Most college football fans older than, say, 40, have at least a fleeting memory of the time when the NCAA controlled college football rights, and limited just about everyone to no more than two national TV appearances annually.
That's right, two.
Not quite thirty years ago, the universities of Oklahoma and Georgia grew tired of the NCAA's control, having started to realize the untapped value in the commercial sale of TV broadcast rights. Eventually, attorneys for one (or both) schools made a revelation - that the NCAA's control over broadcast rights was never part of NCAA membership, and that control was a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The schools sued to get those rights back.
After some legal wrangling, the Supreme Court agreed, handing OU and Georgia a landmark victory in a case that quite literally reshaped the way college football is broadcast. The BCS itself, arguably, owes its very existence to the OU-Georgia lawsuit of not quite a generation ago.
Now, I can't help but wonder if a similar donnybrook is ahead, over what is arguably the purest expression of rights ownership - a university sports network.
This week, Texas launched its (in)famous Longhorn Sports Network, after a summer of arguing and fighting over the propriety of LHN carrying Texas high school football games. Members of the Big 12 screamed foul, pointing out a multitude of lesser promotional actions (such as showing a recruit on a scoreboard display) that have been nixed by the NCAA, meaning surely a television network can be held to no lower a standard.
For now, the Big 12 put its foot down (and, yes, I tried to say that without laughing), and told Texas, "no." And then the NCAA confirmed that ruling...and then, it didn't.
Almost without notice, the NCAA backtracked on that ruling, saying that ESPN could run "selected" high school highlights within its own content as partner for LHN. And I can't help but wonder what led to the NCAA's change of heart.
Methinks a flashback to OU-Georgia is part of their thinking.
If OU and Georgia successfully argued three decades ago that schools own their own broadcast rights, it doesn't take a great leap to say that no governing entity such as the Big 12 nor the NCAA can prevent Texas from exercising what it would argue were its First Amendment free speech rights - to broadcast on its own network anything it pleases.
It would start with Texas versus its own conference.
It would end with Texas versus the NCAA.
I'm no attorney, but my trick knee tells me that Texas would have a darned good chance to win that kind of fight. And if they did, there would be a free-for-all to follow regarding every other impingement of free speech that has capped certain recruiting activities for years - all gone at the drop of a gavel, along with any significant pretense on the part of any other school that the NCAA had any real enforcement powers over, well, anything.
I think the NCAA's about-face on an absolute prohibition of high school football on LHN is a tip of the hat to a more fundamental fear; that as rapidly as college football is growing, with newer and more creative ways found by the most powerful schools to slide craftily around the rules amid those who simply disregard them, that the NCAA is becoming an anachronism, a tip-of-the-hat to a bygone era when college football really was college football.
If the shadows of conference realignment cast by Texas A&M show anything, they demonstrate how quickly college football could reorganize itself and gravitate into a sport where the schools representing the top, oh, 50 elite programs simply consolidate, bid the NCAA and its byzantine rules farewell, and play ball with their own playbook.
Don't laugh. Surely, the NCAA isn't.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A&M to the SEC: Round Two
With all the surprise of a blue light special at K-Mart, Texas A&M confirmed two weeks of speculation today by sending its formal notification to the Big 12 of its intent to explore other avenues of conference membership. While the unofficial, behind-the-scenes wheels continue to churn, this is the first official, legal step that makes the move that much closer to reality.
This is going to play out in myriad ugly ways. Chip Brown at Orangebloods reports that Texas has made it clear they'll make no special effort to schedule A&M as a non-conference opponent should he Ags bolt, possibly pursuing Notre Dame as a Thanksgiving replacement. That Texas would so broadly reach for the Irish tells me that independence is on the Horns mind, or perhaps even grander things - an entirely new conference anchored by Texas and Notre Dame, which could take startling new directions.
No matter how the details shake out, there will be hurt feelings that will last across generations, and fans of 2011 will be the ones to see how realignment, power consolidation, and money have cost the game of college football yet another great rivalry. Just as the Big 12 ended Oklahoma Nebraska, the death of the Big 12 will likely end Texas-Texas A&M. The only question now, sadly, is what's next?
