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
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 14th, 2011
9:31 am
heartofdarkness @1:15AM
Brilliant post! I love it. You, sir, are a master of wit and sarcasm.
DSJJ251
August 14th, 2011
9:36 am
” 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. ”
Texas AM is a top 10 team in ticket sales and top 13 in college football attendance top 20 in total revenue.
its more like expanding to add Target than Walgreens.
dsjj251@gmail.com
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
9:38 am
They are the conference back-burners in the Big XII now.
This is why I don’t understand why we would even consider a vote to let them in. They have 0 TV rating. They lose every game against everyone. They are lousy. They are out-recruited in their own state including in College Station in the middle of nowhere in Texas by The SEC now. They bring nothing. Tradition ? What tradition ? That a player who played every game all regular season long, then quit the team for the bowl game, gets called by the coach on the PA to come on down and suit up for the bowl game mid-game and does suit up, then does NOT play not even 1 play, this the legend of the 12th Man. This is tradition ? Excuse me he quit to play basketball, but had played all season until that game, and did NOT play in that game. 12th Man Tradition. B.S. This has been brought up numerous times for why, then, let them in.
You are reaching.
Military ?
That is what it was to begin with. Jeez Louise. You guys know nothing about TAMU.
It was not until 1965 that TAMU quit requiring the studets to participate in the Corps of Cadets. Every student.
This is the place with the bonfire. I presume you are remember this ?
This is 1 of 6 Senior Military Colleges.
And, you post that because they have so many in the military ? Duh.
You guys know nothing about Texas A&M. And, you know nothing about the effect it has on UGA to let them share $220 million next year, we earned here, not they. They bring NOTHING.
HeadoverHeels
August 14th, 2011
9:40 am
I’d like to make a trade. I’ll give you VaTech and FSU, you give us UGa and Vandy.
CFB is king
August 14th, 2011
9:42 am
((((((((((((( OkI’mAnAggie
August 13th, 2011
6:55 pm))))))))))))))
Jeff & OKI’manAggie,
You both are wrong to say some of the things your saying. OKAg you know nothing about UGA and Jeff you cannot possibly say that your a traditionalist when you say that athletes should be paid. You both need to get a clue. Those are just a couple things, but you both are wrong for saying things that you don’t have all of the facts about, but seem to state them on a public board as facts.
Dostoveyskiy
August 14th, 2011
9:43 am
HoH, I like that trade. UGa BB would get better exponentially, and actually, I think it’s football would not suffer one bit. And UGa academic reputation and performance (they’d start attracting even better students) would also improve. Let’s getter done!
money now
August 14th, 2011
9:55 am
A&M wouldn’t bring $18 million in new revenue to the SEC—the per team cut will go down.
blazerdawg
August 14th, 2011
9:55 am
HoH – add UF, let UGA keep the game with Auburn, and you have a deal!
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
9:56 am
DSJJ251, “Texas A&M is” :
I-A Wins 2000-2010 (11 years)
1. Boise State
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Louisiana State
5. Southern California
6. Virginia Tech
7. Florida
8. Texas Christian
9. Georgia
10. Auburn
11. Ohio State
12. Miami-Florida
13. Oregon
14. Wisconsin
15. Utah
16. Boston College
17. West Virginia
18. Nebraska
19. Texas Tech
20. Hawaii
21. Louisville
22. Fresno State
23. Tennessee
24. Brigham Young
25. Iowa
26. Michigan
27. Georgia Tech
28. Clemson
29. Oregon State
30. Penn State
31. Florida State
32. Cincinnati
33. Southern Miss
34. Pittsburgh
35. Arkansas
36. Toledo
37. Missouri
38. Maryland
39. Northern Illinois
40. Kansas State
41. Oklahoma State
42. Notre Dame
43. Air Force
44. South Carolina
45. California
46. South Florida
47. North Carolina State
48. Navy
49. Bowling Green
50. Marshall
51. Nevada-Reno
52. Texas A&M
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
9:59 am
CFB is king,
Since you have no facts, I presume that is a fact for you that Texas A&M is # 52 in wins starting 2000.
You guys SUCK.
You are just like South Carolina.
You must enjoy watching your team LOSE.
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
10:00 am
Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.
What does that tell you CFB is king ?
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
10:06 am
I state posts on public boards, as if they are fact
because I look them up and reference them directly
as to why TAMU is no bloody good in the lousy stinking Big XII
and, cannot possibly compete in The SEC
Anyway, you are 1 team who wants in.
