Texas A&M’s move to SEC evidence of NCAA’s lost mission
NCAA's Mark Emmert talks a good game, but mission of college athletics continues to implode.
A few days after NCAA president Mark Emmert reached for his talking points and attempted to assure the masses (suckers) that university presidents were “focused on what really counts, and that’s sustaining the collegiate model,” we must ask two questions:
What is that model and when did it mutate? Because all wonderful sound bites about integrity, academic standards and returning to the mission of college athletics notwithstanding, somebody just ran to the ATM again.
Texas A&M reportedly intends to leave the possibly crumbling Big 12 for the ivory towers of the SEC, with an announcement coming as soon as Monday, after banks open.
It’s understandable why A&M would want to escape Texas’ shadow in the Big 12 and come to the SEC, where member schools split a record $220 million in a revenue-sharing plan this fiscal year. I’m not quite as sure why the SEC wants A&M, because other than getting its toes into the state of Texas — assuming College Station counts — this is like a high-end mall expanding to add a Walgreens.
The bigger issue, however, is the continuing conflicting messages being disseminated by the hypocritical suits that run college athletics. They say it’s about academics, but they sign off on 12-game regular seasons, late-night kickoffs and “special edition” school-night games because, well, the checks cash. They say they’re about the big picture, but really they’re about only the picture that they’re in.
Tradition is gone. Perspective is gone. Any sense of tradition, doing what’s right or maintaining some semblance of the fabric of what has made college athletics so great and unique has been obliterated by the potential of the next TV deal.
There is no common good in college football, any more than there is in boxing. There are only independent contractors — college presidents, athletic directors, conference commissioners, bowl pooh-bahs — scrambling to fill their own pockets. Squint, and they all look like Don King.
University of California-Riverside chancellor Tim White, one of the NCAA’s chosen mouthpieces at last week’s presidents’ “retreat” in Indianapolis, referenced “the ecosystem of university life.”
It kind of makes sense. They’re just redefining “going green.”
White touched on “integrity” and “academic reform” and concluded, “We want to make sure that the entire ship is doing well, that the students are not being taken advantage of inappropriately, recognizing they’re student-athletes, not athlete-students.”
And then he jumped onto his unicorn and rode away through a field of towering yellow and purple flowers toward a rainbow.
Texas A&M’s move would be a significant domino to fall. That’s ironic considering the Aggies won their lone national championship in football in 1939 and have two bowl wins in the past 20 years (those in the Alamo and Galleryfurniture.com Bowls). Florida State, Clemson, Missouri, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech all are swirling in the SEC expansion rumor mill.
We’re on a path toward an Orwellian landscape. Three college football superstates: Oceania, Eastasia and Eurasia (with Notre Dame as an independent).
College administrators say they embrace the ideal of the student-athlete. If that were true, they wouldn’t base every decision on the potential for a new indoor practice facility.
The gap between the ruling class and the commoners is wider than ever. How does it go over in the rest of the Big 12 when Texas and ESPN partner to form the Longhorn Network?
The NCAA dumps on kids for selling a jersey or an autograph or taking cash from an agent. But they won’t give the quarterback a share of his jersey sales in the campus bookstore?
Presidents talk tough about raising academic standards for bowl and NCAA tournament teams. To borrow from Penn State president Graham Spanier, “We are unanimous that we need to bring a higher level of integrity to the conduct of intercollegiate athletics.” But every move they make screams, “We’re here for the money! Which way to the next Fiesta Bowl golf junket?”