This is going to play out in myriad ugly ways. Chip Brown at Orangebloods reports that Texas has made it clear they'll make no special effort to schedule A&M as a non-conference opponent should he Ags bolt, possibly pursuing Notre Dame as a Thanksgiving replacement. That Texas would so broadly reach for the Irish tells me that independence is on the Horns mind, or perhaps even grander things - an entirely new conference anchored by Texas and Notre Dame, which could take startling new directions.
No matter how the details shake out, there will be hurt feelings that will last across generations, and fans of 2011 will be the ones to see how realignment, power consolidation, and money have cost the game of college football yet another great rivalry. Just as the Big 12 ended Oklahoma Nebraska, the death of the Big 12 will likely end Texas-Texas A&M. The only question now, sadly, is what's next?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
College Football: The Next Generation
With Texas A&M sending shockwaves through college football barely three weeks before kickoff, it doesn't take a rocket scientist from either the Pac 12 or the SEC to know that change is, again, on its way, and that change is going to be monstrous.
And in the midst of the change there will be winners and losers.
And I'm not sure the broader sport of college football won't be on the losing side of the ledger.
No, it isn't because of the greed of the game, or the money-grab spoiling the "purer" part of amateur athletics. It's simpler than that.
Its in knowing that once this next round of realignment happens, the face of the game will change, and some colleges playing now may not be playing tomorrow.
For every Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Nebraska that headlines ESPN in the fall, there's an Iowa State, a Baylor, a Colorado State, and a Kansas State that lives on the fleeting notoriety of a few magical seasons, but more largely on the coattails of the larger, more traditional programs. When this next shakeout occurs, it will consolidate the power of college football at the top. There will be a mad scramble to snag the membership of the few scattered power programs should conferences fracture, looking for Oklahoma and Texas, but hardly anyone will be too worried about the likes of Iowa State. Or Central Michigan. Or (insert mid-level program here).
Mind you, this is not intended as an insult to the Cyclones. Its just a recognition that a great many of these programs, full of dedicated, hard-working players and coaches, are quite likely to slip through the cracks and become forgotten in college football's race to power conferences and big-game payouts.
If Division I (sorry, it will never be "FBS") sports over 100 teams - perhaps closer to 120 - but the rumbling suggests that the superconference era might consist of four conferences of 16 teams each, that leaves those 120 teams vying for 64 spots. Let's get even more optimistic, and suggest a way is found to manage 24 teams in a conference - that's still only 96 teams, leaving close to two-dozen looking for a home.
If "traditional" college football is on a journey to its own future, the sad reality for smaller schools is that they may well find themselves on the Titanic, realizing they are among the unfortunate passengers stranded on deck, only to see the lifeboats to better conferences have set sail without them.
For college fans, that leaves one with a sinking feeling, indeed.
And in the midst of the change there will be winners and losers.
And I'm not sure the broader sport of college football won't be on the losing side of the ledger.
No, it isn't because of the greed of the game, or the money-grab spoiling the "purer" part of amateur athletics. It's simpler than that.
Its in knowing that once this next round of realignment happens, the face of the game will change, and some colleges playing now may not be playing tomorrow.
For every Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, and Nebraska that headlines ESPN in the fall, there's an Iowa State, a Baylor, a Colorado State, and a Kansas State that lives on the fleeting notoriety of a few magical seasons, but more largely on the coattails of the larger, more traditional programs. When this next shakeout occurs, it will consolidate the power of college football at the top. There will be a mad scramble to snag the membership of the few scattered power programs should conferences fracture, looking for Oklahoma and Texas, but hardly anyone will be too worried about the likes of Iowa State. Or Central Michigan. Or (insert mid-level program here).
Mind you, this is not intended as an insult to the Cyclones. Its just a recognition that a great many of these programs, full of dedicated, hard-working players and coaches, are quite likely to slip through the cracks and become forgotten in college football's race to power conferences and big-game payouts.
