I've written here before regarding your posts, but they just wreak of hatred for A&M regardless of the issue. That's all well and good, I'm in no way bothered or offended by that, but your hatred has blinded you and prevents you from making sound arguements. A&M appears to be moving on while the opportunity best presents itself, to the best football conference in the country.
While the LHN and its surrounding terms are certainly a factor, it's much bigger than that. The fact you want to make it all about UT and continue post after post to degrade A&M at every turn is quite narrow minded and petty. I don't expect you to wish us well and I realize you need an avenue to vent, but this is not a recruiting matter. It's not a "big/little brother" matter as hard as you will it to be.
It has to do with a University moving on to greener pastures, and entire athletic dept. moving on. Sure, we'll take our lumps early on in football. Naive not to think so despite the fact the program is on the rise. Other programs will compete well right away. This is a long term decision, in the best financial interest of the University. Season ticket sales will increase, donations will increase, and an overall energized fan base that gets to road trip to Oxford, Baton Rouge, Athens, Tuscaloosa, Auburn, etc. won't miss Aimes, Manhatten, Lawrence...
Its the reason a guy like Stoops is so in favor of going west to PAC12. He can still recruit the hell out to Texas, but he also can go into California even more to compete with the like of USC/UCLA etc for some of the talent in that state. You can have your cake and eat it too. I wish the Aggies success. I just wish we could have lured them to to the PAC12.This is exactly what I was talking about. Expansion brings new schools recruiting into new territories, including your own. Like it or not, they're going to steal one or two of those 4 and 5 star players that would have given your team more depth and talent. And eventually those other teams will get stronger, and the big kid on the block starts becoming more cyclical, with more teams getting a chance to win the conference. I think the super conference idea will bring much more conference parity to college football. Which is a good thing in my opinion.
I don't have anything against OU going to the SEC. I just happen to like the idea of going to the Pac-12 a bit better. I think OU could do good recruiting new areas like California. And personally for me, I also have relatives and friends who live out in California. And I could take a nice little vacation out there every year to watch a game. I just wonder if we join the Pac-12, what Bob Stoops would think about playing his brother every year. I remember them both saying one time that they would never schedule a game against each other's schools.How would you welcome the thought of OK going into the SEC? Never heard your stance on that speculation.
I don't have anything against OU going to the SEC. I just happen to like the idea of going to the Pac-12 a bit better. I think OU could do good recruiting new areas like California. And personally for me, I also have relatives and friends who live out in California. And I could take a nice little vacation out there every year to watch a game. I just wonder if we join the Pac-12, what Bob Stoops would think about playing his brother every year. I remember them both saying one time that they would never schedule a game against each other's schools.
Actually the Aggies will get more money from the SEC. Both ESPN and CBS will gladly renegotiate the TV contracts with them. In addition, the money that ESPN will be taking from the Big12-3(or more) will go into the SEC pockets. Tough spot for the Big12-3(or more) because their contract with ESPN is up for renewal next year and no way they come close to what ESPN or Fox paid them, especially with A&M gone and the potential for OU and OSU to be gone as well. In addition, with what ESPN is paying Texas, are they really going to shell out even more money for a lesser product?
True...I wouldn't mind Mike coming back to OU to join his brother. It would be like the good old days. Plus Mike knows the Pac-12 recruiting grounds pretty good by now.Bob won't have to worry about that, Mike doesn't have the job security his brother does and could on the outside looking in by the time all this goes down.
JB there are boosters behind their move the the SEC. Kicking in for the fees wont be a big deal. In addition, if there is not a conference around to collect the fees, then what. Both colorado and nebraska settled and i cant see the conference trying to hold Ags feet to the fire. They'll agree to a settlement or perhaps some rich Ag booster will sue the Big12 for breach of their contract last summer by selling out the rest of the conference by allowing UT and ESPN to partner under the premise of keeping the conference together. Face it, ESPN backing UT on TLN was they payoff UT got for not bolting the conference last summer. Beebe was in on it, but I doubt the other conference ADs and Presidents knew about the backdoor deal.Did you take into account all of the money that A&M will have to pony up if they leave the Big XII, a la:
Texas A&M made a 10-year pledge to hold the Big 12 Conference together when ABC/ESPN vowed a year ago to keep paying the Big 12 as if it was still a 12-member league with a championship game. A&M might be liable for breach of contract after signing a 13-year, $1.17 billion TV contract with Fox Sports for the Big 12’s second-tier rights to football in April.
The Aggies are having their lawyers look at everything, including the exit fees A&M would have to pay to leave the Big 12.
