Oklahoma is not going to be in the SEC. But this Texas A&M situation over the past 24 hours has gotten real interesting. There is apparently a real battle raging in College Station with influential regents & administrators on both sides dueling over whether to stick with the rest of their traditional rivals in a move to the Pac-10 or to head east to the SEC. Gene Stallings is an A&M regent, believe it or not, and he is leading the SEC charge. The big idea being that since the Aggies program has fallen so far behind their rivals in Austin that the only way they can differentiate themselves to recruits would be by taking a separate path. This would be a MAJOR gamble. But many Ag alumni who have grown sick and tired of slipping down to the 2nd-, 3rd- & even 4th-tier program in their state find the prospect of playing in the SEC very enticing. Frustrated Ags are all over talk radio here in Houston saying they don't think they can ever reclaim their spot atop Texas football without a dramatic turn of events. Many feel this might do the trick. The Aggy AD keep stalking about time zones being an issue for fans. Whatever. With two divisions it really wouldn't have much of a scheduling impact at all.
Of course, A&M's split would be considered a declaration of war against all of their traditional rivals who would then likely blackball them from all scheduling for decades to come. It took Arkansas a long time to begin to get scheduled in Texas after their departure to the SEC killed the Southwest Conference.
For their part, the SEC would LOVE to be able to tap into the Texas television markets where the SEC really doesn't have as strong of a fanbase outside of LSU & Arkansas. But it wouldn't be until after their freshly signed TV contract expired before they could reap the benefits. A&M's waffling is all that is really holding up the Pac-10/Big XII South merger.
There seems to be a growing sentiment that the Big XII will not fold even if 8 of its 12 members bolt. Kansas, K-State, Iowa State & Baylor (as well as Mizzou it appears) would form a nice nucleus if they could perhaps snag some of the stronger MWC, WAC & C-USA teams. They could make a play to hang onto their BCS auto bid and benefit from the exit fees the other schools would be leaving behind. Essentially they would gain the best of the MWC without having all of the hangers on attached. Picture something like this:
- Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
Baylor
Missouri
TCU
Houston
Boise State
BYU
Air Force
Utah
Memphis
You would have key footholds in major media markets like Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Denver & Kansas City to sell as a TV package as well as an outstanding league roster for hoops.
Houston announced plans today for a new football stadium and a much needed upgrade to their basketball arena. I'm sure the plans were hurried to try and convince possible leagues like the Big XII & MWC that are comers once again.
- By ECC29
- By flameshaw