Texas A&M’s move to SEC evidence of NCAA’s lost mission

The day Schultz publishes a story that isn’t negative the world will fold in on itself and reform as something new.

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When FSU and Clemson leave to join the SEC, winning the AAC will be like being the tallest midget. Nice league Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech will play in. Georgia Tech will be left with out a dance partner once the four super conferences with 64 teams are formed.

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Jeff,

I do not mind A&M joining, especially if it may sway Oklahoma. But Missouri is in the mix? And Clemson and FSU obviously both make sense, which would leave the ACC as much a dead man walking as the Big 12…10…9….whatever

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Clemson and FSU make absolutely NO sense for the SEC.

The SEC is already in South Carolina and Florida. The SEC owns those states with the flagship schools.

It’s the same reason why Louisville and NATS makes no sense for the SEC.

After A&M, which opens Texas, and specifically, the Dallas and Houston television markets, to the SEC, the two schools that make the MOST sense for the SEC (if 14 is the number they want to stop at) is either VATech and Mizzou.

Both schools expand the geographic footprint of the SEC and bring with them LARGE television markets as well.

VATech brings the Washington, D.C. market, and Mizzou brings both the Kansas City and St. Louis markets.

The people who talk about Clemson or FSU don’t know what the heck they’re talking about. This isn’t about football. It’s about television and money. It’s a business.

And FSU and Clemson make no business sense for the SEC.

Besides, Auburn, Bama, UGA, and UF would block FSU based on recruiting in northern Florida, and USC would block Clemson (with help from Tennessee and UGA).

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You’re right UGA ‘01.

Prepare to get killed on this blog though. I think you just kicked a hornet nest.

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UGA’01: You’d rather UGA leave the SEC for the ACC due to murkiness and cess-poolism? The ACC? Are you kidding me?

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Jeff – I agree with you about the hypocricy that is FBS conference football. Many of these schools have long since lost sight of their true mission. Having said that, the schools are only giving their key stakeholders/donors what they want. Just read the postings on the possible expansion of the SEC and how many people view it like the expansion of a pro league.

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Thanks Sorry – I stopped caring what my alumni buddies think a long time ago. I am all for playing your butt off and trying to win championships and be the best, but not at the cost of selling our soul. We have worked so hard in Athens to bring up the academic standards the past 30 years, and I just feel like UGA, Vandy, and UF have nothing in common with the rest of the league except for tradition and geography. I believe UGA can be a top 50 school and WIN, and I believe we will…unless these other SEC clowns keep figuring out ways (pay for play, side stepping ethical recruiting practices, over signing…should I continue?) UGA is not perfect by any means ethically, but, I truly believe my Alma Mater is dead serious about becoming better education-wise now. A&M and VA Tech are great schools, so I say add them and kick out Alabama and Tenneseee.

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I agree with UGA ‘01,I have been a college fan for over 60 years. For the first time in over 20 years, I did not buy season tickets to GT football. I am sick of so called college athletics. They don’t care about the students, about education, only about the money. We have major financial problems in this country, and some schools are raking in millions. This has to stop. Let the pro leagues fund their own minor league systems.

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Go watch the Ivy league if you want to watch smart kids.
How is this any different than Pres Jimmy Jr saying in 2008 that he’d cut the defecit in half in his first term? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaQUU2ZL6D8
I’ll tell you. This doesn’t effect any of us. We just watch great footbal on Saturday. The other, the Jimmy Jr lie, has each and every one of us in $50,000 in debt starting right now.
You worry about the integrity of the SEC. I’ll worry about Jimmy Jr and him ruining this great country.
When is kickoff?

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Jack-you’re right, other good conferences have their own issues as well…no doubt. I’d just rather be aligned with Duke, UVA and UNC, personally. That’s all. You can’t question 11 out of the 12 schools in the ACC’s commitment to Academics.

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Again, Clemson will not even be asked to join. History doesn’t matter. Clemson brings NOTHING to the SEC. Not one thing.

If you own a Widget Store, and it is doing very well, it makes absolutely NO SENSE to open up a second Widget Store across the street from your original store. You open the second store across town, in new territory.

It makes absolutely NO SENSE for the SEC to bring in FSU and / or Clemson. The only people who think so are fans who think things like “history” should trump good sense and reason.

Make no mistake boys and girls, we are in an arms race with the Pac-12 and Big-ZERO, an arms race we must win.

When A&M comes, we’re better off expanding to 16 before the other conferences do, cherry picking the teams that help us the most from a business standpoint, as well as a competitive standpoint.

Those teams are A&M, Mizzou, VATech, and WVU. WVU brings in the Western Pennsylvania market, which is mainly Pittsburgh.

You add Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., Kansas City, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh to your television market and you are now the undisputed king, and unassailable.

This is why you leave Oklahoma, OkieState, Kansas, and KansasState for the Big-ZERO to grab up.

Texas may go to the Pac12, with The Longhorn Network folded into their multiple-channel scheme they have, but then who else? Boise (too small, not an AAU school)? BYU (the socialist-minded Left Coast school add Mormon U? Yeah right)?

The SEC has a chance to force the Big-ZERO to expand when they don’t want to, by cherry-picking the best combination of schools & markets available, and in doing so, also putting the Pac-12 in a very difficult position based on the geography, political ideology, and academic standards of that conference.

The ACC, minus VATech, would then raid the BigLeast for Cincy, Louisville, UConn, Pitt, and Syracuse to get to 16 as well.

The Texas Schools not named Texas will either join (or rejoin) the MtnWest, or carve out their own conference with what’s left of the BigLeast & Big-XII.

The SEC can, in one fell swoop, alter the landscape for the better, getting rid of the weak sister conferences (Big-XII and BigLeast) and becoming the once and future King.

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Look SEC rednecks, keep your trailor parks and NASCAR image. We’re not interested either.

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Yeah UGA01 the ACC is so much more morally superior. What with Miami, FSU, UNC, Clemson Va Tech and the Vick Bros?
Cheese and Rice man this is football. Call me jaded but when I watch the SEC form 12:30 to 23:00 every Saturday academic integrity is the last thing I’m thinking about. In fact the only things I might think about besides football are a cheerleader break, do I need a beer at the next commercial and can I hold it til half time.
I’m very selfish about my SEC football and I like being that way.
Oh and WDE!!

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Roswell: WDE. Enough Said. Got where you’re coming from now.

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Central Florida is 3-45 against AQ teams, so personally I don’t think they are that good. Just my opinion.

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Everyone, UGABugKiller is right. Expansion decisions will be based on television markets, ad revenue and cable/broadcast contracts. Geography and traditions will be secondary concerns. Money is power… the power to build better facilities… the power to funnel funds back into universities… the power to hire the best coaches.

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Here’s the reason the SEC wants Texas A&M. TAMU in top ten largest (no. 7) campuses in the United States with very large alumi base. Pick up Dallas, Houston, San Antonio markets…check the population sizes. TAMU is far from a “Walgreens”…for example, oldest and first land grant public school in Texas (also, sea and space grant school). Just simply compare the endowment to that of University of Georgia. Texas A&M University $5.1 Billion with a “B” vs U of Georgia at $572.5 Million…nearly 10 times larger. Also, it’s not much smaller in size than the University of Texas without all the headaches and arrogance. Trust me, the guys at in the Birmingham HQ of the SEC know what they are doing and have done their math. As for a winning program, TAMU has always recuitied against at least 5-7 other Texas school for Texas athletes without a product like the SEC to sell…they will get better…and quickly. They have beat the University of Texas 3 out of last 4 years.
One other quick fact, it wasnt that long ago mid 1970s, Texas A&M was only .25 the size of the Univeristy of Texas. It was a toal military school similar to VMI until the 1960.
My opinion the SEC and Texas A&M together is a win-win for all…except the Longhorns and their new network.

