The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners will be keeping the long standing Red River Rivalry matchup as is for the foreseeable future. In an era in which everything is radically changing, with conference realignment, and the transfer portal there have been a couple of consequences making college football fans unhappy. Between rivalries not carrying the same weight, and some even going away completely, this recent agreement ensures that one mainstay will be remaining .
Texas Longhorns Rivalry Matchup
This Red River Rivalry has taken place for over 100 years. Since 1932, the two schools agreed to hold the game at neither of the two campuses. Instead, they elected to play their interstate rivalry at the Cotton Bowl, the stadium site location of the Texas State Fair.
From a record standpoint, the Texas Longhorns are leading the overall series at 63-51-5. However, as of more recent the Sooners are dominating the rivalry, winning 17 out of the last 25 games since 2000. This game is usually a close score line of high entertainment value, as 12 of the games since 2000 have been one possession victories for the winner.
While both teams will now be playing in the SEC, it is likely that the game itself would have remained in tact in their new home conference. With this new agreement in ensures that the tradition of keeping the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl will remain until at least 2036 .
Texas Longhorns Impact of Rivalry Game
With the annual location renewal of the game, the agreement will have a large tangible impact for the local area. With other events moving elsewhere, including to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, it was important to the city of Dallas to keep this game.
According to the executive director of the Dallas Sports commission an investment of $140 million dollars will be invested over the next two years into renovating some of the more outdated features of the historic venue:
Widening those concourses, new restrooms, concessions stands, hospitality areas will be increased, and just really a lot of updates that the Cotton Bowl stadium has needed for a while but was critical for the state fair association and city of Dallas to be able to retain the Red River Rivalry all the way through 2036.
With the upcoming improvements it is expected that the Cotton Bowl will be able to be in a better position to bid to host other upcoming events, including the US hosted World Cup in 2026.
Texas Longhorns Meaning Of The Red River Showdown
While the economic impact of fans traveling to the Cotton Bowl is estimated to be in the millions, the game itself is always circled on the schedule. For a national program, your season success can be entirely measured based off of your biggest rivalry game.
For a program that will be directly competing against SEC talent, this could be a unique pull for potential recruits. During his tenure, Coach Mack Brown stated that players came to the Texas Longhorns program, or Oklahoma just for the chance to make a big play in this standalone spotlight opportunity. With all top programs being able to offer NIL deals, or media exposure, playing at the Cotton Bowl remains a unique potential pull factor for recruits.
Before the most recent game Coach Sarkisian said the following with the biggest grin on his face during the build up press conference:
The Red River Rivalry, it’s why we’re in football, to be a part of games like this.
While change can be good, and is needed to improve and evolve, it’s nice when some time proven traditions are able to withstand modern trends and impulses. For Coach Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, being able to call the Cotton Bowl home for one game out of the year will be a highly anticipated atmosphere to look forward to in the fall.