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
techfan
August 16th, 2011
9:36 pm
Virginia Tech would politely decline an invitation to the SEC just as assuredly as any of us would politely decline a 20% pay raise.
He could have easily said no comment like every other school has. Instead, he flat out said they were not interested. The SEC is not a great fit for every team and you don’t have your pick of any team on earth like you think you do.
SEC
August 16th, 2011
9:38 pm
The SEC is first in the rankings with over $1 billion in revenue in 2009-’10.The Big Ten Conference ranks second in athletic revenue among conferences, bringing in $905.2 million.
bamaguy
August 16th, 2011
9:38 pm
Just two weeks from Thursday night is Wisconsin vs UNLV on ESPN. I am still PO’d that the Georgia/Boise and LSU/Oregon game are on opposite each other. I will be “channel surfing” but I believe UGA and Boise might be the big losers. The majority of the nation will be tuned in to LSU/Oregon. Who made that decision?
Beast from the East
August 16th, 2011
9:40 pm
Dostoyevskiy,
It only takes one idiot to bring the entire program to it’s knees, give the university a black-eye and then you have to start all over. I wish they would start getting the wallets of the individuals involved (coaches, agents, etc.). Maybe a $250,000 fine would slow some of this garbage down?
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
9:41 pm
Dostoyevskiy,
I think that Holden Thorp will paint his face dark blue and jump up and down in Cameron before he applies for membership of the SEC.
?Mysterion?
August 16th, 2011
9:43 pm
Ultimately, the NCAA needs to just eliminate about half the schools out of FBS (division 1) and just make it more NFL-like.
I say have about 50-60 teams in different divisions. Some teams just won’t make the cut and will have to play lower level football.
bamaguy
August 16th, 2011
9:43 pm
Only two more weekends and all the speculation is over.
Speaking of which. I am still disgruntled that the Boise/UGA and LSU/Oregon games are on opposite each other. I will be channel surfing but I am afraid UGA and Boise might be the big losers in this as the majority of the nation will prefer to watch LSU/Oregon.
TaylorVol
August 16th, 2011
9:44 pm
Personally, I’d love to see A&M and Oklahoma in the West and VA Tech and UNC in the East. There is a gentlemen’s agreement in place which will ensure that only “new markets” are added, thus no Clemson or FL State.
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
9:45 pm
bamaguy – One word for you – Tivo
beekiller
August 16th, 2011
9:48 pm
Whatever! You were wrong the other day and wrong now.
bamaguy
August 16th, 2011
9:48 pm
Yes Paul, but there is no bourbon-induced excitement in watching when the AJC has already reported the outcome!
Tech-nically Speaking
August 16th, 2011
9:50 pm
I hope no pay for play stuff is going down on the Flats.
The way some Tech grads sling around all the rupees they are making, it makes one nervous.
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
9:51 pm
bamaguy – I understand your pain. You can avoid the AJC telling you the outcome but the biggest problem is that UGA-BSU is on ESPN while LSU-UO is on ABC. You won’t be able to avoid updates.
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
9:52 pm
Rupees on the Flats? I thought that it was renminbi getting thrown around.
MikeP
August 16th, 2011
9:54 pm
Pick up Texas A & M and Oklahoma. Auburn moves to the SEC east and all is well.
LakeDawg
August 16th, 2011
9:54 pm
Clemson, GT, Louisville, FSU, Tulane are the only acceptable additions. Otherwise they would need to rename the conference. Greedy Bastard/ESPN Conference would be a good name.
Silver Dawg
August 16th, 2011
9:59 pm
Need wine?
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/aug/16/vintage-spurrier-gamecock-wine-hit-stands/
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
10:01 pm
Beast – “I wish they would start getting the wallets of the individuals involved (coaches, agents, etc.)”
The good news is the NCAA is conducting the interviews with Shapiro in his jail cell, and he’s singing like a canary. Yahoo sports says that the NCAA may not have to adhere to the 4-year statute of limitations on this one. He’ll go down on the Ponzi scheme, but it’s unclear to me how the extensive fraud (money laundering and more) will affect everybody else. If it can be tied to his criminal enterprise, it looks like one former coach at least may be in trouble.
Beast from the East
August 16th, 2011
10:03 pm
Delbert,
It’ll be interesting to see who all is implicated. I wonder if he’s getting reduced time with the Feds for cooperating with the NCAA?