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Texas A&M makes absolutely no sense for the SEC. College Station is in the middle of no where. A&M has almost no natural rivalries with SEC teams. Its almost like having Arkansas in the SEC but worst when considering the level of fan interest. If the SEC is going to expand then stay within the southeast and focus on FSU, Clemson and Georgia Tech.

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Wow some people are idiots. Clempsum to the sec makes no sense at all. What history do they even have to begin with. They have been a joke to the acc since FSU jpined up. They haven’t won a conference championship in over twenty years. On top of that USC has South Carolina on lock sec wide. And Va Tech to the sec is an even bigger joke. I doubt they would ever join up just because of academics. FSU would be the only choice out of the acc that would make sense. But like others have said UF has that state on lock so that’s a no go.

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TAMU is a medicore football program, but by joining the SEC they can get more revenue because the SEC has revenue sharing. So, the pie just got smaller for the SEC schools because they added an average at best football program. They could not compete in our conference how in the world are they going to compete with ARK, LSU,Ala.,Fla., and Auburn? So, they just got richer without getting any better. The TV market for TAMU football is overrated. Norte Dame and us have our own tv deals so we will be fine.

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I’m a ‘69 UGA grad and damn proud of it. Lived in Texas for a few years. It is all about Texas and the Dallas Cowboys. No other teams matter. Tuberville said that the Big 12 would not make it. He’s probably right. Academics, BAH. Show me the money, honey. College football is all about the money , and piss on the players. The Longhorns saw a way to make big bucks with their ESPN financed network. Can’t blame them. To hell with the league. It’s the American way.

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Longhorn state you did’t mention UGA.

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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…

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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.

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Sorry about the double post, guys

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@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.

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FSU is not going anywhere.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Don’t understand why any of y’all want Clemson. They bring absolutely nothing to the table.

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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.

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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.

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Ummm the SEC does not own South Carolina, Clemson does. Nice try

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@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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Clemson is 6-4 against SC in the last 10 years and 13-7 in the last 20.

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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.

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Jeff, in the words of the great Judge Smails, “Well, we’re waiting.”

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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.

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Jeff, even with conference expansion you can still keep the rivalries. Just ask the teams in the Pac-10 (now the Pac-12), so that argument isn’t a good one.

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Jeff, you failed to mention the big reason this is happening. TITLE IX!!!!! The pressure to get money to pay for non-revenue sports (a nice way of saying women’s sports) is what’s driving this train. Add to that the enormous bump in coaches salaries (led by our good friend Nick Saban), and the “need” to have the best in facilities, and you’ve got the perfect storm. I agree on the hyprocisy point, but can almost understand why the presidents do what they do. It has to stop soon, or college football wil lose it’s charm. It has to me, to some extent ,already.

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Jeff, You read my mind and wrote what I feel. I’ve always loved college football precisely because it wasn’t pro football. Amateur athletes playing, by and large, for their home school. Us against them with all the tradition. Now its becoming a cynical money making machine. Profiting on the greatness that WAS college football. They are going to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs. The NCAA can’t compete with the NFL on their terms.

As an aside, college football was one one of the few things left that I’ve continued to cherish from childhood through now. I’m afraid they’re going to ruin one of the last good things left in the modern sports world. Oh well, I still have high school football…oh wait! They’re recruiting in high school sports now.

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I hate to say it Jeff, GREAT article….. Very True, everything you say…

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Excellent points dmr.

My Alabama season tickets, coupled with my Falcons season tickets I plan to have a fun fall. I watched Julio Jones for three years at Alabama. Falcon fans are in for a treat.

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Jeff, I was truly hoping that you would give me something that made a touch more sense, but you have failed to do so. I have attended games in Athens, Baton Rouge, Oxford and Fayetteville. Great environments, I can truly say that I can appreciate them all. You don’t want the geographic lines of the conference expanded, then so be it. The balance of your arguements fail to hold water. How would the inclusion of a ‘barely Texas school’ such as Texas A&M unilaterally prevent the preservation of truly important regional rivalries? How would Texas A&M not add something to the SEC? Jeff, I hesitantly say that I actually feel sorry for you. You are stuck in the past, and non-progressive thinking such as yours is what creates many of the problems that we find ourselves in quite frequently. I read your credentials, very impressive, but did you write this article or was the task handed off to an intern? You may know your football in Georgia, which is much more than I can say for the journalism.

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GT4ever , even if Tech wanted in, UGA won’t support Tech back into the SEC. And frankly, in today’s moneyball environment, adding Tech does nothing for the SEC. Actually, Maryland makes some sense, bringing in the DC and Baltimore markets.

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I am excited about Texas A&M and the possibility of their coming to the SEC. Great school with a great tradition. But somehow I can’t get “The Aggie Song” from “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” out of my head!

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Interesting to note that other than the recent post by gt4ever and an earlier reference that I made, nobody has even mentioned GT coming back in. Other than the obvious overblown bias by Georgia fans against anything GT, why not invite GT back in? GT was a charter member of the SEC, had a proud tradition in the SEC and nationally, offers the rest of the Atlanta market that the Dawgs and the Falcons don’t already own, and is an AAU member. Don’t let the recent sham probation or the mostly mediocre history since leaving the SEC (other than 1990) influence an HONEST opinion. According the the recent Princeton Review, GT has the number 1 athletic facilities (OVERALL) in the country. And GT offers high academic standards and standing, both nationally and internationally.

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Why A&M, uga doesn’t want Tech back in the SEC because they think that it would give Tech a boost in recruiting

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Hey OkI’mAnAggie, Nice to see you have been to so many stadiums to watch football. I guess you think that makes you an expert ungh? It’s your own death wish wanting to join SEC. You guys will undoubtedly be bottom basement duelers for your entire term in the SEC. But then again, I guess you guys are used to being a whipping boy for the rest of the conference.

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I’ve got a great idea! Let’s bring in FSU to balance out A&M. Then bring in GT and Clemson, so UGA and SC can have their rivals in the conference. Finally, bring in NOTRE DAME! Don’t force them to play a conference schedule, just give them an automatic place in the SEC championship game. Everyone else playing for the right to play ND! Now that would bring a huge TV contract and the revenue would pour in. Great idea! Right? I mean it would be a progressive move with modern realities accounted for.

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Take Texas A-M and Texas Tech,would cover the entire state.D/FW.and Houston Markets

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I wonder if the SEC can get Ohio State?

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browncoat,
GT left the SEC for WAY more reasons than that and I would love to see them back in the SEC but it will never happen.

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Yep, it is about the money and has been for a long time. In fact, it is about real big money and it is not going to ever not be about the money. The presidents and the NCAA are hypocrites for positioning themselves as they do.

