SEC expansion: It’ll happen soon, and there’ll be a 14th team
One of these teams would balance Texas A&M, and not the one in gold. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
For a dizzying minute, it seemed Texas A&M might land in the SEC soon enough to qualify for the 2011 conference title. Then the SEC offered no invitation and the Aggies decided to take a moment to assess options, and some folks are taking this to mean the whole deal — not there ever was an actual deal, but you take my meaning — is off.
To such folks, I offer this from Jackson Browne, who may or may not have ever seen a college football game: “Don’t think it won’t happen just because it hasn’t happened yet.”
The key point: Texas A&M wants out of the Big 12 because it hates the thought of sharing a shrunken conference with the overweening Texas Longhorns, who are about to launch their own TV network in collaboration with, wouldn’t you know, ESPN. Before it jumps, A&M wants to find a soft place to land. The SEC has made it clear it’s willing to be that place.
No, the SEC hasn’t said so. On Sunday its presidents met and “reaffirmed our satisfaction with the current 12-institutional alignment.” But this is posturing. The SEC, with its five consecutive BCS titles and its billion-dollar TV contracts, doesn’t want to irk anybody by appearing grabby. (The New York Times has reported that SEC commissioner Mike Slive had a heated phone conversation with Dan Beebe, his Big 12 counterpart, last week.)
The SEC has to figure out how to finesse this so its coming expansion — and expansion is absolutely coming — won’t leave the league mired in lawsuits or render it a villain in the court of public opinion. The SEC will be happy to ask Texas A&M into its living room when the Aggies officially say, “Please.” And they will.
The SEC also needs time to triangulate. The best conference isn’t going to sit on an uneven number. It needs a 14th team, and maybe a 15th and a 16th. It was rumored over the weekend that Florida State was SEC-bound, along with Clemson and Missouri, two schools that have nothing in common. The SEC’s problem won’t be in finding a new member or even three new members; the problem will be in identifying the best fit.
The Big 12 is already down to 10, and would Oklahoma want to remain in a league in which, due to the Longhorn Network, it faces a competitive imbalance? The ACC’s ballyhooed expansion hasn’t worked, and the schools who care most about football — Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech — must ask themselves if they want to linger in a conference that has had a hard time drumming up interest in its championship game. (In existence only since 2005, the ACC title tilt is on its third city.)
Loading ...If you’re the SEC, would the proper complement to Texas A&M be another Big 12 refugee? Or would Virginia Tech, say, offer better geographic balance than, say, Oklahoma? The Aggies would give the SEC even deeper entree into the fertile recruiting ground of Texas, but Oklahoma recruits Texas, too. Would Florida State do anything to broaden the SEC base? Would Clemson? (Remember, the league already has members in both states.)
A factoid to note: The conference hasn’t expanded with Slive as commissioner. Indeed, each of the other five BCS leagues has taken on new members since the SEC grew to 12 in 1991. Even as critics contend that college football is out of control, it must be said that college football’s flagship league has been content to go with what it has.
As the landscape keeps changing and bigger programs come into play, the SEC cannot be content much longer. It wouldn’t want Texas A&M and Oklahoma follow Nebraska to the Big Ten. If high-profile programs are determined to relocate, the SEC will be duty-bound to open its gated community.
It will, but not just yet. The Texas A&M scenario flared so fast that nobody was ready for it. By the end of the year, Slive will have done his due diligence and his league will be ready to grow. To 14 teams, I’ll venture, with Virginia Tech being the 14th.
By Mark Bradley
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465 comments Add your comment
JB
August 16th, 2011
7:38 pm
Johnson under investigation for taking the field looking like he just got out of bed.
ldawg121
August 16th, 2011
7:38 pm
Texas A & M , Oklahoma , Oklahoma State , Missouri to the west……shift Alabama and Auburn to the east……all the natural rivalries remain ( Tenn-Bama ) ( Auburn-Bama ) ( Auburn-UGA ) plus UGA and Bama would play every year like it should have been all along……in the west you’d have ( LSU-Texas A & M ) ( Texas A & M – Arkansas ) ( Oklahoma- LSU ) ( LSU-Missouri ) ( Arkansas-Oklahoma )…..and before all my fellow Dawg fans start hyperventilating over the brutal schedule,the only team we’d play every year that we don’t already is Alabama…..we’d probably end up only having to play LSU and Oklahoma like twice every 10 years or something,so that would balance the brutalness of it out somewhat
SEC
August 16th, 2011
7:39 pm
Buzzer, Pj offense would be eaten alive week in and week out by SEC defenses. Pj can’t recruit the athletes it would take to be competitive in SEC,PJ had a losing season in his 3rd year playing in ACC.
buzzer
August 16th, 2011
7:40 pm
BJ:
Rivals had Georgia ranked pre season at 1 in 2008 and we took you to the woodshed (in your own yard). Hahahahahahahahah!
