[College Football] Big Ten, Texas have initial talks

I can't see, for the life of me, how the Big 12 orphans (Assumed: Baylor, KU, KSU, Mizzou, Iowa State) wouldn't just decided to invite the best programs in the MWC and CUSA to join THEM instead, since they already have an autobid.

There must be some conference or BCS by-law I'm missing that either 1) makes them dissolve the conference or 2) makes them lose their autobid if they lose more than 6 of the 12 conference members.

 

I can't go back and sort through this thread but who was the person that said nobody cares about TAMU if it wasn't for the fact they were packaged with UT? Cuz the SEC is going out of its way to get TAMU on board.

 

I'm sure most UT fans would think this. I still would like to see A&M go to the SEC.

 

not so fast? found this on texags.


http://texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?topic_id=1637375&forum_id=5

 

There is literally nothing else going on in Nebraska. When my department got transferred up here during the fall of '02, everyone was advising to not look for a house on Saturday because the owners and brokers just won't show it. Every single grocery store in this state broadcasts the games over the PA system.

 

Wait a minute, are you talking about Nebraska or Arkansas?

 

I find myself somewhat torn over wanting A&M to follow UT to the Pac-10 or splitting ways with them and going to the SEC. Initially I was against going to the SEC, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.

 

I would absolutely love to see an Arizona vs. Texas game if they really do end up coming to the pac. Dont get me wrong, i will be very conflicted about who to root for, but come on this will be pure awesomeness.

 

I am warming up to it too. But the only upside to joining the SEC is in football and its a high risk at that... aside from football, what does the SEC bring to the table for us (keep in mind we as fans don't care about the money aspect)? Pac-16 basketball, that would be fun. Academics, progressive feel to the conference, etc...

SEC just seems to fit the TAMU mold and has some sex appeal football wise. That's it. Nothing else.

 

What has AZ football done this century?

 

True, I'm looking at it from more of a purely football aspect. But the thought of not being under UT's shadow within a conference (the perceived little brother complex) and being able to recruit on the basis of keeping Texas kids that want to play in the SEC is for some reason appealing to me.

I think it's better for the NCAA as well due to both conferences now having holds in the Texas market. I'm definitely still watching all of A&M's and Texas' games. Obviously that shouldn't be a decision factor though for A&M.

 

Good detective work there. Def rep-worthy. Why doesn't think Big 10 just invite the 4 Texas schools? Would that not almost force the states hand, the opportunity to keep the 4 together and improve academically. Big 16...

 

Did you see the holiday bowl? We made history!!! Haha

I know our program isn't strong, but still, have you ever been to the U of A campus? What we lack in sports we make up in beautiful women. Haha.

 

I agree that the SEC would, but I want to remain in a conference with Texas for the tradition. If Baylor does not get an invite to a power conference, I still want to play them every year non-conference. It is a great rivalry. The Battle of the Brazos.

But on point is Sports Illustrated on A&M...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/06/10/aggies.options/index.html

In a hotel meeting room in Scottsdale, Ariz., in April, SEC commissioner Mike Slive essentially promised that if the tectonic plates beneath the college sports' landscape began to shift, Slive's league would not sit on the sidelines.

It won't.

A source confirmed to SI.com late Wednesday that emissaries from the SEC initiated discussions with Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne months ago, and while the SEC is just one of several potential options for the Aggies, it remains an option heading into Thursday's meeting between Texas A&M and Texas officials. At the meeting, power brokers from both schools will discuss a last-ditch effort to save the Big 12, even if Nebraska's Board of Regents votes Friday to leave for the Big Ten. "It's on life support," the source said of the Big 12. "But people have come off life support before."

Officials also will discuss a potential invitation from the Pac-10 that also would include four other Big 12 schools. Presumably, they also will discuss the SEC's talks with Texas A&M.

What is unclear, however, is which other school or schools the SEC might also be interested in to keep an even number should it decide to expand. Last week, the league split a record $209 million among its 12 member schools. Slive has been tight-lipped in public concerning expansion, and he drew giggles last week during a press briefing following the league's spring meetings when he said this: "We have maximum flexibility in how we approach this issue ranging anywhere from nothing to something."

That narrows it down.