If the SEC were smart, and they are. They would go ahead and jump to 16 and add Okie, FSU and either Clemson or VA Tech. Get ‘er done.

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TAMU is doing what they have to do since the Big 12 is a dead conference walking. I hate this on some levels – I have friends who went to Baylor, Texas Tech, etc.

We bring a lot to the table; AAU status as a premier research university, huge endowment, rabid fans – a lot of this has been mentioned previously. ESPN with their dollars is the real bad guy and Texas was the enabler. We cannot sit idle and be in a conference with Texas and their vampire brides.

I applaud our leadership for moving on and hope this works for the best. We may take our lumps in football next year but I expect to compete well in everything else and get better in football very quickly.

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OMG…I agree with Schultz for once….the world is nearing an end or is at least tilting on its axis or some other strange phenomenon. Wow!

The President’s are two-faced liars when they argue against a playoff. The same reasons they give for not having one are compromised in every other situation that they give in too. This expansion will just be another indication of their dishonesty and misrepresented ideals.

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Tech in the SEC? That is a step back for an AAU school. Recruiting might be better but not much due the the typical SEC player not make the cut to get in Tech much less stay in. But in the old days Tech did dominate the SEC.

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WHY A&M,
Bear was suppose to support it then backed out and stabbed Dodd in the back. That is all history though. From a history standpoint GT is a great fit for the SEC and would help the SEC academic wise, but again it will never happen.

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Ramblin Man, are you sure about that? I sure don’t remember that happening. But it’s a moot point, since the more important question is why Dooley objected. What did he have to “fear”?

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I have to say that I’ve never hear a Dawg fan talk about moving to the ACC to improve it academics. UGA has made some much fun of the ACC that even if they wanted in they would not be voted in. It would be interesting to see UGA play in the coastal division with the new ACC entrance requirements. You see how that affected Miami and FSU after their entry into the ACC.

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Its not any harder for Tech FOOTBALL players to get in than anywhere else. Special business major for them. They’re not doing too well on the academic progress measure either. Bottom line is Tech has lost its brand and the will to recruit. Hell if Vandy can recruit (this year), then so can Tech.

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Vandy recruit are you nuts? A BS in Management at Tech is not easy. Our Business school is rated much higher than the Terry or whatever school of Business at UGA.

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UGA poster putting UGA in the same class with Vandy and Florida on academics. He must be drinking some good stuff because the Athens academy is more on a par with Miss State and Auburn. Please keep Poodle academics out of any discussion.

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Browncoat, the “existing pool of money” is going to get much bigger with more mouths to feed. Contracts will be re-negotiated with gusto. Growth is good ($$$$) for everyone currently in the conference. You are going to grow..the question is with who? Are you going to drive to Maryland? I think not. Tallahassee or Clemson? More likely.

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What does A&M have to do with the SEC? It opens up Texas for recruiting and also opens up Georgia for them.Pulling in local teams makes more sense. Leave them in Texas to compete with their neighbors.

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OkI’mAnAggie: you are right. Jeff Shultz is wrong.

As a grad of both UF and ATM and having lived on campus of both universities and having attended multiple games and venues in both the SEC and Big 12. This is a great opportunity for A&M and for the SEC, A&M raises the average in both the academic and athletic department prowess.

Mr Schultz can argue that the SEC should not expand… but he made a poor choice to disparage A&M when they are superior to the majority of SEC schools in all the facets you mention.

What is great about the SEC is the game-day culture in places like Oxford, Knoxsville, and Baton Rouge. I think the Aggies will truly enjoy the SEC environment.

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LakeDawg,
Not looking for an academic debate, but I promise you it is. GT is allowed maybe two special admits a year for football. GT has higher standards for admittance like Vandy, Duke, Va. Tech and many others that most SEC schools would run from. Why do you think so many SEC coaches balked at the idea of Slive raising the madatory GPA to 2.5 from 2.0? The Business management degree some UGA fans make fun of that most football players take is highly regarded in the business world and not easy by most schools “easy” major. There are no easy classes to bump ones GPA like most schools have. As far as the graduation rate for GT football players being low. Well on paper it looks bad, but if you compare it with the student body at large it falls close in because well GT is hard.

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Nole in Atl, of course the pool of money will grow if you expand to more markets. The SEC can reach more markets and seek more in TV contracts. I have nothing against FSU, it’s just that adding them to the SEC adds little to the conference.

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“Squint, and they all look like Don King.” That would be mushrooms, dude.

The reference to the White guy riding the unicorn was cute too. Mightn’t your commander-in-chief offer his, that is, if he’s tired of riding it?

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Yes, you have your “great” football team but that in no way helps you get an upper tier job. But hey, not to worry you team isn’t that great anymore is it?

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Hey watch it! Barry was an UGA grad before he became “The One” who will be one and done next year.

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RedandBlack, Tech doesn’t do as well as they once did, but we are in fine shape financially, from what I hear. The Gailey and Hewitt contracts hurt Tech, but most of those buyouts came from external sources. In fact, quite a bit of Tech’s “investments” in the future lately have come from large donations, for example the rebuilt basketball arena and practice facility and the indoor practice facility for football.

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Pearls before swing means trying to argu with a fool or in this case an UGA fan. Its a waste of time. Hey I heard that any UGA fans defecating in the Tail gating section this year will be punished.

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Jeff
So true. I gave up my season tickets. I can’t take it anymore. (or contribute to it) and players have no representation.
coach e

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Tech Fan, actually the UGA posters on this blog have been a cut above (a BIG cut above) the ones who post their drivel on the Tech blogs. I would say this has been a pretty decent conversation for the most part…….so far.

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Well Schultz, this is one of your very best pieces. However, I have only one complaint. By comparing college presidents, athletic directors, and conference commissioners to Don King, I believe you are being altogether unfair to Mr. King.

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Why A&M?: You are correct. I regret any rudness toward the Country Gentlemen from the fair city of Athens

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Tech Fan, all 2 or 3 of them, huh? LOL

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right Tech Fan, and most of them probably have never even been to a game in Athens, or anywhere else.

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First, Schultz you are wrong! Garnering A&M; FSU and two other schools guarantees the SEC will always be the top dog. Even if the PAC 12 becomes 16 with Texas, Oklahoma, and two others…Even if the Big 10 (12) garners 4 others including Notre Dame…the SEC will remain top Dawg. Sometimes we have to take our UGA glasses off (both you and I) and look at the big picture. It is bad for UGA which I guess is why you took your stance since a larger SEC makes it ever tougher for us to win the Championship. Tough, we have to get over it and go out and find us a coaching staff that can get us there. The recruits that come here are good enough to get us there regardless of the size of the conference. It is the coaching staff that is lacking.

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Tech Fan, I would venture to guess that most of the TRUE long-time Georgia fans would actually like to see Tech back in the SEC. And I think most long-time Tech fans would like that too. As much as I bad-mouth the SEC at times, it IS the best conference, and being a member again would change the whole athletics atmosphere at Tech.

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I’ve been watching Tech football since 1974. I’ve been to sanford when we won and they fans were ok just disappointed. But lately since they win most of the time you don;t want to be between the hedges when we win like in 2008.

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I am not for the SEC changing. Let all the other conferences do there swapping and lets keep the conference the way it has been since it was formed. The SEC needs to set an example with all of this. Does tradition not mean anything these days?