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
10:05 pm
Paul – I’ll record one game and tape construction paper over the trailers on bottom of the screen where the scores scroll by. Oh, and I’ll have to turn the sound off on the live game. What a hassle.
Richard
August 16th, 2011
10:09 pm
No, Mr. Bradley. Don’t be mean to FSU and say we can’t move to the SEC. FSU is the most logical choice followed by Clemson if they go to 15 and then 16 (whoever 16 will be). All the legal stuff that the Virginia State legislature went through to get Virginia Tech into the ACC, I know for a fact they will not let them go the SEC and leave UVA behind. UVA has no interest in the SEC and doesn’t belong there anyway. And all these people that keep talking about recruiting and how it will hurt UF or USC if FSU and Clemson come on board….well having Alabama and Auburn in the same state and conference hasn’t hurt them at all….so bringing in FSU and Clemson will also more than likely not hurt UF and USC….FSU has had a great time in the ACC but times are and have changed. FSU needs to move into something more lucrative and the SEC is it. The SEC has some AWESOME people running that conference and they were the first to really get Championship games going and all that. And Lord knows, NO ONE in the SEC would have ever divided their conference as stupid as the ACC did.
My new motto for FSU is simple…..We ACCede to SECede!!!!! GO NOLES!!!!!
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
10:12 pm
Delbert – the only other way to see both games and not have the scroll on the bottom is to watch it on line – but who wants to do that?
Dawg 96
August 16th, 2011
10:16 pm
Texas A&M and Georgia Tech:
http://the14thmember.blogspot.com/
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
10:20 pm
Beast – Well, he’s doing 20 years for the fraud. The article details what Yahoo covered in their investigation, and it’s a truly massive amount of information. The details on the inducements given to high school recruits and parties for UM players is disgusting.
George P Burdell
August 16th, 2011
10:21 pm
Miami would be an excellent fit for the SEC if they are still fielding a football team next year.
DAWG
August 16th, 2011
10:24 pm
The old adage is, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. When you start getting creative and add this team and that team you may not like what comes out in the wash. The SEC has been successful with the teams on board and should remain that way. Don not let revenue be a driving force in making this decision.
Gator Fan
August 16th, 2011
10:25 pm
West Virginia should be #14. Great football and basketball. They have tons of alumni in the DC, Pittsburgh, and Charlotte areas as well as all thru Ohio. Rabid fan base that travels well.
…also, wasn’t WVU a close second to South Carolina for the #12 slot back at the last SEC expansion?
DAWG in FL
August 16th, 2011
10:30 pm
I hate WVU….but you got to respect them. They might be the best choice.
Also, bringing them on would in essence kill the Big East and their automatic BCS berth.
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
10:31 pm
“The old adage is, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.”
That old adage resulted in the loss of 2 space shuttles.
Delbert D.
August 16th, 2011
10:37 pm
To the fans who insist on continuing to fight the Civil War, West Virginia would definitely not be a good fit. Missouri would.
bitter sec fan
August 16th, 2011
10:43 pm
f@#$–tex-as-s——from there goven-a-tor to all the big hat jay-”R” wont-2- B —trolls–hahhah
—————-no class that hole state of jack “A’S—-looosssers————can you figure 1 sec
———————-team that thinks it is bigger than the conferance——please—-slive would
——————————–any sec team to take a hike if they talked about a seperate tv deal
———————————————–texas just loves notra dame salefish
===========================================looners
paintman
August 16th, 2011
10:46 pm
Ga State and the SEC would be a perfect fit, then Al. Ga. Fl. and all the others would not have to go out of conference for all those patsy’s they love to play. !!! Git er done.
Somewhere over the Dwayne Bowe
August 16th, 2011
10:47 pm
Virginia Tech has no shot. You take both Virginia schools or you take none.
Just go back and look at how VT got into the ACC in the first place.
Larry Wayne Jones Jr.
August 16th, 2011
10:49 pm
Let’s kick out thUGA or Bammer and bring in A&P…umm A&M
Paul in NH (formerly RDU)
August 16th, 2011
10:49 pm
Speaking of the U. I believe that Warren Zevon wrote their team song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1BxGded604
Big George
August 16th, 2011
10:51 pm
I vote for extending an invitation to Tulane to return to the SEC…What a road trip New Orleans would be!
STATEment
August 16th, 2011
10:51 pm
Georgia State would be PERFECT!!
bitter sec fan
August 16th, 2011
10:53 pm
we should have teams wanting to pay to be a select member of the SEC yaaaw
@=dele-bert D====troll —take you and your chip and act like a tree—just leave—hahahah
————————–dawgs 43–boise 42——————–could be greatest game ever
James
August 16th, 2011
10:55 pm
I’d like to see Georgia Tech in the SEC.
