Columnist claims Oklahoma fans 'overwhelming support' move to the SEC
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops has made a career of poking fun of the SEC. Judging by recent statements made by Berry Tramel, a columnist for The Oklahoman, Stoops may want to be careful doing so in the future when he’s speaking to his Sooner fan base.
In Tramel’s opinion, Oklahoma fans are eager to jump the Big 12 ship for smoother sailing in the SEC. However, considering the Big 12’s grant of rights deal will be in place until 2025 (which would penalize any school that decides to leave the league by retaining the television rights to its football and basketball games until the expiration of the deal), don’t look for that to happen anytime in the near future.
Despite that deal currently holding the Big 12 together, Tramel indicated that Sooner fans have their eyes on joining the nation’s premier college football conference. During a Wednesday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show, Tramel stated Oklahoma fans would eagerly make the switch from the Big 12 to the SEC.
.@BerryTramel says OU fans are done with the Big 12.
“They are ready for the SEC & it’s fairly overwhelming. It’s wide support for the SEC”
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 10, 2017
It’s worth noting that Tramel recently wrote Oklahoma would preferably stay in the Big 12, however, the school is eager to see what direction the league evolves toward competitively in the future. If given its choice which league to join — in the event that the school decides to leave the Big 12, Tramel stated his belief that Oklahoma would join the Big Ten or the Pac-12 before joining the SEC.
While the Big 12 is clearly seen as the weakest football member of the Power 5 conferences heading into the summer, should Texas regain its status as a nationally relevant program and OU stay among those same ranks, public perception would likely change in a hurry for a league with two potential national title contenders annually taking the field.