For the third time in modern history the SEC has now expanded again, and the most talked about college football story of the offseason has reached a next step.

A landmark moment in the history of the SEC, and college sports across the board, the presidents across the SEC voted unanimously on Thursday to extend membership invitations to Texas and Oklahoma in a move that has been expected for more than a week.

The move is effective July 1, 2025, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2025-26 academic year, the SEC said in a statement announcing the move.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey communicated the invitations to the respective presidents of the two universities following today’s videoconference meeting of the SEC’s Presidents and Chancellors. The meeting was convened after the two universities submitted separate requests for membership invitations to the SEC on Tuesday.

“Today’s unanimous vote is both a testament to the SEC’s longstanding spirit of unity and mutual cooperation, as well as a recognition of the outstanding legacies of academic and athletic excellence established by the Universities of Oklahoma and Texas,” Sankey said in a statement. “I greatly appreciate the collective efforts of our Presidents and Chancellors in considering and acting upon each school’s membership interest.”

Today’s actions are within SEC bylaws that state that if at least three-fourths of its 14 member institutions vote to approve, they can move forward with such a move.