Steve Sarkisian is preparing for his first season as an SEC member. The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners will join the conference this summer, before to the fall college football season.
Texas finished their final Big 12 season on a positive note. The Longhorns defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 Championship Game and advanced to the College Football Playoff.
While the Playoffs did not finish the as supporters had wanted, the season was nevertheless successful. In 2024, Texas will have Quinn Ewers back at quarterback, along with several more enticing weapons on the opposite side of the ball.
Sarkisian talked on the early steps of rebuilding Texas in an interview with SiriusXM on Wednesday. From the start, he intended to build a club capable of competing with the best college football schools on a weekly basis. Sarkisian hoped to establish a team that could win national championships as well.
“When I took the job, I met with Chris Del Conte and Jay Hartzell, our president, to discuss what was needed and how it would be built. “You discuss your plan,” Sarkisian stated. “And I said then that we’d have to construct a squad that could compete with, and eventually beat, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. Because those are the perennial teams playing in the last four games. That’s the goal at Texas: to win a national title.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and president Jay Hartzell questioned Sarkisian about the requirements for relocating to the SEC. Sarkisian had Texas on track by then.
“So, when they informed me that we were heading to the SEC, they asked, ‘So what needs to change?’ I said, ‘Nothing.’ Because that’s what we were already preparing for.” Sarkisian said.
Texas’ first game of the season will be against Colorado State on August 31. It will play its first SEC game against Mississippi State on September 28.
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