If Division I (sorry, it will never be "FBS") sports over 100 teams - perhaps closer to 120 - but the rumbling suggests that the superconference era might consist of four conferences of 16 teams each, that leaves those 120 teams vying for 64 spots. Let's get even more optimistic, and suggest a way is found to manage 24 teams in a conference - that's still only 96 teams, leaving close to two-dozen looking for a home.
If "traditional" college football is on a journey to its own future, the sad reality for smaller schools is that they may well find themselves on the Titanic, realizing they are among the unfortunate passengers stranded on deck, only to see the lifeboats to better conferences have set sail without them.
For college fans, that leaves one with a sinking feeling, indeed.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
And then the SEC tells A&M...."Never mind...."
Update Monday, 6:54 AM CDT: Well, the saga continues...Multiple reports, spearheaded by Chris Brown at Orangebloods.com, indicate that yesterday's announcement by the SEC "reaffirming" their satisfaction with their current 12-team alignment, is posturing, and A&M's move is still going to happen.
Supposedly the announcement will come within the next 20 days, with yesterday's announcement giving SEC some public, "legal" distance from A&M's plans to defect from the Big 12. Some even suggest that an announcement from A&M that they will leave the Big 12, even without an existing formal invitation from another conference, may take place.
At this point, all we can do is watch and wait. - David
With all the diplomatic aplomb of an ill-timed belch, SEC leadership groin-kicked Texas A&M late this afternoon, voting not to extend the Aggies their heavily expected invitation to bolt the Big 12 and join the SEC.
Now, with A&M spending the weekend poising itself to make the grand announcement of their own independence from their hated Austin rivals and the broader Big 12 in general, A&M has the unenviable task of walking back home to the conference it hates, hat in hand, tail between its legs, trying to figure out a way to mend fences and reconstruct bridges it had spent the last week burning.
What does the SEC's sudden spurning of A&M's advances really suggest? Just as I suggested when this story broke, the SEC's quiet action in the midst of A&M's chest thumping was cause enough for A&M to be very careful. It was simple logic that the Aggies weren't going to be invited alone, implying another team would have to be prepared to drop the hammer and keep the SEC's competitive balance at 14 schools. That meant that it was entirely possible A&M was not the prime target in the SEC's scouting efforts - that, in reality, another team was targeted, and A&M was the team to balance. Today's blow to the head tells me that negotiations with the SEC's true intended fell through, and A&M was no longer needed.
In effect, A&M was played, played savagely, in an increasingly brutal game of take-no-prisoners conference management. The SEC knew that A&M was unhappy in the Big 12, unhappy with its perpetually second-tier status nationally, unhappy with the fact that reality of its program has never matched the ego of its fans. And the SEC took that unhappiness, slid it in its hip pocket, and played the Ags like a violin when the glimmer of hope for the team the SEC really wanted arose, then faded.
Who did the SEC really want? I obviously don't know for a fact, but its easy for me to speculate. And I speculate that, somehow, Mike Slive and the SEC found out that Florida State, if given half a chance, would join the SEC tribe and deliver one of college football's great rivalries - Florida-Florida State. Somewhere, in the midst of the last week, FSU either had change of heart, or communicated they were never really interested in the first place. Who knows. In the end, the SEC is unchanged, the Big 12 continues to persist.
And Texas A&M is still very, very unhappy.
Supposedly the announcement will come within the next 20 days, with yesterday's announcement giving SEC some public, "legal" distance from A&M's plans to defect from the Big 12. Some even suggest that an announcement from A&M that they will leave the Big 12, even without an existing formal invitation from another conference, may take place.
At this point, all we can do is watch and wait. - David
With all the diplomatic aplomb of an ill-timed belch, SEC leadership groin-kicked Texas A&M late this afternoon, voting not to extend the Aggies their heavily expected invitation to bolt the Big 12 and join the SEC.
