A&M and the SEC

[MikeWaters]

A&M going to the SEC would be a disaster for A&M. That's my opinion. They would break ties with all the other Texas schools, and become a Mississippi State in the SEC.

Don't believe me? Look at Arkansas, which used to be in the SWC. Their program has done much worse in the SEC, and they lost their traditional rivalries.

But the hatred and envy of Texas is what is motivating this. There is the idea that Texas is so far ahead in terms of resources, with their own TV network, that there will never be a level playing field.

I hope A&M joins the SEC. I love chaos, and it is always fun to see arrogance receive its comeuppance.

[ute4ever]

Hatred and envy of their rival will motivate them to leave the conference, and take huge risks to save face, due to pride? It's as though they feel that the warnings throughout the Book of Mormon don't apply to them.

[MikeWaters]

A&M feels like the trophy wife married to the philandering billionaire. It has become too much, and they want to divorce the guy, even though the prenup gives them virtually nothing. They stubbornly believe that in their next marriage, they will end up much richer than before, and with a husband that truly loves them.

Good luck with that.

You've got to kinda respect a fan base that's willing to completely screw over it's entire university over envy of its rival. That's dedication.

[MikeWaters]

BYU would be considered to replace A&M.

http://www.statesman.com/sports/coll...o-1724657.html

Assuming the Big 12 doesn't instantly and permanently implode.

[Archaea]

From an Aggie insider:

I just got off the phone with someone on campus who I had been trying to talk to over the last few days because he's very well connected. Unlike a lot of things we had heard over the past few days which might have contradicted something else we heard or came from outside the university itself, his stuff comes from the highest levels and it's like God handing Moses the Ten Commandments.

A&M's going to the SEC.

This is what was said:

When the LHN was announced last fall, A&M officials took a long hard look at the economics of the deal and decided that they couldn't compete with Texas unless they did something different. They have been in discussions with SEC officials since that time. The person he talked to said that all future alignment discussions would be based on economics and that A&M was ahead of the curve in this regard.

On August 22, the A&M BOR will make it official. It doesn't matter what the NCAA decided today regarding the LHN or if the Big 12 has any further meetings or whatever penalties are assessed by the Big 12 for A&M leaving the conference.

There's nothing that can be done at this point to stop this. The BOR has determined that A&M's future lies in the SEC and away from Texas and will ratify this officially.

He was told that although Rick Perry will be in Birmingham and South Carolina this weekend, he has nothing to do with it. He was also told that he didn't have anything to do with the events of last summer. The timing of Perry's trip to the south has to do with his announcement that he is running for president which will be made Saturday on the same day that the Iowa straw polls are being done.

I apologize for not having much prior to this but this is the conversation that I waiting to have because there has been no better source on A&M over the years and because this comes directly from the highest levels. Prior to that, I wanted to be cautious but there's no need to be cautious at this point.

It's over.

That's Tarp.

[Archaea]

I don't see Texas A&M benefiting from this move, but I do see the SEC pilfering the rich recruiting land of Texas even more.

The Big XII should strike out and try to get Florida State. If the SEC is poaching from Big XII country, time to strike back. Hope BYU gets invited.

[Archaea]

Chip Brown has commented upon the obvious:

August 22 appears to be D-Day for the 10-member Big 12 as we know it.

Three sources close to the situation said Texas A&M’s regents board will meet on August 22 to deliberate and likely vote on an application to join the Southeastern Conference as early as 2012.

Texas A&M System spokesman Jason Cook denied reports that A&M has already agreed to join the SEC.

“There’s no agreement in principle, nothing,” Cook told Orangebloods.com.

Two sources said the SEC presidents could be gathered this weekend in an emergency meeting to address the possible addition of Texas A&M.

The sources said the Aggies’ nine-member regents board is leaning toward leaving the Big 12 and are being fueled by a lack of confidence in the current configuration of the league - i.e. the relationship between Texas and ESPN (the Longhorn Network) and how it could negatively impact the rest of the members.

There’s growing concern in the Big 12 that A&M is already well down the road toward joining the SEC.

