Regardless of which football programming format the SEC adopts, count Texas and Oklahoma as annual rivals.
A year ago, Texas and Oklahoma officials spent their spring league meetings in Irving as veteran members of the Big 12. No offense to the Metroplex, however, the view of UT and OU, of white-sand beaches and a crystal clear Gulf of Mexico, will be a little bigger this spring.
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday at a rally at the Associated Press Southeast Region Sports Editors Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, that the Longhorns and Sooners will be available for this year’s SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida. End of May.
Last year, UT and OU participated in meetings via teleconference from Austin and Norman, Okla. , respectively. The 12 large cows are expected to officially register with the SEC in the summer of 2024 and play an SEC football schedule later this fall in a format to be determined.
The big favorite for a football schedule turns out to be a nine-game format with 3 opponents annually, allowing for a program like Texas A.
The format of 8 matches is an annual opponent consistent with the year. From now on, this would mean UT vs. OR and A.
Sankey said at the APSE collection held at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in front of the SEC offices that such long-term planning decisions require time to reach a conclusion that is for the league and its 16 members in the long term.
“We’re talking about replacing, and as I said last year, probably in this very collection, we were close to making a resolution (but) that the opportunity to collect more data was vital and relevant,” Sankey said. “New data can replace people’s perspectives, so we’re having a completely evolved verbal replacement so far (and have) provided a lot of data individually, in small teams and teams of full members.
“We will continue to do so as we move forward with the fact that Destiny is a point of resolution. “
The league is also continuing to investigate to find the most productive way to cater to enthusiasts who raid a box or box after an emotional house win. Since then, it has done little to deter the house.
For example, enthusiasts rushed to the stage in Tennessee and LSU last season after those programs’ wins over Alabama.
“The fact that the race is happening on the court means that good design has not solved all our problems. I think he’s reduced forays into the box or on the court,” Sankey said Monday via Tuscaloosa News. “Does just expanding the fine solve the problem? When you have an impulse point around thousands and thousands of people, you have to be careful. And there’s a sure track record in crowd control that suggests you’re cautious. Organization that is still looking for ideas.
“I asked them to stop by and take a look at more ideas. I would expect some point from the upgrades early next year, one of which is an increased expectation of security around the away team when those forays into the box occur. “
Sankey also asked about the SEC’s lack of black football coaches in 2023. The league’s last black coach, Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason, was fired after the 2020 season. About two-thirds of school football players are black.
“We had occasions where 3 of our 14 at the time were from underrepresented African-American teams in football training,” Sankey said. “Now we have one of Hispanic descent (Zach Arnett from Mississippi) and no African-American football coach. It targets decision makers on campus.
“We have expectations in terms of communication and attention from a varied group of candidates. It happens, but decisions must be made. It’s a source of attention. “
After the SEC’s spring meetings in late May, the league’s next big occasion is the SEC Media Days in mid-July, which will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, for the first time. The Media Days were scheduled to be held in Nashville in 2021, however, they were moved to the same previous host in Hoover, Alabama, that year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Atlanta hosted SEC Media Days in 2018 and 2022.
UT and OU coaches and players may not be attending SEC Media Days this year, of course, because they still have one year left in the Big 12, of which they have been members since 1996.