Now, with A&M spending the weekend poising itself to make the grand announcement of their own independence from their hated Austin rivals and the broader Big 12 in general, A&M has the unenviable task of walking back home to the conference it hates, hat in hand, tail between its legs, trying to figure out a way to mend fences and reconstruct bridges it had spent the last week burning.
What does the SEC's sudden spurning of A&M's advances really suggest? Just as I suggested when this story broke, the SEC's quiet action in the midst of A&M's chest thumping was cause enough for A&M to be very careful. It was simple logic that the Aggies weren't going to be invited alone, implying another team would have to be prepared to drop the hammer and keep the SEC's competitive balance at 14 schools. That meant that it was entirely possible A&M was not the prime target in the SEC's scouting efforts - that, in reality, another team was targeted, and A&M was the team to balance. Today's blow to the head tells me that negotiations with the SEC's true intended fell through, and A&M was no longer needed.
In effect, A&M was played, played savagely, in an increasingly brutal game of take-no-prisoners conference management. The SEC knew that A&M was unhappy in the Big 12, unhappy with its perpetually second-tier status nationally, unhappy with the fact that reality of its program has never matched the ego of its fans. And the SEC took that unhappiness, slid it in its hip pocket, and played the Ags like a violin when the glimmer of hope for the team the SEC really wanted arose, then faded.
Who did the SEC really want? I obviously don't know for a fact, but its easy for me to speculate. And I speculate that, somehow, Mike Slive and the SEC found out that Florida State, if given half a chance, would join the SEC tribe and deliver one of college football's great rivalries - Florida-Florida State. Somewhere, in the midst of the last week, FSU either had change of heart, or communicated they were never really interested in the first place. Who knows. In the end, the SEC is unchanged, the Big 12 continues to persist.
And Texas A&M is still very, very unhappy.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Conference Shuffling 2011 - More Talk...
Update Saturday, 7:10 PM CDT: Orangebloods.com is now reporting that the remaining Big 12 AD's (minus A&M) have vowed solidarity to the conference. OU has supposedly said it is not interested in the SEC. If A&M leaves, the Big 12 would look to fill the vacancy, with a current short list of BYU, Air Force, Houston, or TCU. Now, how TCU would fit in the picture given their new alignment with the Big East is unexplained.
It looks like the crippled, castrated Big 12 is going to try and limp along as an embarrassing, 9-member remnant of college football that seems to be shifting around its members without touching them. Even if they pick-up a leftover from a middling conference as a 10th member, its a pitiful shadow of what it was just one season ago. It's amazing to me that programs the stature of Oklahoma or even Texas aren't making overtures to conferences that have something more credible than Dan Beebe as their leader.
Update Saturday, 5:03 PM CDT: CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel reports that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and two other "unnamed" Big 12 schools inquired of the Big 10 about joining their conference. They were declined due to their academic standing.
This continues to reflect the ongoing scramble for conference realignment with virtually all major sources concurring that A&M will leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and the SEC apparently soliciting several other schools as well.
Update Saturday, 9:30 AM CDT: BIG NEWS: ESPN's Doug Gottlieb is now reporting from his own sources that A&M will, in fact, join the SEC. That's not necessarily new news; however, the other element he is reporting IS big news: Reportedly, three NEW teams are planning the SEC jump, and they are Clemson, Florida State, and Missouri. With A&M and now Missouri departing, the Big 12 is a dead duck. The only question now, where will Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the Castrated 12 go? All bets look like the Pac 12 will be the winner. More as it happens!
Update 11:03 CDT....One fairly significant event to note - A&M has apparently scheduled a regents' meeting for Monday to discuss "all matters....relating to conference alignment." Florida State still officially denies they are being courted.
I still think the NCAA is going to have a finger in this, and try its darndest to stop any potential expansion. The threat superconferences pose to the NCAA is very real, but exactly how they can prevent them without some sort of leverage is hard to contemplate.
Rather than continually update yesterday's post about A&M, it seemed ripe to start fresh and evaluate where we are in the whirlwind of new conference realignment talks.