((((((((((((((( 45-42 ))))))))))))))) hahahahahahaha
Cali-Dawg
August 16th, 2011
7:40 pm
@ FBFAN,
Is that all you can pick from my post to comment on…really?? When I referenced OK State’s facilities I wasn’t exactly talking about seating capacity at the stadium. Given that Billionaire T.Boone Pickens is shelling out dollars to improve the school, I would be surprised to see the stadium capacity grow another 20k seats. Playing in the SEC could further support that kind of growth. I too live in Big-12 country (Texas) and have witnessed OU, OSU, A&M, UT, and Baylor’s facilities up close and personal (not just football, sir or madam, whichever you are). As for your comment about fan committment, I’m pretty sure if you add an SEC schedule, the fans interest would definitely grow to match that of the current SEC fan base.
Now what?
JB
August 16th, 2011
7:41 pm
Hey Stan, I think you guys got beat by a school over there not to long ago.
ALABAMA FOOTBALL: where the games between Stallings and Saban really didn’t happen……..And a lot have been stripped by the NCAA anyway.
Chad
August 16th, 2011
7:42 pm
Sec is like the tech sector in 98 as far as dominance goes. Eventually they they will go through a rough patch and this year looks highly likely.
Cali-Dawg
August 16th, 2011
7:42 pm
@ldawg121 – I like that scenario…..nice!!
JB
August 16th, 2011
7:42 pm
buzzer. 9 of 10. Keep talking about playing us close…LOL
buzzer
August 16th, 2011
7:43 pm
Wish Georgia would join the ACC! Then our games would matter
BrotherHOg
August 16th, 2011
7:43 pm
I wouldn’t call a 3 point win taking somebody to the woodshed; and having to stretch back 3 years?
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
7:43 pm
The ACC should add some teams from the northeast. BC has no natural geographic rivals in the league. Maybe Rutgers, if they’d leave the *big east*, and if they don’t get tapped by the BIG TEN. Pitt is also AAU member, UConn isn’t. Short of raiding the Ivy League, I can’t see any other obvious candidates.
Bama B
August 16th, 2011
7:45 pm
clemson will bring nothing to the SEC except a bunch of rednecks and little money. Get Texas A&M and Ga Tech or UNC in the east.
Jax Dawg
August 16th, 2011
7:45 pm
THE FINAL SEC EXPANSION FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS:
2013 SEC EAST’
Florida
Florida State ***
Georgia
Kentucky
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Va Tech ***
***ACC will regroup as they add UCF and/or USF, Louisville, Pittsburg, West Virginia, Rutgers and Syracuse
2013 SEC WEST
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
LSU
Mississippi
Miss State
Oklahoma ***
Texas A & M ***
***the Big 12 will survive and become greatly weakened as Texas becomes an Independent and they add TCU, SMU, Houston, Southern Miss and a couple of other schools.
Whipping boys of the SEC
August 16th, 2011
7:46 pm
Georgia
SEC
August 16th, 2011
7:47 pm
Buzzer, LOL at a tech fan trying to trash talk UGA, seriously 15 wins over the past 57 years 1-9 over the past 10. Go to the Duke board where your posts would have some relevance.
Boise State will Own the SEC
August 16th, 2011
7:48 pm
shortly
The Truth
August 16th, 2011
7:50 pm
Lol @ Stan. The best you have to hope for is a cousin that hasn’t already been worked over by the rest of your brothers, cousins, and uncles!
buzzer
August 16th, 2011
7:50 pm
Talk about the past dog fans. That’s all you have. Please tell me when you will dominate a Paul Johnson coached team? It ain’t been the 3 years he’s been at Tech.
BAMA STAN
August 16th, 2011
7:51 pm
31-0 BLACKOUT!
Steven B
August 16th, 2011
7:51 pm
yeah brother
playing ole miss miss st vandy kentucky tenn uga has been so tough recently. unc with a depleted team and half the starters out beat tenn last year
dog fans are far worse than their teams
August 16th, 2011
7:52 pm
and you know I’m right
GR82BAG8R
August 16th, 2011
7:53 pm
By stadium size, the only viable ACC teams to join the SEC are FSU, Clems(paw)n, and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is out, since they would have to take UVA with them. FSU is out, because Florida would fight that to the end, plus FSU said no earlier. That means Clems(paw)n is the team that will join the Automatic Teller Machines in joining the SEC.
