A while ago, was it 6 months ago? maybe almost a full year? there were rumors circling surrounding college football and, more importantly, the Big 12. These rumors were brought on by the vacancies left in the Big 12 due to Nebraska leaving for the Big Ten (now to 12 teams), and Colorado's moving to the Pac-10, along with Utah (now the Pac-12). Right around that time, there was made known the possibility of Texas and most of the Big 12 South (OU, OSU, and Texas Tech) moving to the Pac-12 to become a super-conference of 16 teams. As an A&M fan and student, I was curious why the Ags hadn't been mentioned in the Super Pac conference rumors. Then, news broke that there were talks going on between TAMU and the SEC - so it all made sense. However, none of the big shakeup actually transpired, and the only tangible evidence that anything actually happened was the creation of the Longhorn Sports Network, Texas' own television station.
Arriving at the present, the LHN is about to begin it's first football season on the air, and the Big 12 (-2) will start its awkward schedule of playing each and every school in the conference every year. However, earlier this week my twitter timeline blew up with rumors once again circling that TAMU might move to the SEC. According to texags.com guru Billy Liucci's tweet, if A&M and the SEC agree on a deal within the month, the Ags can be playing in the SEC in 2012! Pretty cool idea, but is it the best thing for the Maroon and White?
My ideal situation is as follows: A&M moves to the SEC and joins the West division. The SEC adds another team (Clemson? Virginia Tech?) to even out the divisions at 7 apiece. Texas, now with its own TV deal in the LHN, goes independent. The Oklahoma, Kansas, and remaining schools from the now-defunct Big 12 regroup and form something resembling the old Big 8 (with more teams like TCU, Boise State, etc.).
What does this mean for Texas? They honestly have a big enough national audience and fan base to keep themselves afloat without conference ties, and can you imagine a yearly rivalry with Notre Dame? How crazy would that be? Also with the independence, you can keep the rivalry games with both OU and A&M, and not fight over the Big 12 South crown with Oklahoma, as has been the case for the past 10 years. Texas' schedule would have some cream puffs, as would be the case in a big-time conference, but would also have yearly games against OU, A&M, and Notre Dame with a possible Ohio State/USC rivalry renewed. Sounds like a win to me.
What does this mean for Texas A&M? Well, it's kind of out of the frying pan and into the fire, honestly. From the Big 12 South (Texas, OU, Ok State, Tech, and Baylor) to the new SEC West (Arkansas, LSU, Bama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State), you go from a bad draw to a worse draw. However, I think that with the Texas recruiting connection, A&M could definitely hang in there with the perennially elite teams in the country, and I could see the Aggies playing up to their competition. Also, in the basketball realm, TAMU could definitely excel after getting out from underneath KU's presence.
All told, I think A&M could adapt to contend in the SEC, Texas could excel as an independent school, and the rest of the Big 12 as we know it might be better off reshaping and melting into other conferences. Will all of this go according to my personal plan? Most likely not. But will something happen? I think so. Now it's just a matter of time.
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