The Southeastern Conference officially announced Friday that it will grant membership to the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas starting on July 1, 2025.
The announcement comes after both universities submitted a bid to join the SEC on Tuesday. All 14 member universities’ boards of regents voted to extend invitations to the two schools during a meeting on Thursday, and both Oklahoma and Texas’ respective boards of regents officially accepted the invitations on Friday.
“This is an important moment for the long-term future of the Southeastern Conference and our member universities,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said in a news release. “Oklahoma and Texas are outstanding academic institutions with two strong athletics programs, which will add to the SEC’s national prominence. Their additions will further enhance the already rich academic, athletic and cultural legacies that have been cultivated throughout the years by our existing 14 members. We look forward to the Sooners and Longhorns competing in our Conference starting in the 2025-26 academic year.”
This marks the SEC’s first expansion since 2012, when Missouri and Texas A&M were added to the conference. The SEC had previously added South Carolina and Arkansas to in 1991, and will add at least two more schools to its ranks in the 2025-26 academic year.
It is possible, however unlikely, that Oklahoma and Texas could join the SEC sooner than June 30, 2025, when the current Big 12 media rights deal expires. On Monday, Texas and Oklahoma issued a joint statement saying that they intend to remain in the Big 12 through the end of the media deal.
But if Oklahoma or Texas did want to leave the Big 12 early, it would have to pay a penalty of anywhere from $75 million to $80 million to break that agreement, or hope that the Big 12 dissolves all together before the contract expires. It is still unclear what the remaining eight institutions in the Big 12 plan to do once its two golden geese leave, so a complete dissolution is definitely on the table.
Tennessee’s chancellor Donde Plowman released a statement welcoming both universities to the SEC, expressing confidence that Tennessee will be better off with the inclusion.
“I am pleased to welcome the Universities of Oklahoma and Texas to the Southeastern Conference,” Plowman said. “The SEC is special – with fierce competition at the highest levels of college athletics, and a team spirit when it comes to collaborating in support of our students and student-athletes. Including universities of this caliber on our SEC team will push all of us to be better.”
Tennessee Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Danny White echoed Plowman’s welcome and looks forward to the new rivalries and competition that will come as a result of the conference’s expansion.
“From a proud charter member of the Southeastern Conference, and the city in which the league was founded, the University of Tennessee welcomes Oklahoma and Texas to the most powerful and competitive conference in intercollegiate athletics,” White said. “This is an exciting time for all SEC fans as we develop new rivalries in the years to come, expand our league’s footprint and continue to elevate its unrivaled student-athlete experience.”