There are 119 others, only 12 of which already are.
And, some of them need to go too.
It's A Sorry World
August 14th, 2011
10:12 am
Its all about GREED- same as the government and business world. Pass more rules and regulations to keep the small in their place.
jek
August 14th, 2011
10:19 am
I’m 63 years old and I don’t want any more g-d change!
Rodney Dangerfield
August 14th, 2011
10:21 am
Saying that Texas A&M will give you the Dallas and Houston television markets is like saying GA Tech will give you the Atlanta television market.
Paul (You doesn't have to call me Johnson).
August 14th, 2011
10:27 am
Integrity in the SEC? UGA hired an attorney recently to get the NCAA off it’s back with Jarvis Jones. Worked out real well too. Bet he’s on retainer. Could have used him last year with A J Green. Need to keep this guy away from Alabama and Auburn.
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
10:29 am
UGAbugKiller 9:15 am
I don’t know sir; but, it seems to me it is out of control football budget to pay Mark Richt 3 and a half million in total compensation for what we get for it. And, yes, that is part of Title IX that we can spend that for Mark Richt every year. And, did that cost us some other sports – about 10 other sports which could be funded with just that 3 and half million total compensation ? You sir, know nothing about Title IX to try to argue that. What we got with Title IX is the dropping of many sports. I would like to see UGA field both a men’s and a women’s hockey team, a men’s gymnastics team, a rowing team, wrestling, mud-wrestling for women, men’s soccer, why can’t we have a lacrosse team, table-tennis team maybe coed, curling, rugby, rifle, water skiing, snow skiing, boxing, squash, skating, dancing, race car driving, weight-lifting, where is our men’s volleyball team ?
If you get right down to it, we could have ALL THIS SPORTS at UGA with just the 3 and a half million total compensation Mark Richt gets every year. Instead, we get 21 Loss over the last 5 years and 3-9 all 10 years vs teams finishing in the Top 10 AP Poll and 16 seriously excruciating devastating losses to less talented football teams for this 3 and a half million.
Do we have Title IX ?
Yes.
Do we have these sports at UGA today as a result of Title IX ?
No.
Do we have Title IX at UGA ?
Yes.
Do we pay Mark Richt 3 and half million dollars total compensation every year ?
Yes.
As for Jeff Schultz’s BS about paying college athletes, that is preposterous. They are supposed to be here to get an education, which is worth millions of dollars.
Sell their jersey and give them part of the proceeds. What a nimrod comment.
We should be teaching our kids all these sports at UGA. Thank you Title IX.
RAC from ATL
August 14th, 2011
10:32 am
Adding another team to the East is a no brainer. There is already a school with a 72,000 capacity stadium ready to be filled, A big time coach who has played college and NFL, and coached in the SEC & ACC, an alumni base larger than GT, Wake Forest, and probably larger than a couple of schools in the SEC. In a home state that ranks 5th or 6th in producing athletes behind Calif, Tex, Florida, Penn & maybe Ohio. Recruits would flock to Georgia State University……..Bring It On!!
Ozzy
August 14th, 2011
10:42 am
CFB is king,
It’s already corrupted. A super conference without NCAA involvement would just acknowledge the obvious. We all know it’s only about money anymore. Some conferences just have more than others, and so have a huge advantage. Let’s call it what it is, semi pro football played by a lot of kids who have no business in college.
I’m for turning over the rock and seeing what’s really underneath. Then maybe after the dust settles, college football can get back to being played by student athletes, instead of underqualified for college, NFL wannabes. Let the NFL set up their own minor league system, and let college football be what it should be.
MJ
August 14th, 2011
10:43 am
Makes sense for Clemson and FSU to join the SEC, which is the premier football conference in the U.S. They are football schools, and always will be. Basketball is not really an important sport at either school, and they will never be able to recruit the talent to their schools required to win an ACC championship, let alone compete for a national championship. (VaTech might also fit in that category) What major football program wouldn’t want to share in the SEC revenue pool, or bask in the attention of the national media that follows the SEC? It is all about $’s right now in college athletics, and had been for a long time. The SEC expanding into Texas makes perfect sense as well. A&M getting out of the shadows of Texas is a smart move. Now they can have a more attractive sales pitch to potential recruits – playing against Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Florida, Georgia, etc, on prime time national TV. They completely differentiate themselves from Texas, and create more value for their football program. Smart move. They would be crazy not to make the jump to the SEC.
