Current:Home > StocksDon't believe Texas is ready for the SEC? Nick Saban does. So should you. -ProfitSphere Academy
Don't believe Texas is ready for the SEC? Nick Saban does. So should you.
View
Date:2025-04-13 07:29:45
Texas isn’t quietly slipping into the SEC through the side door and observing the room before opening its mouth. Of course not. If everything is bigger in Texas, that includes the mouths.
Texas entered the nation’s fiercest, richest, deepest and most boastful conference like a steer in a china shop.
“We’re not just coming to compete. We’re coming to win,” Texas school president Jay Hartzell said on the eve of the Longhorns’ entrance into the SEC.
You thought the SEC had some kind of ego? You haven’t seen the SEC with Texas yet.
“We believe the SEC is where we belong,” Texas board of regents chairman Kevin Eltife said recently.
I believe he’s right.
The SEC enjoys football, money and stroking its ego. So does Texas.
These birds of a feather are finally flocking together.
Some have suggested the SEC will rein in Texas’ ego. I disagree. The SEC will give Texas’ ego room to breathe. Think Dennis Rodman with the 1990s Bulls. Never did Rodman’s ego find a more accommodating home.
SEC sure seems giddy to have Texas Longhorns
The SEC bent over backward to welcome the Longhorns. Not even the queen receives a reception like this.
On July 1, the SEC’s league office tweeted an official welcome to Texas before posting a welcome to Oklahoma. The SEC Network posted up in Austin for a live broadcast before broadcasting from Norman the next day.
Can you tell who's playing second fiddle?
The SEC also chose Dallas as host for the conference’s media days, marking the first time the event has ever been hosted west of Birmingham.
As excited as the SEC is to have added blue-blooded Oklahoma, I sense that it’s especially thrilled to have nabbed Texas. Why? Well, Texas oozes revenue. It’s one of college athletics' richest brands.
But, also, maybe the SEC realizes Texas is poised to become one of the biggest, baddest, boldest programs in this big, bad, bold conference.
Nick Saban endorses Texas football
Even the GOAT respects the Horns.
Nick Saban used to command the Wednesday spotlight during media days. Now, Saban occupies the SEC Network set, and he praised the Longhorns prior to their turn on stage Wednesday.
Saban, the seven-time national champion coach, picked Georgia and Texas to meet in Atlanta for the SEC championship game.
Saban saw firsthand the strength of Steve Sarkisian's program last season, when the Longhorns whipped Alabama inside Bryant-Denny Stadium en route to a 12-win season.
Saban questioned how the interior of Texas' defense will hold up after it lost some important pieces from a unit that ranked 15th nationally for scoring defense last year. Otherwise, Saban approves of Sarkisian's roster.
"I really like Texas," Saban said.
Apparently, Alabama retained Saban on the payroll to feed Texas rat poison.
And what of Texas' influence off the field? Texas wielded the biggest stick at the Big 12’s decision-making table. Saban suggested that stick won’t carry as much thwack inside the SEC’s board room.
“They’re not going to run the SEC,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of arrogant people in a lot of places in the SEC, so they can forget all about that.”
Hmm, we'll see about that. I expect Texas' clout will remain mighty.
As for Texas' football team, Saban thinks they'll get on fine in their new digs.
“They’ll be a good team and a great program,” Saban said, “and Sark will do a great job.”
And Texas will become the SEC’s best addition ever.
Texas played a role in the Southwest Conference’s demise. Its overbearing grip on the Big 12 contributed to that conference’s yearslong distrust and dysfunction.
In the SEC, though, Texas’ bravado won’t be out of place. The Longhorns found a conference that will embrace their ample ego.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
veryGood! (32592)
Related
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Princeton student who stormed Capitol is sentenced to 2 months behind bars
- Tesla's Autopilot not responsible for fatal 2019 crash in California, jury finds in landmark case
- Australian police arrest host of lunch that left 3 guests dead from suspected mushroom poisoning
- 'No Good Deed': Who's the killer in the Netflix comedy? And will there be a Season 2?
- A magnitude 6.1 earthquake has shaken the Timor region of Indonesia
- Crowds gather near state funeral home as China’s former Premier Li Keqiang is being put to rest
- North Korea has likely sent missiles as well as ammunition and shells to Russia, Seoul says
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Executions in Iran are up 30%, a new United Nations report says
Ranking
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Pope Francis says he’ll spend 3 days in Dubai for COP28 climate conference
- Arrest warrant reveals Robert Card's possible motives in Maine mass shooting
- Corey Seager earns second World Series MVP, joining Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Meg Ryan on love, aging and returning to rom-coms: 'It doesn't stop in your 20s'
- Joe Jonas Reacts When CVS Security Guard Says He “Looks Crazy”
- Barry Manilow on songwriting, fame, and his new Broadway musical, Harmony
Recommendation
Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
Yes, they've already picked the Rockefeller Center's giant Christmas tree for 2023
Air ambulance crash kills 4 crew members in central Mexico
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion is out after team is docked first-round pick
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Robert De Niro yells at former assistant Graham Chase Robinson in courtroom as testimony gets heated
Man charged with killing Tupac Shakur in Vegas faces murder arraignment without hiring an attorney
Best states to live in, 2023. See where your state ranks for affordability, safety and more.