According to multiple sources close to the situation, Aggies’ president Bowen Loftin met with SEC officials prior to an Aug. 1 meeting among Big 12 athletic directors in Dallas to discuss how to co-exist with Texas and its Longhorn Network (LHN).

Loftin apparently aired A&M’s grievances against LHN to SEC officials during the meeting. Cook said he wasn’t aware of any such meeting.
“I think this is pretty far along,” one administrator at a Big 12 school said of A&M’s courtship with the SEC.

One of A&M’s concerns - LHN airing high school games - was eliminated on Thursday when the NCAA ruled no high school games would be allowed to be shown on school or conference networks.

But it didn’t appear the NCAA’s ruling would have much bearing on A&M’s momentum toward the SEC, sources said.

The question is if anything can slow the apparent momentum. Sources across the Big 12 said lawmakers were being contacted in hopes of reaching Texas A&M officials to fully consider preserving all the history and tradition between Texas A&M and the Texas schools in the Big 12.

The SEC has been eerily quiet about all the speculation surrounding Texas A&M. But sources said SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Texas A&M president Bowen Loftin have formed a relationship since Slive visited College Station last June during the Big 12 Missile Crisis.

Loftin was impressed by Slive when it appeared half the Big 12 was headed to the Pac-10, and Slive made a pitch to Texas A&M to head east - not west.

The two have spoken intermittently since then, sources said. Bowen’s most recent visit with Slive apparently happened on SEC turf two weeks ago, according to sources.

Upon learning of Loftin’s alleged meeting with SEC officials before huddling with Big 12 ADs on Aug. 1, one official at a Big 12 school questioned the Aggies and their Code of Honor, which states, “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”

The source said Texas A&M made a 10-year pledge to hold the Big 12 Conference together when ABC/ESPN vowed a year ago to keep paying the Big 12 as if it was still a 12-member league with a championship game. The source also questioned if A&M might be liable for breach of contract after signing a 13-year, $1.17 billion TV contract with Fox Sports for the Big 12’s second-tier rights to football in April.

An A&M source told Orangebloods.com the Aggies are having their lawyers look at everything, including the exit fees A&M would have to pay to leave the Big 12.

Under the current bylaws, Texas A&M would be required to relinquish 80 percent of revenues over a two-year period if the Aggies left with only a year’s notice.

Nebraska and Colorado were able to pay substantially less than that by settling with the Big 12.

Sources said Thursday the SEC would be interested in adding Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech in addition to Texas A&M to form a 16-team super conference. Florida State has also been mentioned as a possible target of the SEC, according to Big 12 sources.

Two officials at separate Big 12 schools said Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would stay in the Big 12 as long as the other schools were willing to stay together. A third official in the Big 12 said the remaining nine schools were “solid.”

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Wednesday it would be Texas’ goal to hold the Big 12 together. But if there wasn’t sentiment for that he said Texas and a school like Notre Dame should look at starting their own conference. Dodds has said he is against Texas going independent.

A high-ranking official at a Big 12 school said the Pac-12 could re-enter the picture if Texas A&M leaves for the SEC. The official said Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has indicated he would love to set up regional networks in Oklahoma and Texas Tech to accommodate Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as well as Texas and Texas Tech.

Scott didn’t respond to an e-mail Thursday night.

Such a plan by Scott would require a complete re-working of the 20-year, $300 million Longhorn Network contract between Texas and ESPN, which is obviously a massive undertaking that would require Texas to give a little in terms of revenue sharing.

Stay tuned.

[ute4ever]

The SEC will need a 14th team unless they want uneven divisions. Georgia Tech is a former member.

[ute4ever]

After the A&M announcement, look for Larry Scott to make another push for a PAC-16.

http://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1250840

[ute4ever]

Pat Ford: A&M's move has more to do with spiting their rival Texas than it does with their own on-field success.

A&M is only 3 games above .500 over the past 9 years, and they are trading in Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas for Florida, Alabama and Auburn. A&M will struggle to merely be bowl eligible.

The SEC will need a 14th team, and that will lead to the Big 10 and Pac-12 also wanting 14.

With the Big 12 (9?) becoming less relevant than the Big East, Texas's recent TV deals will have to be renegotiated.

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/st...-us-back-brink