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
10:50 am
Yes, but what does Texas A&M bring to The SEC
MJ
That is what you are missing MJ
LBMAT
August 14th, 2011
10:52 am
Jeff…you see what you’re up against with the few aggies posting on here? Just wait till you get covered up by them. You can’t talk reasonably or rationally with them. I hate to say it but ya’ll are in for a rude awkening. They will make you sick and tired in a very short time. Oh and by the way…you’re team message boards are fixing to be assaulted. Just something you need to get ready for….sorry!
Bill Gullion
August 14th, 2011
10:54 am
As a graduate from a Division III school, I’d like to see the Division I schools leave the NCAA. Their college presidents put up a great front of integrity, but they are all greedy for the money that is created by their football and basketball programs from gate receipts, television and alumni donations. Calling participants in the programs student athletes is a joke. There are way too many non qualifers scholastically. Look at the graduation rates of these schools. . For shame. Let the big boys go off and play under their own rules. College athletics would be much better off!
bill
August 14th, 2011
10:56 am
I did not go to A&M but they have a national following and a huge alumni base. For a team that does not win championships they have a radical following. Its another one of those you just have to be there to understand. My daughter taught there and now she is at Pitt. Pittsburgh is an NFL city and Pitt plays in the Big East but the fans at A&M are more vocal and more willing to spend their money. The NFL is popular but A&M comes first. If you cannot get Texas A&M is a great addition.
Dawg Tell
August 14th, 2011
10:57 am
Since I’m a ole timer watching college football,if the SEC is going to expand :I would like to add FSU and Ga.Tech. I know GT in the SEC?? They use to be part of it and it would add to their program.Never happen,but I do not like Texas AM in the conference.
LBMAT
August 14th, 2011
11:01 am
Oh…something else…don’t buy all the numbers they’ll throw at you…the proof is in the pudding! The traditions they talk about…half of them will never make any sense to you…and the other half will make you sick to your stomach. I kid you not!
Anonymous
August 14th, 2011
11:01 am
[...] [...]
Druid City
August 14th, 2011
11:04 am
There is a very easy way to solve this problem.
The Big XII teams are sick of Texas dominating the local media. The SEC schools are sick of Georgia putting the conference at a disadvantage by changing the recruiting rules.
The SEC trades Georgia for Texas and moves Auburn to the SEC East.
The SEC East is finally competitive with the SEC West and the problem is solved.
nojeffdude
August 14th, 2011
11:07 am
Joefan…I agree.
Arkansas should go back to the “Texas league”; and A&M should stay put.
Southeastern teams need only apply!
RedandBlack
August 14th, 2011
11:14 am
I do not believe that adding Texas A&M to the SEC is a good idea. However, adding Georgia Tech, Florida State, and Clemson is a great idea. Go Dogs!!
Mitch Evans
August 14th, 2011
11:18 am
What a direct hit of the hammer on the nail Jeff….the boxing analogy was dead on. This is exactly why I have such a hard time taking college sports seriously. The kids get screwed for selling jerseys and the like, while the schools reap in the dough off their athletic efforts.
none of your business
August 14th, 2011
11:33 am
UGA Bugkiller, that BIGZERO you are talking about must be your IQ, as for the BIG TEN they have one, and they do believe in academics unlike your conference. so the teams you mentioned that they would be left with would not qualify for admittance to the conference, big your little conference would grab them up in a minute because they would automatically increase the academic standard of the sec.
Avarice
August 14th, 2011
11:48 am
All about the money. Slive and company could not care less about what happens to rivalries, traditions, fans & alumni and how far they have to travel. Pure greed with the only rationale being we have to because everybody else will.
nojeffdude
August 14th, 2011
11:55 am
It may no longer be about geography, but history can’t be ignored. Way back when… A&M, Clemson, Texas, Virginia, and just about every college in the South belong to at first the SIAA, and then the SC conferences…seems as though history is trying to re-pete….hopefully NOT!
Texas A&M’s move to SEC evidence of NCAA’s lost mission | Y'all Sports
August 14th, 2011
11:58 am
[...] Texas A&M’s move to SEC evidence of NCAA’s lost mission [...]
blazerdawg
August 14th, 2011
12:00 pm
One day RAC. It would be great.