What do we know now? For concrete facts, very little. We have strong indications that Texas A&M will formally announce its intent to join the SEC on or about August 22, although there have been "non-denial denials" all over the place. I think this aspect, with details pending, is going to happen.
The next question I asked here is simple: Given that the SEC wouldn't be taking just one team, they'd take at least two, and maybe four, who was the next school on the SEC's list? Current reports and rumors strongly indicate that other school is Florida State. Supposedly, one insider at the athletic department of one current SEC school claims the conference is "confident" they will announce A&M and FSU as new members within the next two weeks.
That same source also indicates that the SEC might be emboldened to jump to superconference status by ramping up to 16 teams, possibly seeking Oklahoma and possibly Clemson.
If the SEC plans a chess move to a superconference, one has to wonder if the same anonymous "interested parties" thatblocked the formation of the Pac 16 prserved what was left of the "Big" 12 would step in to prevent an "SEC 16?"
The NCAA wants no part of superconferences, for they fear the organization of an entity that jeopardizes their existence. It would not surprise me to find they were part of the "interested parties" that helped put the kibosh on the Big 12's split last year. If ESPN doesn't want to renegotiate its SEC deal and find its newly inked agreements with the BCS to be worth slightly less than the king's ransom they paid for it, it would seem logical they might use backdoor channels into the NCAA to solicit their assitance in stopping this iteration as well.
How? Stopping all the movement would presumably be simple - figure out a way to shut down the Longhorn Network, presumably the proverbial straw that broke A&M's back and led them to pursue the SEC. If the NCAA could apply pressure sufficient to force the Horns into shutting down their network before it started, A&M would have won the battle and the war. If the NCAA couldn't stop them, it would demonstrate just how serious a superconference threat would be to the NCAA's power and influence over college athletics.
How will it all shake out? At this point, who knows. COnventional wisdom holds that OU and Oklahoma State are tied at the hip, and would first want to head west to the Pac 12. OU wants no part of the SEC recruiting quagmire. Missouri has to be attractive to someone with its proximity to the St. Louis TV market, making a prospective Big 10 jump a very real possibility. Either way, it seems all-but impossible for what's left of the Big 12 to survive as a credible conference if A&M bolts.
Watch this space for updates as they come in!
It looks like the crippled, castrated Big 12 is going to try and limp along as an embarrassing, 9-member remnant of college football that seems to be shifting around its members without touching them. Even if they pick-up a leftover from a middling conference as a 10th member, its a pitiful shadow of what it was just one season ago. It's amazing to me that programs the stature of Oklahoma or even Texas aren't making overtures to conferences that have something more credible than Dan Beebe as their leader.
Update Saturday, 5:03 PM CDT: CBS Sports' Gregg Doyel reports that Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and two other "unnamed" Big 12 schools inquired of the Big 10 about joining their conference. They were declined due to their academic standing.
This continues to reflect the ongoing scramble for conference realignment with virtually all major sources concurring that A&M will leave the Big 12 for the SEC, and the SEC apparently soliciting several other schools as well.
Update Saturday, 9:30 AM CDT: BIG NEWS: ESPN's Doug Gottlieb is now reporting from his own sources that A&M will, in fact, join the SEC. That's not necessarily new news; however, the other element he is reporting IS big news: Reportedly, three NEW teams are planning the SEC jump, and they are Clemson, Florida State, and Missouri. With A&M and now Missouri departing, the Big 12 is a dead duck. The only question now, where will Oklahoma, Texas, and the rest of the Castrated 12 go? All bets look like the Pac 12 will be the winner. More as it happens!
Update 11:03 CDT....One fairly significant event to note - A&M has apparently scheduled a regents' meeting for Monday to discuss "all matters....relating to conference alignment." Florida State still officially denies they are being courted.
I still think the NCAA is going to have a finger in this, and try its darndest to stop any potential expansion. The threat superconferences pose to the NCAA is very real, but exactly how they can prevent them without some sort of leverage is hard to contemplate.
Rather than continually update yesterday's post about A&M, it seemed ripe to start fresh and evaluate where we are in the whirlwind of new conference realignment talks.
