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A&M: Lucky or crazy like a fox
Published: 8/11/2011 8:05 PM
Last Modified: 8/11/2011 8:05 PM

Less than a year removed from members of the Big 12 (minus 2) holding hands and pledging their undying love to each other comes word that there's trouble in paradise.

The details of the Longhorn Network and general uneasiness about the future of the conference have A&M once against flirting with the Southeastern Conference.

Throughout the realignment process, A&M leadership always seemed a step behind.

Rather than move to the Pac 16 or the SEC, the Aggies were boxed into staying in the Big 12 (minus 2), accepted the creation of the Longhorn Network and turned down a chance to move its game with Texas to a nationally-televised spot on the first weekend of December (a spot Texas gladly scooped up with another opponent).

But now it looks like the Aggie leadership was crazy like a fox. It's a year later and all the stars have aligned for A&M fans craving a move to the SEC.

* Governor Rick Perry is too preoccupied with a run for the White House to micromanage athletic affairs at his alma mater.
* Texas and the big, bad Longhorn Network look like the ones driving the conference apart. The LHN has even turned Texas Tech and Baylor fans against the conference, making A&M seem like a survivalist rather than a homewrecker (even though a move to the Pac 16 would have ended any talk of the Longhorn Network).
* With the LHN in place, Texas has few options if the Big 12 fails. That may force Texas to go independent in football and find another conference affiliation for its other sports (an option I believe has always been a worst-case scenario for Texas' leadership).

So the Aggies could get everything they want after all, but as always... be careful what you wish for.

The theory among A&M fans is a move to the SEC will push the school's football recruiting through the roof. But that has never made sense to me. A&M still must recruit against Texas and OU regardless of its conference, and now you add Arkansas, LSU, Alabama, Florida, etc. as direct recruiting competitors.

I don't believe A&M will suddenly land No. 1 national recruiting classes because all the five star players in Texas would rather play in the SEC than at Texas and OU. More than likely, the players A&M gains by moving to the SEC will be offset by the ones it loses to its new friends to the East.

How important is a foothold in Texas for football recruiting?

The teams that made up last year's Big 12 North (Nebraska, Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri) have 140 Texans on their combined rosters this year.

All 12 SEC teams: just 60 Texans total.

TCU's seven opponents in last year's Mountain West Conference have 66 Texans on their rosters.

An A&M move would likely create another waive of realignment. What does that mean for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State?

Austin American-Statesman columnist Kirk Bohls reported yesterday the Big 12 could look to Notre Dame, Arkansas, BYU, Air Force, Louisville or Houston to keep the conference intact.

But it seems likely OU and OSU would look to bolt for a more stable environment. Could the two schools pair with two other remaining Big 12 members to make the Pac 16 a reality? Maybe.

The next week or so could be interesting. Or like last year, it could be much ado about very little.

Reader Comments

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RoyRogers (last year)

With a Cache of Money unequaled by ANY school plus a NewESPNContract..why don't the Longhorns just go independent (and leave everyone else alone!!)?
PrettyPlease.

mgpeters (last year)

I don't think Texas has ever wanted to go independent. The school's other sports still have to play in a conference, and I can't imagine the school's fan base being eager to be associated with C-USA or the Mountain West in basketball and baseball. But it does seem like a bitter pill to swallow the Longhorn Network for a move to the Pac-12.

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The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

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