Oklahoma football: OU’s game-day environment, ‘Palace” good fits in SEC
By Chip Rouse
There’s no denying that the Texas and Oklahoma football programs are the big dogs in the Big 12 Conference,
The Longhorns are the fourth and fifth winningest programs in college football history, their brands are iconic in college football, and the size of their athletic budgets and football stadiums are the biggest in the Big 12. But by 2025, if not sooner, these two blueblood football programs will become full-fledged members of the Southeastern Conference.
The two schools are kingpins in the Big 12, but how will they fit in the SEC, widely considered the best and strongest football conference in terms of the quality and reputation of the teams, stadium size and overall game-day environment? Many have likened the transition from going from the Big 12 to the SEC as like going from being a big fish in a small pond to becoming a smaller fish in a big pond.
As an example, since 2000, Oklahoma has won the Big 12 championship 14 times. Six other conference teams have won it three or fewer times. In the SEC by comparison, Alabama has won eight conference championships since 2000, LSU five and Florida, Georgia and Auburn three times each.
Darrell K Royal Stadium in Austin (100,119 capacity) and Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (86,112) in Norman are the two largest football venues in the Big 12. The next closest is Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State, which holds 61,500. which is close to the average capacity of the 10 Big 12 football stadiums.
In the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma will be fifth and ninth, respectively, in terms of seating capacity. The average SEC stadium seats 80,262 fans. Four current SEC stadiums hold over 100,000 fans, almost double the size of every Big 12 school not named Texas, Oklahoma or Iowa State.
Texas A&M’s Kyle Field is the largest in the SEC (fourth largest in college football) in terms of seating capacity at 102,733, but not by much. Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium has a capacity of 102,455, LSU’s Tiger Stadium 102,321 and Bryant Denny Stadium at Alabama 101,821.
Everything may be big in the state of Texas, but in the SEC things like stadiums are not only bigger but the whole experience more grandeur. The schools in the SEC not only pack them into some of college football’s largest facilities– seven of the largest college stadiums reside in the SEC — but also boast the most festive Saturday game-day environments.
Of all the teams in the Big 12, Oklahoma and Texas are probably the only teams that even come close to matching the atmosphere that is created in the SEC on football Saturday.
In addition to their expansive size, a number of the SEC stadiums have nationally recognized nicknames. There’s “Between the Hedges” at Georgia, “The Swamp” at Florida and LSU’s “Death Valley,” to highlight the more recognizable names of the lot.
Tradition is a huge quality among the schools in the SEC and football has always been the centerpiece of the conference’s sports calendar. And there are very few teams that bring more historical success, tradition and national fan bases in the sport of football than Oklahoma and Texas.
The bottom line is: All things considered, the Sooners and Longhorns are better fits in the SEC, especially in football, than in the Big 12.