With the dual announcements that TAMU is exploring its options for departing the Big 12 and that the conference has formed an expansion committee, it would seem that the Aggies’ move to the SEC is now more a matter of when than if.
Okay, fine. Except I can’t see the conference sitting at an unbalanced thirteen and there doesn’t seem to be a fourteenth partner in the works.
… As for the identity of the 14th team, Williams said the topic barely came up at a meeting of SEC athletic directors last week. He did say that he joked with another athletic director that the SEC should bring in Yale.
“There was little discussion about who that fit would be, even if there was that fit,” he said.
But he did agree that for logistical purposes a 14th team would be ideal. “If you’re asking the question of how important it would be to balance out, you certainly would always want to have an even number based on the divisions you would have,” he said. “If there’s ever 13, 14 becomes an issue you really talk about.”
Maybe Slive is holding his expansion plan cards extremely close to his vest. But right now this still smacks more of TAMU’s earnest wish to move east driving things than anything else. And if that’s the case, Slive has some rather large loose ends he’ll have to gather up to make it all work – really, work better, because with more teams in the conference, there will have to be more money coming up to keep the existing members at the level they’re enjoying now.
Get The Picture 
With all of the nimby sentiment among the East teams (FL, SC & GA), it would appear that the only viable options are VT and/or Mizzou. However, they are hardly slam dunks as VT should be happy to stay in a conference that suits them better from a geo and competitive perspective. Mizzou would be wise to sit still and wait for the inevitable Big10 expansion.
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I see VaTech and Virginia as positives. Mizzou a distant third and WVU a far, far distant fourth. Scratch that, just stay at 13 and move Auburn back and forth between divisions to whichever side is weaker.
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Given the way Mizzou postured itself to the B1G last time around, only to see Nebraska waltz right by them… The folks in Columbia are probably going to be quiet this time, but also ready to get on board when the time comes. And I’m thinking they may hold some resentment for getting the shaft (from their point of view – mine is that they were way too obvious) by B1G. But what do I know?
You know, reading this whole A&M thing play out… it makes you wonder how long Delany and Osbourne had been talking before B1G talked openly about expansion plans?
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I suspect that any talks with potential Eastern teams are being kept quiet to avoid potential lawsuits. As for money, with new members comes a new TV deal that I think will more than compensate for the additions.
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I think A&M is a nice addition, but you really have to know who the 14th is before you add the 13th.
Slive is a smart guy, so he has to have a team in mind for that spot.
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Yale!
Hell Yes!
Top-academics. Suburban New York TV markets. Rich Tradition!
New Haven recruiting hotbed.
New England-Connecticut snootiness in one package.
Great fit with our seven state land grant agricultural colleges!
And how Yale can lord it over their erstwhile Ivy Leaguers that they got called to the best conference in the land!
Hansome Dan! “Bulldog, bulldog, bow wow wow.”
Oh, no! They’re BULLDOGS?
We simply cannot have three sets of ‘Dogs in the SEC.
It just won’t do.
Well, Mike Slive. Back to the brawing board!
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Oops, make that eight land grants. Sorry.
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Why not just help Vandy to the exit?
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Eject them? After they’ve formed their own scooter club?
That seems so unfair
http://www.anchorofgold.com/2011/8/22/2377328/vanderbilt-football-players-form-scooter-club
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Clempsun.
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Not that they would do it, but North Carolina. That’s the SEC’s Notre Dame in my mind.
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You may have just given Slive the ‘shock and awe’ goal of getting the Domers and NBC into The SEC to balance out the equation with the entry of the Aggies! Almost everybody hates Notre Dame so there wouldn’t even have to be a honeymoon. They’ll fit right into the league and give Kentucky a natural cold-weather rival for the Yankee portion of the SEC East.
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The SEC should make the move all the way to 16 teams at one time, IMHO.
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