Texas A&M to SEC Done Deal; FSU, Missouri, Clemson Likely
In 2010, the fun began. Nebraska to the Big Ten was the first domino to fall. Colorado to the Pac 10 was the second. Utah followed them. Boise Jumped to the Mountain West, TCU left the MWC for the Big East. And now it’s starting up again in 2011. Texas A&M to the SEC is looking more legitimate; and Mizzou, Clemson and Florida State might follow them.
. June-Aug is typically the sports media dead zone; especially so if your baseball team is from Chicago, because they’re almost always out of the race early.
However college football conference recruiting season heated the news up last May, and it looks like it could get going again this summer.
Texas governor Rick Parry was quoted in media outlets earlier this week as saying the SEC is once again talking with the University. Yes, the same Parry who could be a GOP Presidential candidate; and who recently had a large “Jesus, take the wheel on handling our problems” rally at Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
The SEC has been courting A&M for quite awhile. They’d be a natural fit for football in the nation’s premier football conference. As for their basketball, well that might fit in with the SEC as well, unfortunately.
According to Mr. SEC (in 2010)
As we pointed out in our “Expounding On Expansion” series, Texas A&M would be an excellent get for the SEC.* The school — as Andy Staples also points out in the above SI piece — has nearly as much going for it as Texas, a school that everyone is chasing.
The two main questions are these:
1.* Would Texas A&M be allowed to leave the other Texas schools and do its own thing if it chooses?* If A&M chose to go east rather than west, it’s conceivable that the Pac-10 would then invite Baylor to join its ranks.* That might satisfy some Texas politicians.* A&M might have a little extra wiggle room to go out on its own because the current governor of Texas is an Aggie grad.
2.* Would Texas A&M prefer a move to the SEC — which it has talked with before — over a move to the new Pac-16?* A&M athletic director Bill Byrne has spoken publicly about the travel issues involved in such a mega-league, but one still has to wonder if the Aggies would be willing to part with Texas when push comes to shove.
Although I agree that A&M would make a decent fit, I don’t see them as one of the “gets” in this conference realignment/expansion scenario. They do have a presence in the Houston and Dallas media markets, and they do have history in football, but they’re not really special in terms of market reach and their program has been rather mediocre lately. They’re a solid free agent to round out your starting five, but certainly not one you’d give a max contract to. (I’ve met Max Contract- he’s a cool guy, often hangs out with Max Protect)
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Categories: College Football, College Sports
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