The main stated purpose of them going to the SEC, as spoken by their President and AD when it was announced, was to get away from UT and forge their own path.
I hate the pod idea. I can already see issues with 3 potential unbeaten SEC teams in the pod scenario. Who would play in the SEC Championship game if that were the case? The most logical idea would be to move Alabama / Auburn to the east division, flip Missouri to the west along with OU / Texas. The league should move to a 9 game schedule as well.
And that they did. I don't think this suddenly changes the narrative and makes it like TAMU's leadership is just following UT around like a little brother. Now TAMU gets UT brought to heel as a true peer, gets to enjoy their revenue, AND gets to play them every year. Sounds good to me.
only time will answer that question, but they lose the 'only texas team' in the SEC. looking forward to playing them again regardless, there's no real sense of excitement vs TCU regardless if they beat us.
How so? They didn't achieve their primary objective in all this, which was to forge a future independent of UT. The SEC historically had an informal agreement that new schools wouldn't be brought into the conference without the consent of schools already in that state (I think that's one thing that prevented them from inviting Clemson/FSU), and A&M was probably relying on that to keep UT out. UT got to make more money the last decade than A&M (thanks to LHN) and now when it seems like the SEC might start generating a ton more revenue, they jump over and cash in. I think UT is ridiculously arrogant and should have gone to the Pac12 when they had the chance, and I'm not particularly excited about moving to the SEC, but it does seem like UT is getting its way every time and A&M is not.
As a Longhorn, I would tell you that they absolutely won the breakup. But this is like your ex showing up all of a sudden, moving into your house, eating all your food, playing with your kids, etc...all while they knew the entire time but didn't bother to tell you.
2 interesting realignment notes today. - There is a lot of talk out there the SEC won’t sit idle at 16 members. On Saturday IT heard Greg Sankey wants to run and set rules for NIL — essentially doing away with the NCAA — and create a platinum conference (if you will) of 60 teams. This is similar to what IT heard earlier in the spring. (Inside Texas) - BIG only interested in adding AAU members. Kansas is the only AAU in the Big 12 outside of UT.
Pods are okay if you also include locked-in rivalry games if you're not in the same pod. It will make for some tough schedules but this is where we're at now. Playoffs will be bigger soon. Just deal with it. Wipe the tears with money.
This is the natural result of the NFL refusing to create a farm or minor league and just pawning the responsibility off on schools. Cardale Jones was a visionary and truthteller. You can't go picking and choosing nice to have games with a Pod system, it breaks the whole thing. Prepare to say goodbye to some rivalries. Or at least see them downshift to just normal pissing contests.
Because you weren't supposed to go there just to play football, you were supposed to go there for school. Football was secondary. Which is reality for 99% of everyone that plays college sports. Further, what you gonna do AFTER pro sports? THAT is what you should be going to school for, even if you are in the 1%. He wasn't a visionary and truthteller...he was clueless. Probably one of the reasons he didn't last long in the NFL. He's a pretty good poster for those advocating they NEED the school part. Now, that said, for SOME (a very very small number) does that apply? Maybe. Does the NFL use colleges as their farm system? Absolutely. Why pay for something you can get for free? But far too much attention is paid to the 1% or fewer, and not enough on the other 99%. Playing college athletics is a privelege. For all but a very very very few, they are more than well compensated for their contributions, via scholarships. Rather than b*tch about the system, Cardale would have been better off embracing it, and getting all he could out of it. That attitude is probably a reason he didn't stick anywhere, or even in the NFL, for very long.
Great post, thanks! Would like to see similar analysis on how they enhance the SEC revenue enough to make a compelling case for joining. Not that I think they don't, but would like to see the analysis. How much does the SEC benefit from their joining?
Think goodness A&M got out before UT/OU left. Feel bad for the Big However Many Are Left. Don't really see how the remnants are of any consequence going forward regardless of who gets added to the conference, assuming it isn't just dissolved.
Now that Texas is gone, what are the chances Nebraska would want to come back to the big 12? Or Colorado even. I don’t like these big super conferences. I rather emphasize non conference games.
