Skip Johnson addresses Oklahoma's future SEC move

The Oklahoma Sooners will face off against the Ole Miss Rebels in the 2022 College World Series. Down the road, this match-up will likely be a yearly contest as the Sooners will join the Rebels in the SEC by 2025. During a recent press conference, Oklahoma skipper Skip Johnson addressed the move to the SEC and what it means for the school.

“The SEC is a lot like — the baseball programs are a lot like our football program. It’s incredible. Looking forward for the opportunity,” said Johnson.

“I love the Big 12. I’ve been in the Big 12 for a long time. It’s great. We decided — we had the best athletic director in the country. We decided to go to the SEC, that’s great. We’re looking forward to the opportunity, looking forward to playing against all those great teams.”
“I know it’s a big environment. It’s going to be great for our kids, good recruiting tool. Not that the Big 12 hasn’t been.”

The SEC was well represented in this year’s College World Series. Of the eight teams to make it into the College World Series half, four, of them were SEC teams. But that’s not to say the Big 12 wasn’t a strong conference. The Texas Longhorns, along with the Sooner, represented the Big 12 in this year’s College World Series.

“We’re here today representing the Big 12, and I said it this morning on ESPN Radio, like, man, you look at West Virginia, they could be sitting right where we’re at. Our conference was a really good conference this year, and it has been for the last 15 years that I’ve been in it.”

Johnson said it best in his closing thought about the move. It’s not a better or worse step moving forward, just a new one.

“We’re just looking forward to the opportunity, and going to the SEC is a new step moving forward. And college baseball is changing, and we’ve got to continue to grow. At one time, baseball was the national pastime, and we’ve got to continue to grow in that area because the game of college baseball, it’s about the spirit of the game, and you get up there, and you hear “Boomer Sooner,” people screaming and yelling like they have here, that’s what’s incredible about it. It’ll raise the hair on your neck. That’s what it’s about. It’s a passion that those guys put into it.”

Unless the Sooners agree to a buyout with the Big 12, they will join the SEC in 2025. As of now, it looks unlikely that either Texas or Oklahoma will leave the Big 12 earlier than that. So for now, the Sooners can say they beat the SEC ‘BEFORE’ they joined them, especially if they knock off the Rebels in the College World Series Final.