The Sporting News quotes “a high-ranking official from the SEC” who says that SEC presidents’ meeting which Pete Thamel reported would take place today will in fact not occur.
So the SEC is leaking like a sieve on this. Which means that either Mike Slive is about to burst a blood vessel or two, or else he’s having a great time jacking the media around.
What’s interesting is that both stories are similar on one major point.
… An SEC source told SN that SEC presidents would have no interest in adding a 14th team from a state in which there is already an SEC team. That would eliminate Florida State, Clemson and Georgia Tech as potential expansion targets. SEC-team Kentucky might not be opposed to Louisville joining the SEC, however.
Louisville, hunh. How mediocre a 14th school is Texas A&M worth?
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UPDATE: Score one for Pete Thamel.
“The SEC Presidents and Chancellors met today and reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment. We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league. We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion. No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M.”
Your move, TAMU. The SEC’s lawyers have spoken.
Get The Picture 
As far as Tech is concerned – SEC… no, Sunbelt…maybe
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If it’s Louisville and A&M then that is a total fail for Slive and the SEC. The SEC is supposed to be the premier conference and that’s the 2 schools we get?
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Absolutely agree, TD….A&M is another MSU or Ole Miss, last national championship in 1939? TV market?…phooey. Oklahoma, sure. I am afraid what we are missing here is that it is all about the money, there really is no other reason. If competitive tradition counted, say you had to have one, would A&M even be in the discussion? I don’t think so.
Greed 1, Tradition O
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How “premier” do you think Arkansas and South Carolina were in 1992?
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South Carolina….no argument….but Arkansas? Suggest research.
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TV Market, “Phooey?”
Try on Houston (the nation’s number 4 city by population) and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Both Top-10 TV markets, The equal of Two Atlanta TV markets.
Arguing A & M won’t bring in viewers there because A & M is in College Station is arguing UF won’t bring in viewers in Orlando, Tampa, and Miami TV markets because it’s in Gainesville. That is, preposterous!
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Exactly, which makes me wonder why anyone would consider Louisville. They bring nothing to the money pot that KY doesn’t already cover. The next team has to expand the TV footprint. The Houston and DFW markets will bring in huge bucks.
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How “premier” are Arkansas and South Carolina NOW, for that matter?
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Frankly, USCe and Arky were probably the two worst former SWC and former ACC schools we could have taken in 1991. Both of them kick our butts in 2010, if you need reminding.
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Arkansas won the SWC in both 88 and 89. They were easily the 3rd best team in the SWC at the time they left. We could’ve done a lot worse. Rice? Post-death-penalty SMU? Texas Tech? Arkansas was a pretty sweet grab at the time we made it.
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Remember that UArk didn’t just bring their football team… Arkansas made 2 sweet sixteens, an elite 8, a final four, and won a national title in hoops since coming to the SEC.
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Well if we’re going there USCe won back to back national championships in baseball the last two years, too.
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Texas A&M would be a very good get from a host of areas. Louisville…not.
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Why, Bob?….A&M and Louisville have similar competitive traditions.
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That’s not true. Why don’t YOU do some research? If you want to dismiss Texas A&M that’s your prerogative but claiming that there’s no difference between the historical football success of A&M and Louisville is laugh-out-loud silly.
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Ok, I did the research….what’s yer point? Neither program is what I would call a dominant force in college football. the Aggies are 2-12 in bowl games since 1991….Louisville is 4-8 since 1990…If you are saying the Aggies won a lot of SWC championships, that’s certainly true….but again….so what?
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That would be good research on your part if college football had been invented in 1990. But whatever. You answered your own question: A&M has won its share of championships, whether you respect that or not. The bottom line is that A&M has a football heritage that more than qualifies it for the SEC, much more than Louisville. But if you can’t even accept the value of the Houston and DWF media markets then you won’t get this, either.
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DFW…
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Of course that should be “DFW”
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How about taking Duke in the east along with A&M in the west? Good academics, great basketball and good football coach that could build a decent program over time and a good TV market.
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If adding teams that are within states that already have SEC teams is problematic (and I agree, it would eliminate the recruiting advantage currently held by the SEC teams in question) then the expansion should be westward. In that case, the most logical choices would be Texas A&M and Oklahoma. If the SEC wants to be the first to have 16 teams, then add Oklahomas State and Missouri. Then you could shift Alabama and Auburn to the East. Or possibly one of the Alabama teams and one of the Mississippi teams.
