The Southeastern Conference wrapped up its 2026 Student Athlete Advisory Council meeting in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 6-7. Each SEC school, aside from Auburn, sent two representatives — the majority sending one male and one female — for a total of 29 student-athletes to wear their school’s badge at the conference.
Texas sent women’s beach volleyball sophomore Vivian Johnson and Texas football sophomore offensive lineman Brandon Baker to represent the Longhorns in Alabama. Baker recounted the experience in a recent LinkedIn post.
“I spent time with student athletes from every SEC school across a wide range of sports and had the chance to meet leaders who play a major role in shaping college athletics, including SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Assistant Commissioner Misty Brown, and sports broadcaster & author Lauren Sisler,” Baker wrote.
A relevant point of discussion in past meetings revolved around boosting ratings for women’s sports. The inclusion of female student-athletes, such as Johnson, has proven to be useful when examining data over the last few years.
Diving into beach volleyball, the SEC has become the most-watched conference within the sport. According to Volleyball Mag, the conference averages 190,000 viewers per match — a 36% increase from 2024 following conference realignment.
“With our additions, Oklahoma and Texas coming in, we have the opportunity to be a volleyball conference,” Sankey said in a 2025 interview with ESPN.
As Texas continues to establish its presence in the conference, the university has garnered more opportunities to contribute to conference-wide discussions. While much of the focus surrounding the Longhorns’ arrival has centered on media exposure, the impact extends beyond television ratings.
A core mission of the SAAC is to address the day-to-day realities of being a student-athlete, including challenges introduced by conference realignment, with travel emerging as one of the most significant adjustments.
For programs like Texas football, competing in the SEC introduces longer road trips, expanded schedules and added physical and academic demands that representatives like Baker are positioned to help address at the conference level.
According to Bookies.com, during the 2025 college football season, Texas traveled 9,077 miles, the most in the conference. Texas nearly doubled the travel mileage of Texas A&M, which traveled 4,848 miles, despite the schools being 105 miles apart from each other.
In the past three seasons, the program with the most mileage the previous season is brought back down to conference average. Having a Texas football representative at the SAAC ensures that Texas will have its opinions heard regarding travel.
Additional topics at the meeting included student-athlete health and wellness, academic balance, life skills and leadership development. Similar to Baker, Johnson stated the importance of the meeting in a recent LinkedIn post.
“This experience reinforced just how impactful the student-athlete voice truly is and how meaningful our role can be in driving positive change,” Johnson wrote. “Grateful for the opportunity to learn, lead, and represent Texas on such a powerful platform.”
The council will look to utilize the solutions discussed in the SAAC by these 29 students to build towards improvements for the conference’s student athletes.