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I miss the Auburn game and I like going to rocky top on the river to see UT. But the SEC and Tech are moving in different directions now and UGA won’t lets us in for fear our recruiting would make us more competive. I believe that Tech is committed to the ACC.

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Dawgfan: New ACC? We have been in the ACC for about 33 years. You know, right before you last Nat. Champ. I’ll enjoy you latest attemp to win that again! 31 years and counting!

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DawgFan, I know you are correct, but can you give me an honest, UNBIASED opinion as to why not?

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Mid Town: Who has been feeding you that shlt? Tech has no more that a couple of specials a year. UGA/Tech talk is always included here? Get witrh it!

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I think Furman would be a good fit in the SEC, then Vanderbilt could win 2 games some years when they beat South Carolina and Furman–

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WHY A&M,
Dawgfan does not have an unbiased bone in his body. He will make a good point from time to time then will spew hate if you disagree or try to argue your own point.

If teams leave they leave. The ACC will rebuild for better or worse due mainly because it is a basketball division. The superconfrences will then beat up on each other with very few OOC games and several rivalries will be lost.

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Mid town IM me you sound interesting with you facts and stats.

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It is funny that the SEC promoters are mostly from the middle of the pack SEC teams. SEC = 4 big boys and 8 wantabees.

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Mid town: BB? They are all idiots! We are talking football here. Again wake up and tune up you are sorely lacking! ADD maybe?

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Midtown, here is the Tech Management curriculum: http://mgt.gatech.edu/programs/under/files/bsba_credit_sheet.pdf

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Mid Town,
I can’t say that year in and year out this is true, but GT has been identified as having the highest SAT scores for football players in the past.

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This time.

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But there are reports out of North Carolina that the SEC might go after North Carolina, but NC wouldn’t leave the ACC without Duke. Some up there are also mentioning NC State, which makes some sense.

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So why are you SEC folks so caught up in the idea of conference expansion. Don’t ya’ll just enjoy watching your currents team play? Or are you at best simply anal?

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Tech has shown the last few years that in football it can beat Auburn, Miss. State, Vandy (Georgia, not as much), so there is no reason to think Tech wouldn’t be competitive in the SEC, regardless of what Georgia fans believe. Tech would be a middle of the pack SEC team. Above Vandy, Kentucky, the Mississippi teams, but not doing so well against Bama, Fla, LSU.

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“There is no common good in college football, any more than there is in boxing. ”

Oh come on Jeff… that’s plain ole sensationalism right there. Maybe a lot of what you said is true. But I’d divorce Texas’s arrogant ass too.

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Now Vandy will have someone to beat up on.

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I think when we have a Truit type of decomit it may have to do with grades or that they look ahead tothe work required to stay in school. But with lower SEC standards we would bercome much more competitive in just a few recruiting classes. Of course the Tech leadership would have to approve and that might not fly. But in my opinion, that is why UGA will never let us back in. Look at the records Tech dominated UGA when we were in the same conference.

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SEC should never, never add LSU and let Sewanee and Mercer get away.

Actually, I kind of agree that was probably a mistake.

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The ACC might lose a team or two but they can be replaced quickly with so good schools. The ACC could go to 16 teams in just a year or two. The ACC will be one of the four that survives. However, the big 12 and the big east are dead but don’t know it yet.

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I absolutely hate the idea of Texas A&M moving to the SEC. Missouri is also ridiculous. Clemson, FSU, Miami, VA Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, or even GA Tech make more sense. Being from the Southeast, I am proud that we have the strongest conference in the nation. Much of that goes away when the league expands outside of the Southeast. Additionally, A&M is no better than a middle of the pack team. If you are going to go outside of the region, why not at least go after a team like Oklahoma? I think the expansion will eventually lead to a redivision of conferences and I do not see that ending favorably for the SEC.

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Saban Never Sleeps: Hey we resemble that rmark. Roll tide roll, down the hole around the bowl roll tide roll!

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HoH – do not agree with your perspective. Both schools are excellent in different areas. UGA has not had a medical school in the past, and UNC has alot of northeastern students as CH is closer to that region and, thankfully, enjoys a much greater exposure to that population base. UNC/CH is more corporate; UGA/Athens is more interesting and artistic. They are both terrrific, just different.

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Good column. I am disgusted by this addition as well as the possibility of FSU, and Clemson. I’m disgusted that Ohio State got to play rulebreakers in their bowl game, then disappointed again when they got off scott free. I’m disgusted that Auburn is smiling at everyone who knows they are dirty and saying “Proove it, beyotch!” I am a lifelong fan of college football but am quickly losing my enthusiasm for this “sport”.

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You know the oldtimers always said “follow the money if you want the real story of who ate the cabbage”. Just follow the dollars into the the schools, coaches, NCAA and the overpaid bowl games and all that is left is funding for womens sports and a a not so free ride for the players. As we have seen many times before the ones that do the most get the least and those who do the least (NCAA) end up with the most.

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Easy NC folks – if it were not for Georgia beating back the Spanish and Floridians you folks would be representing yourselves as being from Caroline del Norte now.

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To my knowledge UNC, not the NCAA withheld all FB players whom it ( not the NCAA) found to have received impermissible help from a tutor. And the help was in the form of making corrections to papers written by ?2-3? FB players. I’m sure there were no players at Tech who got help in writing papers. So if UNC punished the players, how did UNC cheat? John Blake apparently sought to direct some pro-potential players to agents who wanted to represent them in contract negotiations. UNC fired this rogue coach. How did UNC cheat/derive benefit. He’ll, they played the entire season without those players. And on that note, I’m for letting players strike any deal and get any monies that come from their value. Receiving money/benefits during recruiting is another matter. In short Tech Fan , you are simply a flamer – I.e., full of $hit.

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65dawg, @ 6:36 you said: “Jeff, you failed to mention the big reason this is happening. TITLE IX!!!!! The pressure to get money to pay for non-revenue sports (a nice way of saying women’s sports) is what’s driving this train.”

This is not true. In other words, it’s a lie, and you’re completely wrong about this. Nothing could be further from the truth:

Myth: Title IX forces schools to cut men’s sports.
Title IX in no way requires schools to cut men’s sports. Some schools have chosen to eliminate certain men’s sports, like gymnastics and wrestling, and even some women’s sports, rather than control bloated football and basketball budgets, which consume a whopping 75% of the average Division I-FBS (formerly Division I-A) school’s total men’s athletic expenses.

Myth: Football and men’s basketball finance other sports in colleges.

Fact: Most football and men’s basketball teams spend much more money than they bring in. A 2009 study shows that almost half of Division I-FBS football and men’s basketball programs do not generate enough revenue to pay for themselves, much less any other sports. These programs reported annual deficits averaging about $2.7 million and $870,000 respectively. And, how do some of the football programs spend their money?
Some spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to fly their football teams to games on chartered jets (instead of commercial planes).

http://www.nwlc.org/resource/debunking-myths-about-title-ix-and-athletics

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The ACC is only one notch above the little sisters of the poor without Clemson, FSU and VT. While very good academic institutions, the football programs do not stack up to the “Big Boys.” UGA better shape up or risk the annual beatdown from Clemson and FSU that they will be playing when the announcement is made. The rest of the ACC will be irrelevant and NC will be prime recruiting grounds for UT, UGA and Clemson. Sorry for the NC schools but no basketball votes in the SEC. Football is king and you have chosen your paths. The East division will be more competitive with FSU and Clemson giving UF and UT a run for their money. It should make for exciting TV and excellent money for the SEC.

