Oklahoma and Texas officially joined the Southeastern Conference on Monday.

Here’s what SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, OU athletic director Joe Castiglione and OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said about OU’s move during a press conference Monday:

Sankey’s thoughts on OU officially joining the SEC

“This day has been almost three years in the making. As President Harroz said, I think for both sides knowing the change that’s happening around this. My first meeting with our presidents and chancellors in October 2015, I just provided a description of decisions they may have to make in the future. One of those being around conference membership movement and how do they think through those issues. I really respect the way President Harroz and (Texas president Jay Hartzell) both positioned to how we would approach this transition respectfully and orderly.”

“That brings us today where we are a 16 member conference. We are no longer 14 waiting for two. We are at 16 and it’s a personal point of pride to be here today to (officially) welcome the University of Oklahoma into the Southeastern Conference.”

Sankey on what Oklahoma could do for the SEC

“They have a clear expectation of excellence I think complements our current members. The national championship achievements in the notion that a rising tide lifts all ships. Setting the expectation in our league that Pat Summitt established in women’s basketball. The fanbase was an important part in our athletics director’s conversation.”

“You look at facilities as you drive around and see the softball stadium that’s been built, I think that sets a new standard in some ways. We have great facilities across our league and I’ve heard plans for other activities. I think one thing they do bring is we need to put last names on name plates in our meetings now, but they bring an elevation of expectation and a new set of challenges that bring a new community. The people here have the opportunity to visit new communities.”

Castiglione on the financial aspect of OU joining the SEC

“If anybody’s been paying attention, you know that the expenses in college athletics are going up much faster than the rate of new revenue. We have to find new ways to generate revenue. When we were looking at the world going forward, it wasn’t about where we were that day or where we might be in two or three years from that point forward. It was where we were going to be in 2025 when television contracts would change.”

“One of the ways the Big 12 started thinking and basically created an incentive to talk to us about an earlier departure one year earlier. We’re very excited about what that will mean for our program going forward and understanding some way shape or form those things we saw eight-10 years ago are happening before our eyes and they’re complex. We’ve created a stability and at least a model for stability by partnering with the SEC and being a member and for what we can do to help make the SEC itself stronger.”

Harroz on what went into the move to the SEC

“We did a studied deep dive into what does the future look like for college athletics. For all the thinking that went into that, there were two conclusions that we reached that governed all of it. The first conclusion was the University of Oklahoma must be a place where we’re able to compete for championships on a regular basis in all of the sports. The second of those two critical criteria for us was that we wanted to remain among the handful of athletic departments in the country with universities that weren’t subsidized that didn’t take money from the students or other sources to run. Being self-sufficient matters to us a great deal for a lot of reasons.”

“We realized that for us in the particular position we were in, that if we did not make the move to the SEC, the date for that subsidy would be [as early as 2027, 2028 and 2029]. The move for us was thoughtful and strategic and recognize the reality of intercollegiate athletics and what it is. We stand at this moment that’s very exciting, and we love the tagline for the SEC. It just means more.” 

OU celebrated its move to the SEC on July 1 by hosting Party in the Palace. Everyone was invited to experience the transition to the new conference.

Filmed & edited by Cassidy Martin

OU celebrated its arrival to the SEC with the second-ever Party in the Palace event, including a drone show.

Watch the full show:

Filmed by Cassidy Martin

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