Nebraska and Colorado jump ship for better markets, otherwise known as demographics. UT threatens: Hail to Caesar (TV Deal or Walk). Big 12 could not call the bluff; UT got the TV Deal. A&M responds: You are either with us or against us! Gee, who do you think Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas are going to side with? Didn't take long for them to give a clear and resounding answer. So, out of pomp and circumstance, A&M announces their departure. Mission Accomplished!...right? Spoiler Wrong. Dead Wrong. The SEC is going to fall, as is the ACC because the Florida Three want their own conference. Do you think for a second that the last minute arrival of A&M is going to get their foot in the door over LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Tennesse, Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, etc? Probably not. Most likely not. Not. A&M is going to do one of two things: Go crawling back to the Big 12, licking UT's boot. or Form a conference out of the SEC and ACC scabs along with such up-and-coming football powerhouses North Texas, East Carolina, Tulane, Louisiana-Hyphenated, and many others.
While UT may be obligated to look after the state's other schools, the fact that they get to virtually run the show with the only caveat being they can't throw (all of) their siblings to the wolves isn't exactly a bad life.
It's funny that Cohete Rojo suggests the Florida 3 want their own conference when Florida apparently is fighting to keep the other two Florida teams out of Miami.
A lot of what you would expect given what has taken place. Going to evaluate our options. We are concerned about the remaining big xii (haha). Could certainly stay in the Big XII. Need to start looking at big XII bylaws and what it would take to get out of conference and that the A&M-UT T-Day game is big part of that discussion. Going to do what is best for Texas A&M. No timetable for making any decisions. Basically doing what is required to show that we have not made any decisions yet which is required to help the conference they go to not be sued. I think they are going to take this slow and go through the process necessary to make sure we know what the buyout is gonna be, etc. Once we officially ask the SEC for an invite, it will really be up to them how fast this thing goes. I think the SEC wants A&M to get a clean break from the Big XII before they go all in. Could be a difficult task, but A&M is obviously going to try.
Word. The Big 12 is reactionary. Weak. Umm... wrong. TAMU spoke up because it could. It doesn't care about UT, unlike the rest of the conference. Everyone else was following UT to the Pac 16, TAMU never cared about what the rest of the conference was doing, they were flirting with the SEC. They care about themselves, just like UT. TAMU & UT are the only schools in the conference looking out for their own dick. No they don't. Florida doesn't want FSU or Miami in the SEC as it is. Not sure what that means. If it comes back to the Big 12 it will be up there with OU and UT carrying the ****ty 10-team, joke conference. As for the other scenario, umm... maybe UT San Antonio.
My answer is yes to the bolded part. You have a BCS hopeful because you are in the Big 12, where only 3 teams are in the top 25 (including A&M). If you were in the SEC then odds are you wouldn't make a BCS game, where 7 teams are in the top 25 and 2 in the top 5. And Bama was only in that position because they had NCAA sanctions against them. With that being said, LSU did suck forever so maybe that is a better comparable. But even then they are clearly the #1 school in the state as far as getting talent. That isn't the case for A&M. I think A&M is clearly better than every Big 12 team but OU. I'm not sure they are better than half of the teams in the SEC.
I'd rather be the #2 recruiting school in Texas than the #1 in Louisiana... currently TAMU is #3 in Texas. The move to the SEC along with their current success could propel them ahead of OU. TAMU may also be looking at the long-term future. If the SEC goes +4, dominoes will fall. A 16 team super conference will force change -- the landscape wouldn't be the same for much longer...
The move to the SEC and more possible losing could also downgrade their recruiting. So could allowing other SEC schools a bigger footprint into the state. I think the odds are better in that regards than A&M suddenly turning it around in a tougher conference. But we shall see. Agree with everything else you said.
Either way, the bottom line remains -- for the Aggies, this move isn't about which conference is easier to win. That's UT's schtick.
UT's schtick seems to be working pretty well (recent success and arguably the top brand in college sports). But I wasn't even trying to go there.
Not gonna blame em. You do what's best for your program. I buy that. Just want everyone to stop impeding TAMU's desire to leave.
To clarify, the Big12 currently has 5 ranked teams (OU, OSU, A&M, Mizzou, Texas), 3 of whom are in the Top 10 right now.
