Oklahoma will celebrate Senior Day before the Sept. 19 home game against New Mexico, moving the tradition up from its usual spot before the final home game of the season.

Head coach Brent Venables announced the change Aug. 31 during his first weekly coach's show of the 2026 season, according to Stormin in Norman. He said the team's leadership council, a group of nine captains, asked to shift the ceremony away from the Nov. 21 Texas A&M game, which could carry College Football Playoff implications.

Three captains drove the decision.

Fifth-year quarterback John Mateer, a Washington State transfer and Heisman Trophy contender, threw for 2,885 yards and 14 touchdowns last season while adding 431 rushing yards and eight scores. Fifth-year center Jake Maikkula has started 26 games between Oklahoma and Stanford and anchors the offensive line. Sixth-year linebacker Owen Heinecke, who began his college career as a lacrosse player at Ohio State before walking on at OU, earned Second-Team All-SEC honors in 2025.

Venables said the captains "asked if we could … do it early in the year, so we just tried to find a window that would fit." He added that the program needed time to notify families and handle logistics before honoring the seniors.

He called the senior class a priority all season. "It's a big deal to be a senior, especially in this day and age," Venables said.

Both the No. 10 Sooners and No. 8 Aggies entered the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. The Nov. 21 matchup will be the first time the programs have played in Norman since before the 2013 Cotton Bowl, according to The OU Daily. OU holds a 19-12 advantage in the all-time series.

The shift comes despite a strong track record on Senior Day under Venables. His teams are 4-0 in the ceremony's featured games, with wins that include his only Bedlam victory in 2022, a 69-point performance against TCU in 2023, an upset of Alabama in 2025 and a win over LSU that clinched a College Football Playoff berth last season.

The Sept. 19 New Mexico game was originally designated as OU's "Stripe The Stadium" game. Whether the two promotions will swap dates has not been announced.

OU opens the 2026 season Sept. 4 against UTEP in Norman before traveling to Michigan on Sept. 12. The Sooners return home for the New Mexico game the following week.