Reports: SEC Hot After A&M And Oklahoma

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If you’re looking for a “here’s what’s really happening on the SEC expansion front” type of article, good luck finding one.  Reports from different parts of the country are saying many different things.

ESPN has sources who say the SEC is moving slowly and isn’t interested in very many schools.

Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site for the University of Texas — reports that Texas A&M is already on the verge of joining the SEC and Oklahoma might be next.

It’s all speculation and rumor at this point, but here’s the latest:

The vast majority of news outlets still believe that Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech will announce plans to head to the Pac-10 by Wednesday.

Most believe Texas A&M will eventually tag along, too.  Some believe that A&M is only dragging its feet in an attempt to show that it’s not just a Texas toadie that goes wherever UT says to go. 

Many in the state of Texas believe that legislators in that state will attempt to cut A&M’s funding if it is serious about breaking away on its own.

Meanwhile, there are still some who say Big 12 scholls are working to keep their league together.  A&M athletic director Bill Byrne said Saturday in an email to the media “It is still our choice to keep the remaining ten Big 12 schools together if we can.”  (Odd that the Big 12 has 10 schools and the Big Ten has 12, no?)

But most don’t see the Big 12 surviving.  Texas will call the final shot and UT stands to make more money in a Pac-16 than it could in a weakened and restructured Big 12.

To make matters more interesting, one source has told ESPN that Oklahoma has not committed to the Pac-10 yet.  But that was before Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott flew to Oklahoma City Saturday to meet with officials from OU and Oklahoma State.  Scott is expected to meet Sunday with officials from Texas, Texas Tech and Texas A&M.

Sources “with knowledge of the SEC’s maneuverings” have told ESPN that the SEC would most like to add Texas and Oklahoma.  No kidding.  But one SEC AD told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach that the SEC “might consider” Texas A&M because it would expand the league into the Dallas and Houston television markets.

Another SEC athletic director said, “We’ve got to be diligent in evaluating this.  We can’t just add teams who are going to split the pie without adding anything substantial to the pie.”

Perhaps that’s why A&M has been waiting — at least until Saturday — on an official offer from the SEC.  Regent Gene Stallings admitted as much late last week.  The former Aggie player, Aggie coach and Alabama coach has been leading the push to get A&M into the SEC.

Most Aggie fans also appear to be ready to nix their long-standing Texas rivalry and branch out on their own.  As we’ve written before, Texas A&M is in many ways a better fit with the SEC than even Texas would be.  The Aggies have a rabid fanbase, a huge stadium and a closer proximity to the league.  College Station also has more of a “southern” feel than the more metropolitan Austin.

While ESPN’s sources are talking about diligence, another site’s sources say things are speeding up between A&M and the SEC.

Orangebloods.com reported Saturday that multiple sources had confirmed to that site that A&M now has enough votes on its nine-member Board of Regents to join the SEC and could announce the move next week.

“The sources said A&M and SEC commissioner Mike Slive are now working feverishly to convince Oklahoma to join the SEC with the Aggies rather the follow Texas to the Pac-10.”

That might be tough to do.  OU athletic director Joe Castiglione said last week that “it would be a horrendous decision for OU and Texas to break up.”

Still, Orangebloods.com says that some Big 12 sources believe Oklahoma would definitely choose the SEC over the Pac-10, if not for its desire to stay with Texas.

Sources have also told that site that the SEC is not interested in Oklahoma State, which might lead to even more political obstacles for the league.

Already, lawmakers in Texas are calling for hearings in the next week to discuss the long-term financial impact of Texas universities further splintering.

Let’s turn back to ESPN for a second and see what they have to say about the SEC’s plans should it not land Texas, Oklahoma or A&M:

“Looking beyond the Big 12 for expansion, specifically to the ACC for schools such as Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida State or Miami, was not in the SEC’s plans, sources told ESPN.

“The sources saw no way the SEC would raid the ACC and added serious doubt that Virginia Tech could be pried away from Virginia.

“The idea the SEC would go after Kansas was also dismissed, though a KU source said that would be a preference for the Jayhawks.”

Good luck figuring out who’s right on any of this.  And don’t think anything will be truly finished until the Texas state legislature has its say.


Here’s the ESPN article used as one of the sources in this piece.

Here’s the article from The Oklahoman that was used as a resource.

Here’s an article from The Austin American-Statesman which explains what involvement Texas’ governor might have in A&M’s final decision.

And here’s the article from The Statesman used as a source in our piece.

This article from The Dallas Morning News references Aggie fans pushing for an SEC move on Facebook.  Many have also made it clear on messageboards that they prefer to cut their own path away from UT from here on out.  (This article also tackles the topic of the A&M-UT rivalry, which might come to a close.)

Here’s the latest from The Kansas City Star, as well.

Finally, two media sources reported that Slive was in College Station on Saturday meeting with A&M officials.

And don’t forget about the pay site, Orangebloods.com, either.