The SEC has refrained from commenting on expansion plans. But they see what expansion did for the Big Ten’s and Pac-12’s TV deals. They’ll welcome anybody that can help fill the coffers. It’s not about nurturing, improving and improving college athletics. It’s an arms race. The collegiate model isn’t being sustained. It has been detonated.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
Follow me on Twitter @JeffSchultzAJC; friend me at Facebook.com/JeffSchultzAJC
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
478 comments Add your comment
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
5:11 pm
Clemson has an extensive history with UGA, for one, GT..Although bug killer is probably right, and money and TV markets are the real story, Clemson would be a better fit in terms of history, culture, and geography. I, for one, have very fond memories of our games in the 70’s and 80’s, and was excited to see them back on the roster in ‘13 and ‘14. FSU ducked us in ‘92, so I’m not sure if they get another bite of the apple…
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
5:11 pm
Clemson has an extensive history with UGA, for one, GT..Although bug killer is probably right, and money and TV markets are the real story, Clemson would be a better fit in terms of history, culture, and geography. I, for one, have very fond memories of our games in the 70’s and 80’s, and was excited to see them back on the roster in ‘13 and ‘14. FSU ducked us in ‘92, so I’m not sure if they get another bite of the apple…
ToccoaBird
August 13th, 2011
5:11 pm
Clemson would be a great fit and don’t think for a minute the older alumni of UGa wouldn’t scream for Uga to restart what was once a great rivalry with clemson again.
E CLAYTON
August 13th, 2011
5:12 pm
The superconference thing is nothing new. For example, the MAC will have 14 teams and also the WAC at one time was composed of 16 teams until half the conference split to form the MWC. Also, the SEC teams used to be apart of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) which at one point was composed of 27 teams which included the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, VA Tech, Miami, LA Tech. This is nothing new. This is just teams realigning to their old school conference roots.
Jeff Schultz
August 13th, 2011
5:12 pm
Mgmac – “who in the heck is jeff schultz and why does his opinion matter?” … Don’t know. But if my opinion doesn’t matter, what does that make you?
Jeff Schultz
August 13th, 2011
5:13 pm
SC Ace — Been to Furman. Love the campus.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
5:15 pm
Sorry about the double post, guys
techfan
August 13th, 2011
5:17 pm
I’m not so sure that A&M will be making that much more money in the SEC if anymore at all. With the new Big 12 contract signed in April, and the Big 12’s uneven distribution, A&M was going to make well over 20 million a year. The members of the SEC currently make around 17-18 million per year a piece. This would be renegotiated if they expanded but who knows what the new deal would be.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
5:18 pm
@UGA’01 I agree. With you trading out certain teams from the sec to the acc. Vandy and UF being two of those. Wouldn’t mind UGA joing either if they are serious about getting academics up. I would love for the acc to be like the big ten ( i think thats the conference) with every school in the aau.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
5:21 pm
When the rumors first started back up again earlier in the week, on one of the blogs, someone from the state of VA said that the VA legislature passed some kind of bill a few years ago that how prohibits VT and UVA from being in separate conferences. I have no idea whether that is true or not, but if it is, then VT wouldn’t be allowed in the SEC without UVA, assuming VT would even be considered.
Paddy
August 13th, 2011
5:22 pm
FSU is not going anywhere.
UGA '01
August 13th, 2011
5:22 pm
Roswell – can’t deny your passion, I agree w/ya…gotta stay true, through and through.
Al E Gator
August 13th, 2011
5:23 pm
Comparing A&M to a Walgreens??? Shultz, your a bafoon. A&M will be just the 3rd member of the SEC that has been admitted to the AAU; an organization that includes all the big 10 schools, Vandy and Florida.
Secondly, A&M’s athletic department is one of the top 10 in the nations, ranking 6th and 8th in the Director’s cup the last two years. There football program has admittidley been underperforming in the during the last decade, but during the 90’s they were one of the most winniest programs in the nation.
A&M, with its rich traditions and “southern” culture, is a great match for the SEC. But in some regards they bring the “average” up for the SEC in academics and overall athletics. Adding A&M is more comparable to adding a Macy’s.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
5:24 pm
@ToccoaBird I know about the history of Celmpsum and UGA (I grew up in an all UGA family), I just meant competition wise it would make no sense. And besides UGA who else do they have history with in the sec USC excluded?
