BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference voted unanimously on Thursday to extend invitations to the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas to join the league effective July 1, 2025.
Competition will begin in all sports for the 2025-26 academic year, the conference said.
The league’s 14 presidents and chancellors voted unanimously to extend invitations to both schools, and the universities are expected to formally accept the invitations on Friday, AL.com reported.
Officials with both schools had submitted formal requests on Tuesday to join the SEC.
Oklahoma and Texas are members of the Big 12 and have storied football traditions. Both schools have large fan bases and can help the conference score large television ratings.
>> Texas, Oklahoma formally request admittance to Southeastern Conference
Texas most recently won a national football title in 2005, and won the first Big 12 conference championship game in 1996, Sports Illustrated reported. The Longhorns also won the conference title in 2005 and 2009, according to the magazine.
Oklahoma has advanced to the College Football Playoff four times. The Sooners have won the Big 12 championship for the past six seasons, according to KOKI.
Both schools issued a joint statement on Monday, saying that they intended to remain in the Big 12 through June 30, 2025, ESPN reported. That is when the league’s current media rights deal expires, the sports network reported.
The last time the SEC expanded, in 2012, the league also admitted two Big 12 schools, adding Missouri and Texas A&M, AL.com reported.
By adding Oklahoma and Texas, the SEC will become the first Power 5 “superconference” with 16 teams, the website reported. That was attempted in 2010 by the Pac-12, which tried to add Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Colorado. That effort failed, AL.com reported.