A mishmash of all the latest, including a nonsense economic study and a new party getting involved: NCAA President. http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1252192 A Texas House committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday to discuss Texas A&M's possible move to the SEC was postponed because the SEC presidents put out a statement Sunday saying the league is happy with its current 12-team membership and took no action on Texas A&M. But the process for the Aggies to join the SEC continued on Monday as the nine-member Texas A&M System Board of Regents met in College Station and voted to give A&M president R. Bowen Loftin the authority to handle any and all matters relating to "conference alignment." Here's a recap of R. Bowen Loftin's comments fo the media after the board of regents vote giving him the authority to decide if Texas A&M will stay in the Big 12 or leave: --Went out of his way to say that he contacted Mike Slive of the SEC --It's not what's wrong with the Big 12 but what's right for Texas A&M. --A&M is seeking greater visibility for the school and its student-athletes. --Loftin feels no specific time pressure to arrive at a conclusion. --The SEC and other conferences are more stable (than the Big 12), and there has never been a bid from the SEC. --You don't make these decisions lightly or quickly. --He will take his time and is very concerned about the members of the Big 12. --And if A&M leaves the Big 12, Loftin still wants to play Texas on Thanksgiving Day. A&M sources close to the situation tell Orangebloods.com the Aggies expect to be announced as members of the SEC within the next three weeks. Those same sources said the SEC has indicated that the league will expand by four schools to 16. "It's not just an expansion planned to add one or two schools. The plan is to expand to 16 schools," one source locked into the A&M situation said Monday afternoon. "Those plans have not changed." Sources tell Orangebloods.com NCAA president Mark Emmert is expressing concern to SEC leaders about any plans to expand for fear of the instability it could cause in conferences across the country. Bob Williams, NCAA vice president of communications, told Orangebloods.com, "President Emmert has had conversations with a number of presidents and commissioners related to recent conference realignment issues, and these discussions mirror many of the topics raised last week during the DI presidential meetings." Meanwhile, an economic study conducted by Ray Perryman, an economist based in Waco, Texas, said if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12, but the rest of the conference remains intact, the decrease in business activity in the state would include losses of $217.2 million in output (gross product) each year and 3,050 jobs. The Perryman Group estimates that State fiscal revenue would be reduced by $28.2 million per year if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12, but the Conference survives. Losses to local governments would be $13.1 million per year. If Texas A&M was to leave the Big 12, sources in the Big 12 say the league would only expand by one school (to replace the Aggies). Notre Dame could be a top target to replace the Aggies based on comments Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds made last week. But if the Irish said no, Brigham Young would get strong consideration, sources said, along with TCU and Houston. Texas Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, the chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, has postponed a hearing looking into Texas A&M's possible move to the SEC because the SEC presidents on Sunday said they were happy with their current 12-team alignment and took no action on Texas A&M. Here is Branch's statement ... "The August 16, 2010 hearing of the House Higher Education Committee on collegiate athletics has been postponed. "Yesterday, Dr. Bernie Machen, on behalf of the Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, stated that the member institutions have, at least for the time being, reaffirmed their satisfaction with the ?present 12 institutional alignment.‟ "While events may continue to evolve in the coming weeks, at this time, there is no immediate need to evaluate the merits of an athletic conference reconfiguration involving Texas A&M University and, potentially, other Texas public universities. If the current situation changes, our Committee is prepared to convene. "The hearing was scheduled to allow a broader public evaluation of the merits of pending athletic conference reconfigurations, to provide more transparency to our citizens and taxpayers, and to encourage an outcome that best serves the state of Texas. The Committee's intent was to be responsive to a pending reconfiguration involving major public institutions of higher learning with wide-ranging implications; not to micro-manage individual university decisions or to presuppose a certain outcome. "As many of us have worked long hours over the last several days, I appreciate the spirit of cooperation and many efforts of our university leaders and regents affected by the recent events, especially those by the leaders of Texas A&M University. Texas A&M is one of Texas‟s finest public universities. It is a Tier One national research university of the highest order, steeped in historic and innovative traditions, both in the classroom and on the athletic field. Whatever her bright future holds, we all want an outcome that is in her best interest, the best interest of our other outstanding universities, and the best interest of all Texans." When it appears that Texas A&M to the SEC is heating back up again - and A&M sources say it will heat back up again - look for Branch to reschedule this hearing.
Missed those 2 so good catch. The point still stands though. Put A&M in the SEC now and they are not a favorite to reach a BCS game.
If this doesn't happen by the start of the season (Sept 4), my guess is that we are going to hear nothing until the offseason. Also, there have been people saying that A&M is 0-6 in the last 6 games vs. SEC teams so that is a strong indicator of how we'll do in the SEC. Well I'll just leave you with the nugget that Texas is 0-5 in their last 5 Little XII games so I guess they are really screwed?
Apples to oranges. One down year for Texas. The Ags haven't won a national title or played in 2 title games in recent years the last time I checked. Hell, they could have beaten Bama fairly easily if Colt didn't get hurt.