What do we know now? For concrete facts, very little. We have strong indications that Texas A&M will formally announce its intent to join the SEC on or about August 22, although there have been "non-denial denials" all over the place. I think this aspect, with details pending, is going to happen.
The next question I asked here is simple: Given that the SEC wouldn't be taking just one team, they'd take at least two, and maybe four, who was the next school on the SEC's list? Current reports and rumors strongly indicate that other school is Florida State. Supposedly, one insider at the athletic department of one current SEC school claims the conference is "confident" they will announce A&M and FSU as new members within the next two weeks.
That same source also indicates that the SEC might be emboldened to jump to superconference status by ramping up to 16 teams, possibly seeking Oklahoma and possibly Clemson.
If the SEC plans a chess move to a superconference, one has to wonder if the same anonymous "interested parties" that
The NCAA wants no part of superconferences, for they fear the organization of an entity that jeopardizes their existence. It would not surprise me to find they were part of the "interested parties" that helped put the kibosh on the Big 12's split last year. If ESPN doesn't want to renegotiate its SEC deal and find its newly inked agreements with the BCS to be worth slightly less than the king's ransom they paid for it, it would seem logical they might use backdoor channels into the NCAA to solicit their assitance in stopping this iteration as well.
How? Stopping all the movement would presumably be simple - figure out a way to shut down the Longhorn Network, presumably the proverbial straw that broke A&M's back and led them to pursue the SEC. If the NCAA could apply pressure sufficient to force the Horns into shutting down their network before it started, A&M would have won the battle and the war. If the NCAA couldn't stop them, it would demonstrate just how serious a superconference threat would be to the NCAA's power and influence over college athletics.
How will it all shake out? At this point, who knows. COnventional wisdom holds that OU and Oklahoma State are tied at the hip, and would first want to head west to the Pac 12. OU wants no part of the SEC recruiting quagmire. Missouri has to be attractive to someone with its proximity to the St. Louis TV market, making a prospective Big 10 jump a very real possibility. Either way, it seems all-but impossible for what's left of the Big 12 to survive as a credible conference if A&M bolts.
Watch this space for updates as they come in!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Texas A&M to the SEC - Update
Update @ 9:13 PM CST: Sporting News is reporting that stories of A&M joining the SEC are "just not true." However, considering the other stories that have come out tonight, this "high ranking SEC" statement is consistent with what we've known - that there cannot be a formal announcement until August 22.
Moreover, the SN story quoted their source as saying that various other leaders within the conference must be contacted before a formal invitation could be extended, which makes perfect sense given the 11 days between now and the reported August 22 announcement date.
It's all still fluid, and could still go by the boards, but right now I still stand on the side of A&M leaving. I keep wondering if we're going to hear rumors about contingency plans for OU, Texas, and the rest of the "Not Even Close to 12" should the A&M defection happen. Stay tuned.
Update @ 8:03 PM CST: Lots of media rumors and stories, hard to separate original reporting from reports-on-other reports. Newest source of fairly reliable information is coming from Orangebloods.com, link here, which says that A&M regents will vote on an SEC membership issue on August 22, and nothing official can be discussed before then.
Now, obviously, all of this is very fluid, and tons of hype is flowing everywhere, so all of this is subject to change, but the rumbling continue to suggest that A&M really is going to the SEC.
Update @ 7:47 PM CST: According to the Texas A&M Rivals site, A&M is going to the SEC!!! I must admit that I'm stunned. Read their story here. If this proves true, it almost certainly spells the end of what's left of the Big 12, and who knows where the dominoes will fall. Only time will tell!!!
Rumors on the Internet are like flies around the tail of a Texas horse - frequent, annoying, and generally swatted away.
Yet one such rumor - that of Texas A&M moving to the SEC - was promoted to full-fledged credible gossip when A&M president R. Bowen Loftin issued a curious statement pledging that he will always "look after" the best interests of the University.
You can read the entirety of the quote here.
