UT and OU to the SEC? A Longhorn’s Thoughts

All right, I come from a different time. The Southwest Conference ruled supreme in my youth. Kern Tips’ radio broadcasts, the Cotton Bowl on January 1, colorful pennants representing Texas, Rice, SMU, Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Arkansas and TCU hanging from a line at the local Humble gas station, cartoons of the mascots drawn by Bill McClanahan and featured prominently in the Dallas Morning News sports section—those were the days. Sentimental as I am, I realize the SWC had two fatal flaws. First, it was overly Texas-centric. Second, there were too many private schools. In fact, Oklahoma and Oklahoma A&M (Oklahoma State) were founding members. L. Theo Bellmont, brainchild of the SWC, had wanted Louisiana State and Mississippi to join as well, but they declined. Things might have been different, as you see.

The breakup of the Southwest Conference is too painful to recall again. What I wrote about it can be found here: https://richardpennington.com/2016/07/i-miss-the-southwest-conference/. Frank Broyles’ Razorbacks apostasized and went to the Southeastern Conference in 1991, and UT, A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor joined the Big 8 to create the Big 12 four years later. This was a shotgun marriage. Although I was pulling for it, the conference had inherent problems. The Aggies eventually fled to the SEC (followed by Missouri), Nebraska joined the Big 10, and Colorado went west to the PAC-12. Adding a remote entity like West Virginia was an act of desperation.

So now I read that Texas and Oklahoma, the two heavyweights of the Big 12, are also going to the SEC. My opinion on the matter, when combined with 3,700 won, will buy you a cup of café latte at the shop down the street. (I did predict it, however: https://richardpennington.com/2018/11/attendance-at-2018-ut-kansas-game-bad-news-for-the-big-12/.) I am 7,062 miles from Birmingham, headquarters of the Southeastern Conference. Given that my diploma from UT was awarded some 45 years ago, I am not of any favored demographic. Nor do I write checks with lots of zeroes. I do not understand these big-time maneuverings, and really I do not care to understand them. I say so because I stubbornly adhere to the quaint notion that universities are supposed to be about education, not sponsoring sports programs that are professional in all but name. The tail wags the dog.

Before discussing the Longhorns’ and Sooners’ eastward shift, I should say a word about the Ags. Athletic relations between the University of Texas and Texas A&M University go back to 1894 and are quite deep. If there has been antagonism between students, alumni and other fans, I say there is mutual respect as well. While some of my A&M friends will not appreciate me saying so, we were and still are the flagship institution of the state. Choose any algorithm you like, and UT almost always comes out on top. Most of the west Texas oil money goes to UT, not A&M, which does seem unfair. As for head-to-head football victories, the Horns have 76 and the Ags 37; there have been 5 ties.

A&M left in 2012 for financial reasons. SEC member institutions got more money than those in the Big 12, not that the latter was at all skimpy. The Aggies were making a declaration of independence—from us! They were saying emphatically that they wanted out of the shadow of UT. Speaking only for myself, I was surprised if not disbelieving. The assumption a decade ago was that the UT-A&M bond was too strong to break. Whether they remained in the Big 12, went to the SEC, the PAC-12, the Big 10 or conceivably the Atlantic Coast Conference, they would stick together. The Aggies went, and they have thrived. Never again will I doubt the maroon and white. I cheered in 2012 when they beat Alabama and Johnny Football won the Heisman Trophy.

The talks between UT, OU and the SEC have been going on for six months, although the secret was well kept until late last week. The non-denial denials were unconvincing, and it looks like this is a fait accompli. A&M’s athletic director, Ross Bjork, got his feelings hurt and insisted there was a gentleman’s agreement among SEC schools that would permit the Ags to veto the move. He quickly abandoned that notion and is now taking a more macho pose, insisting that the 12th man tradition will show those Horns and Sooners.

If the A&M people are smirking, they have the right. Here we (along with Oklahoma) are following in their footsteps. Who, they are surely saying in College Station these days, is big brother? With 71,109 students, it is now the second-largest school in the country. UT (51,832 and number nine) knows all too well that size does not equate with excellence and has done all it can to limit enrollment.

Above all, this is about money and power. UT and OU are behemoths in the college football landscape, and they bring a lot to the table. They are not exactly coming hat in hand. Of course, the SEC is happy to expand to 16 members with eight in its east and west divisions. UT has been losing the recruiting battles for a long time (many of the best Texas high schoolers have gone to Norman, as you surely know). I can just imagine how those jilted Big 12 members feel. The conference may splinter or survive, but as a lesser light.

It remains to be seen whether the Horns and Sooners will be lame-duck members of the Big 12 for four more seasons or they go now. An immediate departure will not be cheap. They will have to pay a reported $78 million as a severance fee, according to agreements set up in large part by Texas and Oklahoma. While that number looks huge, it is manageable in light of the SEC’s lucrative media deals. Consider also that in the 2018-19 fiscal year (last before the COVID pandemic), the UT athletic department had $224 million in operating revenue—more than any other school in the country.

With the exception of Vanderbilt, the SEC is made up of academic lightweights. And Vandy, the weakest of weak sisters, went 0-10 in the 2020 season, so the Commodores clearly offer nothing in terms of football. UT? Call it snobbery if you want, but we have gravitas. Consider our $31 billion endowment (almost exactly double what obtains for the current 14 members of the SEC, added together) and 540,000 living alumni. We are by any measure among the best public schools in the country. Sure, we let in plenty of jocks who don’t really belong on a college campus, but the situation is by no means as scandalous as at, for example, Alabama. The Crimson Tide has won six national titles since 2009 and come very close several other times. But damn, how many Rhodes Scholars have emerged from Tuscaloosa? Or Baton Rouge or Starkville or Athens? I could name others.

Things are changing and fast. In light of a recent Supreme Court ruling, the NCAA has adopted a fundamentally different stance on name, image and likeness (NIL) issues. Some of the top college athletes have already signed deals bringing them thousands of dollars. One reported case, Bama’s quarterback Bryce Young, has topped a million bucks. There is a connection with this and realignment, as decision-makers in Austin and Norman think they would lose out on recruits if they are not playing in the top league—the SEC.

If the Horns and Sooners go, there will be repercussions in other conferences. The rich will get richer, and good luck to the poor. I have resided in Korea since late 2007, and I like it very much. I must strain to imagine myself attending another college football game. I used to live and die with this stuff, but not any longer. Time and distance have provided a degree of perspective. Nevertheless, I will undoubtedly pay attention when the Aggies come back to Memorial Stadium or the Longhorns visit Kyle Field.

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