Sports

Oklahoma in passenger seat to join college football super league

Stormin in Norman · Jul 21, 2026 14:26 · 3 min read

Oklahoma in passenger seat to join college football super league — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sooners in great position no matter what the SEC decides

The Oklahoma Sooners switched leagues just over two years ago, and yet another major move could already be coming soon.

During his opening remarks at SEC Media Days on Monday, conference commissioner Greg Sankey revealed there have been real conversations among those in charge about whether the SEC should break away from the NCAA in the midst of all this chaos the organization seems unable to control.

ESPN's Heather Dinich went as far to say that the chances of this happening are "very real" and it's been a serious discussion since February. By the end of Day 1 of SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida, the possibility of a "super league" being formed became the most heated topic.

"People have talked about that," Sankey said. "The frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different. I do not believe that is a leverage point. I think that's honest communication."

The tipping point in the SEC seriously considering this groundbreaking move seems to be the Protect College Sports Act, a bill designed to transform college sports, as it feels far from organized with all the rapid changes and unenforced rules. Right now, the SEC does not support the bill and won't until there are a few changes the conference wants. The SEC had "10 commonsense suggestions" to improve the bill and make it something the league could get on board with.

"There is meaning and value that we participate in a national organization, but that national organization must function in a healthy manner, otherwise that simmering will continue," Sankey said.

One of the main talking points among frustrations was all these legal battles for players to earn eligibility and NCAA eligibility rules seeming to have no actual bearing or even really make sense.

Most recently, former Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby was caught up in gambling allegations but was eventually granted eligibility by a local judge. It was a decision Texas Tech obviously supported, and it took the rest of college football coming together and turning against the decision for Sorsby to ultimately be released from the program and deemed ineligible, which has always been the rule.

Sooners in great position no matter what the SEC decides

Obviously, Oklahoma is also familiar with this process, but in a much different situation with linebacker Owen Heinecke, who was out of eligibility until a judge in Norman granted him another year. That decision worked out in the Sooners' favor, but it all transpired amid confusion about who the NCAA would grant extra eligibility to.

The 5-in-5 age-based rule has since been adopted to give athletes five years of eligibility once they enter college and essentially erased redshirts with a few stated exceptions. Heinecke wouldn't be eligible under this new rule. Although it might seem unfair, at least there would have been an understanding, and similar athletes wouldn't have been granted eligibility while Heinecke was not.

In the end, the SEC just wants order and is fed up with the chaos that Oklahoma has dealt with firsthand.

Overall, though, no matter how this plays out in the end, the Sooners are on solid ground thanks to that move from the Big 12 to the SEC just over two years ago.

The SEC is driving this bus to a possible super league and the Sooners are already onboard instead of hoping they get picked up along the way like the likes of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will now be wondering. And if the NCAA remains intact with the SEC, that means hopefully more order to the chaos and the Sooners still being part of the conference running the show.