HOOVER, Ala. — The presidents of the Southeastern Conference voted unanimously to approve the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas to join the conference on Thursday.
Oklahoma and Texas notified the Big 12 Conference earlier this week that they would not be extending a grant of media rights agreement past its 2025 expiration date.
On Tuesday, the two universities formally requested invitations to join the Southeastern Conference, beginning July 1, 2025.
The addition of the two schools would move the conference to 16 schools.
There is no word at this time as to which of the two divisions of the conference each team would go to.
The University of Arkansas has a long history with Texas, with both schools competing in the now defunct Southwest Conference from 19-15 until 1991, when the Razorbacks jumped to the SEC.
You can read the letter from the SEC below.
The Presidents and Chancellors of the Southeastern Conference on Thursday voted unanimously today to extend membership invitations to the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas to join the SEC effective July 1, 2025, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2025-26 academic year.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey communicated the invitations to the respective presidents of the two universities following today’s videoconference meeting of the Conference’s Presidents and Chancellors. The meeting was convened after the two universities submitted separate requests for membership invitations to the SEC on Tuesday, July 27.
“Today’s unanimous vote is both a testament to the SEC’s longstanding spirit of unity and mutual cooperation, as well as a recognition of the outstanding legacies of academic and athletic excellence established by the Universities of Oklahoma and Texas,” said Commissioner Sankey. “I greatly appreciate the collective efforts of our Presidents and Chancellors in considering and acting upon each school’s membership interest.”
Today’s actions are in accordance with SEC Bylaw 3.1.2, which authorizes the Chief Executive Officers of the Conference to extend invitations for membership if at least three-fourths of its 14 member institutions vote to approve.
Herb Vincent, Associate Commissioner, Southeastern Conference