Under the current bylaws, Texas A&M would be required to relinquish 80 percent of revenues over a two-year period if the Aggies left with only a year’s notice.
Orangebloods. I wonder how they are received trying to get info from Aggies?Here's the latest and greatest:
August 22 appears to be D-Day for the 10-member Big 12 as we know it.
Three sources close to the situation said Texas A&M’s regents board will meet on August 22 to deliberate and likely vote on an application to join the Southeastern Conference as early as 2012.
Texas A&M System spokesman Jason Cook denied reports that A&M has already agreed to join the SEC.
“There’s no agreement in principle, nothing,” Cook told Orangebloods.com.
Two sources said the SEC presidents could be gathered this weekend in an emergency meeting to address the possible addition of Texas A&M.
The sources said the Aggies’ nine-member regents board is leaning toward leaving the Big 12 and are being fueled by a lack of confidence in the current configuration of the league - i.e. the relationship between Texas and ESPN (the Longhorn Network) and how it could negatively impact the rest of the members.
There’s growing concern in the Big 12 that A&M is already well down the road toward joining the SEC.
According to multiple sources close to the situation, Aggies’ president Bowen Loftin met with SEC officials prior to an Aug. 1 meeting among Big 12 athletic directors in Dallas to discuss how to co-exist with Texas and its Longhorn Network (LHN).
Loftin apparently aired A&M’s grievances against LHN to SEC officials during the meeting. Cook said he wasn’t aware of any such meeting.
“I think this is pretty far along,” one administrator at a Big 12 school said of A&M’s courtship with the SEC.
One of A&M’s concerns - LHN airing high school games - was eliminated on Thursday when the NCAA ruled no high school games would be allowed to be shown on school or conference networks.
But it didn’t appear the NCAA’s ruling would have much bearing on A&M’s momentum toward the SEC, sources said.
The question is if anything can slow the apparent momentum. Sources across the Big 12 said lawmakers were being contacted in hopes of reaching Texas A&M officials to fully consider preserving all the history and tradition between Texas A&M and the Texas schools in the Big 12.
The SEC has been eerily quiet about all the speculation surrounding Texas A&M. But sources said SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Texas A&M president Bowen Loftin have formed a relationship since Slive visited College Station last June during the Big 12 Missile Crisis.
Loftin was impressed by Slive when it appeared half the Big 12 was headed to the Pac-10, and Slive made a pitch to Texas A&M to head east - not west.
The two have spoken intermittently since then, sources said. Bowen’s most recent visit with Slive apparently happened on SEC turf two weeks ago, according to sources.
Upon learning of Loftin’s alleged meeting with SEC officials before huddling with Big 12 ADs on Aug. 1, one official at a Big 12 school questioned the Aggies and their Code of Honor, which states, “An Aggie does not lie, cheat or steal, or tolerate those who do.”
The source said Texas A&M made a 10-year pledge to hold the Big 12 Conference together when ABC/ESPN vowed a year ago to keep paying the Big 12 as if it was still a 12-member league with a championship game. The source also questioned if A&M might be liable for breach of contract after signing a 13-year, $1.17 billion TV contract with Fox Sports for the Big 12’s second-tier rights to football in April.
An A&M source told Orangebloods.com the Aggies are having their lawyers look at everything, including the exit fees A&M would have to pay to leave the Big 12.
Under the current bylaws, Texas A&M would be required to relinquish 80 percent of revenues over a two-year period if the Aggies left with only a year’s notice.
Nebraska and Colorado were able to pay substantially less than that by settling with the Big 12.
Sources said Thursday the SEC would be interested in adding Oklahoma and Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech in addition to Texas A&M to form a 16-team super conference. Florida State has also been mentioned as a possible target of the SEC, according to Big 12 sources.
Two officials at separate Big 12 schools said Oklahoma and Oklahoma State would stay in the Big 12 as long as the other schools were willing to stay together. A third official in the Big 12 said the remaining nine schools were “solid.”
Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Wednesday it would be Texas’ goal to hold the Big 12 together. But if there wasn’t sentiment for that he said Texas and a school like Notre Dame should look at starting their own conference. Dodds has said he is against Texas going independent.
A high-ranking official at a Big 12 school said the Pac-12 could re-enter the picture if Texas A&M leaves for the SEC. The official said Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has indicated he would love to set up regional networks in Oklahoma and Texas to accommodate Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, as well as Texas and Texas Tech.
Scott didn’t respond to an e-mail Thursday night.
Such a plan by Scott would require a complete re-working of the 20-year, $300 million Longhorn Network contract between Texas and ESPN, which is obviously a massive undertaking that would require Texas to give a little in terms of revenue sharing.
Stay tuned.