Oklahoma football: One year ago today, Sooners accepted invitation to join SEC

Given all that has happened in the world of Oklahoma football over the past year, it seems much longer ago that the Sooners move to the SEC became official.

Although OU and Texas, unusual partners in this land rush out of the Big 12, have not — and so they say — may not officially switch conference allegiance from the Big 12 to the SEC for several more seasons (their current media rights agreement in the Big 12 does not end before 2025, but no one truly believes the Sooners and Longhorns will be part of the Big 12 in 2025), the two schools were officially accepted as future members of the SEC one year ago today, on July 30, 2021.

Since that time, Oklahoma started the 2021 season with two quarterbacks who, at different points in the season, were considered Heisman candidates and a head coach who began the season with 45 wins and four consecutive Big 12 championships under his belt in four seasons at the helm.

None of that was in place at the end of last year. Lincoln Riley turned his back on OU, electing to take the head coach’s job at USC, and both of the former five-star quarterbacks mentioned previously also ended up leaving town on the transfer train.

Brent Venables returned to Oklahoma, replacing the departed Riley, after a decade-long stint at Clemson as arguably best defensive coordinator in the country. Venables hiring was widely accepted within Sooner Nation. After all, he was one of OU’s own, having served 13 seasons on the staff of Bob Stoops.

It wasn’t just Riley who bolted Norman, however. He also took half of the coaching staff and several top players.

With all of that going on since that last Oklahoma football game was played, it seems like OU’s impending move to the SEC is now not much more than an afterthought.

To be perfectly honest, Oklahoma first showed its cards regarding a potential move away from the Big 12 over a decade ago when the Sooners explored the possibility, along with three other Big 12 schools, of leaving the conference to join the Pac-12. That move never got much traction, but it became clear to the rest of the Big 12 that its two biggest brands and moneymakers — OU and Texas — were less than enchanted about the future of the Big 12.

Financial considerations aside, Oklahoma’s departure from the Big 12 is a much bigger deal from a historical perspective than the loss of Texas. Although the history of the OU-Texas sports rivalry dates back well over 100 years, the two schools have only been part of the Big 12 since 1996. Oklahoma, on the other hand, has been a member of the Big 12 and all of its previous iterations (Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Big Six, Big Seven and Big Eight) for 102 years, dating back to 1919.

The only thing now left to be decided is when Oklahoma and its hated Red River rival officially take their ball and become full-fledged members of what most everyone believes to be the strongest football conference in the college game.