Rumors of A&M to the SEC started last year as talks of a mass migration of teams from the Big 12 to the Pac 10 gained steam. Just as the move seemed an inevitability, an eleventh-hour deal among "interested parties" funneled more revenue to the conference and putting the kibosh on the move. Now the talks are, supposedly, starting up again.
There's only one problem. The SEC isn't going to accept just one team. If the SEC is serious about inviting A&M, it makes sense they're just as serious about inviting another, as yet unnamed school to compliment the Aggies.
The question is simple: What other school is in the SEC's gunsites? The only two high-profile programs that would seem likely candidates from the remnants of the erstwhile Big 12 would be Texas and Oklahoma; yet Texas with its new Longhorn Network hardly seems a fit for the SEC and its new ESPN contract. Oklahoma could be a legitimate second candidate, but chances are the Sooners would not move without a package deal including Oklahoma State.
The bigger fish is out there. Common sense says it has to be, with A&M serving only as the lure. That means that, as the Aggies deal with the SEC, they would do well to tread very, very cautiously. Why? If the second team on the SEC's agenda falls through, prospective talks with the Aggies could end abruptly, leaving A&M nowhere to go but back to league it, apparently, desperately wants to leave.
Let the rumors fly.
Update: Some media outlets have pointed out that the ONLY place from which the A&M-to-the-SEC rumors seem to be originating is College Station. There's been no vibe or rumor from any SEC outlets or sources, which means this may all be nothing more than disgruntled saber rattling by the Aggies....and, as of 5:30pm CST Thursday, College Station continues to be the only place other than the media talking this issue...
Moreover, the SN story quoted their source as saying that various other leaders within the conference must be contacted before a formal invitation could be extended, which makes perfect sense given the 11 days between now and the reported August 22 announcement date.
It's all still fluid, and could still go by the boards, but right now I still stand on the side of A&M leaving. I keep wondering if we're going to hear rumors about contingency plans for OU, Texas, and the rest of the "Not Even Close to 12" should the A&M defection happen. Stay tuned.
Update @ 8:03 PM CST: Lots of media rumors and stories, hard to separate original reporting from reports-on-other reports. Newest source of fairly reliable information is coming from Orangebloods.com, link here, which says that A&M regents will vote on an SEC membership issue on August 22, and nothing official can be discussed before then.
Now, obviously, all of this is very fluid, and tons of hype is flowing everywhere, so all of this is subject to change, but the rumbling continue to suggest that A&M really is going to the SEC.
Update @ 7:47 PM CST: According to the Texas A&M Rivals site, A&M is going to the SEC!!! I must admit that I'm stunned. Read their story here. If this proves true, it almost certainly spells the end of what's left of the Big 12, and who knows where the dominoes will fall. Only time will tell!!!
Rumors on the Internet are like flies around the tail of a Texas horse - frequent, annoying, and generally swatted away.
Yet one such rumor - that of Texas A&M moving to the SEC - was promoted to full-fledged credible gossip when A&M president R. Bowen Loftin issued a curious statement pledging that he will always "look after" the best interests of the University.
You can read the entirety of the quote here.
Rumors of A&M to the SEC started last year as talks of a mass migration of teams from the Big 12 to the Pac 10 gained steam. Just as the move seemed an inevitability, an eleventh-hour deal among "interested parties" funneled more revenue to the conference and putting the kibosh on the move. Now the talks are, supposedly, starting up again.
There's only one problem. The SEC isn't going to accept just one team. If the SEC is serious about inviting A&M, it makes sense they're just as serious about inviting another, as yet unnamed school to compliment the Aggies.
The question is simple: What other school is in the SEC's gunsites? The only two high-profile programs that would seem likely candidates from the remnants of the erstwhile Big 12 would be Texas and Oklahoma; yet Texas with its new Longhorn Network hardly seems a fit for the SEC and its new ESPN contract. Oklahoma could be a legitimate second candidate, but chances are the Sooners would not move without a package deal including Oklahoma State.