An SEC spokesman didn't return a phone call, an e-mail or a text message Wednesday night, and Slive declined last Friday to answer whether he or a representative of the league had contacted any schools about potential expansion. Late Wednesday, Texas A&M athletic department spokesman Alan Cannon said President Bowen Loftin is the only Texas A&M official authorized to speak about expansion. Still, it seems the SEC has been up to more something than nothing.

Slive didn't take the SEC to the top of the college sports world by doing nothing. It was his league's two 15-year contracts with ESPN and CBS (totaling more than $3 billion) that convinced the other leagues they needed to ramp up their revenue. Those contracts give the SEC security. It can still thrive as a 12-team league even if the Big Ten and Pac-10 supersize to 16, but a component of Slive's success is his ability to read the tea leaves. After years in the new landscape, would the SEC be positioned to command a plum deal when next it sits at the negotiating table?

Another executive we may have underestimated in this shuffle is Texas A&M's Byrne. Byrne said last week that the best move for Texas A&M is staying in the Big 12. His Texas counterpart, DeLoss Dodds, has said the same goes for the Longhorns. But even if Byrne joins the Austin contingent in saving the Big 12 or departing for the Pac-10, by making the Aggies an attractive candidate for the SEC, Byrne has altered the power dynamic in the Lone Star State. Texas, the nation's most lucrative athletic department, still holds most of the cards, but it isn't Dodds and the five dwarves. Texas A&M is a player in this.

It should be. According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, in the 2008-09 school year, Texas A&M ranked third in the Big 12 and 22nd in the nation in athletic revenue with $73.4 million. That figure would have placed the Aggies third in the Pac-10, fifth in the proposed Pac-16 and eighth in the big-money SEC.

That number will rise whether the Aggies stick with their Big 12 south brethren in the Pac-16 or strike out on their own in the SEC. Schools such as Miami, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Clemson have been tossed out as possible SEC targets. Those schools don't make sense, because the SEC already has a stranglehold on the markets they would deliver.

Texas is an untapped television market for the league, which already enjoys national distribution, but could make more money by guaranteeing more viewers. Though the Aggies wouldn't bring as many eyeballs as the Longhorns, significant chunks of viewers in Dallas (the nation's fifth largest television market), Houston (No. 10) and San Antonio (No. 37) would tune in to watch them. How many top-37 markets are currently in the SEC footprint? Just six. If the SEC does decide to expand, the change in membership number would trigger a clause that would allow the league to renegotiate its TV deals. Adding those markets, plus the markets of any other new member, would allow the league to command a higher price.

Texas A&M also is a member of the Association of American Universities. Only two SEC schools (Florida and Vanderbilt) are members. Plus, Texas A&M has grown from about 25,000 students in 1976 to about 47,000 now. That means more alumni than ever are about to enter their prime giving years.

Whether a move to the SEC would benefit Texas A&M's football team is questionable. The Aggies almost certainly would wind up in the SEC west with former Southwest Conference rival Arkansas. They'd probably have to play Alabama, Auburn and LSU every season. That's tough for any program. Still, the league would allow the Aggies to offer an interesting alternative to Lone Star State recruits enthralled by the SEC schools they grew up watching on television.

Such practical discussions are probably better left for another day. Byrne and Texas A&M president Loftin have options to examine. Do they help save the Big 12 by bringing new blood into the fold? Do they split from the Big 12 but stay with their in-state rivals? Do they split from their fellow Texas schools and put in jeopardy rivalries that date back decades?

If they choose the SEC -- and the SEC subsequently agreed to choose them -- entry would be simple. Texas A&M would need approval from nine of the 12 SEC presidents. It also would have to pay $50 in annual membership dues.

Judging by its recent revenue figures, A&M can handle the fee. But does it need to bolt or remain with its Lone Star brethren? The answer isn't clear.

Still, in uncertain times, it's nice to have options.

 

I think A&M would be better off in the SEC than in the Pac 10 with UT. The disparity between UT and A&M is growing bigger and bigger. Holding the rope isn't working...charting its own course may be the trick.

 

I would like to see OU OSU move to the north add TCU and UH to the South and keep the big 12. But thats not happening.......

 

If A&M doesn't go with Texas, the Pac-16 should take Kansas ahead of Utah.