= National Brand

Texas had some good years under DKR and won a Natty under Old ButterTooth but they just pale in terms of Natty's to Alabama or Oklahoma

The rest of the SEC just can not exploit similar brand power

If you ask most of the country to name the 5 biggest football schools, my guess is it looks something like this ...

Alabama = #1 in the South (ACC and SEC country)
Ohio = #1 in the upper midwest (B1G country)
Oklahoma = #1 in the southern midwest (Big 8 / SWC / Big 12 country)
Southern California = #1 in the Far West (PAC country)
Notre Dame = #1 nationally with heavy concentration on the East Coast

I think now the Sooners are not the abused wife of the nutless cow college in TX they will blossom as they can not only exploit their football brand but all the other sports they compete in.

MCBB = #2 or #3 in their previous conferences with Natty's
WCBB = upper tier in their previous conferences
Baseball = will be the closest SEC school to Omaha now
Softball = they hold the WCWS in OK every year

Even back in the 2010 realignment they probably fit the SEC sports profile better than any other candidate discussed including both TX schools. I know it is hard to accept for fans of the TX schools but it is the truth as seen by a neutral view outside the confines of the TX state line.

The 2 TX schools have proved all the money in the world does not assure Natty's and conversely a school like UK can compete without unlimited money or enough in state recruiting talent.