The Big 12 expansion groundswell

[TripletDaddy]

[Uncle Ted]

Those TAMU fans are running with the SEC rumor...

Gigem247 on the Finebaum Show

They seem to be pretty sold on it being a done deal even though they don't have all the answers.

[Surfah]

Those TAMU fans are running with the SEC rumor...

Gigem247 on the Finebaum Show

They seem to be pretty sold on it being a done deal even though they don't have all the answers.

The latest from Chip Brown:

There's nothing definite about A&M to SEC. But I was told A&M's lawyers are "looking at everything." A&M regents mtg Aug. 22 will be big.

[Paperback Writer]

Those TAMU fans are running with the SEC rumor...
Gigem247 on the Finebaum Show
They seem to be pretty sold on it being a done deal even though they don't have all the answers.

I still can't fathom Texas and Texas A&M playing in different conferences and possibly not facing each other every November. But I suppose its possible - I didn't see Nebraska playing in the Big Ten either as I had thought Notre Dame would claim the 12th spot.

The latest from Chip Brown:

There's nothing definite about A&M to SEC. But I was told A&M's lawyers are "looking at everything." A&M regents mtg Aug. 22 will be big.

Since I think Chip Borwn is little more than a microphone for DeLoss Dodds, I sense there's still a better chance that Texas and Texas A&M will work out their issues and remain in the Big 12 while Dan Beebe waits for his cue card from Dodds.

[shoganai]

I think that's historically true, but His Magnificence, Larry Scott, got them to agree to an equal-sharing TV deal. Texas would never abase itself that way.

I in no way mean to imply that Utah is not in a great situation.

But, Larry Scott did some real arm-twisting and toe-stepping to get all of this to come together, and his popularity isn't going to stay sky high as a result. Especially since the Pac-12 is going to be really stretching if the pressure is ever on to expand again.

[dabrockster]

I'll be honest. Provided we can work through scheduling issues, I'd rather have BYU independent than in the Big 12. I'll admit that I feel that way for completely selfish reasons. It appears that there would be more opportunities for me to see them play in person as an independent.

I am in agreement with you. I like what we have now.. UNLESS, they can still have the games on BYUTV. Then I might soften a little...

[Moliere]

Those TAMU fans are running with the SEC rumor...

Gigem247 on the Finebaum Show

They seem to be pretty sold on it being a done deal even though they don't have all the answers.

This things got tremendous traction down here. Everything is speculation since no one is talking which means one of two things: either no one is talking or people are talking and not telling anyone. The more likely scenario is the former.

The Longhorn Network is what is setting aTm off and I don't blame them.

[pellegrino]

I am in agreement with you. I like what we have now.. UNLESS, they can still have the games on BYUTV. Then I might soften a little...

I'm not talking about TV games though. I'm talking about risin', shoutin', and fist rollin' in a stadium.

[Surfah]

I'm not talking about TV games though. I'm talking about risin', shoutin', and fist rollin' in a stadium.

I hope the rumored games with Army, Navy, and Penn State happen.

[TripletDaddy]

I'm not talking about TV games though. I'm talking about risin', shoutin',

and fist rollin' in a stadium.

[Uncle Ted]

The latest from Chip Brown:

Here is a little more from Chip on the subject:

John Lopez, a former columnist with the Houston Chronicle, went on 103.3 ESPN Radio in Dallas Tuesday and said this is probably Texas A&M's last season in the Big 12. Lopez said the paperwork for A&M to join the SEC could be filed in 2 to 3 weeks.

So, of course, I started calling my sources about this. I was told there was nothing definite about A&M filing paperwork to join the SEC in 2 to 3 weeks. So I reported that in Twitter.

But after that, I got a call from another source who operates at the highest level of Texas A&M who said the Aggies leaving the Big 12 to join the SEC "could happen" and that A&M's lawyers are "looking at everything."

A&M is losing faith in ESPN's ability to be both a partner with the Big 12 and also the Longhorn Network. The Aggies feel like ESPN has lost perspective in operating LHN.

Texas A&M was upset that LHN was lumped in with the "national TV" networks at the Big 12 Media Days instead of the "local" TV stations.

Thus, LHN got their own interviews with players and coaches from around the Big 12 - because of ESPN's influence. And A&M and Baylor refused to let their coaches and players talk to LHN.

I was told the A&M regents will be getting together later this month to bring in a new chancellor. And that the regents are already deep in study about what life in the SEC would look like.

There has been changeover on the nine-member Texas A&M regents board. There are four new members who appear to be willing to look at the move to the SEC.