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
5:25 pm
It would seem like the only natural expansion in the east would be FSU, Clemson, and GT. But Georgia proved under Dooley that they won’t let GT back in, I feel pretty sure that Florida won’t let FSU in, and I doubt that USC would let Clemson in. Each of those current SEC schools “fears” the impact such expansion would have within their states.
UGA '01
August 13th, 2011
5:29 pm
GT…we’re creeping up on y’all. Our acceptance rate last year was actually stiffer than yall’s last year. Still ranked ahead, but we’re creeping up. If you look at this: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities, you’ll see why I say that Vandy, Florida and UGA are more inline with ACC schools than the SEC.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
5:31 pm
Why A&M? I live in Virginia, and there isn’t a law about the two schools…What happened was that our governor at the time, Mark Warner, and some of the more powerful members of the state government arm twisted the ACC over letting in Va Tech, when the ACC passed them up initially. They got their way, and it worked out pretty good for the ACC.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
5:35 pm
@richmondDawg, thanks. I just repeated what I had read the other day. Like I said, I didn’t know if it was true or not. But I wonder if those same (or similar) powerful members of your state government might balk over something like moving VT to the SEC.
UGA '01
August 13th, 2011
5:36 pm
According the the link I posted earlier, UGA would only trail the following ACC schools:
Duke, UVA, Wake, UNC, BC, GT, Miami….In other words, in the middle of the pack academically…U.S. News and World Report is pretty solid in how they rate and what they do.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
5:37 pm
@UGA’01 I know exactly what you’re talking about which is why I agree with ya. Like I said I would love for the acc to be on par with the big ten academics wise. Last I heard nine out of twelve schools I thinl in the acc are part of aau. I would love it to be all twelve. I’d say trade out the ones that aren’t in the aau to sec for Vandy and UF and possibly UGA with the rate they are going they should be there before to long.
Jeff Schultz
August 13th, 2011
5:39 pm
OKI’mAnAggie — Try posting again, this time without profane name-calling.
OkI'mAnAggie
August 13th, 2011
5:45 pm
Here you go Jeff…nothing profane in my original post, however, I will apologize for insulting your gentile sensibilities
This sportswriter is a moron. Do you know the media markets that A&M brings to the table (Houston, DFW, and yes, even Austin-San Antonio). Seventh largest enrollment with an undergrad pop of 49,129 not to mention the fan base…Georgia’s undergrad pop is 34,885. A&M is a Tier 1 research institution ranking in the top 25 in public and private research endowments…Georgia, Tier 2 (barely breaks the top 50). Athletic budgets…let’s see, A&M’s annual budget tops out at over $75M…Georgia, a touch under $65M. Now, I’m not here to tout Bryan/College Station as the most fascinating home base, but the Bryan/College Station MSA population rings in at approximately 185k, Athens touts a population of 115k, and we are as close to a major market in Houston as Athens is to Atlanta. The only stat that I see that gives UGA a slight edge is from the 2011 US News and World Report ranking that places Georgia at #18 amongst public universities, with A&M lagging way behind at a paltry #22. With respect to sports, which is what the article was really aiming at and rightfully so, I have not counted the total number of men’s and women’s championships between the two schools for comparisons sake. Football, however, is all that really matters here, right? Texas A&M has won one (1) national championship, way back in 1939. Georgia, they have won two (2); the first being in 1942 (about as relevant as A&M’s blockbuster year in 1939), and the second being in 1980…much more relevant, nevertheless 31 years ago. All of this to ask my original question of…how exactly is it that you liken the decision to open the pearly gates of the SEC to A&M to expanding a high end mall to accommodate a drug store? I said moron, I meant delusional, arrogant, misguided moron. Time for a deep breath…just my two cents.
Does this work Jeff? Thanks and Gig ‘Em.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 13th, 2011
5:45 pm
The Unicorn line made me laugh Jeff, great line!
