Texas A&M will be the SEC’s 13th member, just as soon as Baylor agrees to it.
Or so it seems.
The big announcement confirming that the SEC presidents had voted unanimously* to accept Texas A&M’s application for membership to their conference was made on Wednesday, as suspected, but with a caveat. The Big 12 rescinded their unanimous consent to allow Texas A&M to be accepted by the SEC, with “at least one Big 12 institution” withdrawing their their consent and threatening legal action. Here is the full statement released by SEC Chair of Presidents and Chancellors Dr. Bernie Machen:
After receiving unanimous written assurance from the Big 12 on September 2 that the Southeastern Conference was free to accept Texas A&M to join as a new member, the presidents and chancellors of the SEC met last night with the intention of accepting the application of Texas A&M to be the newest member of the SEC. We were notified yesterday afternoon that at least one Big 12 institution had withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action. The SEC has stated that to consider an institution for membership, there must be no contractual hindrances to its departure. The SEC voted unanimously to accept Texas A&M University as a member upon receiving acceptable reconfirmation that the Big 12 and its members have reaffirmed the letter dated September 2, 2011.
All eyes have quickly turned to Baylor, who multiple sources have said are the ones having an about face on the whole scenario.
Look, we get that Baylor is riding an emotional high after knocking off TCU Friday night, but if they think that they can legitimately fight this, and win, they may be sorely mistaken. The reality is that Baylor feels as though they are about to be left behind in the college realignment game of musical chairs. When the music stops, Baylor will have nowhere to sit but in the lap of the Texas Longhorns, and who is to say Texas isn’t not heading to the Pac-256 when the dust settles?
It is not a bad decision for Baylor though, even though people will ridicule the university for doing so. From a financial stand point, Baylor is not looking to be on stable ground as far as athletics go. Being in the same conference with Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Texas means being able to share more in-state revenue and in-state travel costs. If those teams abandon them, as well as Oklahoma, Baylor is going to be logging some big-time frequent flyer miles in the next few seasons unless they happen to fall in a conference with Houston, SMU and UTEP.
We’ll see where this all leads, but it would be a surprise of Baylor’s Don’t Mess With Texas Football campaign holds firm. In the end, money will prevail and that is simply stacking the cards against the Bears on all accounts.
* may or may not be unanimously
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