Oh, and by the way, “Truth”, UGA has the state of Georgia handed to it on a silver platter. You brag about something given to you. Why do you think Tech cannot go after blue chip in-state athletes with less challenging academic degrees like UGA (i.e. Turfgrass Management)??? It’s because the Board of Regents wants it that way to help UGA.
RamboDog
August 16th, 2011
7:53 pm
5150 UOAD
August 16th, 2011
6:40 pm
UGA plays Auburn EVERY year already, and last 4 games with UGA / Alabama… we are 3 and 1…the Bear died a lonnnnggg time ago. We aren’t scared of Tide, dude.
FLORIDA
August 16th, 2011
7:54 pm
Nice schedule cake dogs! Hope you get to a bowl THIS year. hahaha what a freakin joke of a program! 17 of 20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1
7
o
f
2
0
H
A
H
A
H
A
GR82BAG8R
August 16th, 2011
7:54 pm
Tech will continue to get out-talented every time they play UGA. Tech cannot handle a bruising running game.
Get your Hot Dogs and Hamburgers
August 16th, 2011
7:55 pm
buzzer
Nice win against a world renowned defensive mind that was fired by the way
I seem to remember the ACC champions couldnt even beat UGA or compete the next year even after they had to cheat to get a title
GA 3Some
August 16th, 2011
7:56 pm
Look. Vanderbilt sucks. What business does that school have being in the SEC when 99% of the time Vandy is a cake walk? Most of their students don’t even care, as evident if you have ever driven up to the Dawgs play @ Vandy. The SEC needs to do something no one is expecting. Texas is not in the “South”. Texas is not part of the South EAST. Sorry but any school from Texas will not fit with the history and culture of the SEC. Texas might as well be it’s own country and no teams from Texas have any business in the SEC. What the SEC DOES need to do is expand but make a splash doing so. Invite GSU. That’s right, Georgia State. Why not? Imagine a 3 way rivalry. Everyone already wants to play in the dome, so why not? Imagine the amount of fans that would come to the dome to see their teams play. It would make SO much money once GSU is good. It will put another Georgia school in the spot light and make players REALLY want to go to State. Won’t have to travel too far either and GSU would get amazing road support when traveling in the SEC. It sounds way too early and too much too soon, but no, it’s not. Make the splash, remove Vandy and put in Ga State.
George
August 16th, 2011
7:56 pm
Those VT people cried and begged to be in the ACC once Virginia was in. Now the grass looks greener on the “other side.” If wins/losses mean anything to the VT folk, they better stay where they are. ‘Cause a royal butt kickin’ is coming. But I suppose that the pain will be lessened with a wad of cash stuffed in their back pockets. I doubt the average VT fan will be satisfied, however.
The glass is half empty.
Ace
August 16th, 2011
7:56 pm
Texas A&M will be in the SEC sooner than most people think. The Big-12 is dead because they have always had an unequal revenue sharing distribution going back 15 years or more. Add in the fact that the new Texas LHN will provide Texas with $30M a year, well you have to be stupid to not read the writing on the wall.
The 14th team will be FSU. You people that try to talk about markets have no idea what you are talking about. FSU is the only ACC team that has a NATIONAL market, the Q-rating of FSU is off the charts compared to other teams mentioned. Do the research and you will see that FSU has some of the highest rated games every shown on ABC and ESPN. Also, do a little more research and you will see that FSU also has some of the highest rated bowl games. All the talk about Louisville, VT, Clemson, Missouri, all these teams do is take money out of the pocket of the existing member schools. Only FSU brings money to the table.
Also, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are tied together via state legislation, so they will have to come as a package deal, which would then force the SEC to move a school from the west into the east. As has been mentioned, VT and UVA are also tied together so VT won’t be leaving.
Texas A&M will be in, FSU will be in, and in a few years the sec will add 2 more teams and get to 16. At each intervall they will renegotiate their TV deals (just like professional athletes) and they will get more and more money.
BAMA STAN
August 16th, 2011
7:57 pm
Rambodog
the Bear died a lonnnnggg time ago. We aren’t scared of Tide, dude.
NO BUT YOUR PLAYERS AND COACHES SURE ARE.
Hersheal don’t plau no mo dude!
GRITZBLITZ10
August 16th, 2011
7:57 pm
SEC must be careful to not dilute the conference to an also-ran
BrotherHOg
August 16th, 2011
7:58 pm
Vandy and KU are the basketball teams; and I would take Tenn or UGA over NC any day of the week. I am glad you picked the bottom of the tier to use as an example. An ACC school would struggle if all they had to play where those 4 teams plus Ole Miss and M State.
buzzer
August 16th, 2011
7:58 pm
“Tech cannot handle a bruising running game”.
