Oklahoma to Join the SEC? How it Could Affect the Florida Gators
In the last few days, a very interesting rumor has continually floated to the surface that the University of Oklahoma has interest in ditching the Big 12 Conference for the SEC.
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What seems to be giving the rumor strong legs to stand on is that multiple media outlets and personalities are reporting that the move is more likely to happen more than ever.
First it was AOL’s Kevin Scarbinsky who detailed in length how Oklahoma’s President David Boren has made more and more noise about his unhappiness with the Big 12.
Then it was Fansided’s Mike Dyce who documented that ESPN’s Colin Cowherd thought a Big 12 collapse could happen in the near future, with Oklahoma packing its bags to the SEC and Texas going to the Pac 12.
Even SEC stalwart Paul Finebaum jumped into the fray on Twitter with his own interest in the idea.
While the thought of Oklahoma joining the SEC leads to imagined, enticing matchups and even stiffer completion in an already stacked conference, what exactly does this mean for Florida?
For sake of not getting overly complicated, let’s stick to how this would shape the Florida football program more than anything else.
Realignment
The most immediate impact of an Oklahoma-SEC transition is the realignment of teams within the SEC.
If geography still matters to the SEC (which is appears that it does) than the most likely home for Oklahoma would be within the SEC West.
That in turn would bump schools like the University of Alabama or Auburn University, two of the most likely candidates for a move based on location, to the East (imagine having to play one of those schools every year Gator fans).
Tougher SEC East
With another acquisition to the SEC East comes a more difficult opponent for the SEC Title for UF.
Whether it’s Alabama, Auburn or maybe even another Big 12 acquisition like Kansas, it all just means another hurdle the Gators have to climb over for the division crown, the conference championship and the National Championship.
In 2014, the SEC East only had two schools with a winning percentage of .600 or better in football ; the SEC West had all but ONE school with an above .600 winning rate.
New pipeline of recruits
One positive aspect of an Oklahoma SEC-relocation for the Gators is that all a sudden, there seems to be a new pipeline of recruits that are available for the SEC and for Florida.
Florida no longer has to compete with an SEC-Big 12 rivalry when recruiting high school prospects, since in all likelihood, a Texas-Oklahoma jump would spell the end of the Big 12.
In 2014, the SEC East only had two schools with a winning percentage of .600 or better in football ; the SEC West had all but ONE.
It isn’t all peaches and crème for the Gators though, as those prospects in Oklahoma are much more likely to stay in-state or join a different SEC West school, rather than traveling 1,263 miles to the Florida border.
Essentially what I’m trying to say is that there isn’t much of a benefit for the Gators when it comes to Boomer Sooner joining the SEC.
Yes, the conference will bring in even more revenue and profit for the schools that are already there but the on-the-field prospects don’t favor UF.
Still, having the chance to watch two legendary programs battle it out on a much more consistent basis has to have fans of both schools drooling.
Count me in as one of those fans.
What do you think? Does the prospect of Oklahoma joining the SEC excite you? Let us know!