Texas A&M to the SEC There is something else on the A&M Rivals board citing aggieyell.com but I ain't payin for that shit. http://tamu.rivals.com/ This is from the Texas board and Chip Brownhttp://texas.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1250840 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 are being gathered Saturday 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.
This from NBC http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/08/11/report-aggies-on-their-way-to-the-sec/ It’s still very, very early, and the details are very, very sketchy, but it appears that the weeks of speculation and rumors of Texas A&M moving on to the SEC are beginning to take some infant steps toward fruition. AggieYell.com is reporting that Texas A&M has been invited, and has accepted, a spot to join the Southeastern Conference. But hold your horses, folks. While it’s entirely possible that the Aggies are moving on to the SEC, the formal announcement may not come for a few weeks. Chris Level of RedRaiderSports — a man with some serious shoe leather — tweeted “Just got off the phone with AggieYell.com’s Jeff Tarpley. Aug 22nd is the day when A&M confirms they are headed to the SEC according to him. “Bottom line is, everyone needs to focus on Monday, August 22nd. That is the first time anything can be official when it comes to the Aggies.“ Interestingly, Aug. 22 is the same day the NCAA will hold a meeting to discuss the legality of airing high school games on institutional and conference networks. A source has told us “[A&M move is] Not a done deal. If it becomes official, won’t happen for another week at earliest. Big ‘if’ though.” An A&M official could neither confirm nor deny the report to us. At this point, the general feeling is that talks between A&M officials and the SEC — we’ve been told there has been occasional contact between the two for the past year — are solid enough that A&M President R. Bowen Loftin and AD Bill Byrne feel a formal offer is coming and could go to their Board of Regents to discuss the matter further. (Note: one suggestion would be changing the words to your War Hymn. Just sayin’) Any new items for the Regents to discuss has to be placed on the agenda three days prior to a scheduled meeting. And, unless it’s a special case, the new agenda has to be made public. In other words, everybody should know no later than Aug. 19 whether the A&M is bolting for a new conference. Assuming, of course, that Aug. 22 is the day A&M plans to announce the move. If there’s a move. The recent report also begs the question of who else could be joining the SEC. A&M has been flamboyant about their possible new home, but SEC Commissioner Mike Slive has been, on the contrary, fairly quiet. We are confident tipping on the point of certainty that the SEC would not solely invite A&M. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Florida State and Clemson are just a few of the programs being thrown around the rumor mill. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. Word on the Big 12 street earlier was that if A&M were to leave, the Big 12 was fully prepared to move on as a nine-team conference — at least for the next few years. That’s down the road, though, and this developing story is a day-to-day ordeal. At some point, however, we should expect to see some more certainty from it. (Big thanks to John Taylor for contributing to this piece) UPDATED 9:15 p.m. ET: And then there’s Chip Brown‘s report: “There’s no agreement in principle, nothing,” Texas A&M System spokesman Jason Cook told OrangeBloods.com. More from OB: Two sources said the SEC presidents are being gathered Saturday 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
Think the ACC would raid the Big East if they lost teams? If they lose just 1 then they don't have a conference championship game.
Well A&M has been trying to get a lot of Louisiana kids to go to Texas rather than go to LSU. Good luck with that
The ACC is gonna have to wait and see what the fallout is but I'd rather be them then the Big Least. They have options if they get raided... who is the Big East gonna snag? UCF? Iowa State? ECU? Kansas? The bigger question is how does the SEC operate with 13 teams? My guess is there could possibly be another team in the mix...maybe Oklahoma, Virgina Tech, Georgia Tech or Clemson. Think Jerry Jones is happy about this? How about A&M vs Arkansas every year in Dallas?
because having HS games on the Longhorn network is basically free advertising for University of Texas. They can highlight kids they're recruiting. I watch various HS games from time to time from California on the regional sports nets and from here in Alabama on local tv, but they're completely local productions with no ties to any university.
im hearing down here on the radio the FSU addition is catching more wind. if SEC were to absorb an ACC team their best bets are VTech or FSU. FSU has enough of a fanbase outside their own college town and state even though theyve been only above average for a while. with them finally getting back on track it would make the most sense from a football and business standpoint. unless they want Oklahoma that bad.
Clemson would be a good addition too. i think FSU would be a better business decision and will be a better program moving forward. but i agree.