BS patrol
August 14th, 2011
12:10 pm
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.- Jeff Schultz
What a load of horse manure from a whiny liberal bleeding heart. Tradition is gone because of a tv deal? Does that mean that AU will no longer do the tiger walk, Alabama the walk of champions, that Clemson players will no longer touch “the rock”, that Georgia won’t have a nice pooch for a mascot, that the sooner schooner is no longer being run, or that Ralphie the buffalo or bevo the longhorn will no longer grace the college football landscape? What a bunch of phooey.
College football conferences have been aligning and realigning for over 100 years. Remember when Sewanee was in the SEC or GT for that matter? Remember only 20 years ago when the sec super 12 first formed and the ACC and Big 12 and other conferences started then adding members. This is nothing new. Just a smack talking journalist trying imposing his own preaching and hyperbole about money being involved and tv deals and all that. Got news for ya you bedwetter.
Conference realignments and tv deals like ND’s have been going on for decades and really for 100 years. Take your whining and politicizing to the opinion page with your other liberal whiney arse friends like Bookman. Cynthia Tucker left so there’s an opening for you. You should fit right in with the loony left.
Al Gore's Message Therapist
August 14th, 2011
12:20 pm
Texas A&M brings nothing to the SEC as you accurately point out in this article! Adding Florida St. and Clemson make a lot more sense. The only way it makes sense to bring A&M into the SEC is if they can convince Oklahoma to join them.
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
12:20 pm
I-A Wins 2000-2010 (11 years)
1. Boise State
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Louisiana State
5. Southern California
6. Virginia Tech
7. Florida
8. Texas Christian
9. Georgia
10. Auburn
11. Ohio State
12. Miami-Florida
13. Oregon
14. Wisconsin
15. Utah
16. Boston College
17. West Virginia
18. Nebraska
19. Texas Tech
20. Hawaii
21. Louisville
22. Fresno State
23. Tennessee
24. Brigham Young
25. Iowa
26. Michigan
27. Georgia Tech
28. Clemson
29. Oregon State
30. Penn State
31. Florida State
32. Cincinnati
33. Southern Miss
34. Pittsburgh
35. Arkansas
36. Toledo
37. Missouri
38. Maryland
39. Northern Illinois
40. Kansas State
41. Oklahoma State
42. Notre Dame
43. Air Force
44. South Carolina
45. California
46. South Florida
47. North Carolina State
48. Navy
49. Bowling Green
50. Marshall
51. Nevada-Reno
52. Texas A&M
Texas A&M is # 52 in wins starting 2000.
You guys SUCK.
You are just like South Carolina.
I don’t want you in The SEC, so who cares what you’ll want ?
BS patrol
August 14th, 2011
12:21 pm
Thomas Brown
August 14th, 2011
10:00 am
Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.
Thomas Brown,
What a stupid, ridiculous stat. First of all anyone can pick a point in time to make a team look good or bad. Does anyone care what a team did 11 years ago? – or even 5 or 6 years ago? What an asinine statement. All that matters is the coaching, the recent recruiting over the last 3-5 year stretch, returning starters and key players, and the momentum of the program. A&M is on somewhat of a roll under Mike Sherman and if they joined the SEC they could land a good number of prospects in Texas who want to play in the SEC.
Also A&M is comparable to Arkansas which is in the sec and A&M historically is certainly above Ole Miss, Miss state, Vandy, Kentucky, S. Carolina, so they clearly have a better football history than almost least half the teams in the SEC and a history that is comparable to several of the other teams like Arkansas and Georgia. You certainly don’t know much about football.
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
August 14th, 2011
12:41 pm
Guys, we have to admit something to ourselves: college football has changed.
Yes, the money has become a large factor in what goes on in college athletics, and you know why that is? Because college athletics bring in the money to PUBLIC universities that they no longer get from state governments because the state governments are BROKE.
Think about it, 30 years ago, the majority of a public university’s money (or at least a FAR larger portion) came from state funding. That simply isn’t happening anymore because state governments simply can’t afford it.
What’s made up that shortfall? Athletics. And while a lot of university athletic departments are separate financial entities than their schools, they give good portions of their earnings back to the university proper (UGA does, at least, I can’t speak for other schools). So yeah, in order to keep the school itself running, big time athletic deals have been made.
That change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You just have to admit that things are different now and learn to work within the new system.
Hell, look at newspapers and the internet. 15 years ago, newspapers were a thriving business. Now, they (as a printed medium) are pretty much circling the drain. But the papers aren’t just gone: they’ve just had to make the change from print to web with the times.