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Gen Oglethorp, are you related to Chancellorthorp at UNC? He wants to educate the GC’ers who escaped the cotton fields of Ga. To work in the textile mills of NC. By the way, where did the term Georgia Crackers come from? Crack is a relatively new phenomenon .

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Crackers refers to the wagon drivers who cracked their whips at the mules, or whatever animal was pulling the wagons. Didn’t they teach you any history when you were in elementary school?

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Mike Slive, Georgia Tech has beaten Auburn Mississippi St, Vandy and Georgia over the last few years. They would be a middle of the pack SEC team. Ane the ACC is not losing Clemson, Va Tech and Fla State. Maybe one, but that is doubtful. Those schools have no reason to go to the SEC, and only Va Tech adds anything moneywise to the SEC.

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Agree with you on that PF.

Back on topic, I do not belive that the SEC is going to raid the ACC of any school, unless either FSU or Va Tech comes to the SEC and requests to be in due to some grievance. I think Mark Bradley was correct when he wrote that Oklahoma is coming in. OU could care less about taking OK State with them and they will be left with a very mediocre conference payout without TA&M and Texas’s share of the money gone.

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I am confused about one thing in all this talk and that is what does Clemson really offer? One national championship and thier last ACC championship was like 20 years ago. GT owns the all time record and is ties with them since joining the ACC 14 all I think. Point being Clemson is not a power house team and often falls way below expectations and yet some say GT has no place in the SEC yet Clemson does. The logic fails me. I just can’t see three teams leaving and the only team I see gaining anything by leaving is VT. This would open a market for the SEC and boost VTs recruitment. If the superconfrences really occur the ACC will raid the big east and continue with running basketball and every npw and again having a football team rise to the occasion.

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Ramblin, all this about Va Tech, Clemson and Fla State comes from an article which reported that an unnamed SEC official stated that those three teams were “close” to joining the SEC along with A&M. Logically, it doesn’t make much sense (other than VT, and it is hard to believe they woould leave after lobbying so hard to get in the ACC).

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Peach Fuzz is an obvious troll, please do not feed him.

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Browncoat, it’s pretty pathetic to be a troll from NC, isn’t it?

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LOL @ Browncoat

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Don’t like the idea of A&M in the SEC at all. Olkahoma and Missouri maybe. In the east Tech and Clemson makes the most sense to me. Clemson is a natural rival for Georgia and South Carolina. Tech because they are a former SEC school and did alright for themselves. We are extended as far north as we need to go. Olkahoma and Missouri just make more sense. Don’t blame A&M or any other team in the Big whatever it is for wanting out. The big advantage that was given to Texas was a slap in the face to the rest of the conference. Maybe Texas and Notre Dame should start their own conference. They could call it the “Big Head Conference”.

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Tdawg, I like that. Very funny !!!

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Forgive me, You’re right. Just having some fun on Sat nite. PS, I luv Ga., mother’s fr Ga., and I luv to visit. I luv my Ga. Cousin like a brother.

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wow, miner, seriously? that’s awesome

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Great move for Texas A&M and for the SEC, now if they could just find a conference to send the Auburn Correctional Institute to. Florida State would be good addition also.

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Gonna eat your words when things turn? Maybe you need to beat Auburn before running your mouth.

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Data…you are kidding yourself if you think the ACC wouldn’t be drooling at the opportunity to have UGA or UF. Now if you’re just flying off the cuff on a Saturday night and drinking some brews, that’s a whole different story.

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The SEC West needs Texas A&M because they don’t have Vanderbilt. They need a whipping boy and this will suit them just fine. Oklahoma would be a better team but has little to do with the south and nothing to do with the east. Just call us the Big Money Conference. We don’t need A&M.

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Dogham, something to that effect was rumored last year when the expansion talk was going on. Could be interesting

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Exactly….If you’re gonna go….go B1G.

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Would bring in big bucks to Atlanta too, since nobody from up there is going to be driving back home after the game

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Nebraska was on to something when they called out Texas last year and then decided to leave to the B1G Ten due to Texas calling the shots for the conference and the commissioner bowing to their every whim. Glad to see another school draw a line in the sand against the Longhorns.

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Don’t think right now Tech could compete with UM or OSU, but the allure of playing in the Big Ten would definitely help recruiting.

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I think after 2 or 3 years, every game at Grant Field would sell out

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Yep…..Tech would get a sellout twice that season!!!!!!

If Nebraksa comes to Ga Tech that would make 3 as they would travel with enough fans to sell it out themselves.

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Let’s invite U of Hawaii, to pick up that tv market!!! Oh, be a nice road game also.

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Alabama and USC have scheduled Hawaii when on probation to give the kids a trip away from home. I’m sure UGA will be in that boat soon enough.

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Tech ticket sales for the Orange Bowl weren’t good either, but that was a weeknight following the long Christmas break. Pathetic excuse in my book, but those are the facts. Sure didn’t have any problem filling the Orange Bowl in 1966.

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Sorry WHY but I believe tech’s student body has changed alot since ‘66…..There’s a whole lot more India than America on N Avenue!!!

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I understand that Clemson doesn’t add anything market wise and footprint wise, but as a Georgia fan I have to admit, the gameday experience at Clemson is hard to beat. It is not better than Athens and between the hedges, but Clemson’s tailgating, rabid fanbase yet good sports, the rock, the entrance of running down the hill, the paw, the websters definition of a small college town, but still a big school with a big stadium has SEC written all over it. Maybe the SEC could take care of market and television sets with Tex AM and balance with Clemson to stay true to SEC culture, brand and proximity.

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I thought the whole parking / tailgating thing at Clemson was the best organized I have seen anywhere. Notre Dame is good too, and as hard as it was to admit it, the Notre Dame fans were the classiest I have seen anywhere.

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Thucydides, and isn’t that what it should all be about anyway—what you described about VSU. It’s at schools like that where football is still a sport, and not a business.

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Thanks WHY!!! Lights out for me bro…..

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I’m outta here too, guys.

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BYRDDAWG,
WHY A&M gave several good reasons and I will give a few more. As a dawg fan you know that UGA is pushed hard in the state of Ga (just go looking for GT merchandise compared to UGA) so GT does not pick up to many undecided or uncommited fans if you will. Add that with all the things to do in Atlanta and the average person decides to spend that extra income on a Falcons game if in to sports or the aquarium or something of the like if just looking for something to do on a saturday. Most GT graduates do not stay in Ga. let alone Atlanta so the fan base gets spread pretty thin. Now we could and should travel better and I have never fully understood why some don’t support the team more. If you ever watch a home game when VT, U, FSU, or Clemson come to town it’s a pretty good turn out but with other schools it can be a ghost town. One thing I will give SEC fans is they travel and most of those stadiums are pretty evenly split on game day. If CPJ can build a competitive team year in and year out and stay away from seasons like last year I think attendence will pick up.