The Florida State thing seems to be catching some momentum... http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports...es-flirting-with-joining-the-sec-1732416.html TALLAHASSEE — Florida State officials have been flirting with the SEC for several months and the discussion is now getting more serious, according to sources. Rumors have been spreading that the SEC is poised to expand, first to 14 teams and then to 16, and the Seminoles and Texas A&M of the Big 12 could be the first two to jump. "This is real," said a source close to FSU. Other schools being mentioned as possible SEC candidates: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Miami apparently is not on the SEC's radar. The possibility of being left out if FSU bolts the ACC has the Hurricanes, "scared to death," said a source. Texas A&M appears to be the SEC's first choice. The school is a good fit in many ways. Its facilities are first class and it's a school with a lot of money. Adding the Aggies would allow the conference to gain a foothold in one of the richest states in the country for high school football and add two large television markets, in Dallas and Houston. Texas A&M is unhappy that Texas has created its own television network and is unhappy with the Big 12 for bowing down to Texas when the Longhorns flirted with the idea of moving to the Pac-10. Some believe the Aggies are more of a sure thing to join the SEC than any other school and Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe told the Austin-American Statesman he is treating reports of Texas A&M's possible move "very seriously." The SEC has stayed quiet during this latest round of speculation. At SEC Media Days a couple weeks ago, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said he could add members if he wanted to in 15 minutes. "I'm going to think about it and do things that are in the long-term best interests of the SEC," Slive said. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interesting place for it but http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2011/08/sec_reportedly_in_talks_with_t.html SEC reportedly in talks with Texas A&M and Florida State to join conference When it comes to conference expansion, where there was smoke, there may be fire. And where there was only Texas A&M, there may now be Florida State, too. After several reports Thursday indicated Texas A&M is considering a move out of the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, now they may not be the only team being lured by — or wanted to be lured by — the SEC. A report in the Palm Beach Post today said that Florida State is in discussion with the SEC for a possible jump out of the ACC. The report said that the two parties have been in talks for several months. The moves may be related as part of the SEC's plan to expand from its current 12 teams to 14 and finally to 16 schools. Florida State says the rumors are only rumors, according to ESPN.com. School president Eric Barron said today he has not had any talks about Florida State moving from the ACC, calling it "a good conference." Texas A&M is unhappy with its position in the Big 12 since intra-state rival Texas started its own television network, the Longhorn Network, in concert with ESPN. The Higher Education Committee of Texas' House of Representatives will meet Tuesday to address possible realignment of college conferences in the state. The committee says Commissioners Dan Beebe of the Big 12 and Mike Slive of the SEC are to testify, as are Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin and A&M system board of regents chairman Richard A. Box. Texas A&M considered switching to the SEC last year before staying in the Big 12. The university has not confirmed it is again discussing a jump to the SEC, but talk has been intensifying that the Aggies are looking to leave. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M System board of regents has called a special meeting Monday that includes an agenda item about conference alignment. The item, which is part of the executive session agenda, is called: "Authorization for the President to Take All Actions Relating to Texas A&M University's Athletic Conference Alignment, The Texas A&M University System." Texas A&M considered switching to the SEC last year before staying in the Big 12. The university has not confirmed it is again discussing a jump to the SEC, but talk has been intensifying that the Aggies are looking to leave. Conference expansion has a tendency to work as a domino effect, and any anxiety about the Big East's involvement was quickly escalated in a column by Richard Justice today in the Houston Chronicle. In it he wrote that if the Big 12 comes calling for a replacement then "there are people who think TCU could be talked out of jumping to the Big East." The Associated Press contributed to this story.
It also appears that VATech is not going to join the SEC if invited. Probably a smart move on their part as I don't see them fitting academic wise with the SEC schools. Plus the ACC will just gut the Big East again so they'll still land on thier feet. http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/24156338/31277305 Could Uconn, Syracuse and Rutgers join up with Boston College, Miami and VaTech again?
A&M to SEC is official http://www.andthevalleyshook.com/20...are-coming-to-dinner-pt-i-why-they-hate-texas http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/08/12/2523999/academics-acc-sec-poaching.html They got Rutgers, Pitt, & UConn as possible replacements for FSU.
