Can we add some clarification here. Not giving up your right to sue is not the same thing as suing. I think most would be idiotic to give up their right to sue for nothing, especially a business entity. Carry on....
So can someone explain what the letter of indemnification from Baylor to the SEC means? Are they looking for money they're going to lose without A&M in the Big 12?
If A&M leaves, Oklahoma leaves, and Texas Follows OU and then the big 12 ceases to exist, No Big 12 means Baylor is no longer a BCS school. Which means millions upon millions of lost money.
I think the timing makes it more complex than that. Baylor, like everyone else, knew where this was all heading as far as A&M was concerned. At the very least, they knew about the conference instability going back to last week when OU made their ocmments. So why wait until hours before the final vote yesterday to say "oh wait, we don't give up our right to sue!" They knew the Big12 had sent a letter suggesting otherwise last week, so if that letter did not represent their view, why not raise their objections then? It seems me either something changed (meaning Baylor had planned to waive that right) or they were just trying to be asses about the whole thing. You'd hope it was the former - but that would mean that Baylor and everyone else had planned to give up their right to sue, the exact thing people are suggesting is idiotic.
If Oklahoma mislead the other big 12 schools into thinking they would stay it would seem to matter. All along, the schools had seemed to tow the company line that the conference could survive without A&M if OU stayed.
I think what changed is after presenting a unified front with the rest of the remaining Big XII members and saying that the conference would be just fine without A&M, a week later OU and UT were back talking with the PAC 10 again. A&M can't be blamed for that.
And Baylor can't be blamed for being ok when it looked like the conference would stay together and suddenly not being ok when it looks like OU and UT may leave. I'm not a lawyer but I can't knock a person for not giving up their right to sue....for nothing. That's just silly.
Certainly - and that could very well (and likely did) change Baylor's position. But all that happened last week, and the letter suggesting there would be no lawsuits was sent on Friday. So why did Baylor wait until yesterday afternoon before saying otherwise?
Baylor is screwed. They can sue all they want but all they are doing is getting a few more pennies in the Aggies departure payment. The Big 12 has guidelines for leaving and the Aggies will have to pay 10-20 million and they are gone.
For the millionth time, it's not just Baylor involved. Iowa State, KU, KSU, and maybe Missouri don't want to give up their right to file suit in the future.
I don't disagree in the least and never said otherwise. I whole heartedly agree with MadMax's points and sympathize with Baylor's position. Like Ziggy though, I'm ready for all of this to just be over. Regardless of what happens, it'll be interesting.
A&M's Loftin makes lots of fun, pissed off comments: (full articles at links) http://collegesportsblog.dallasnews...others-join-baylors-stand-texas-am-presi.html http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...p0FetQ?docId=78f2cf96edf146099b3ccad9ea53ac69 "It's like a marriage; if it's over, it's over," Loftin said. "We feel we're being kept against our will which we feel is very inappropriate." ... "It's very disappointing," Loftin said. "Who wants to be in relationship that's over and has no value for you?" ... "I felt that was really a violation of trust right there," Loftin told the AP in an interview. "We took this letter very seriously. We asked for such a statement. They gave it to us freely. It says here unanimous vote was taken and yet when we look at Beebe's letter last night it says: 'No we didn't really mean that,' and I find that to be rather difficult to digest." ... "We can argue how good we are compared to others, but I think we're replaceable," he said. "It was clearly stated to me by leadership of Fox that they felt like a school could be found and put in our place to satisfy their interests and therefore their contractual agreement would not be changed in any way. So we feel that was a good way to say that we would not be destabilizing the conference by leaving." ... "We believe we have no real future in the Big 12," Loftin said. "That's clear to us and how that plays out right now I can't really tell you. That's still actively being worked through. We really appreciated the support shown yesterday by the SEC leadership, a unanimous vote to let us in. But they're rightly concerned about themselves getting involved in extensive litigation that might distract them from their purpose as a conference and I can understand that." ... "Clearly for quite some time, one school has been specifically the one trying to both bring pressure on us politically for a while and now raising the threat of legal action," he said. "In fact even calling members of the board of the SEC directly and the commissioner of the SEC directly and speaking to them and leaving voicemails for them."
Those guidelines don't mean anything if there is evidence of some shady dealings between the SEC and A&M. The fact that the SEC wants all 9 schools to sign this waiver speaks volumes about what really went on.
Poor Aggies. They are hypocrites for backing out of the big 12, and are pissed off because the other schools are going to make them pay. Time to lawyer up!! They should probably get a non-aggie lawyer! This is just funny now.
Quite a reach. As others have noted, it speaks volumes that the SEC won't take them without the waivers, at least right now. The divorced colleges aren't the ones holding A&M back. That's like saying I want a divorce but I want you to give up all of the assets and the kids, and if you don't agree then you are holding me against my will. But it has value to the other parties. You can't expect them to just give that away for nothing. Unsure about the letter clarification but I think I agree in full here. That was quite shady. About as shady as saying we want to be in this conference and changing your mind one year later. I somewhat agree with this. Then you should have left last year. I think the Aggies will get what they want ultimately but if I were an A&M fan I would be dissapointed in my school's lack of foresight. They could have been in on the ESPN network and they could have just left a year ago and avoided all of this.
