Anyone Can Move to a Another Conference, Except Texas A&M?

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It seems members of the mainstream sports media have no problems with schools moving to new conferences, with the exception of the Texas A&M Aggies.

Among those who believe the Aggies are being foolish in their quest to join the Southeastern Conference are ESPN’s Andy Katz and Pat Forde, ESPNDallas’s Jean-Jacques Taylor and the Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger.

To hear all of them tell it, the Aggies are allowing bruised egos to drive their desire to leave the fledgling Big 12, mostly as a result of Texas’ 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN that created the Longhorn Network.

Not that anyone from ESPN would ever have an agenda, but doesn’t it seem odd that three journalists writing for the Worldwide Leader would suggest that the Aggies’ potential move is the result of a deal involving the company they work for?

Forde spent a lot time yammering about Texas A&M slapping the NCAA in the face after last week’s meeting in Indianapolis that didn’t produce much of any real substance, although he attempts to have us believe the NCAA has finally come to its senses.

Never mind the fact that the NCAA has been an utterly useless organization for decades, but now Forde wants Texas A&M to defer their plans because they have apparently offended his sensibilities, going as far to suggest that the Aggies desire to move to the SEC “basically mocks the optimistic outlook.”

Earth to Pat Forde. Since when do you think that Texas A&M should sacrifice their long term well-being for the benefit of the NCAA?

Aside from Forde missing the point as he usually does, Katz, Taylor and Mellinger all sounded like they compared notes in claiming the Aggies were looking to leave the Big 12 because the Longhorns aren’t working and playing well with others.

According to Katz, when Colorado and Nebraska left the Big 12 it wasn’t because those schools had bruised egos. No, they left for legitimate reasons that made geographical or financial sense.

The same holds true for Utah leaving the Mountain West, TCU’s departure for the Big East and Boise State’s decision to leave the WAC.

Yet when Texas A&M explored the possibility of leaving the Big 12, that potential move was because the Aggies were jealous of Texas’ TV deal with ESPN.

Regardless of what these esteemed members of the professional media are trying to sell you, egos and the NCAA don’t have anything to do with the reasons behind Texas A&M wishing to join the SEC.

All of the columnists are correct that Texas A&M – and every other school in the Big 12 – are very leery how the Longhorn Network is going to effect the future of the conference.

And every member of the Big 12 should be concerned. The fact that Texas essentially controls the league’s purse strings doesn’t bode well for long term financial stability, and the Aggies are doing what any of us would do when faced with a similar situation.

No one bothers to mention in their diatribes against the Aggies’ is how the Big 12 shares its television revenues, which unlike other conference’s isn’t equally distributed.

The Big 12 uses a convoluted method to disburse the league’s monies that generally favor Texas and Oklahoma, while the remaining schools receive less.

In addition, Forde, Katz and Taylor never bother to mention that ESPN’s deal with Texas doesn’t require the Longhorns to share the revenue with the Big 12.

It’s for those reasons that the Big 12 is in existence today, because had Texas not gotten its way they would have bolted to the Pac-12.

The Kansas City Star’s Mellinger believes that Texas A&M joining the SEC is a bad idea for a number of reasons, none of which are based in logic.

He says their financial situation wouldn’t be much better, but that’s nonsense. The SEC’s television deals generate revenue far superior to the Big 12 and they distribute the monies equally to the league’s members.

The SEC has more bowl tie-ins than the Big 12 and it’s the only conference with a guaranteed weekly nationally televised game on a major network.

Even ESPN recognizes the SEC’s dominance, signing a TV deal with the league that was branded the “SEC on ESPN,” an arrangement that no other conference in the nation enjoys.

While Mellinger makes a point of the Aggies being a middle of the pack team in the SEC, he obviously forgot that Texas A&M’s presence in the conference would raise their national status beyond anything they could ever achieve in the Big 12.

In other words, if Texas A&M found their way into the SEC it would not only be the smart move, it would provide them with infinite security that every school in America seeks.

However, according to reports, all of the discussion involving Texas A&M moving to the SEC is a mute point. On Sunday, the SEC’s presidents decided to forgo extending an invitation to the Aggies, but left open the possibility of future expansion.

Although it doesn’t appear that Texas A&M will be joining the SEC, the Aggies were wise to reach out. Considering how shaky the Big 12 has become, every school in that conference should be looking at every viable option to improve their standing.

And despite what anyone in the media thinks, any school in the Big 12 that isn’t doing everything they can to do what’s best for themselves is being foolish.

Other than perhaps Notre Dame, there isn’t a school in America that wouldn’t want to become a member of the SEC.

For members of the media to come out and chastise Texas A&M for wishing to improve their situation is so pathetic it’s near laughable, especially given all the lame excuses they were using.

If Fox Sports offered Pat Forde or Andy Katz $1 million to write for them, do you think they’d leave ESPN? You bet your ass they would, and no one would blame them.

That’s why no one should blame Texas A&M for attempting a move to the SEC, unless of course you’re a hypocrite or just plain stupid.