A more up to date article: http://espn.go.com/college-sports/s...s-aggies-intend-join-sec-school-official-says Texas A&M intends to move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, where it hopes to begin play in 2012, school officials have said. After 15 years in the Big 12, Texas A&M has been considering the switch for the second time in a year. A high-ranking source within Texas A&M confirmed to ESPN's Doug Gottlieb on Saturday morning the Aggies were poised to join the SEC. The San Antonio Express-News reported the time frame of their tentative plans to begin competition. Several possible roadblocks remain, however. All but one of the SEC's school presidents will meet Sunday to discuss A&M's admission to the league, The New York Times has reported, citing a high-ranking conference official with first-hand knowledge of the talks. And the Big 12's athletic directors have scheduled a 4 p.m. ET conference call Saturday with commissioner Dan Beebe to discuss the situation, multiple conference sources told ESPN.com's Andy Katz. The SEC official said there was still a 30 percent to 40 percent chance the Aggies would not get enough votes for an invitation to the league, The Times reported. And the issue of needing to add a 14th team along with A&M remained, the newspaper reported. "We realize if we do this, we have to have the 14th," the SEC official said. "No name has been thrown out. This thing is much slower out of the chute than the media and blogs have made it." The official told The Times that Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin called SEC commissioner Mike Slive three weeks ago and said the Aggies regretted not leaving the Big 12 for the SEC last summer. Two weeks ago, Slive and SEC lawyers met with A&M officials, when the league requested that the school work out the possible legal ramifications surrounding its contract with the Big 12, the report said. "They have a contract now," the SEC official said, according to The Times. "We're very sensitive about being part of breaking a contract. What we asked them to do was to go settle their issues and not have us be on the table as the agent of causing them to leave." The SEC now likely will pursue Florida State, Clemson and Missouri, a source told ESPN's Gottlieb, though Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said the school was not in talks with any conferences about a possible move. "No, no, no," Alden told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday, before reaffirming the school's commitment to the Big 12, in whatever form that might be. Florida State president Eric Barron also has said the Seminoles haven't had any talks about the school leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference for the SEC. Still, he didn't say it would never happen. "I don't think there is anything to talk about right now," Barron said Friday. "I don't speculate when there's no conversation." The Texas A&M board of regents will convene for a special meeting Monday that includes an agenda item about conference alignment. The item, part of the executive session agenda, is called: "Authorization for the President to Take All Actions Relating to Texas A&M University's Athletic Conference Alignment, The Texas A&M University System." The Texas legislature also has called a meeting. On Tuesday, the Texas House Committee on Higher Education is set to discuss realignment, a meeting to which Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials have been invited. "There are millions of dollars at stake," Texas Rep. Dan Branch said Friday. "And this could affect students at other schools like Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor." The Big 12 believes it could withstand the loss of A&M, with Texas and Oklahoma remaining as anchor schools. If A&M were to leave, the Big 12 could consider Houston as a replacement to the TV market. One possible reason for Texas A&M's renewed interest in leaving the Big 12 could be because the school isn't happy about The Longhorn Network -- created through a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN. The Big 12 says A&M's issues with the Longhorn Network are being addressed. And it is focused on the significance of maintaining regional rivalries and geographic relevance. But it was political pressure and legislature that played a key role in the Big 12 staying together last summer, when parts nearly broke off to join the Pac-12. The Big 12 looked to be in trouble last summer when Nebraska and Colorado left the conference and several other schools were courted by the Pac-10. Texas decided to stay in the Big 12, which made it much easier for Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State to remain in the league as well.
The question is if A&M does leave and the Big 12 expands again rumors are they are going to go to 12. The possible names I have seen from various blogs and message boards are Houston, Air Force, BYU and Louisville. They apparently have no interest in TCU because Texas is afraid they will steal players from them and Oklahoma doesn't want to lose part of the Dallas market. If all this comes to fruition who knows where anybody is going to land? My guess is the Big East will be done if The SEC decides to expand to 14 or 16. I think the same could potentially be said of the Big 12 depending on what Mizzou does.
TCU is legit and Texas would shit their fuckin pants at the thought of them in the big 12 Mizzou keeps popping up everywhere. Dont really think Mizzou can hang but theyd be better than some of the SEC's bottom teams. then again joining the SEC instantly helps your recruiting. itll be interesting to see. I think the biggest thing will be how aggressive will the SEC be in choosing 14 or 16. ' i keep hearing they want 16 but might settle for 14 by next yr and 16 in a few. if FSU leaves the ACC I could see USF as a potential replacement. Big East is a basketball conference anyways. either way no matter who ends up where this is a interesting story we have. I really hope FSU goes to the SEC though. that'll add a whole new dimension to the rivalry with UF putting potential conference championship implications on their rivalry annually Anyone heard word on Oklahoma? they were mentioned early havent heard anything of substance since. that move wouldnt make sense to me anyways I think Oklahoma is perfectly content stealing all the midwest top talent and beating on teams who collect their scraps then again money is in the SEC and everyone usually follows money with BCS and conference TV contracts
maybe not year in year out off the bat. but TCU's recruiting profile would go up and you know theyd tap a little more into Texas targets. in a few years theyd easily be one of the more competitive teams in that conference. I also think theyd be better than whatever other program theyd scramble to fill slots with.
Besides Boise, TCU's been the best mid-major team in the world. They've won games with a gimmicky scheme on both sides of the ball. Their version of the 4-2-5 will not work on a consistent basis against powerhouse teams. They don't have the size to last an entire season. That school will never have a fan base like the Texas Longhorns, and that will always give Texas a leg up in recruiting. BYU will most likely be one of that conferences top targets. Lately, TCU's been better than the stormin' Mormons, but BYU is quietly building a scary team.
Looks like the SEC is either waiting for A&M to make the first move or just waiting for #14 to show up before inviting A&M.
