Texas and Oklahoma will join the SEC on July 1, in what could be the most momentous move to revamp college football in recent memory. Commissioner Greg Sankey says both schools are a perfect fit for the conference's identity and passion.

And although “It Just Means More” was a slogan coined for an SEC commercial years ago, it was that very philosophy that made OU and Texas such a good fit.

“It goes back to a conversation between the athletic directors,” Sankey said recently on the SEC Network.

“Scott Stricklin of Florida was talking to us years ago about potential new members in general and he said, 'You have to apply the 'it just means more' test'” when it comes to considering expansion candidates.

Sankey added: “So, on a campus and in an athletic department, a university, does what they do as an athletic program meet those kinds of expectations that we have? Obviously, [Oklahoma and Texas] Do.”

In football, Texas and Oklahoma are proven winners and high-caliber national teams. Combined, the rivals have won 11 national championships in the sport and produced nine Heisman Trophy winners.

They also compete each year in one of the most intense rivalries in college football, the Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, which will draw even more attention to the SEC.

“It’s interesting to travel around the country, and I hear from fans of the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma how excited they are,” Sankey said.

“Two weeks ago, I was on a plane in Syracuse, New York, with a Gator fan and a Georgia fan who both said they were excited about the future because they're both playing Texas this year. I think that's a sign they passed the excitement test.”

Texas is playing some of the SEC's better conference games this season, hosting Georgia on Oct. 19 and Florida on Nov. 9 in Austin. The team also faces historic rival Arkansas on Nov. 16 and Texas A&M for the first time in over a decade in the season finale.

Oklahoma welcomes Tennessee and travels to Auburn in late September before playing away games at Ole Miss and Missouri. The team closes with a home game against Alabama and an away game at LSU.

These are tough statements for the conference's newest members, but both have taken on the challenge, an attitude that Sankey believes makes them ideal members of the SEC.

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