College Conference Alignment

[Moranis]

I would have thought this talk would have ended last summer, but apparently not.  It seems the Longhorn Network might have finally caused A&M enough angst that it might actually leave this time.  I'm still not sure they would really pull the trigger and if they do, I have no idea who else would be going with them as the SEC will not stay at 13 (the SEC wants Oklahoma, but they don't seem keen on leaving Texas).  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out and what the Big Ten and Pac 12 will do if the SEC does expand.

[Donoghus]

Big 12 will not exist within 10 years. 

That conference is doomed to fall apart now.  Wouldn't be shocked to see Texas end up as an indepedent. 

[Rondo2287]

Rumors are out there now that FSU is gonna go to the SEC now too

[Eja117]

Big 12 will not exist within 10 years. 

That conference is doomed to fall apart now.  Wouldn't be shocked to see Texas end up as an indepedent. 

Independent is the way to go. Especially for schools with empires like Texas

[Donoghus]

Big 12 will not exist within 10 years. 

That conference is doomed to fall apart now.  Wouldn't be shocked to see Texas end up as an indepedent. 

Independent is the way to go. Especially for schools with empires like Texas

With this Longhorn Network and the fuss around it from Big 12 rivals, what's the incentive for Texas to stay in the Big 12 if they really want to have their own network yet play in a conference that won't allow them to broadcast any of their football conference games on it?

Go independent and try to pull off what ND has done with NBC.   Its a national enough program with enough cache to find its niche.

IMO, the Big 12 is a sinking ship. 

[Fafnir]

Rumors are out there now that FSU is gonna go to the SEC now too

I think FSU would like that, I doubt it will happen. If the SEC expands it will want to capture a new market.

[Fafnir]

IMO, the Big 12 is a sinking ship.  

Yup, I'm just glad NU got out when this all started.

Ah to think of the days when everyone insisted that Texas wouldn't dominate the former Big 8 and that NU and (KU? there were two other schools I believe) were just being paranoid.

[Donoghus]

I don't know if it was Stewart Mandal or Andy Staples but someone basically proposed NCAA football is headed in the direction of four 16 team power conferences (Pac-12, Big Ten, SEC, and ACC/Big East) and a bunch of nobodies. 

Certainly seems to be headed in that direction. 

[Moranis]

Rumors are out there now that FSU is gonna go to the SEC now too

I think FSU would like that, I doubt it will happen. If the SEC expands it will want to capture a new market.

Plus, Florida doesn't want FSU or Miami in the conference.  I heard Va Tech today, which makes some sense.  As does Missouri.  Both expand the footprint, but both border the footprint. 

Oklahoma is still the team it really wants and it wouldn't have to touch the ACC to do it.

If the SEC does touch the ACC, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Big Ten make a push for Maryland and North Carolina, the two teams outside of Notre Dame it really wants if it expands.

[Eja117]

I think Tex AM is making a mistake. If you never want to win and you never want to play natural rivals the SEC is the place for them.

If I were Arkansas I'd be talking to the Big 12.

Of course there's probably something I don't understand yet about the money....like how much money will go into school president's and commissioner's wallets while the players get nothing and get vilified for accepting tattoos for autographs.

[wdleehi]

I think Tex AM is making a mistake. If you never want to win and you never want to play natural rivals the SEC is the place for them.

If I were Arkansas I'd be talking to the Big 12.

Of course there's probably something I don't understand yet about the money....like how much money will go into school president's and commissioner's wallets while the players get nothing and get vilified for accepting tattoos for autographs.

It is about money.  SEC makes schools more money then the big 12 (unless you are Texas)

[Moranis]

I think Tex AM is making a mistake. If you never want to win and you never want to play natural rivals the SEC is the place for them.

If I were Arkansas I'd be talking to the Big 12.

Of course there's probably something I don't understand yet about the money....like how much money will go into school president's and commissioner's wallets while the players get nothing and get vilified for accepting tattoos for autographs.

