahead of the previously approved 2025–26 school year, Sankey maintained that the SEC plans to honor the original start date. The commissioner confirmed to the Chronicle that the Sooners and Longhorns are still scheduled to officially join the conference on July 1, 2025.
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