If it is possible to get a Virginia Tech then I would advocate that but it seems as though they simply aren’t interested. And the only thing that might sweeten the pot for them would be if Virginia tagged along, which Virginia is definitely not interested in doing.
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Yeah, I think it’s either VT or MIssouri. And if it’s Missouri and TAM, some geographic re-jiggering could happen…Auburn in the east? THey could still play Alabama every year just as we play Auburn…
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That’s exactly what I’m predicting
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UGA and Tech are in two differing conferences whereas at one time they were both in the SEC. Why does UVa have to accompany VT? Why would UVa be a “sweetening of the pot”? Those pronouncements have no logic to me. Please post you’re reasoning because it doesn’t appear here. Thanks.
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I believe that a few years ago VPI was to Virginia what G Tech is to Georgia in that UVA was opposed to allowing the Hokies to join the ACC. The governor of Virginia finally had to get involved. So after having fought so hard to get into the ACC there doesn’t seem to be any enthusiasm on the part of Virginia Tech to abandon that. At least not from the administration. I think that a portion of the Hokie fanbase likes the idea of joining the SEC but it’s not their call to make. There are logical arguments that can be made either way but what’s happening now isn’t wholly based on logic. I suppose that the Hokies could be convinced to jump ship (again) but it would have to be a very compelling argument made to them. It may be that a more accurate statement on my part would be that the political powers that be in Virginia would need a pot sweetener to keep them from attempting to block VPI’s departure.
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Message received and thanks. Wasn’t familiar with the legislature trumping the Bd of Refents and the school.
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Suggest you ask Chizik that question, Senator. He’s beginning to see a number by now. Oh. They aren’t through yet. Ok, take Chizik’s experienced confrontation number and add 20 plus Loe Rach. Alrighty, then.
Va Tech is a reasonable and worthy SEC addition to A&M’s membership if it happens. I commented yesterday that it would be a mistake to give FSU the SEC mantra. Talk about double-dippin’ recruiting points!
We all need to back up to the point of any announcement from A&M and wait. The “I’m in the know” hucksters are posting a lot of unvetted info to ellicit unfounded “First!”s proclamations from folks who went hiking and found Devil Weed. Before A&M pulls that trigger they have to let UT know that they will rush to the brink and look over their shoulders a few times. They will do this until they get a response from the bully and/or until they join the SEC. A&M is also dancing around the other members of the little 11 in order to push them into a decision about football life from here on out. They are saying that Big Piggy has taken the bloom off the lily and you better band together to fight the monster from Austin. If not, then the rest of you had better run for another conference. Waiting doesn’t stop us from wild speculation, it just makes for entertaining reading of imaginations gone wild.
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Mike Slive, the globalist, want the SEC to morph into what? A hybrid SEC and old SWC.
At present I do not see where this could go for the betterment of the SEC.
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Bring in A&M to get into Texas. I would love to grab UNC and take over that state. Large state with big population.Good at other sports and academics. It will take a few years to get over the current scandal, but they can start building now knowing the competition and money will be getting better than they currently have. Not to mention start grabbing some of those SE Virginia players that seem to be pretty good. I also like Oklahoma because of talent and tradition. The market leaves something to be desired in relation to numbers.
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Louisville isn’t quite as bad as many of the folks on here seem to be making them out. I love the ‘football didn’t start in 1990’ talk…tradition is really only relevant if it’s relevant. For example, Louisville is a better add than Army or Navy…you can’t look at A&M’s recent success in a bubble just like you can’t look at the lack of U of L tradition in a bubble. Anyway, I’d be more interested football wise if it meant Cincy or Indy started getting the SEC network (they might already…but just a thought)…It is worth noting that their stadium is pretty comparable to Miss State…
The one x factor with Louisville is basketball. Louisville basketball has national prestige…despite recent success of Florida and others, Louisville would instantly be the #2 basketball school in the conference. It is probably in the top 10 of recognizable basketball programs in the country…It would give the SEC more prowess when it comes to the East Coast in terms of hoops and would instantly give us a national ‘marquee’ rivalry of UK-UL every season. That’s huge…16 games with Louisville in the conference instantly upgrades our hoops schedule ten fold.
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