Jon - what do you and Steve think about these A&M rumors?

For your entertainment the following was posted by someone on one of the Penn State boards.

****************************************
I apologize for being behind a bit on these alleged conference movements.

First, there are growing rumblings around A&M getting frustrated with Texas and their Longhorn Network initiative and considering a move to the SEC. Here are some posts from the A&M Scout board:

August 9

"First, let me say that my most reliable source of information through this whole 13-month deal has been a contact with someone close to the SEC offices. In the past week, the SEC office has been completely in lock down mode and my source can't even get a wink or a nod. So I'm relying on some of my other sources for what I've been posting the past few days. That's one of the reasons why I'm not putting this information in articles and spreading it across the Scout.com network. I feel pretty good about what I'm hearing from these sources and the information is lining up for the most part, but I sure wish my SEC office source would come through and verify this latest information so I could be 100% certain.

Anyway, I mentioned last night that a legal letter of some kind was filed with the Big 12 office. Apparently, what that appears to be is some type of formal grievance letter. What I don't know yet is whether this was done for documentation purposes so when A&M gets blamed for wrecking the conference they will have this filed document to say the university tried to work it out with the Big 12 in good faith, or whether this is A&M's last good faith effort to get something resolved.

I'm guessing it's for documentation purposes, but we'll see what Beebe has to say about that. From the SEC side of things, I'm hearing that all SEC member institutions have given their verbal approval to offer Texas A&M an invite and that the formal invitation document is currently being drafted by their legal counsel.

I continue to hear from SEC people that the ball is in A&M's court once that formal document is drafted and sent.

Again, I sure wish I'd have my number one source comment on these developments, but it appears we'll have to hope my other sources are accurate. It is lining up though, so I feel pretty good about it...just not quite there to sing it from the mountain tops so I'm not ready to go on record yet and call this a done deal...but it certainly sounds like we're getting close to the finish line.

This grievance letter has me slightly concerned though, not that anybody is telling me otherwise...just based on history where A&M's admin gets up on the high diving board at the pool and says they are going to jump, and then at the last second walks back and goes back down the steps."

August 11

"I have a very good Alabama source who works for the AD in Tuscaloosa. He just wrote me and they are hearing that A&M to the SEC is a "done deal." They are acknowledging this and looking to the SEC office for a schedule ASAP so they can plan as well, part of his job. Take it for what it is worth, but I would not come to you with this if it was not solid."

Also, one of the sources that was circulating during the last Big Ten expansion came out with this. Not sure I buy it all, but TIFWIW:

"Today was a very busy day in Park Ridge. For the Big Ten, the writing has been on the wall: we're going to 16-team super-conferences.

Invitations to join the conference remain in the hands of the appropriate parties at Notre Dame and Texas. The Big Ten believes that Notre Dame will join once Texas joins the conference. Texas wishes to join the Big Ten with its Longhorn Network, as a non-participant in the Big Ten Network. This scenario remains feasible.

The Big Ten is now operating under the presumption that A&M currently plans to leave the Big XII for the SEC. However, there is haste to consider an invitation to A&M immediately. The message to A&M has not yet been met with adequate response by the relevant parties at A&M. Though an invitation has not been settled upon, one likely will soon be forthcoming to Texas A&M. The Chancellors and Presidents have a conference scheduled to give provisional approval to invite A&M to the conference. It is expected that the Big Ten Chancellors and Presidents will find that A&M would add a unique level of tradition and academic prestige to the conference.

Separately, A&M stands to benefit the most from joining the Big Ten conference. In particular, A&M would reap the benefits from the Big Ten Network - which Park Ridge thinks would vastly outweigh the benefits that A&M would receive from the SEC. In particular, the Big Ten Network's reach is and likely always will capture a vastly wider audience than the Longhorn Network, and with A&M's addition to the Big Ten, will include the geographic footprint of the entire state of Texas.

With regard to the benefits A&M stands to gain from Big Ten membership, the Big Ten feels that the Big Ten Network would obviously more than offset the competition for eyeballs of recruits in the state of Texas from the Longhorn Network. The terms of the offer given to Texas include the right for Texas to maintain and independently operate the Longhorn Network, and thus not share in the financial benefit of the BTN. (Texas would receive equal voting rights and treatment in all other operations and activities of the conference aside from participation in the BTN.)

