Posted on 09/26/2011 9:07:31 AM PDT by Constitutionalist Conservative
The Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, acting unanimously, announced today that Texas A&M University will join the Southeastern Conference effective July 1, 2012, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2012-13 academic year.
The addition of Texas A&M will increase the SEC membership to 13 institutions. It is the first expansion for the SEC since September of 1991 when the University of South Carolina joined the league. The University of Arkansas joined the SEC in August of 1991. With the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina, the SEC was the first conference to split into divisions and add a conference championship game in 1992.
"The Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors are pleased to welcome Texas A&M University to the SEC family," said Dr. Bernie Machen, chair of the SEC Presidents and Chancellors and president of the University of Florida. "The addition of Texas A&M University as the SEC's 13th member gives our league a prestigious academic institution with a strong athletic tradition and a culture similar to our current institutions."
"The Southeastern Conference provides Texas A&M the national visibility that our great university and our student-athletes deserve," said Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin. "We are excited to begin competition in the nation's premier athletic conference. This is a 100-year decision that we have addressed carefully and methodically, and I believe the Southeastern Conference gives the Aggies the best situation of any conference in the country."
Texas A&M , located in College Station, will also be the third institution in the Southeastern Conference to hold membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, joining University of Florida and Vanderbilt University. Texas A&M has an enrollment of 50,000 students, ranking as the sixth-largest university in the country, with 360,000 former students worldwide.
Texas A&M also adds to the athletic excellence of the SEC. Last season, the Aggies won three NCAA team titles (men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's basketball) and finished eighth in the prestigious Learfield Sports Director's Cup all-sport rankings.
"On behalf of our presidents, chancellors, athletics directors, students and fans, I welcome Texas A&M University to the SEC family," said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. "Texas A&M is a nationally-prominent institution on and off the field and a great fit for the SEC tradition of excellence—athletically, academically and culturally."
The Aggies sponsor 20 varsity sports. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country. Women's sports include basketball, equestrian, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country and volleyball. Texas A&M participates in every sport sponsored by the SEC except gymnastics and the SEC sponsors every sport the Aggies participate in except equestrian.
The Longhorns win the series against the Aggies 73-36.
“I lay the blame squarely at the feet of those boys in Austin.”
The only thing UT did was to get their own network deal with ESPN for a few hundred million dollars.
The Aggies Failed to cut such a deal.
It is not the Longhorns’ fault that A&M does not have the ability to swing a deal with ESPN.
I’m Class of ‘88, Dunn Hall.
The Longhorns will keep their big rivalry game which is and always has been against OU.
And the fact of the matter is that the Aggies need the Longhorns in order to get on national TV but the Longhorns do not need the Aggies to get on national TV.
Texas brought it up in a conference, conference (LOL) phone call...AFTER the Aggies were off the call.
The thing the Aggies and OU didn't like about the Longhorn network is that ESPN is highlighting high school games that have kids Texas wants to recruit.
TU screwed up because the Aggies wanted to go to the SEC last year and were disappointed when it didn't happen.
You honestly think Alabama, LSU, Auburn aren't on TV?
ROFLOL!
UT had their sawed-off horns served to them on a SEC platter.
Why is it the Aggies did not cut their own deal with ESPN to establish the Aggie Network?
And now UT gets it’s 300 million dollars and the Big 12 will take all that money from the Aggies that is owed.
tu network should not be allowed or the movement of Neb & A&M. The Neb. team started all of this in the B12.This will be a travel nightmare for Ags.
No more student trips to games if their schedule is filled up with SEC conf. games in the East. Thats the worst hurt of all.
I guess TTU will have to add North Texas or Rice to our schedule every year to make up for the loss of one of our guaranteed bowl eligible wins.
Yup, wait until all those ut fans try to watch the horns on weekends. No televised games unless you subscribe to the horn network. Gonna suck to be a ut fan.
TU will be the Big Fish in a small...puddle.
5-7, 24-17
Now go jump back in your time machine and save some whales, hippy tea sipping queen.
Some of these were regional, I'm sure, but I noted to my wife Saturday that there were 11 SEC teams televised Saturday. UT (the original one) had a bye week. This included non-conference games against La-Tech and somebody else obviously forgettable, maybe Fla-Atlantic.
11 SEC teams on TV...welcome to the world of cable...sure beats the old days when all we had was Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, and So Cal on TV.
The Aggies get on TV because of who theg play.
Longhorns get on TV because, We’re Texas.
“The only reason the game would not take place is if either school used it as an excuse to get out of the rivalry.”
While it is one of the longest rivalries, it has degraded much in the past several decades in favor of Texas.
The UT/OU rivalry has commanded a far greater impact since post WWII, and UT would have to think twice in sacrificing OU matchup in order to have also an A&M yearly matchup.
Yes, there are reasons on earth on why one could do away with this UT/A&M matchup - just too many rivalries out there.
They wanted to go (since last year) to the SEC...not get their own network. The SEC might have their own conf network.
And now UT gets it’s 300 million dollars and the Big 12 will take all that money from the Aggies that is owed.
UT gets $300 million over 10 years; nothing chages, they owe A&M nothing. A&M pays the Big 12-3 a to be determined amt...taken from revenue...that's how Nebraska and Colo. paid to get out...several million each.
Don't know how this works but ... all other confs have revenue sharing. If UT should go to another conf they would have to share their ESPN money. The thing is...nobody seems to want UT. PAC 10 said they weren't enlarging and ACC announced two new teams. Those are the only confs I've heard UT was interested in...and that probably if OU and OSU left.
A&M went to the SEC because they wanted to, not because they didn't have a home.
It's funny that UT fans are so concerned about the Aggies...all of a sudden.
It turns out they aren't even selling the Longhorn network like they thought...UT doesn't have the national following that ESPN thought. Notre Dame has the Catholics to have a national following...Texas doesn't. I don't think they have UT on ESPN every week. Do you know how that works?
It was the HS recruiting angle that upset the other Big 12-3 teams.
You do realize that we have a free market and the Aggies could have their own network, if ESPN were willing to work with A&M?
And the Aggies will have no chance to win the SEC and will never go to a BCS game. Of course, they never had a chance of winning the Big 12.
Do the Aggies plan on playing LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Florida etc the same way they played OSU the other day?
I've never heard that they wanted a network.
Do the Aggies plan on playing LSU, Alabama, Auburn, Florida etc the same way they played OSU the other day?
Probably at first.
At least the Ags aren't afraid of going to a conference with more competition.. What bowl game did the Horns go to last year? They will get to go every year because they won't have to beat much to win enough games. They can play N Texas and Ls Tech every year!
Why are you concerned about the Aggies future wins/loses when they obviouslly aren't?
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