[College Football] Big Ten, Texas have initial talks

So A&M, a school entirely built upon tradition, is willing to throw it all away just to get out of UT's shadow?

No more bonfire?
No more 'Saw 'em Off' shirts?
No more Texas Aggie War Hymn?
No more Thanksgiving Day game (and exposure)?
No more Lone Star Showdown?
No more friendly rivalries between high school friends who chose a different state university?
No more absolutely hating that school in Lubbock?

I know a lot of Aggies are getting really excited about the move to the SEC, but I'm not sure they have fully grasped what they are doing.

Let's look at the pros and cons of this for TAMU:

Pros- Get out of UT's shadow... Seriously, that is it. A few things like stealing a few recruits here and there MAY happen, but the only 100% thing accomplished is getting away from UT, which may not be a great idea in the long term if you consider how proud they are of their traditions. Also, they will be going to a good baseball conference, but this would be the case if they went to the PAC-16 as well.

Cons- They will get destroyed in football. They will be associated with lesser schools academically. They will have no other Texas teams in conference, meaning they could lose Texas recruits who aren't keen on the idea of playing EVERY away game out of state. They will be going to a pretty mediocre basketball conference. They will be recruiting against teams who are known to have shady recruiting methods. And, as has been reported, they may lose any ties to UT, Tech, OU, and Oklahoma St.

There may be more pros to this that I cannot see at the moment, but I am admittedly a little biased. Sure, I like making fun of A&M and jokingly saying the rivalry means nothing, but I think I speak for many UT students/fans (whether they will admit it or not) when I say that I want us to stick together. We are the perfect foils culturally/academically/athletically and... well... damnit, it would suck to lose this rivalry.

 

No way Oklahoma goes SEC... they primarily recruit Texas, CA, and Las Vegas. If they go to the SEC they have no national game in Dallas every year and no exposure to their western recruiting base. They are then forced to compete with the SEC schools and who wants to go to Norman when you can go to Starkville? Plus, I get the impression Oklahoma is somewhat serious about improving their academics.

I understand the cultural affinity A&M has for the SEC... but it is fool's gold. They will not recruit better by further entrenching themselves into such a culture or providing more inroads into Texas for SEC teams. Better to stay out of the SEC recruiting swamp, stay honest, go West and continue to build up the academic side... and maybe start to loosen up a little on some of the "traditions." They are currently a 21st century research institution with a 19th century outlook. Unless the 5 star DE you're recruiting wants to be an oceanographer or a botanist, it will be increasingly tougher to sell him on A&M above other schools in either conference if he has no family or community connection to the place.

As good as it would make Aggie fans feel to thumb their nose at Texas, the smart play is to go with academics over tradition and culture.

By the way, everyone talks about the CIC in the Big Ten, but the University of California has some cash cows as well: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. UT thought about bidding on the Los Alamos contract a few years ago, and given the experiences UC has had recently with some of their private company partners, they might welcome another strong university player in the next round of contracts. If so, A&M could get a piece of the action.

 

Tuberville on A&M to the SEC...

No need to read between the lines there.

 

Whatever happens I wish it would just happen. I need to know if I have to run out and buy a pastel polo and wear boat shoes every day or not. Might as well embrace the SEC like I've always been there right? Might as well...

 

over most of their history, UT and OU were in different conferences and still managed to play one another annually. that's not going to change.

having said that....everything i've heard/read has indicated OU and UT are joined at the hip at this point.

 

I'm surprised by OU's loyalty during realignment. Yet I still think they might stab us in the back any minute now.

 

Does TCU have the power to exclude BU from the Mountain West? Really?

this article says TCU wouldn't do that anyway.

http://www.wacotrib.com/news/Baylor...e-of-Big-12-even-if-Pac-10-exodus-occurs.html

If teams bolt from the Big 12 during the next several days, Baylor University and the other four remaining schools are discussing plans to keep the league together.

Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said he discussed that option with officials from Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State and Missouri in a conference call Saturday.

The five remaining Big 12 schools would look to add teams from other conferences.


“We’re still working to keep the remaining 10 Big 12 teams together,” McCaw said. “But if there are additional defections, our preference is to keep our core group of five and add additional teams.”

By keeping the remaining Big 12 teams together, the league could retain its automatic Bowl Championship Series qualifier status.

Also Saturday, state Rep. Charles “Doc” Anderson, R-Waco, asked officials at Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech to delay any decisions regarding conference alignment until state legislators weighed in on the topic.

On Friday, Anderson hailed the fact that House leaders had scheduled a hearing for Wednesday on the potential breakup of the conference.

If the Big 12 doesn’t stay together, the Mountain West Conference might be Baylor’s best option. A source told the Tribune-Herald that the Mountain West is interested in Baylor despite a report in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that said TCU would lobby against Baylor to join the league.

McCaw said there is no friction between Baylor and TCU officials.

“I’m confident that if there is a desire for Baylor and TCU to be in the same league, there would be no impediment,” McCaw said.