If A&M left the Big XII for the SEC, the Big Ten believes that the resulting political circumstances in the state of Texas would enable the University of Texas to leave the Big XII to join the Big Ten conference, regardless of the decisions made by the other Texas universities (with regard to the Big XII conference).

The Big Ten is actively pursuing the relevant parties at A&M and expanding discussions. This week, for the first time since the conference explored expansion possibilities, the notion that Texas and Texas A&M could join the Big Ten instead of Texas and Notre Dame as members 13 and 14 were openly considered. In such circumstances, the Big Ten believes that once Texas and Texas A&M join the conference, Notre Dame almost certainly would immediately follow, and several universities are in consideration for the sixteenth member, as I mentioned on the Rock. Should Texas and Texas A&M commit simultaneously to the Big Ten, the Big Ten expects to jointly announce the addition of four teams total to create a 16 team conference shortly thereafter.

We're currently in a period of acceleration of activity much like that which came before the invitation extended to Nebraska. The Big Ten seems poised to act immediately if A&M responds to certain overtures."

Again TIFWIW...

*********************************
Hope you enjoyed it. :)
 
David79 said:
Do you mean the BCS won't exist? Why would the NCAA not exist because team's realigned in super conferences?
Click to expand...

Well by default the BCS wouldnt exist either because essentially the super conferences could create there own governing body meaning the NCAA wouldn't have jurisdiction over them. If these super conferences start to form I dont see any reason why they would remain affiliated with the NCAA. The NCAA only exists because the collegiate world agrees to let it exist. But with the advent of super conferences rules will have to change as far as how many games are played and scheduling and playoff system and the NCAA will never let that happen. Those are just a few of the issues that will arise. Another will revolve around money and advertising, a simple example would be beer advertising. If the super conferences decide to succede from the NCAA they can do whatever they want and make waaaaaaaayyyyyyy more money. This all leads to players getting paid eventually which i dont like but when its about the money, its about the money.

Just imagine if the B1G and SEC go to 16 and decide to go on there own with 32 teams, playoff system and have their own national champion. Paying players much like the NFL just not as much. Good luck to any schools recruiting players without being able to pay them.

Will it play out like this, who knows. But the NCAA is going to be in trouble if the super conferences form.
 
A&M to the Big10 would be awesome. A&M to the SEC would be great. Awesome > great

Texas the SEC would create the only true super-power conference. Texas to the Big10 would create a strong conference. Texas AND ND to the Big10 would create a super-conference. Super conference > strong conference >current conference lineup.

A&M needs to leave the BigXII. They can stand on their own academically and athletically. They would fit better in the SEC and assuming no other BigXII team joins them could become bigger than the Longhorns.
 
football12 said:
For your entertainment the following was posted by someone on one of the Penn State boards.

****************************************
I apologize for being behind a bit on these alleged conference movements.

First, there are growing rumblings around A&M getting frustrated with Texas and their Longhorn Network initiative and considering a move to the SEC. Here are some posts from the A&M Scout board:

August 9

"First, let me say that my most reliable source of information through this whole 13-month deal has been a contact with someone close to the SEC offices. In the past week, the SEC office has been completely in lock down mode and my source can't even get a wink or a nod. So I'm relying on some of my other sources for what I've been posting the past few days. That's one of the reasons why I'm not putting this information in articles and spreading it across the Scout.com network. I feel pretty good about what I'm hearing from these sources and the information is lining up for the most part, but I sure wish my SEC office source would come through and verify this latest information so I could be 100% certain.

Anyway, I mentioned last night that a legal letter of some kind was filed with the Big 12 office. Apparently, what that appears to be is some type of formal grievance letter. What I don't know yet is whether this was done for documentation purposes so when A&M gets blamed for wrecking the conference they will have this filed document to say the university tried to work it out with the Big 12 in good faith, or whether this is A&M's last good faith effort to get something resolved.

I'm guessing it's for documentation purposes, but we'll see what Beebe has to say about that. From the SEC side of things, I'm hearing that all SEC member institutions have given their verbal approval to offer Texas A&M an invite and that the formal invitation document is currently being drafted by their legal counsel.

