Will Texas & Oklahoma dominate SEC Media Days 2023? Longhorns and Sooners' impact & CFB conference realignment

As the SEC Media Days 2023 is set to kick off tomorrow, there's a lot of contemplation on which issues will dominate the discussions. Fans are looking forward to the latest on issues like who'll emerge as Georgia's starting quarterback for the season.

There is also the issue of Tennessee's NCAA violations and sanctions. Texas and Oklahoma's move to the SEC is expected to be a big topic at the SEC Media Days. This is despite the fact that they will compete in the Big 12 this season.

The arrival of these two teams will feature prominently in speeches and media interviews at the SEC Media Days. Their initial expected date of arrival shifted from 2025 to 2024 and now their first set of SEC opponents has already been revealed.

Away from SEC Media Days, how does Texas and Oklahoma's arrival impact the SEC?

Fans understand Texas and Oklahoma's move to the SEC was not essentially inspired by sheer curiosity or a search for new sporting experience. Money played a big part in the move. SEC's open arms of welcome were not motivated by altruism either.

Yes, there'll be a more competitive SEC with exciting matchups like Texas vs Georgia and Oklahoma vs Alabama happening often. But if this did not mean more money, the deal wouldn't have materialized.

A CNBC article from July 2021 projected a stunning increase in the annual TV revenue of each school when they move to the SEC. The increase was projected to be from $34 million in the Big 12 to around $60 million in the SEC.

Around the same period, a sports analyst with USA Today predicted the SEC could start earning as much as the NCAA with the arrival of both schools.

On the other hand, the Big 12 has had to deal with instability after the schools announced their plans to exit. It was immediately faced with a need to find replacements for the schools. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF were added, but at a cost.

The remaining legacy teams agreed to a revenue dilution to cover this cost. Texas and Oklahoma's rescheduling of their departure provided the Big 12 extra revenue cash they could use to compensate its legacy members.

Oklahoma and Texas’s moves triggered another phase of conference realignment in college football. The Big 12 plundered other conferences to find replacements for Texas and Oklahoma. Pac-12 also lost two of its powerhouses, USC and UCLA to the Big Ten and has been struggling to get a media rights deal.