Oklahoma Officially Joins the SEC: Brent Venables Sends a Strong Message to Fans

At the stroke of midnight, Oklahoma officially became a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Prior to joining the SEC, known for its dominance in college football with 13 of the last 18 national championships, the Sooners were already one of the sport’s elite programs.

OU head coach Brent Venables, formerly the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach under Bob Stoops during some of the best Sooner squads, inaugurated Oklahoma’s new era on Monday with a message of maintaining their tradition of excellence.

“This program defines excellence. It defines success,” Venables told fans at the “Wake Up In the SEC” event at Mother Road Market in Tulsa. “In sports, probably the best quality you can have is consistency. We’ve been one of the top two or three programs in the history of college football.

“This is a program that takes a back seat to nobody, and we’re incredibly excited about this opportunity.”

OU and Texas officially became the 15th and 16th members of the SEC on Monday. Venables, joined by coaching legend Barry Switzer and others, kicked off a series of all-day festivities that will culminate at Memorial Stadium in Norman.

“What excites me most about this transition to the SEC is the incredible alignment — starting with Oklahoma — and the amazing leadership … elite-level success, championships, strength and honor, integrity,” Venables said. “Oklahoma stands for these values, and now we’re aligning with the SEC, which represents the same.

“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We have a season ahead of us. Our focus is on daily improvement. If our players can improve individually, then we as a team and program will get better and be ready to compete. The level of competition in the SEC is incredible, offering a great opportunity for us.”