Recently there has been a trend of a number of NCAA universities leaving their current conference to chase greener pastures and establish a super conference.

The Sooners shocked the sporting world when they announced in July 2021 that they had accepted an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Originally, the Sooners, along with the University of Texas, had made an agreement to leave the Big 12 move to the SEC July 1, 2025, once their partnership with the Big 12 expired, allowing them to depart without financial penalty.

According to ESPN, Oklahoma will be joining the SEC in 2024, a year earlier than originally planned, after paying the Big 12 approximately 50 million dollars along with an additional 50 million dollars from the Longhorns in withdrawal fees. 

The combined 100 million dollar exit fees for the two schools is a negotiated lower sum than the original exit fee of a combined 168 million dollars that Oklahoma and Texas would have had to pay according to CBS Sports.

The Sooners planning to switch from the Big 12 to the SEC, caused a social media outcry, leaving many fans wondering what exactly the future would hold and what exactly motivated this decision.

According to ESPN, if the Sooners joined the SEC, the conference could attract higher media fees, given the marketing muscle of each school, especially in the popular sports of football and basketball.

With Oklahoma and Texas’s exodus to the SEC, many of the remaining BIG 12 universities voiced their anger and resentment toward the two universities.  

The remaining Big 12 universities such as Oklahoma State University have a proud tradition which has a rooted history of excellence that they feel has stood the test of time and should not be easily forgotten because of the chance to earn more money according to CNN.

To fill the void that the University of Oklahoma and Texas have left in the Big 12, the conference decided to reach out to other schools and extend invitations to join the conference.

Fortunately for the Big 12, four universities answered the call to join the conference in the upcoming 2023-24 seasons.

These universities include Brigham Young University, Cincinnati University, Houston University, and the University of South Florida.

This move by the Big 12 was a catalyst for the Sooners and Longhorns to ultimately decide to leave the Big 12 earlier than expected and pay the withdrawal fees according to CBS Sports.

With the addition of the Sooners and Longhorns, the SEC will now consist of 16 different universities.

ESPN has established an agreement with the SEC for media rights to the conference’s weekly matchups.

Adding the Sooners to the SEC will provide access to high-value games for ESPN’s Saturday afternoon and prime-time slots during the college football season, which many fans cannot wait to experience. 

The Sooners have produced a high volume of NFL prospects, and since the college football playoffs were established in the 2014-15 season, they have participated in 4 of the last 9.  

The Sooners ranked number 9 among the top 10 schools with the most college football national championships, currently at a total of 7.

The main question for many Sooner fans is why did Oklahoma decide it would be in their best interest to switch conferences, and will they continue to remain as dominant as they once were?

The answer may be as simple as to earn more money and to help provide their programs with a more competitive conference allowing them to excel at higher levels, but as for the dominance, the fans must wait and see.