football12
Member
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.
****************************************
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.