A&M president Bowen Loftin was the point person for the Aggies when SEC commissioner Mike Slive went to College Station last summer. So there is a comfort level there. We'll see. This has the potential to blow wide open. Will it? Not sure.

Chris Level at RedRaiderSports.com said ESPN approached Texas Tech about having their Nov. 5 game with Texas on LHN and offered between $4 million and $5 million as well as airing Tech's game with Nevada this season and a game against New Mexico next year in addition to a BCS level home-and-home.

Tech wanted time to think about it but ESPN put out a release on July 5 saying there would be a second Big 12 on LHN, and it set off a bomb around the Big 12. (ESPN had also talked to Iowa State and Oklahoma State about airing their games against Texas on LHN.)

Tech and the other schools didn't know that was coming. They were alarmed. And as I reported on July 22, they started to look at ESPN in a different light.

If Texas A&M were to leave the Big 12, I think Texas' first move would be to see if they could help entice other schools to the Big 12. Independence would be a last resort.

But I will be on the phones all day trying to get more.

[Uncle Ted]

Chip Brown: DeLoss Dodds comments about TAMU today...

Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said today if Texas A&M leaves the Big 12 to join the SEC, his hope will be that the Big 12 stays together.

Dodds' statement came in response to a question during a luncheon speech at the Young Men's Business League of Austin.

Dodds also said if it meant peace in the Big 12, the Longhorn Network would never air a high school football game.

Dodds asked how many Aggies were in the crowd. When one of the Aggies asked if airing high school games on the Longhorn Network would be an unfair advantage for Texas, Dodds asked the Aggie about the state 7-on-7 tournament featuring high school players on the College Station campus every summer.

Dodds smiled and asked, "Do you know how we feel about that tournament being in College Station?" Then he smiled and said, "You probably don't because we never talk about it."

If Texas A&M was to leave, Dodds said the Big 12 might seek to bring in another school. Dodds also said if there was not sentiment to hold the Big 12 together by the remaining members that Texas and possibly Notre Dame could join forces to create a new conference.

Dodds gave no indication that Texas would pursue the possibility of becoming an independent.

A top administrator at another Big 12 school said the possibility of some Big 12 schools talking to the Pac-12 could become a reality again if Texas A&M was to bolt for the SEC.

In short, everyone in the Big 12 is back in scramble mode until Texas A&M makes clear what its intentions are.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry told The Dallas Morning News Wednesday, "I'll be real honest with you. I just read about it the same time as y'all did. ... As far as I know, conversations are being had. That's frankly all I know. I just refer you to the university and the decision makers over there."

A Texas A&M source with direct knowledge of the Aggies' situation told [Chip Brown] the TAMU regents will be meeting later this month - possibly as early as Aug. 22 - to introduce a new chancellor and deliberate a potential move to the SEC.

A&M president Bowen Loftin has told reporters there is "uncertainty" about the Aggies' future in the Big 12.

The SEC has been largely silent on Texas A&M. And according to one SEC source, the Aggies will have to basically submit an application for acceptance into the SEC (that is expected to be rubber stamped in no time). That process allows members of the SEC to have plausible deniability about any move until A&M's application is submitted.

Two sources in the Big 12 said they've heard the SEC is also interested in adding Florida State to the SEC East.

Sources in the Big 12 say the same political forces that tried to slow down the breakup of the conference last summer are already trying to get answers from A&M about its intentions.

The Texas Legislature is no longer in session. But I was told Wednesday, "the legislators will have something to say about this."

For those wondering how Gov. Rick Perry might factor into all of this, Perry is weighing a run for the White House in 2012.

One source told me a move to the SEC by Texas A&M might help Perry, an A&M graduate and former yell leader, with voters in SEC states.

That's because a move by the Aggies into that conference would help the SEC get into Texas for recruiting purposes. Couldn't quite tell if the source was half-joking. Sadly, the source is probably right.

Several sources thought out loud about why Texas A&M would trade being in the more winnable Big 12, which has an easier path to a national title without a league title game, for a place in the SEC West with the likes of Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn.

"Texas A&M should be in the top three of the Big 12 in football every year," one Big 12 source said. "In the SEC, they'll fight to be in the top half of the conference every year."

But sources close to Texas A&M say the Aggies are losing faith in the Big 12 as it is currently constructed and have serious issues with Texas and the Longhorn Network.

[LiveCoug]

Very interesting... A new conference started by Texas AND Notre Dame? That would be juicy...

[Moliere]

Very interesting... A new conference started by Texas AND Notre Dame? That would be juicy...

A two-team conference? Would that work?

[LiveCoug]

A two-team conference? Would that work?

With those two? Of course!