The bigger fish is out there. Common sense says it has to be, with A&M serving only as the lure. That means that, as the Aggies deal with the SEC, they would do well to tread very, very cautiously. Why? If the second team on the SEC's agenda falls through, prospective talks with the Aggies could end abruptly, leaving A&M nowhere to go but back to league it, apparently, desperately wants to leave.
Let the rumors fly.
Update: Some media outlets have pointed out that the ONLY place from which the A&M-to-the-SEC rumors seem to be originating is College Station. There's been no vibe or rumor from any SEC outlets or sources, which means this may all be nothing more than disgruntled saber rattling by the Aggies....and, as of 5:30pm CST Thursday, College Station continues to be the only place other than the media talking this issue...
Saturday, August 6, 2011
To heck with the game, let's see your uniform!
There was quite a bit of buzz in the midwest leading up to Oklahoma State University's fall practice..not about the Pokes' new offensive coordinator, not about OSU's question marks at defensive tackle, but over something clearly becoming far more critical.
The uniforms.
Yeah, you read that right, uniforms.
Seems that the folks at Nike have decided to make Oklahoma State the "Oregon of the Southwest," and bestowing on the good kids at Stillwater more neon-infused color combinations of football uniforms than your local pizzeria has of cheese, veggies, and meat. And some of the colors are even actually part of Oklahoma State's official color scheme of orange and, uh, something.
This increasing obsession with the composition of the uniform raises the question, "So what?"
Having been a fan of college football for close to 40 years, I've never come across anything quite as particularly absurd as the obsession with the uniform. Gray helmets with bright orange pants. Black helmets with black pants. Orange pants with charcoal numbers and orange helmets. Glow-in-the-dark helmets with polka-dot pants.
Yeah, right.
In the broader context of college ball, who cares?
Does the running back run faster in a dark-colored jersey, or a light-colored one? Does the center snap the ball more quickly with a gray helmet instead of a white one? Does the wide receiver jump higher with white pants or green pants?
It is to boggle the mind.
I suppose the old axiom holds that any publicity is good publicity, but ultimately the game of college football is played and one on the field, not in the mirrored room of a fashion designer. I suppose the multiple permutations of uniforms gives athletic departments new sources of revenue for officially licensed merchandise, but it just seems a contrived issue designed to create news where there is none. Classic teams have a classic look. Teams with less tradition, I suppose, are looking for a "hook" to get them the notoriety they don't already have.
As for me, strap on the pads, put on the helmets, and get on with the game. Leave the designer permutations to the folks on "What Not to Wear."
The uniforms.
Yeah, you read that right, uniforms.
Seems that the folks at Nike have decided to make Oklahoma State the "Oregon of the Southwest," and bestowing on the good kids at Stillwater more neon-infused color combinations of football uniforms than your local pizzeria has of cheese, veggies, and meat. And some of the colors are even actually part of Oklahoma State's official color scheme of orange and, uh, something.
This increasing obsession with the composition of the uniform raises the question, "So what?"
Having been a fan of college football for close to 40 years, I've never come across anything quite as particularly absurd as the obsession with the uniform. Gray helmets with bright orange pants. Black helmets with black pants. Orange pants with charcoal numbers and orange helmets. Glow-in-the-dark helmets with polka-dot pants.
Yeah, right.
In the broader context of college ball, who cares?
Does the running back run faster in a dark-colored jersey, or a light-colored one? Does the center snap the ball more quickly with a gray helmet instead of a white one? Does the wide receiver jump higher with white pants or green pants?
It is to boggle the mind.
I suppose the old axiom holds that any publicity is good publicity, but ultimately the game of college football is played and one on the field, not in the mirrored room of a fashion designer. I suppose the multiple permutations of uniforms gives athletic departments new sources of revenue for officially licensed merchandise, but it just seems a contrived issue designed to create news where there is none. Classic teams have a classic look. Teams with less tradition, I suppose, are looking for a "hook" to get them the notoriety they don't already have.
As for me, strap on the pads, put on the helmets, and get on with the game. Leave the designer permutations to the folks on "What Not to Wear."
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