[...]Alabama | MrSEC.com[...]…

[...]Alabama | MrSEC.com[...]…

But aTm and FSU are the choices.

If we expect to end up with four 16 team super-conferences like so many are claiming:
Looking at the map, the PAC12 has nowhere to expand but into the states of Texas/Oklahoma. Once you recognize that, it all seems to fall in place. UTexas will end up in the PAC12; they're not going to the SEC and probably not to the B1G. They also can't form a Texas-centric super-conference because there aren't 16 legit universities in the region.
SEC will likely snatch A&M and 3 ACC schools in non-SEC states (with the exception of FSU).
B1G will go after universities with AAU membership in non-B1G states. Rutgers, Syracuse, GT, MD, UVA, Mizzou, Kansas. No way UNC or Duke goes to the B1G.
What's left of the ACC/Big East will join with ND to form the last of the super-conferences. If Miami doesn't get the death penalty they'll be here.

The more I think about this the more I believe Slive will add aTm and either TCU or Texas Tech. Then, when the Big 9 officially collapses they will add Oklahoma and OSU.

Personally I think the SEC should add Louisville. It would give the SEC a basketball rivalry on a par with UNC and Duke.

Also the SEC academics is not poorly ranked, outside of Mississippi. Those are the only non Tier 1 schools in the conference, with most schools being ranked top 100 or better. While I do not see UNC and Duke as a fit their options shallow up if the ACC destabilizes and other programs start to bolt.

I'm wondering this because of the nature and time span of the allegations? Given that Miami is not the academic powerhouse that the ACC really wants, that their competitiveness in football would suffer greatly, and that this whole thing would be a stain on the institution would that make the ACC look elsewhere? Just another ACC instability scenario……

Also, I don't necessarily have a problem with GT getting back into the SEC, but I have to think the politics of it all would keep GT out even if they brought something to the table other than academics. GT leaving the SEC way back when created a lot of bad blood and I have to think some of the powers that be remember all that.

Just my 2 cents.

And to the post above about UNC……uh, yea…they care so much about academics that they are currently embroiled with the NCAA in a huge academic cheating scandal with athletes. Give me a break.

I understand and I read your piece. But if we let one person post links to his work we'll have to let everyone. And we've had some copycat sites come in here and try to siphon off traffic with links.

Personally, I'd like to see Georgia Tech in the SEC. There's history there, Tech would bring more academic clout to the league, and Grant Field isn't too far from The Varsity!

But I just don't think from a business sense that Tech is on the top of the list. We'll see.

John

No cursing — except by us! — in the comment section.

And no free advertising… so please don't link to articles at other sites.

Many thanks,
John

But, like you say the people making these decisions are school presidents and board members. To think those types would want to affiliate themselves with a lesser conference from an academic perspective is just a bridge to far IMO. Of course I could be wrong on this front.

I'd say Clemson, FSU, VTech are all much more realistic options for the SEC….even with the displeasure Florida and SCAR would surely have with Clemson and FSU joining.

We've noted on many occasions that schools move in large part due to academic affiliations. It's presidents and board members who make these decisions, not coaches and fans. However, multiple reports for more than a year have suggested Slive dreams of landing UNC and Duke. And if the ACC takes a body blow over the NCAA/Miami issue, who knows what UNC and Duke might do.

As we stated in the piece, anything is possible. You should keep that in mind.

John

Clemson and Georgia Tech — from a business sense — just don't bring much to the table. The SEC can already claim all of the TV markets in those states thanks to USC and UGA. They bring no new recruiting ground, they do not increase the league's geographic football, either. And like it or not, those issues have more to do with expansion in the current TV-driven environment than football success.

While Florida State brings no new ground or TV markets, either, FSU is one of the top brands in America. Like Nebraska or Alabama or Southern Cal, FSU is a national draw for TV viewers. That's why — of all the schools currently in the SEC footprint — we believe FSU would be the one and only good fit to join the league.

If, of course, there is no "gentleman's agreement" to keep them out.

Nothing against Clemson or Tech, mind you. They'd both fit right in with the current SEC schools. But expansion is about business. And neither would jack up the value of the SEC's TV rights. (That said, we never say never… so if the SEC adds one or both, we won't pass out from shock.)

Thanks for reading the site,
John

This is also why the B12 will always be unstable. As long as the conference is wrapped around Texas and OU, if one of those schools stumbles – the conference as a whole suffers. The main reason TAMU is wanting to beat a path East, long term stability. I really don't think the Longhorn Network is much of a motivation for TAMU, it is just an easy sell to the masses.