You may be right; some of the rumors making the rounds suggest that Missouri will be the second team to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, delivering the Kansas City and St. Louis TV markets.
One thing is sure: Alabama and Auburn will not wind up in separate divisions. In fact, many of us who cheer for other teams in the SEC West would love to see them move to the east. Not because of the competition factor, but because of their reputation as world-class cheaters. Other SEC West schools have complained for years about their tactics, but to little avail.
With the cheaters in the same division as Tennessee, Florida and Georgia, complaints about rule-breaking will get more attention.
Maryland doesn’t bring much to the SEC table; VT games get more TV viewers in the DC area—particularly in the VA suburbs than Maryland. If FSU doesn’t bite (and the SEC is looking for a new school in the east), Virginia Tech moves to the top of the list.
And don’t rule out a 16-team SEC, with two new schools in the west (Texas A&M and OU or Missouri), and two in the east, among FSU, Va Tech and Clemson.
One final thought: Ga Tech will never get an offer to rejoin the SEC, since they had the temerity to leave the conference decades ago.
I hear Florida would veto FSU and that Spurrier says no to Clemson. For what any of that is worth.
When I first heard this with A&M I wondered how this effects the 8 years left on the 10 year contract my Hogs signed with the Aggies to play at Dallas (Arlington) Stadium.
I’m wondering if that contract wasn’t also a sort of foot in the door for both the SEC and Aggies.