College Football Thread - A&M and SEC

[Edward]

Media across Texas is rife with renewed speculation about A&M going to the SEC. They may be trying to improve their bargaining position with regard to UT - or they may be looking for a better deal - or at least a better league.

 

[Pilgrim]

Evidently it's more than just a rumor. Mass expansion at Big 12?s expense looms with A&M looking SEC?s way - NCAA Football - Sporting News

As the article notes, there's no way the SEC would stop there. If the Pac 10 is going to blow up to 16 teams the SEC is going to want to do something similar.

Last month, as Slive [SEC Commissioner] was speaking about expansion, he was asked if the SEC would stop at 14 teams or if it were possible to get to 16 teams? His response: “We could get to 16 teams in 15 minutes.”

After Nebraska left many concluded that the Big 12's days were numbered and that UT held all the cards. There's the historic rivalry with UT, but Nebraska had that with OU and that didn't stop them. If A&M leaves it would seem that a school like OU would want out as well as that would only leave 9 teams. There has been speculation about OU to the SEC too.

I'm a lifelong LSU fan and used to remember them playing A&M every year to start the season. Last year's Cotton Bowl was the first time they had played in about 15 years.

 

[Edward]

If A&M, OU and OSU go to the SEC, I would expect Jerry Jones to bid on the SEC championship game for his stadium. The big question is who would be the 16th team. Baytor? TCU? FSU?

As far as discussion, Rick Perry didn't do anything to quell rumors with his comments today.

 

[Pilgrim]

If A&M, OU and OSU go to the SEC, I would expect Jerry Jones to bid on the SEC championship game for his stadium. The big question is who would be the 16th team. Baytor? TCU? FSU?

As far as discussion, Rick Perry didn't do anything to quell rumors with his comments today.

Jerry would probably do that. (He got the Cotton Bowl, which now makes it eligible to be a BCS bowl, assuming that system even holds up long term.) If that ends up happening, I wouldn't be surprised to see it rotate between a few different stadiums. I'm guessing it probably wouldn't include the Superdome because of the other big games they get.

Perry (who I understand is an Aggie) probably put gasoline on the fire.

If this comes to pass, it will change the face of college athletics as we know it, abandoning old rivalries and creating some new ones. The SEC will definitely look at some Big East and ACC teams too. On the other hand, some of the less prominent Big XII teams will be left out and have to go to a conference like the WAC.

It's probably going to force some kind of playoff sooner rather than later since it will be that much harder for major programs to go undefeated with them all crammed into a few conferences.

It seems that the Longhorn Network is a big source of angst for the Aggies. What will UT do? The Pac 10 or 12 or 16 or whatever is mentioned but some are suggesting independency, although that didn't work out in the long run for Notre Dame with their NBC contract.

I read that the big name SEC schools like Florida and Georgia will probably fight including big programs in their state like FSU, Miami and Ga. Tech. Clemson would be a natural in the SEC and some have suggested Louisville. Ky and SC aren't powerful enough to keep them out. Who knows, maybe Va. Tech? Then dominoes will start falling in the Big East and the ACC. Then you have schools like Missouri who could go to the SEC or Big 10 (or whatever it's called now). What about Kansas, KSU, etc?

Politics got Baylor into the Big XII when their program wasn't up to par compared to the others, but I'd be surprised to see them end up in one of the big conferences this time around. TCU would be somewhat surprising too. I'd expect more teams from E. of the Mississippi to balance it out. Some of them already have rivalries with SEC schools.

 

[Frosty]

The rumors are definitely swirling. I read somewhere that we should expect to see A&M added in 2012, with FSU added in 2013 to re-balance out the divisions.

But, then I see this: Report: Texas A&M to join the SEC - UPDATE - CBSSports.com

 

[Edward]

And speaking of SEC football, I saw that Donnan settled his Ponzi lawsuit for a reported $5.5 million payout (subject to court approval). That apparently still leaves him some $3 million up.

 

[GulfCoast Presbyterian]

Clemson is the name being kicked around down here on the talk shows as a target, along with Louisville. The SEC would like to up the basketball quotient, even though football pays the bills.