It is about money.  SEC makes schools more money then the big 12 (unless you are Texas)

In A&M's case, I actually think it is less about money and more about wanting to get away from big brother.  I think the thought process is, yes the SEC is a tougher league, but it gives the Texas recruits a chance to play in the best conference and stay in state, so perhaps they would go to A&M rather then UT.  A&M just needs a divorce from UT.

[Donoghus]

This was just posted on Foxsports.com

COLLEGE STATION, Texas
Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference (SEC), ESPN reported Saturday, quoting a "high ranking source" from the Aggies.

The source said Clemson, Florida State and Missouri were also "likely to join."

Texas A&M had already moved forward a Board of Regents meeting to Monday afternoon to discuss "conference alignment," heightening anticipation at the move, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The session was brought forward from Aug. 22 after the Texas House Committee on Higher Education announced a Tuesday hearing to discuss possible college conference realignments within the state. Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials were all invited to the committee hearing.

An A&M official, meanwhile, told the Chronicle on Friday night that it was hoped the Aggies could join the SEC in 2012. A Big 12 school official claimed that SEC school leaders were also meeting this weekend to approve the arrival of A&M.

An A&M official was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe told A&M the conference would still function without it, amid claims Houston could be in line to replace the Aggies. A Big 12 spokesman later denied the claim.

The speculation of Texas A&M's jump from the Big 12 gained steam Wednesday when Texas governor Rick Perry confirmed that "conversations" between the school and the SEC were taking place.

Florida State officials were also reported to be in serious discussions with the conference. A source told The Palm Beach Post that the Seminoles were in talks with the SEC during the past several months, but discussions recently became more serious.



Get the latest college football recruiting news from Scout.com.
The possible expansion of the SEC to 14 teams came after the Big 12 lost Colorado to the Pac-12 and Nebraska to the Big Ten.

Texas A&M's discussions with the SEC are believed to be motivated by the University of Texas' (UT) agreement with ESPN to launch the Longhorn Network, which will generate $300 million in revenue for the university over the next 20 years.

The NCAA ruled Thursday that the Longhorn Network would not be able to air 18 high school football games after other Big 12 schools protested that the broadcasts would give Texas an obvious recruiting advantage.

UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds told the Chronicle that the reports on the likely departure of its close rival from the Big 12 sparked discussions within the conference, but he added he had no inside knowledge.

"All we know is what we read and hear in the media," he said. "We are actively looking at every possible option we have and have been talking to other Big 12 schools. We are strong supporters and members of the Big 12. We'd be disappointed if Texas A&M leaves, but if they do, we wish them well."

If true, looks like the ACC & Big 12 will be scrambling.

[Eja117]

I think Tex AM is making a mistake. If you never want to win and you never want to play natural rivals the SEC is the place for them.

If I were Arkansas I'd be talking to the Big 12.

Of course there's probably something I don't understand yet about the money....like how much money will go into school president's and commissioner's wallets while the players get nothing and get vilified for accepting tattoos for autographs.

It is about money.  SEC makes schools more money then the big 12 (unless you are Texas)

Do you think a middle of the road SEC school makes more money than a top Big 12? With only 10 teams in the Big 12 Texas AM's road to a BCS bowl or even the national championship game was so much easier. Now they'll have a hard time. They're clearly trying to steal top recruits from Texas. It won't work

[Eja117]

http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6861385/sec-extend-invitation-texas-leaves-options-open

Wow. Won't happen. Interesting. I think it's significantly possible that some high ranking SEC teams like Florida were like "No way do we want to play against the best recruits in Texas year after year" and I wouldn't be surprised if some middle of the road SEC schools like Tennessee and maybe Georgia and South Carolina were like "Yeah. We'd actually like a chance to win this league every once in a while" and low ranking teams like Miss St must have been thinking "And we want to have bowl years at least from time to time"

If I'm a league out there right now I'd consider getting aggressive and just poach an easily poachable team asap.

If you're the Big 12 go for Houston asap.  If you're the Big East throw the kitchen sink at Notre Dame and have some backup plan for trying to grab Georgia Tech or Houston or Southern Miss or something