Also, it is about expanding the market but the SEC is in a arms race to acuire th ebest teams to build the first Super Conference. The teams if asked are going to have to make a tough choice. IMO go get Oklahoma and Oklahoma State along with Texas A&M. Then bring in Va Tech, FSU, and Clemson. 18 team power conference.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
5:49 pm
@ Why A&M? I don’t think it would happen this time…back then, the perception was that Tech wasn’t getting a fair shake from the ACC, and it got peoples hackles up. Most of the folks in state government up here seem to have gone to UVA, William & Mary, and George Mason, which all have law schools. (Go figure, politician/lawyers) Tech is an aggie school with very good engineering and science programs, with no law school.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
5:49 pm
Don’t understand why any of y’all want Clemson. They bring absolutely nothing to the table.
Marcus
August 13th, 2011
5:50 pm
Gotta agree with Schultz on that, OKI’mAnAggie. You had good stuff, just keep it classy. I’m still not going to CVS though.
Michael
August 13th, 2011
5:50 pm
Calling an A&M a Walgreen’s extension to an upscale (SEC) mall is pure ignorance. A&M has a top 10 athletics program (#7 in last Director’s Cup this year , #6 last year), 5 national championships this year alone in various (yet lesser) sports this year alone, a legendary fan base, is a leading research institution (would be the only SEC school in top 20), an AAU member, great academics, #9 endowment of all colleges nationally, the list goes on and on as regards all the positives. And most of all for the SEC, it has amongst the best athletic facilities in the country, opens up 2 top 10 media markets (Dallas, Houston) and has a fan base hungry for the SEC experience and accepting of the fact that it will likely mean tough times in football for a few years, This is an SEC home run.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
5:51 pm
@richmondDawg, wouldn’t it be conceivable for all those UVA politicians to at least attempt to block any move by VT? If VT were to go to the SEC, that would definitely hurt UVA, so why wouldn’t they try to block it?
Nole in ATL
August 13th, 2011
5:53 pm
Can someone help me understand how Florida “owns” the state of Florida or has it on “lockdown”?
What does that mean?
Recruiting? Nope
Winning? Nope
Airtime? Nope
Im sure you as a fan of one school know more than the decision makers of the entire SEC
Climb out of your homer ignorance. It’s obvious your are scared of your school getting an annual spanking from not one, but two teams from Florida.
smyrnabob
August 13th, 2011
5:56 pm
If the SEC goes to 16 teams, how can the Dawgs ever play western division teams? They would have 7 games within division each year.
Give me a break
August 13th, 2011
5:59 pm
Ummm the SEC does not own South Carolina, Clemson does. Nice try
ozzfest
August 13th, 2011
5:59 pm
My ex-wife is an Aggie, and I used to run my mouth about SEC football…I have seen the Dogs play in every SEC stadium + the recent roadtrips, and the first time I went to an A&M-ut game in College Station, I could clearly see that their fans are far superior than any in the SEC. They cheer and scream…but without the alcohol. A&M will wear the white hat in the SEC West.
Welcome, Wreckin’ Crew.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
6:02 pm
@give me a break Over the past few years, I’d have to say USC does. Isn’t Clempsum on par with GT with their rivarly with USC like Tech is with UGA. So yeah I’d say USC owns that state.
Tyler-Ho
August 13th, 2011
6:03 pm
Hey OkI’mAnAggie, I heard your mother went to an aggie game once.
playoffs? playoffs?
August 13th, 2011
6:03 pm
with all these super conferences…is the NCAA rule book ready for divisional playoffs to lead to conference championship games? the greed will get us to a playoff one way or another.