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The college universities are getting more and more like big goverment,there will never be enough money.The more money they make,the more they spend,and tution keeps going up every semester for the no student athlete.Is the college deal turning into wall street (To Big to Fail)They added another game to the regular season a few yrs back,and all the teams added a red headed step child to the schedule.and most teams have to pay a big payout to get N.Dakota State or TN Chattoonoga for what.Rather see a 10 game regular season then a playoff,then it wouldn’t matter how big the conference is they would all be involved.The more teams in a conference your teams percentage of winning the thing goes way down.Bigger isn’t always better.

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Damn. I spent a lot of time and money going to every SEC stadium in the east and west division besides the swamp just to say I had. Not sure I will travel to the new additions. How will this affect our western division schedule?

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Jeff, I agree its all about what gets the check. But the model almost has to have that now. In a strange way it is about the student athlete and making better for them. The reason? That football program pays for a kid to go to school on a diving scholarship, swimming scholarship, an equestrian scholarship and a load of other programs that get funded by that massive golden calf of a football program.

If it were not for football there would be many other students who never get the chance to go to school and grow their sport.

Not that it should be like that, but it has sort of morphed into that. If the football does not fund more, they have to cut, and that would be PR failure leading to other bad things.

Got to feed the machine now.

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Stinger2 – I think Jeff’s point is that Walgreens will not be invited to open a location at Phipps Plaza…

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When TCU jumped to the Big East!! for the money and the BCS bid, well, I just thought, it is all over. Sad. Why didn’t the Big 12, this rump of a conference go after TCU? Was TCU not interested?

Some of you may remember the old Southwest Conference. The NCAA blew that conference up when they gave, perhaps deserved, SMU the only death penalty ever meted out. Rice and Texas in the same conference. Sounds like Vandy and Alabama doesn’t it. Just sad.

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Ooo Jeff. One other thought. If the colleges started paying or compensating star players, i.e. the ones who bring in the dough, the move might put an end to some of this Title IX crap. I mean, right now men’s football and to a lesser extent, men’s basketball subsidizes all these other sports. Academe just loves socialism and the college presidents look tall and righteous when they take from the share cropper in the football program and give to the girls in the saddles in the equestrian programs. If money actually went to the people who produced it, who earned it, there might be less for the freeloaders. We might actually see a return of men’s wrestling and gymnastics. What a concept.

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Jeff brings the argument to the table that revenue and tv are driving this, and everyone decides which teams will be best in slots 14-15-16.

College Football and to some extent College Basketball have become the minor leagues for their pro counterparts.

Missouri joining the SEC (it touches Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Illinois). makes no more sense than it will to send the baseball, softball, field hockey and women’s basketball teams there for conference games. 125 miles from St. Louis and Kansas City I am sure it’s a great town, but it’s in the middle of no where and brings the number 21 and 31 tv markets,,..

Football and it’s stadiums, bowls and such can support whole athletic programs because of our hunger to “see it live” on TV… but it’s 873 miles from Columbia, South Carolina to Columbia, Missouri. 954 miles from Gainesville, Florida to College Station, Texas. quite a stretch from the Southeast.

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Ahhhhhh Maroon and White and Cowbells will take over the SEC West See Now Slive will pull the limits on ringing cowbells everywhere, You want the take care of the new kid on the block. LOL Go Dawgs, Go Aggies, Mo Cowbell

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UGA ‘01- if you believe in ranking UGA is ranked 58 so you can still say UGA is a top 50 school and have good athletics. However, why people think that including Jeff Schultz: good academics and good athletics cannot coexist. either great academics and bad athletics or bad academics and great athletics.
I think the gap is shrinking, am I wrong?

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The NCAA should be abolished and let the top 50 colleges form a format that teams could (1) pay a reasonable stipend to players for pocket money. (2) allow players to have part time jobs and summer work (3) fain control of tv scheduling so that games start at reasonable times both day or night (4) have a playoff system that is workable.

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So . . . . what DO you like about the NCAA, Jeff?

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I say bring back Tech as the 14th SEC team; an easy conference win every year would be good for the Dawgs!

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Let’s all join the SEC! Beat the rush. Texas AM? Seriously why bother? Vandy didn’t have a sister?

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Want to know what AnM provides the SEC? Check out Bill Byrne’s haircut-are you sure you want to do this?

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No, Ted, you were spouting off about “out of control” football budgets and laughable thing that have nothing to do with Title IX.

Title IX is a federal law that proclaims women athletes must have the same opportunities and must be treated the same as male athletes.

Then, school must take that federal law and make them FIT into the real world.

In the real world, the only two sports that make money are football and men’s basketball (unless you’re UConn and Tenn, where women’s basketball turns a profit).

So, the profits from football especially, is the reason why money-losers like ALL the women’s sports and other men’s sports exist…. NOT the reason why men’s sports like wrestling have been dropped.

The ACTUAL reason men’s sports like wrestling have been dropped has to do with the fact that there is no equal in women’s sports to the 85 scholarships offered in football. So, to “even the playing field,” schools must take on 4 or 5 money-losers like field hockey or women’s soccer or equestrian sports (again, payrolled by the FOOTBALL TEAM), meaning there are LESS opportunities for money-loser men’s sports like wrestling to be in the budget.

Your source seems to have an ideological axe to grind if you and it are blaming “out of control football budgets” when football is the only reason money-losing sports, which at most schools are ALL the women’s sports, even exist.

My source for MY information is the Social Problems class (SOCI 2600) I just made an “A” in during summer semester, of which there was a whole section regarding gender equality, and Title IX in particular.

So again, you couldn’t more wrong, more ignorant, and more uninformed than if you tried to be so.

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Agree with UGA 01 and Panhandle. Big time and long time UGA fan. No more money being spent by me on this NCAA garbage. Only thing that might re-excite me is UGA move to ACC.

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Texas A(lways) & M(ediocre) will work out fine in the SEC. And I don’t mean that as a complement. Enjoy being the conference back marker, farmers.

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heartofdarkness @1:15AM

Brilliant post! I love it. You, sir, are a master of wit and sarcasm.

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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.

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((((((((((((( 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.

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A&M wouldn’t bring $18 million in new revenue to the SEC—the per team cut will go down.

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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

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Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.

What does that tell you CFB is king ?

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Its all about GREED- same as the government and business world. Pass more rules and regulations to keep the small in their place.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Yes, but what does Texas A&M bring to The SEC

MJ

That is what you are missing MJ

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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!

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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.

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[...] [...]

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Joefan…I agree.
Arkansas should go back to the “Texas league”; and A&M should stay put.
Southeastern teams need only apply!

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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.

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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.

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[...] Texas A&M’s move to SEC evidence of NCAA’s lost mission [...]

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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.

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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 ?

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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.

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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.

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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

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Enter your comments here

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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.

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I don’t have a major opinion on this, but did want to throw in my 2 cents on Va Tech. Have any of you who are touting Va Tech for the SEC looked at a map? Va Tech is nowhere near DC! Having lived in DC and in various places around Va, I can tell you that no one in DC cares about Va Tech (or Maryland or UVA for that matter). DC is an NFL town. If the SEC wants rural (redneck) fans from the state of Virginia, then by all means, go after Va Tech. But understand you’re not getting the DC market with that choice. And don’t misunderstand me about the redneck fans– I’m not bashing them– I’d put Va Tech’s rednecks up against the best of UGA, Auburn, or Alabama— just understand what you are getting. Its not the DC market.