WHO HAS THAT? HAHAHA.
GR82BAG8R
August 16th, 2011
7:59 pm
LSU, UGA, IOWA, need I go on?
SEC
August 16th, 2011
8:00 pm
Buzzer, 6-7 in 2020 . Where’s PJ team ranked this year? Picked to 5th in ACC Coastal , do you think thats because he’s done such a great job of recruiting and coaching? Uga as a program has accomplished more over the past 10 years in major bowl appearances, conference title , BCS bowl wins,than Tech has over the past 50 years. Take you tired crap somewhere its relevant.Think PJ will ever coach a team that wins a bowl game?
GR82BAG8R
August 16th, 2011
8:00 pm
Frankly until Tech can win a bowl game, or beat UGA two years in a row, Tech fans should just sit in the corner and watch how big-time college football is played in the SEC.
JacketNation
August 16th, 2011
8:01 pm
Here’s the best solution. Since the mutts can’t ever win in the SEC even with great teams, let them move to the ACC to make room for three quality teams!
wolfpack
August 16th, 2011
8:01 pm
mark bradley >>>>> mike slive’s sock puppet
STATEment
August 16th, 2011
8:02 pm
SEC should add Georgia state. Largest Television Market in the conference, best home field (Georgia Dome), best coach (Bill Curry), Very large school 31,000 and almost 200,000 living alumni. Would be the best option and would be a perfect fit.
GO PANTHERS!!
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
8:03 pm
One could say, “The SEC must be careful to not dilute the conference to any more also-rans.” Add Oklahoma, somebody else falls into the “also-ran” category. There are going to be more also-rans either way.
Mary Chestnut
August 16th, 2011
8:04 pm
Well, I assure you expansionists that the established coaches want no part of this because, and, this is one of the reasons the muckety mucks are counting to ten before making a decision: Vandy, MSU, Ole Miss, Kentucky and USC would never ever again win a football conference championship and hardly be competitive for one, and the big boys themselves will go much longer between division championships. Say what you will, but championships are what matters in coaching longevity. The only way around this dilemma is to have four 4-team SEC divisions, but then you’d have to add another playoff game to the schedule, and the presidents ain’t going to let that happen. Or, you have to drop one of the directional schools from your schedule, and the NCAA ain’t gonna let that happen.
WestOfAthens
August 16th, 2011
8:06 pm
It feels good to be a proud fan of the SEC. Supply and demand, is what it comes down to. The SEC and it’s fans are going to be thrilled with these changes, or SHOULD be at the least. One has to love competition, right? (Albeit tough as it is) An all conference schedule? Hmmmm, tempting
HBTD
MB, nice job.
August 16th, 2011
8:07 pm
The bloggers who love to point out how ‘wrong’ columnists are really crack me up. Apparently they’ve never been wrong about anything, and just as apparently they don’t realize that your column is your opinion. You, Schultzie, Bisher, Grizzard, Hudspeth or any other columnist the AJC has ever had has never, to my knowledge, said that without a doubt they were 100% right and should never be doubted…….okay, maybe Terence Moore did, but no one else. It’s an opinion, and everyone has one.
Me? I could care less if they expand or not, right now I’m more concerned with whether or not the Dogs have a nice enough season to beat Florida and prevent a coaching staff turnover.
SEC
August 16th, 2011
8:08 pm
Bama Stan, Bama is 1-3 vs Georgia this decade.
RamboDog
August 16th, 2011
8:08 pm
BAMA STAN
August 16th, 2011
7:57 pm
Like I said, you aren’t scaring anyone…us, and certainly not Auburn.
Herschel still has a year of eligibility…don’t make me open up a can on your scrawny a@@.
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
8:09 pm
“Or, you have to drop one of the directional schools from your schedule, and the NCAA ain’t gonna let that happen.”
Huh? Are Texas, Southern Cal and Notre Dame currently penalized for not having any directional schools on their schedules?
SEC
August 16th, 2011
8:10 pm
bama 3-7 vs Auburn over past 10 years.
Heels Rock and Rule
August 16th, 2011
8:10 pm
Unlike the SEC, college Presidents make decisions on conference affiliation in the Acc. Therefore, no ACC president will allow their university to switch to SEC.
The Truth
August 16th, 2011
8:11 pm
Bama Stan’s cousin-wife has been run through by her family more times than a puddle at a school bus stop