I think much of the Aggie fanbase knows where they want to go.
Posted on 06/13/2010 12:22:28 PM PDT by trumandogz
Let's not make things more complicated than they are. In the end, Texas A&M is sick and tired of living in the large shadow of the University of Texas. Sick and tired of Texas' success and money. Sick and tired of the never-ending arms race for newer and better facilities. Forget those arguments about travel and culture and television revenues. If Texas A&M jumps to the Southeastern Conference, it'll be because the Aggies have had enough of being compared to and defined by the Longhorns.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Ole delicate Cote (as vince calls) wouldn’t have
lasted more than three games in an
S.E.C. season. And that’s why U.T. wants
No part of the best conference in
college football.
Despite likelihood that UT, other Big 12 brethren will pick Pac-10, Ags appear headed to football powerhouse
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M has grown starry-eyed for the Southeastern Conference, an Aggies insider said Sunday, and A&M considers its overall athletic endeavors grander than the death of a conference rivalry game on Thanksgiving.
A&M’s board of regents likely will meet late this week — perhaps as soon as Thursday — to decide the Aggies’ sporting future, a person with knowledge of the situation said. And that future appears to be the SEC, as the powerful league to the east is prepared to lure A&M away from the clinging-to-hope Big 12, a proposed Pacific-10 affiliation and its storied league rivalry with Texas.
In taking all things into consideration, A&M’s leadership is intrigued by playing in the nation’s premier football conference, drawing big crowds to Kyle Field from SEC fan bases that tend to travel well, and a much bigger annual payout from the league, the insider said. The primary downside, of course, is breaking off of a nearly 100-year league affiliation with rival UT that features a nationally showcased football game every Thanksgiving.
The Aggies are prepared for a rough go early in the tough league, the insider said, but A&M hasn’t been challenging for Big 12 titles anyway. The rival Longhorns, likely headed west as part of a Pac-10 southeastern division, would have more to lose competing in a tougher league, considering they’re already competing for national titles.
A&M, however, reiterated Sunday that is has not turned down the Pac-10 or any options on the table. Colorado and Nebraska bolted the Big 12 last week for the Pac-10 and Big Ten, respectively.
“As (athletic director) Bill Byrne and I have said on several occasions, our desire was for the Big 12 Conference to continue,” A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said in a statement. “With the departure of two universities from the conference last week, the Big 12 is certainly not what it was. We are aggressively exploring our options, one of which is for the Big 12 to continue in some form. We also have had extensive discussions with other conferences over the past two days.
“We continue to evaluate our options in a deliberate manner, as we work toward a decision that is in the best long-term interests of Texas A&M.”
The SEC is prepared to take on the Aggies as its 13th team, the insider said, with no clear time frame on when it would add a 14th or who that would be.
Meanwhile, the Big 12 continues its push to keep the remaining 10 teams onboard, as multiple reports claim commissioner Dan Beebe has pledged a future annual payout of $17 million to $20 million to the remaining schools, about double what it is now. Baylor alum and Astros owner Drayton McLane held a teleconference on Sunday night to lobby for the Big 12’s survival.
“This is hugely important to (the state of) Texas and the tradition of intercollegiate athletics — and the economy also,” McLane said. “We need to a get a better grasp on this, and not make a quick decision in the next three or four days.”
The UT board of regents is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning, then perhaps announce intentions of joining Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State in forming the Pac-10 division, although the Longhorns are reported to be intrigued by Beebe’s pledge of much more money. Sources have said that Kansas and Utah are in play for the final Pac-10 division slot should the Aggies head for the SEC.
The state’s House Committee on Higher Education also plans to meet Wednesday “to discuss matters pertaining to higher education, including collegiate athletics,” but one state senator opined that politicians are mostly powerless on this front .
Whether A&M, should it split for the SEC, continues its athletic competition with UT as non-conference opponents is to determined, including whether the teams keep playing football on Thanksgiving — or at all.
bzwerneman@express-news.net
See ya next year, Bama.
sure beats the PAC. As the person I was speaking to said, “those people out there aren’t like us”
The SEC is a much better cultural fit for A&M.
I hope so if you mean the title game. But I think Texas is a better fit with the SEC than the PAC 10 anyway.
Quite sure of yourself, aren't you?
From everything I hear, it's the SEC.
But by all means enjoy your new friends, the Longhorns. I'm sure you'll find it a pleasure to be with them.
You have made my day. We’ll have to practice hating a new color orange, that’s all.
There’s a lot of it in the SEC. Here’s a start:
Do you know why Tennessee fans wear that color orange?
So they can go from the deer stand to the road crew to Neyland stadium and not have to change clothes.
Or “You can’t spell C-I-T-R-U-S without U-T.”
And what about that school song? I love Tennessee and the whole Vol spirit but what were they thinking with that hillbilly shack tune?
I do to. Not sure how our Southern draw will play out there.
It’s not looking good though.
In the end, all that happened after Nebraska bolted for the big ten is this:
Colorado left the Big 12 to join the PAC-10, thereby improving the quality of both conferences.
It looks like your analyis left out the results from last season’g BCS Title Game.
Nope, it was the athletic director at TU that insisted on pushing TCU out in favor of Baylor. Governor Wrinkles was of no consequence in the realignment discussions.
I wonder if the weather is nicer in Omaha than in Austin this week. :-)
Aren't those first and last comments somewhat in conflict?
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