SEC expansion: motivations and cautionary tales

Football
1

Just a few thoughts on the Texas/OU to the SEC move now that the dust has (sort of) settled.

Texas – They won’t come out and say it. But the reason they are making this move is that they are tired of A&M dangling the SEC banner over their heads at every opportunity. I don’t think the move is about the money so much as about recruiting perception. So in that way, I can see why they want to make the move to the SEC. Ten years ago, this move would have been unthinkable with Bill Powers and DeLoss Dodds in control at Texas. However, I’m wondering if Sark is going to be around long enough to coach an SEC game at Texas given how quick programs have been these days to fire coaches.

Oklahoma – I am still a little puzzled as to why the OU administration is in favor of this move. Will there be more money than what they are making in the Big 12? Yes, but they’re not exactly in the poor house right now. Will having the SEC brand on your football program help you in some recruiting battles? Yes, but they’ve recruited well based on their dominance in the Big 12 and being in the CFP conversation every year. All the cachet and clout that they have built up as a program in the Big 8 and Big 12 won’t mean anything when they’re not playing the schools (Kansas, K-State, Iowa State, Okie State in particular) that they have feasted on for the last 80 years. Nebraska is a great example of how fast program prestige can fade when you’re in a new league with new opponents and all your program’s success was in another conference and against inferior programs. Brent Venables might be a great coach who has a lot of success at OU. But do the administrators at OU and the OU fanbase realize that he is taking on a different job (once they’re in the SEC) than Bob Stoops and Lincoln Riley had? They’re going to have to adjust their expectations or else they’ll find themselves chewing up coaches and spitting them out every 2-4 years when those coaches don’t live up to fan expectations; much like Nebraska, Texas, Florida, Florida State and (to a lesser extent) USC in the last few years.

2 Likes
2

To think that we were once offered an invite to the SEC and passed on it, how many championships would we have won in either football or basketball by now had we joined way back when, do you guys think?

4 Likes
3

I don’t think we were offered and I doubt we would have passed.

4

I heard that our acceptance into the SEC years ago was contingent on Texas A&M. It was a two team deal apparently with A&M being the main and most important piece.

A&M backed out for reasons I forget but it involved UT in some way.

Someone posted the news article here a while back that explained it well.

1 Like
5

That’s exactly what happened…A&M had accepted, we voted unanimously to accept that Friday. News conference scheduled for 10am Monday…
A&M crawfished Sunday afternoon, went back on the deal…

The Mafia found out where the safe house was, and well…you know…

And to answer the question, we would have geared up quickly, and I think we would have been very successful…

7 Likes
6

Houston football would be in a totally different situation today. Imagine the recruits from Houston that we could have pulled. The opportunities for national championships.

4 Likes
7

I’m glad Texas went to SEC, they will be bottom feeders for a long time unless of course they pull an A&M and spend millions of NIL money for recruiting!

They had a MUCH easier path to the CFP in the big 12, now they are finished we won’t have to worry about them for awhile

Now we have a path to CFP go Coogs

3 Likes
8

If there was a vote then it would be a public record and I’ve never heard of an official invite, just rumors.

If you can find the minutes to that vote that would prove it once and for all.

9

Moncoog is correct about this.

I remember rumors back then but I never saw or heard anything official from any reputable sources or journalist. Remember, this was pre-twitter so a lot of information was funneled through a few sources.

Until hard proof or records are provided, I believe the UH invite to the SEC is a bit of urban legend and nothing more. These things tend to happen in the wake of CUSA purgatory that we found ourselves in.

10

If the sec does expand , the big 10 could want us and another Texas school to mess with sec recruiting in Texas. Or we merge with the pac. I think we will be ok.

11

If memory serves me, we were invited twice. Back in the 70’s we were invited to both the SEC and the SWC. CBY pushed for the SWC because of the rivalries.

12

I served on the Athletic Advisory Board, and Rudy Davalos called me on Wednesday for the Emergency meeting on Friday at noon. We voted unanimously (11-0 I think). Stan Binion were the Board of Regent nominees…

You can ask Rudy if you like, or any of the Board members at that time…but that is EXACTLY what happened. I literally was in the room…

And by the way, records at UH were lost (around 2000…) digitally, hard copies, everything…Even donor amounts were gone.

So good luck with your FOIA search.

6 Likes
13

I don’t know where this talk of the SEC offering the Cougars started, but if you have proof please show us. It was not going to happen in the late '60s or early '70s because we had black athletes and it certainly wasn’t going to happen after we collapsed in the SWC and then got demoted to G-5…
Besides that something would have leaked to the press…didn’t happen

14

[OT: The Multiple Times Houston almost got Invited to the SEC - #27 by PhiSlamma]

We did have a thread about this last year. We were a powerful independent back in the 60’s. As far as the racial undertones, I remember Bear Bryant said he wouldn’t be the first school to integrate, but he wouldn’t be third either.

1 Like
15

Voted 11-0 for what ??

Wasn’t Davalos the AD in the late 80’s?

I’m confused. The only rumor I ever heard was that in the late 69 thereabouts, a$m approached the SEC about them and UH joining.

As I said, it was a rumor.

16

@montcoog said he was in the room during the UH vote in 1991. That’s about as first hand knowledge and primary source as there is.

The chronology fits. SEC wanted two teams to host a title game and after A&M/UH fell through, they went with Arkansas and SC. It’s an interesting story nonetheless!

5 Likes
17

Lol some of us are delirious. Show me written proof that the SEC ever wanted or even considered inviting UH. Nothing but silly rumors that no one ever wrote about publicly

1 Like
18

Why didn’t they go after Arkansas + Houston after Texas A& M backed out?

19

They already had Arky at that point.

20

One thing you can count on and there is a history of, Texas will do everything they can to undermine whatever program they see is in their way. Sometimes they spend more time doing that instead of focusing on their own program but the underhanded shenanigans between $$ people behind each program should be fun to watch. Texas doesn’t get their conference killer tag for no reason and Nebraska, TAMU and Missouri skipped town for a reason. The heartburn Texas will create within the conference will be felt by any and all of the top teams.

2 Likes