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Texan4OU,

We already have one of those programs in the SEC. We call it the University of Georgia.

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If the SEC does expand, UGA should push as hard as it can for GT to be one of the new schools. UGA beats GT 9 of 10 times so they would have an extra easy conference win guaranteed.

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Stinger2, I would bet the majority of true UGA fans would gladly accept Tech back into the SEC. Unfortunately for reasons known only to them, the UGA athletic department would not allow it. Dooley played a major role in preventing Tech’s re-entry the last time it was proposed. I think the same thing would happen again.

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We could always trade Auburn for A&M. Auburn would do well in Texas, they know how to cheat with the best of them. Their new rival could be SMU.

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Jeff, I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m a traditionalist, and one of the things that has made college football great is the tradition. It seems to be lost on many and I think the fans are the ones that suffer. I couldn’t care less about having Texas A&M on the Georgia schedule (but it would be irritating if they replace say Alabama or Ole Miss). The SEC already has twelve teams and a great thing going — if they add two more I believe it’s just too much. I’m sure there would be more money, but why not just make it the NFL Minor League and just pay the players. The charm is being lost amongst the greed.

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It’s the same arrogant liberal blowhard hypocrisy that lets NCAA basically operate as a mafia. The same liberal blowhard hypocrisy that is bankrupting this country as we speak. Of course, both groups are only about fattening their wallets and extending their power.

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The SEC announced after a meeting today that it will not be inviting Texas A&M or any other school into the conference at this point. Good decision.

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Enter your comments here

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That’s probably a good thing Don, and bigdawg

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Athens Dawg , I saw a significant difference between UNC and UGA SAT scores when I just checked. Also data revealed that UNC admitted only 32 percent of those who applied , while UGA accepted 54 percent. UNC much, much more difficult to get into.

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shankit, I didn’t see that column, but yeah, you can rest assured that move would NEVER NEVER NEVER happen

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Southeast Conference – Last geography lesson I had, I recall
Texas was West of the Mississippi. SEW Conference?
I like Tech, FSU or Clemson.

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Univ of Mich. 1283
UNC. 1267
UGA 1258
Auburn. 1110
Arizona St. 1089

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Every thing is bigger in Texas, er, maybe except the SEC.

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Random incoming….go to aboutus.com for a true picture of UNC vs UGa SAT scores. Significant difference there.

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Correction, go to About.com.

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[...] Jeff Schultz at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. var addthis_pub = "brianb722";addthis_brand = "40 Acres Sports";addthis_options = "favorites, [...]

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Hey Red – There’s also a saying down here “Cock A Doodle Doo”
that the hen that lays the egg goes to Waffle House. Sunny Side Up.

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I don’t believe, though I may be mistaken, that Clemson has the courage to join the SEC. The Tigs are always certain of being one of the ACC’s top football schools, and – other than FSU – the school with the most money, fans, and strongest tradition.
Tthe SEC is another matter. In the SEC, Clemson woudl be just another school – its tradition, money, fan support are no better than average, its pretensions simply laughable when compared with the solid accomplishments of FL, TN, GA, AL, LSU, AUB, or even ARK.
I may be wrong, but for me, being it the ACC is a security blanket for Clemson.
I may be mistaken, but I have the feeling that Clemson would prefer to be a large fish in a small pond, than a small fish in a very big pond, and a pond full of hungry preditors who could consume
Clemson in one gulp.
Making that sort of leap requries a great deal of courage, and I’ve seen nothing in Clemson’s history to indicate that the school has that sort of courage.

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I’m with you, Jeff.

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BS patrol

August 14th, 2011 12:21 pm

“Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.” Thomas Brown states as current state-of-affairs for the last 11 years to and including today. That only 1 time in the last 11 years has Texas A&M been ranked and it only # 19 and that same year lost to both SEC teams it played.

Thomas Brown,

“What a stupid, ridiculous stat. Does anyone care what a team did 11 years ago? What an asinine statement. if they joined the SEC they could land a good number of prospects in Texas who want to play in the SEC. ‘Texas A&M is at best about mid-pack in The SEC.’ You certainly don’t know much about football.”

Sorry to correct your incorrectly stated correction; but, it seems that you think The SEC should have allowed an also ran football program to join the prestigious SEC because that school wants to, when they turned it down a year ago. I happen to think that we should add a program not – as you state – about 6th or 7th best in The SEC, but a top program if we are to add a program.

By the way, let me know when Texas A&M is # 11 in 1-A wins all-time as UGA.

And, also by the way, who cares what Texas A&M did 11 years ago ? Bubba, I know this is hard to understand but for the

LAST 11 YEARS

Texas A&M is # 52 in 1-A wins. I hardly think that is great today for Texas A&M to say – oh take us, we are great.

NOT.

We took on another program like Texas A&M, South Carolina last time we expanded along with Arkansas. And, look what we got ? Watered down The SEC is what we got. You are not SEC material, if all you can claim is that you are not in the same ballpark as already you admit the Top 6. Who cares about the podunks in the bottom half of The SEC ? Try beating some of the lousy Big XII teams, and increase your winning percentage above the ALL-TIME 39 percent winning percentage you have against The SEC, and then come running back in here to The South and tell us you deserve to be let in.

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Over the last 11 years

Oh, that’s BS

Who cares what they did 11 years ago ?

Good heavens.

What is preposterous ? Who cares what they did 11 years ago ?

The entire last 11 years # 52 in wins.

Who needs that.

As for mid-pack in The SEC. We are to break this up for that ?

I told you the vote would be no. Now, bring Choke-la-Homa with you, and the story might change. But, you ?

Because you are mid-pack SEC ?

Not very impressive.

What makes The SEC not the Big XII is that there are 6 Top SEC Football Programs, not 2 of which Texas A&M is not one of them.

Get lost.

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Let’s teach our young people of today, that when 1 person posts that over the last 11 years Texas A&M has been ranked but once and it a year they lost to both SEC teams they played, that we are talking about 11 years ago only. That Texas A&M is # 52 in wins for all the last 11 years, that we are talking about 11 years ago only.

“Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.”

“What a stupid, ridiculous stat. Does anyone care what a team did 11 years ago? What an asinine statement. if they joined the SEC they could land a good number of prospects in Texas who want to play in the SEC. ‘Texas A&M is at best about mid-pack in The SEC.’ You certainly don’t know much about football.”

By the way, let me know when Texas A&M is # 11 in 1-A wins all-time as UGA.

And, also by the way, who cares what Texas A&M did 11 years ago ? Bubba, I know this is hard to understand but for the

LAST 11 YEARS

Texas A&M is # 52 in 1-A wins. I hardly think that is great today for Texas A&M to say – oh take us, we are great.

NOT.

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“Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.”

“What a stupid, ridiculous stat. Does anyone care what a team did 11 years ago? What an asinine statement. if they joined the SEC they could land a good number of prospects in Texas who want to play in the SEC. ‘Texas A&M is at best about mid-pack in The SEC.’ You certainly don’t know much about football.”

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‘Navy has done better than Texas A&M the last 11 years.’

“What a stupid, ridiculous stat. Does anyone care what a team did 11 years ago?”