I continue to hear from SEC people that the ball is in A&M's court once that formal document is drafted and sent.

Again, I sure wish I'd have my number one source comment on these developments, but it appears we'll have to hope my other sources are accurate. It is lining up though, so I feel pretty good about it...just not quite there to sing it from the mountain tops so I'm not ready to go on record yet and call this a done deal...but it certainly sounds like we're getting close to the finish line.

This grievance letter has me slightly concerned though, not that anybody is telling me otherwise...just based on history where A&M's admin gets up on the high diving board at the pool and says they are going to jump, and then at the last second walks back and goes back down the steps."

August 11

"I have a very good Alabama source who works for the AD in Tuscaloosa. He just wrote me and they are hearing that A&M to the SEC is a "done deal." They are acknowledging this and looking to the SEC office for a schedule ASAP so they can plan as well, part of his job. Take it for what it is worth, but I would not come to you with this if it was not solid."

Also, one of the sources that was circulating during the last Big Ten expansion came out with this. Not sure I buy it all, but TIFWIW:

"Today was a very busy day in Park Ridge. For the Big Ten, the writing has been on the wall: we're going to 16-team super-conferences.

Invitations to join the conference remain in the hands of the appropriate parties at Notre Dame and Texas. The Big Ten believes that Notre Dame will join once Texas joins the conference. Texas wishes to join the Big Ten with its Longhorn Network, as a non-participant in the Big Ten Network. This scenario remains feasible.

The Big Ten is now operating under the presumption that A&M currently plans to leave the Big XII for the SEC. However, there is haste to consider an invitation to A&M immediately. The message to A&M has not yet been met with adequate response by the relevant parties at A&M. Though an invitation has not been settled upon, one likely will soon be forthcoming to Texas A&M. The Chancellors and Presidents have a conference scheduled to give provisional approval to invite A&M to the conference. It is expected that the Big Ten Chancellors and Presidents will find that A&M would add a unique level of tradition and academic prestige to the conference.

Separately, A&M stands to benefit the most from joining the Big Ten conference. In particular, A&M would reap the benefits from the Big Ten Network - which Park Ridge thinks would vastly outweigh the benefits that A&M would receive from the SEC. In particular, the Big Ten Network's reach is and likely always will capture a vastly wider audience than the Longhorn Network, and with A&M's addition to the Big Ten, will include the geographic footprint of the entire state of Texas.

With regard to the benefits A&M stands to gain from Big Ten membership, the Big Ten feels that the Big Ten Network would obviously more than offset the competition for eyeballs of recruits in the state of Texas from the Longhorn Network. The terms of the offer given to Texas include the right for Texas to maintain and independently operate the Longhorn Network, and thus not share in the financial benefit of the BTN. (Texas would receive equal voting rights and treatment in all other operations and activities of the conference aside from participation in the BTN.)

If A&M left the Big XII for the SEC, the Big Ten believes that the resulting political circumstances in the state of Texas would enable the University of Texas to leave the Big XII to join the Big Ten conference, regardless of the decisions made by the other Texas universities (with regard to the Big XII conference).

The Big Ten is actively pursuing the relevant parties at A&M and expanding discussions. This week, for the first time since the conference explored expansion possibilities, the notion that Texas and Texas A&M could join the Big Ten instead of Texas and Notre Dame as members 13 and 14 were openly considered. In such circumstances, the Big Ten believes that once Texas and Texas A&M join the conference, Notre Dame almost certainly would immediately follow, and several universities are in consideration for the sixteenth member, as I mentioned on the Rock. Should Texas and Texas A&M commit simultaneously to the Big Ten, the Big Ten expects to jointly announce the addition of four teams total to create a 16 team conference shortly thereafter.

We're currently in a period of acceleration of activity much like that which came before the invitation extended to Nebraska. The Big Ten seems poised to act immediately if A&M responds to certain overtures."

Again TIFWIW...