Going back to sports, yeah, even the NCAA needs to realize that things are different. The NCAA’s idea of the “student-athlete” is stuck in the 1930s. They want to work these kids like slaves and then coat about the ideals of the “student-athlete.”
We’re not buying it: these kids help bring millions of dollars into the universities’, as well as the NCAA’s, pockets, can’t get jobs while on scholarship due to time constraints and are punished for trying to sell memorabilia that THEY made desirable in the first place. Do you think people were buying number 8 jerseys while AJ Green was in school because they loved Terrance Edwards? Gimme a break. College athletes deserve to be compensated with an NCAA-funded stipend.
Does this mean that academics no longer matter? Not at all. These kids have access to free tutors and vast educational opportunities. If a particular student doesn’t take advantage of that, then that’s they’re fault. You remember that Greg McElroy was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship, right? You remember that an FSU football player was AWARDED a Rhodes Scholarship a few years ago, right?
Now, I do think students on athletic scholarships should be required to graduate prior to being eligible for the NFL, but that’s a different story.
To bring an end to this rant: yeah, money talks, but just because the system has changed. And guess what? Our demand for college sports made it that way. College sports wouldn’t make money if we didn’t watch it.
As for A&M, I like the idea a lot. Business reasons aside, they have a great football culture, and they’re not that far away from LSU. Heck, they already have a rivalry with Arkansas: who’s to say they don’t start the conference’s next great rivalry with, say, UGA the way that LSU and Florida created their rivalry when we split in ‘92?
Oh, and for Jeff’s Walgreen’s analogy: South Carolina wasn’t exactly a spring chicken when we brought them in in ‘92.
Sermon over.
Sam Robards, Dawg Fan
August 14th, 2011
12:42 pm
If you want more information on college funding and its effects on university fundraising, read Behind the Hedges by Rich White. Great book.
‘Nuff said!
Dr. Alfred Boyd
August 14th, 2011
12:56 pm
Jeff,
Please explain how A&M is a Walgreens. As a graduate of A&M I am offended. I know the SEC is all about football but A&M has an outstanding athletic program. If A&M is a Walgreens then Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Miss. State and Tennessee are Dollar General stores.
Red Stick
August 14th, 2011
1:03 pm
Tweeted by Danny Sheridan this morning:
“I’ve been told the name of the person the NCAA feels allegedly paid Cecil Newton & where witness is. more when on @finebaum this week.”
Red Stick
August 14th, 2011
1:11 pm
Anyone that discounts A&M has never been to a game in College Station. I have been there several times and the atmosphere is awesome. Many Tiger fans have missed player the Aggies.
Geaux Tigers
Go Aggies
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 14th, 2011
1:14 pm
The University of Georgia System spent $2.3 Billion (with a B) in 2009. The University of Georgia Athletic Association voluntarily donated around $5 Million (with an M).
Red Stick (Jumbeauxtiger)
August 14th, 2011
1:18 pm
Enter your comments here
Red Stick (Jumbeauxtiger)
August 14th, 2011
1:18 pm
Paul, you moved to New Hampshire?
Texan4OU
August 14th, 2011
1:25 pm
Jeff is right, A&M has always had two problems…1, they suffer from Texas envy, and 2, they have always had an overinflated since of their self-worth. A&M has never done so little with so many resources. They are the classic underachievers of the Big 12. A&M has only done well in the Big 12 when both OU and UT were down in the middle nineties, and and exactly how many Big 12 Titles have they won since 1998? That one was a total luck out against a much superior Kansas State team. A&M always touts their military heritage and leadership. Now A&M is demonstrating that with a full retreat, take my toys and go home mentality that shows how they are well aware that their status in the Big 12 is in danger of slipping from third to fifth behind OSU and Mizzou. The SEC will gain from A&M giving the Conference entrance into the fertile recruiting grounds of Texas. as an OU Alum, I already realize that Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and LSU recruit nationally like the Sooner and Longhorns do. Beware SEC, A&M is a crybaby school that is adept at making excuses, and short on delivering results. Texas A&M, the next athletic Vanderbilt of the SEC. Notice to all SEC members….A&M will be a whistle blower in the recruiting cesspool that has existed in the SEC. To A&M, goodbye and good riddance.
Athens Dog
August 14th, 2011
1:27 pm
UGA ‘01–You’re right on the nose. The SAT scores of incoming freshmen at UGA and North Carolina are very comparable.