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The first rule of “journalism” used to be to get the story right. This guy rights a column based on a rumor and the rumor turns out to be wrong. It reminds me of the old SNL skit with Gilda Radner ranting about some perceived injustice only to be told she was wrong…at least at the end of the skit she would acknowledge her mistake by saying “never mind”. Here we get no retraction, no explanation about why the whole premise for the article was flawed and no apology to the readers, the NCAA, college presidents or anybody that would expect basic standards from their news source. Fox News has ruined our society.

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So, to turn Jeff’s title around on him:

Jeff Schultz’s Overuse of Speculative, Yellow Articles Evidence of AJC’s Lost Mission

I’m technically four words too long, but it gets the point across.

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Gyod dog, son! Why do we need the NCAA? Jimmy Olson oughta do a story and trace the path of the money in NCAA Football.
That would be an eye opener.
The Leach

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Whoever has been posting all this tripe under my user name is an imposter. First of all I have never written a post as long as his. Secondly, I write stuff like this:

6.Speed of Sound
5.Speed of Light
4.Warp Speed
3.Ridiculous Speed
2.Ludicrous Speed
1.SEC Speed

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Well, the move to superconferences will clear up the national title picture somewhat. In about 10 years, when the Pac 32 champ meets the winner of the 36 team SEC in the Chili’s Bar & Grill Bowl co-sponsored by UPS and GoDaddyDotCom (known as the Sugar Bowl in less enlightened times) for the national championship, who will deny the legitimacy of the winner? Especially after a grueling 18 game schedule. Makes perfect sense. My favorite part will be when the announcers have to state the entire official name of the bowl every time it is mentioned. Afterthoughts BYU and Notre Dame will play for the FCS title.

Ahh, the pagentry and tradition of college football.

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Some of you are forgetting some very important things… some of you are acting like YOU are the conference presidents, athletic directors, and TV executives! Yes, it’s alot about money, but EVERY decision doesn’t HAVE to be about money if some clear-headed people with think about a few things:

No. 1 — all the experts who study and report on the business of college football have said that conference expansion and realignment will ultimately help push things toward a playoff, which is a MAJOR positive. No more subjective, let’s-vote-for-a-champion issues… NCAA football is too big an event to NOT have a simple, clear-cut, playoff-path-to-a-champion ending.

No. 2 — anybody who things Missouri will “bring in the St. Louis television market”… you are KIDDING, right? Who the hel cares about that market anyway? Unless it’s a top 10 like New York, L.A., Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, or Miami, it doesn’t matter. And have you been to St. Louis? I have. It is NOT a bastion of college football. Those people care about the Cardinals and not much else. St. Louis is NOT a hotbed of college football, the way Atlanta is… Missouri doesn’t draw, it doesn’t move the NATIONAL meter (like Florida State or Oklahoma does) and it doesn’t galvanize a massive fan base and TV market like other teams do. It’s a boring team, a boring program, a boring campus in a boring part of the midwest… it wouldn’t benefit the SEC whatsoever to add Mizzou.

No. 3 — in contrast, adding a FSU or Oklahoma or Virginia Tech, for example, WOULD be huge for the SEC because of the comeptitive matchups that would have NATIONWIDE appeal. College football fans in the four corners know about the Sooners and Seminoles and Hokies… games with them and LSU and Florida and Alabama and Georgia and Auburn would be MASSIVE ratings-grabbers. Don’t look at things as a pro league would, with TV markets and “the NBA would love a Knicks-Lakers Finals instead of Oklahoma City-and-Detroit”, etc”…. it’s not LIKE that in college football. There are such things as national programs in college sports, and they would resonate with a huge audience. Do you really think if Mizzou plays Northwestern, even with two supposedly-important TV markets, that it moves the national interest meter at all? Yet Georgia vs. Florida, with cities like Athens and Gainesville, usually draws a huge audience? It’s because of the quality of the players on the field… that’s what still matters in college sports.

Finally… the truth of the matter is that the product on the field sells. If it’s great football — not good, but GREAT — it will generate national interest and draw a big following and put up huge TV numbers. That’s why the SEC has, consistently, for DECADES, been the best football conference in America, hands down. An LSU-vs.-Georgia game or a Florida-vs.-Auburn game or Alabama-vs.-Tennessee game has usually been a CLASSIC, great, competitive football game, which draws in fans and generates excitement. Watching Georgia and Auburn play on a sunny, 65-degree November day draws a helluva lot more interest than Michigan State slogging it out with Wisconsin that same day under drizzle and snow flurries and 34-degree weather. And nobody stays up until midnight to watch Arizona play Oregon State in front of 48,000 fans.

One of two things is going ot happen, folks… either the rise of the superconferences and some changes like a bigger NCAA (bad) and college football playoffs (good)… OR we are going to see the collapse of the NCAA in a few years and the starting of something new, from scratch, with about 50 to 70 major schools calling the shots, re-organizing, and creating a new NCAA. Either way, I’m afraid the college football landscape has changed forever, and we’ve lost the games and unique college football culture that our parents remember from 20, 30, or 40 years ago.

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Pitbull said:

“The SEC presidents voted yesterday to leave the SEC as a 12 team conference.

So Jeff, you wet in your panties all over nothing.”

From what I’ve heard, the SEC presidents put that out there because they don’t want to be legally liable for A&M leaving the Big XII (and breaking contracts as a result, hence potential liabilities). And, from what I’ve heard, A&M courted us. I think we’ll find out that the “secret” meetingthey had yesterday, which was leaked to the NY Times, was just an act.

In essence, we don’t want to be seen courting a married woman. We’ll wait until the ink on the divorce papers is dry and then shoot in for the rebound.

Now if A&M meets and says, “We want outta the Big XII,” which would clear the SEC from potential legal entanglements, THEN the SEC’ll come in and say, “Hey, how’s about a home in the Southeastern Conference?”

Either way, it’s another fascinating demonstration of collegiate politics. Quite interesting, when you look at the big picture.

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Maybe it’s just me but I believe the current system is working pretty well for the SEC..we’ve won the last 5 NC’s and it I don’t see any reason to go changing just because. We don’t have to take some other conferences middle of the road team(s). As Sam Robards said they court us. The other conferences wish they could be like the SEC, we are the Yankees of CFB and we should be able to call some shots. The way I see it if it doesn’t make geographic sense then it shouldn’t happen…TCU in the Big East…really?!! There is no reason for the SEC to expand or change anything; WE are the reason other conferences need to adapt, the Yankees don’t lobby for a salary cap because the system works for them. We don’t need to expand because the current setup is like an SEC playground. If circumstances change then we should think about doing something different… but right now we are the lead dog and if your not the lead dog the view never changes.

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@longhorn state

Not really sure what a tv deal will do you if no providers have picked it up….

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More inaccurate BS from Jeff – whaddaya expect?

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Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas will join LSU, Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State in the SEC West. The SEC East will be Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. SEC revenue will DOUBLE in 2012. University of Texas gets exactly what it deserves: it’s own sand box to have for its self serving hissey fits.

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Absolutely correct! Great writing – the truth!!

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Do away with scholarships, let the NFL have farm teams, as college teams are now at no expense to the NFL, and just let students come out for football. The game would be just as exciting and the schools, not TV would, be back in control of college athletics. The guys who want to go pro can go to the farm team, take the money in the off season and go to college, if they want an education. Same for basketball and baseball. No more pro recruiters allowed on campus, ever!

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