The Big 12 could be down to seven teams after Tuesday, when the University of Texas’ board of regents meeting. Reports have indicated Texas is expected to jump to the Pac-10 along with Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Texas A&M could also move to the Pac-10, but is strongly considering the SEC.

In other developments, a source said Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott flew to Oklahoma on Saturday to meet with officials at Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He also met with Texas Tech officials and is expected to meet with Texas and Texas A&M officials today.

A University of Oklahoma spokesman said the school’s regents would meet Wednesday.

The SEC also is courting Oklahoma.

“There’s still a lot of conversation going on,” McCaw said. “But I still have a glimmer of hope that we can keep the 10 remaining Big 12 teams together.”

Anderson said the scheduled hearing “gives the people of Texas an opportunity to be represented on this very important issue.”

But questions arose about the effectiveness of the hearing because of its timing.

The meeting is scheduled the day after separate meetings of the regents at Texas and Texas Tech. Reports have suggested the two schools could announce defections from the conference.

“I respectfully request that you postpone any decisions on athletic conference alignment until legislators have had a chance to meet on this issue,” Anderson wrote in a letter to the regents and chancellors of Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.

“Our constituents have made it clear that they expect us to work together with you in order to preserve the historical alliances which remain for Texas universities,” he wrote.

Waco state Rep. Jim Dunnam said Friday he hoped the legislative hearing would be organized to affect the ongoing conference discussions and “not just to provide cover after the universities’ meetings Tuesday.”

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Saturday the school is still “looking at all options.”

 

I think it's a marriage of convenience for them.

They have to look out for OSU, and OSU isn't getting into the SEC.

Plus they stand to make a lot of money and that 8 team division looks fairly nice for them.

If the SEC with A&M was a better deal, I think they'd take it.

 

TCU has since denied that FWST report.

 

yeah..i just read that. sounded silly to begin with.

 

How would you feel about this "new" Big 12 , Max?

 

i'd be fine with that.

though i think KU and K St will likely find themselves elsewhere....KU may still find themselves in the Pac 10 if A&M goes to the SEC.

and Boise St. just moved to the MWC.

in some ways all of this helps me, personally...i grew up a UT fan...walked away from a room at University Towers to follow a girl to BU. this allows me to root for the Horns and Bears with no worries about competition amongst them. it's really all about me, after all. :grin:

 

The whole idea is that the MWC will be getting raided, and Boise State is under no legal obligation to stay in a conference if it gets completely blown up, so I can't imagine Boise being left out to dry with their football success as the new Big 12 would be struggling to ready itself for AQ renewal in 2014.

I just can't see Kansas getting the nod ahead of Utah.

Mostly because KU, KSU, and Mizzou are fairly fond of one another (at least in terms of wanting to be in the same league) and that's not happening in the Pac 10, plus they'd be geographical misfits in that league.

 

i'm with ya. i like your idea. BU would be giving up some rivalries (seems inevitable) but at least getting some back.

 

I've reconsidered. I was thinking it would fun to have A&M in the SEC but what would be fun about being relegated to a distant also-ran. The reality of joining the PAC 16 Eastern Conference is that it is actually the closest option to keeping the Big 12 South intact. The only real change you'd be making is trading Baylor for AZ and AZ State and alternating your Championship Game from Jerryworld to the Rose Bowl. Both of those could actually be a win.

The negative is getting 1 long travel game to one of the smaller cities of the Northwest a year and getting one less popular Northwestern school coming to Kyle Field a year. But a Washington State game would not be that much less popular than a Vanderbilt game.

The real question seems to be the same one A&M has faced for 40 years. Do they want to be a weed chewin', recruit stealin', Ag school or move up to the cutting edge of higher education.

This just looks so Big 12 South-centric:


Pac 16 East
Arizona State
Arizona
Texas
Texas Tech
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Oklahoma State
Texas A&M

 

Oklahoma would be cutting of their own foot if they left Texas and they know it. aTm is having a tougher time with that concept because they've always been seen as Texas' little brother, not same-age cousin (in football). OU doesn't have the academic clout...yet. aTm has quietly (or not so quietly) built an outstanding academic institution over there in Bryan Station. A move to the SEC basically says they're more concerned about football than research. Ironically, I believe the "football move" to the SEC will only make them worse, not better.

 

Plus, you'd always be guaranteed a win in that A&M vs A&M game!

 

from that long article:

"atm will be the automatically be the best research institute in the sec"

(btw this will not happen bc vanderbilt is like rice/emory/john's hopkins)

way to go board of regents! you got atm out of ut's shadow. now youre king on a mole hill!



"atm will not lower their academic standards for atheletes."

atm is going to be perennially stuck behind the likes of florida, alabama, auburn, lsu, georgia, tennessee... theyll beat up on the weaker school but theyll be forever mediocre.




meanwhile, the other big 12 schools will be touring the west coast and enjoying the academic benefits of being affiliated with some of the best universities in america.

great job atm board of regents! you get a gold star!

 

What are the academic benefits of being affiliated with these top research unis? Its an athletic conference, I don't understand.

 

Corporations make donations all the time. Would it be better if Fed Ex ran the money through the school?