IN addition, Football players should get a stipend. Grad students do…and they get free tuition plus a stipend…and lots of them bring in a lot less money to the university than the football team.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
6:05 pm
@give me break Clempsum fans are all homers, they think they are great but everyone in the acc thinks they are joke. They haven’t done anything in twenty years minus 09 but yet their fans thinl they are in the top tier of the acc year in and out. Reminda of other fanbases who think they’re great but are only mediocre at best.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
6:06 pm
As long as the UVA/Tech game in November keeps happening, I don’t think it would cause any problems…From what I have heard around here, Tech isn’t really too keen on the SEC. They have been successful in the ACC, and seem to be happy where they are in football, and their basketball program has improved big time since joining the ACC.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
6:10 pm
@richmondDawg, that is the feeling I get about VT too. Right now, they’re a pretty big fish in the pond. Why change to a pond where you’re just one of a whole bunch of fish, big and small.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
6:12 pm
Clemson fans may be homers and rednecks, but I had one of the best game-day experiences I ever had at Death Valley. They know how to run things there, and I found the fans at the game to be gracious and fun. Can’t say the same about any trip to Athens.
WHY A&M?
August 13th, 2011
6:13 pm
And not just dumping on UGA. I haven’t been to any other SEC stadiums in many years; they may be better or worse; I don’t know.
OkI'mAnAggie
August 13th, 2011
6:16 pm
Mr Schultz, I am truly curious to know the basis for your position in the article, relative to A&M apparently not being worthy to join the SEC. Is there any data that you care to share to support your claim, or is it nothing more than a baseless claim? I have never had issue with the Univeristy of Georgia or the SEC in general, in fact, I am very excited about the prospect of my alma mater joining such a prestigious conference. Now in your defense, I am making a few assumptions myself in that I drew a direct comparison between TAMU and UGA, however, it seemed reasonable given your geographic proximity to Athens that the comparison that I drew is the comparison that you were drawing by default. I will apologize again for the cutting remarks, although they did not seem completely unwarranted given your not so tongue-in-cheek assessment of the not SEC worthy Texas A&M.
GTFan478
August 13th, 2011
6:16 pm
@Why A&M That might be true for you, but most Clempsum fans I’ve meet were real a-holes. But then again I’ve never been to Death Valley. Most fans I’ve meet of theirs were locals to middle ga. And based on that alone I’m good on going there.
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 13th, 2011
6:18 pm
Clemson is 6-4 against SC in the last 10 years and 13-7 in the last 20.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
6:18 pm
Plus, getting to Blacksburg is a nightmare! Talk about middle of nowhere. Imagine trying to get to Blacksburg from Starkville MS for a mid winter basketball game. That was an issue with the ACC teams, and Raleigh isn’t even that far..
Cobb Dawg
August 13th, 2011
6:20 pm
Good article, Jeff. Let’s look on the bright side — if enough teams join the SEC, eventually it’ll have to split into four divisions, with season-ending semifinal games prior to the big one in the Dome. And there you would finally have it — a legitimate college football playoff.
bamaguy
August 13th, 2011
6:21 pm
The only two things that motivate men are sex and money. I am assuming (hoping) this is about money.
I went to an alumni meeting where Coach Bryant spoke not long before his death. He was chatting with some reporters after and he said that all this new “tv cable” (this was pre-ESPN) and the revenue’s it will bring will change college football forever.
OkI'mAnAggie
August 13th, 2011
6:21 pm
Jeff, in the words of the great Judge Smails, “Well, we’re waiting.”
Jeff Schultz
August 13th, 2011
6:25 pm
OKI’mAnAggie — Quick and simple: 1) I’m against expansion altogether, not just in the SEC but all conferences. I prefer tradition and the regional rivalries as they exist; 2) A&M does not whatsoever to enhance the SEC, other than stretching the conference into another state, which is what this is all about.
richmondDawg
August 13th, 2011
6:26 pm
Clemson is a more natural rival to UGA than USC ever was..The UGA/USC rivalry is more a result of ESPN than any real, compelling history between the two schools. If anything, USC needs the ‘rivalry’ with UGA much more than the Dawgs need them. Sorry USC, but most of us oldsters prefer your sister, the Clemson Tigers, to you. That being said, I think greed beats tradition every time, and Clemson doesn’t get asked to the ball.
sheepdawg
August 13th, 2011
6:28 pm
uga01 writes the truth!!! those who do not understand, please get someone of higher intelligence to explain it to you. collegiate athletic departments are corrupt cesspools with no concern for academics