Sean
August 16th, 2011
10:57 pm
I think that the SEC should invite Duke or North Carolina. Geographically and financially either school would be a good fit and it would also give the SEC a chance to extend its exceptional-ism into the sport of basketball. It would also allow either school to establish themselves in football by going head to head with the best of the best each week. Win/win for everyone imho.
Kevin
August 16th, 2011
10:57 pm
Put UCF in. Kick out Vanderbilt.
But Florida (UCF beat in basketball and swept in baseball) and Georgia (Football win 10-6) would balk.
Nick
August 16th, 2011
11:00 pm
Mark;
It’s evident that you haven’t done your research. Former Governor Warner had to move mountains to get VT into the ACC, the political firestorm would be over 2,000 degrees if the SEC came calling. VT is not going anywhere.
The original Southern Conference of the 1920’s and 30’s comprised many of the teams from today’s SEC and ACC. It was a mega conference and it didn’t work.
!2 team conferences are the max. The reason that the SEC is the best is because it’s focused on a specific geopgraphical area with great schools. The rush to 14 or 16 is pure fools gold.
over1861
August 16th, 2011
11:24 pm
It is really a mess! These major conferences have the bit between their teeth. The NCAA nor the university presidents have control anymore. The presidents need to just shut down college football for about two years. Then bring it back without conferences. When it starts back up they can bring in a playoff system like every other sport on campus. Each school could enter into contracts that concerns their own school. They could let the NCAA go back to controlling college football. The players should then be given a decent yearly stipend to live on. The big money boosters like Bobby Louder and Don Leebern would have to be barred from any association with the athletic programs. What we have now is a real mess!
Make my Day
August 16th, 2011
11:27 pm
The problem with any conference standing idle will make you less of a player in the big picture. The fact that the ACC is at a crossroads in football television viewerships is going to play out very soon.
Take out the FSU market share, BC market share and VT market share and the numbers do not reflect much of negotiating power. BC is being strongly courted by multiple conferences and if some of the television people had their way you would see Rutgers, UConn, BC, Pitt, as the core to a television built conference. The market will force some of the college presidents to change their attitudes when money is being tossed around in shopping carts and armored trucks.
Illini Reid
August 16th, 2011
11:30 pm
5150 OA … You are on the money. SEC schools are second-rate academically. Vandy belongs in the ACC with the other AAU universities. SEC is about football. ACC is about academics and sports. If VaTech wants to move to SEC, I say so long. VaTech is not even the second best university in the state of VA.
Jason
August 16th, 2011
11:36 pm
Switching Auburn over to the east seems like an easy solution but there is a reason why the Tigers are in the west instead of Vandy, which is actually further west than Auburn. Each team has only one permanent opponent in the other division. This would be fine for Auburn since its only traditional opponents in the west are Alabama and Mississippi State. Alabama could be the permanent opponent of Auburn and the MSU series isn’t important enough for it to be an issue. The problem would be for Alabama which already has Tennessee as their permanent east division opponent. They’re not going to give up the Iron Bowl and they’re not going to give up the Third Saturday in October. You’d have to move Alabama to the east which would not make geographic sense.
Marcus
August 16th, 2011
11:49 pm
Virginia Tech is light years better than A&M in football. A&M never has been any good at all except for when they’ve cheated and ended up on probation.
I understand wanting the Texas market, but adding a weakling like A&M is not the answer. Whats next, North Carolina A&T to gain the Carolina market?
musa smith
August 16th, 2011
11:50 pm
If there are going to be 14 teams in the SEC, they should add Ga Tech and FSU. Lets keep it down home cuz! Remember, “South Eastern Conference.”
Hillbilly D
August 16th, 2011
11:53 pm
The deal will eventually get done. Too much money at stake for it not to.
DAWGMAN
August 17th, 2011
12:08 am
Clemson, please! If you’re looking to revive some real heat, Clemson fits the ticket. Just the idea of it gets my motor racing. There has never been any love lost between the Georgia and Clemson folks. Forget Texas A&M. They are the needy people across the tracks. I think Florida State would be a better fit for the SEC.
Drop one patsy off everybody’s schedule. Add in a second open date for everybody. And let’s play some SEC Football. Yahoo, Mountain Dew. Slobberknocker City!