*********************************
Hope you enjoyed it. :)
Click to expand...

What are your thoughts on this, JD? I would think going to a super-conference wouldn't bode well for schools like Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan St. Can you imagine having to play TX, ND, Mich, O$U in the same season?? I realize to be the man you have to beat the man, but this would be an uphill battle of epic proportions for the middle-tier schools.
 
billdozer15 said:
Well by default the BCS wouldnt exist either because essentially the super conferences could create there own governing body meaning the NCAA wouldn't have jurisdiction over them. If these super conferences start to form I dont see any reason why they would remain affiliated with the NCAA. The NCAA only exists because the collegiate world agrees to let it exist. But with the advent of super conferences rules will have to change as far as how many games are played and scheduling and playoff system and the NCAA will never let that happen. Those are just a few of the issues that will arise. Another will revolve around money and advertising, a simple example would be beer advertising. If the super conferences decide to succede from the NCAA they can do whatever they want and make waaaaaaaayyyyyyy more money. This all leads to players getting paid eventually which i dont like but when its about the money, its about the money.

Just imagine if the B1G and SEC go to 16 and decide to go on there own with 32 teams, playoff system and have their own national champion. Paying players much like the NFL just not as much. Good luck to any schools recruiting players without being able to pay them.

Will it play out like this, who knows. But the NCAA is going to be in trouble if the super conferences form.
Click to expand...

I just don't see teams leaving the NCAA just because of bigger conferences.
If teams were to leave the NCAA that would mean that all of the other sports would be forced to leave (which there is no reason to do) because the NCAA wouldn't allow them to have some sports in and some sports out.
Also, why would the schools want to get outside of the NCAA? They would have to form some other type of governing body that would look awfully similar to the NCAA because they would all want controls on recruiting etc.
What about the NCAA is holding college football teams back? They are already making a crap ton of money with the current format. You think that the superconferences are going to just allow an anything goes approach?
Why does a superconference mean a playoff system? I can tell you that a lot of teams would be against a playoff because if there are 64 college football teams only a small percentage could logistically be part of a playoff and I don't think the other teams would go for it. I don't think it is the NCAA holding a playoff system back it is the rest of the teams that would be left out. That is why they are talking about expanding NCAA basketball tournament even more because more schools and coaches are demanding they get a chance to be part of the postseason for money, exposure etc.
I guess I just don't see a reason to leave the NCAA just because conferences might get bigger.
 
Interesting the B1G would consider Texas and let them keep their LHN. The financial impact on the BTN adding the entire Texas market would be huge.
 
No conference will let Texas have their own network, hence the reason why Texas didn't join the Pac 10. I truly believe Texas's goal is to become independent, which is the reason for the TV network. I give the "Big 12" maybe a couple more years at the most. My prediction is that OU, OSU, Tech, and Baylor join the Pac 10. The rest of the teams will have to fend for themselves.
 
The money is there but if A&M bolts how long will the money be there? If A&M leaves, other Big 12 schools are going to start getting nervous and may start looking. Not the bottom of the league because they have no where else to go that can remotely equal the Big 12.

The statement, "Texas stays in the Big12 for convenience of its lesser programs," is probably true. If Texas went independent, it would be very difficult for the lesser programs to schedule and travel (and expensive). So stay in the Big 12, get whatever you want, tell the rest of the league what to do, and either they or Okla get the automatic BCS bid virtually every year.

With A&M, Nebraska, and Colorado leaving for greener pastures, competition has and is dwindling quickly. The Big 12 is basically a two team league with a bunch of second and third tier teams now. TT, Okie St, might beat one or the other on occasion but rarely will beat both to get a BCS bid.

I mean who in that conference will compete for the championship every year OTHER than Texas and Oklahoma?

Iowa St is the doormat of the Big 12 and always has been (definitely a third tier team).
Kansas had a couple of good years (third to second tier team).
Missouri might be one of the teams that might compete with Texas and Oklahoma (second tier).
KSU...well we saw what happened to that school when their coach retired (a third tier team, maybe a second if their coach remains).
TT...who knows what they will be like with their new coach, probably not the "pass 75 to 100 times a game" team (a second to third tier team depending on their new coach).
Baylor...period (third tier team but great competition for the clowns).
Okie State...perhaps because they have the money but they always blow one or two games, which sets them apart from Texas and Ok (second tier but on occasion will compete for the championship).
 
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