SEC Media Days kicked off on Monday and one of the biggest storylines of the week is the two new teams joining the conference. With <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/texas-longhorns/">Texas</a> and <a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/oklahoma-sooners/">Oklahoma</a> joining the conference ahead of a highly anticipated college football season.



Both iconic programs officially joined the conference a few weeks ago with celebration events on their respective campuses, which SEC commissioner Greg Sankey attended and discussed at media days in Dallas on Monday.



“So the Austin visit was June 30th. The first on my priority list is don’t be the last speaker between a crowd of thousands and Pitbull’s performance. So that was a non-advantageous position, and we won’t let that happen again,” Sankey joked.



“In both places, you saw the passion for their programs play out, and then in individual interactions while I walked around campus, even running on Sunday morning in Austin or Monday morning in Norman with a logo on and people doing a double take,” Sankey said. “It was fun to see in those communities displays of the SEC logo.” 



The college football landscape was rocked on July 27, 2021, when Texas and Oklahoma notified the SEC they were seeking an invitation for membership. Parting ways with the Big 12 Conference and knocking over the first domino in what would end up being a nationwide movement of conference realignment.



Since that day Sankey and the SEC have been working behind the scenes to prepare for the Sooners’ and Longhorns’ arrival. But all of the preparation and the fit of both programs became a lot more real on July 1. 



“At a leadership level to have a deep conversation about what the decision means for each campus and me talking about what it means for the conference,” Sankey said. “I learned more about drone shows than I thought I would know, given the performances at both places, and I learned that both clearly meet what one of our athletics directors called the ‘it just means more’ test.”



When it comes to college football, there’s no question that it does in fact mean more for both of the SEC’s new programs that match the conference’s motto. Two schools rich with history in football and beyond with some of the most passionate fan bases in the sport. 



“So that avid fan base that I spoke of earlier that is in backward-looking surveys, both Oklahoma and Texas bring that same type of avid fan base to a set of peer universities and peer athletic programs,” Sankey said.



“I also learned it’s hot in a tuxedo in Norman, Oklahoma, on a football field late at night in July.”



Along with one of college football’s greatest rivalries now joining the SEC, both teams have an exciting schedule against numerous new conference opponents. Serving as one of the most exciting aspects of the upcoming college football season that provides a ton to be excited about.

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Greg Sankey breaks down what he's learned about Texas, Oklahoma since joining SEC

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