A&M Notifies Big 12 it is Withdrawing from Conference

[GlassHalfFull]

Texas A&M has notified the Big 12 it will withdraw from the conference, according to a newspaper report.

The New York Times said in a story posted on its website Monday night that Texas A&M President R. Bowen Loftin sent a letter to Missouri Chancellor and Big 12 board chairman Brady Deaton to inform the league it was leaving. The report cited two unidentified college officials with direct knowledge of the decision.

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Just thought this deserves its own thread. I was against the move when I first heard about it last year, but the more I learned and understood about how the Big 12 was set up, the more I began to agree with the move.

Gig 'em Ags

[TEXANRED]

Originally Posted by GlassHalfFull

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Just thought this deserves its own thread. I was against the move when I first heard about it last year, but the more I learned and understood about how the Big 12 was set up, the more I began to agree with the move.

Gig 'em Ags

Now maybe they can keep our Texas kids in Texas instead of heading off to LSU.

[djohn2oo8]

Originally Posted by TEXANRED

Now maybe they can keep our Texas kids in Texas instead of heading off to LSU.

SEC recruiting is cutthroat. Before they were just competing with OU and Texas for in state recruiting. Now they open up the pipeline to an entire conference. Kids not only consider the conference, they want the atmosphere of a campus too.

[Dutchrudder]

A&M better make it to a BCS bowl this year, or it's going to be a looooooooong time until they get to one...

[MojoMan]

Not so fast. It appears the NY Times may have been premature in its reporting once again.

Aggies counter report they're leaving Big 12

Texas A&M says it has not sent a letter of withdrawal to the Big 12 Conference.

The brief statement by school spokesman Jason Cook in College Station, Texas, comes a day after The New York Times said in a story posted on its Web site Monday night that university President R. Bowen Loftin sent a letter to Missouri Chancellor and Big 12 board chairman Brady Deaton to inform the league it was leaving. The report cited two unidentified college officials with direct knowledge of the decision.

The university said Monday it had received a letter from Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe outlining the withdrawal procedure should the Aggies decide to leave the league.

The Aggies are interested in joining the Southeastern Conference. Last week they formally told Beebe they are exploring their options and asked for the conference to outline the process if they decide to leave.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by MojoMan

Not so fast. It appears the NY Times may have been premature in its reporting once again.

Awwwww, do you miss us already?

[Stemp]

A&M has already notified the Big 12 they are leaving and looking elsewhere. The "notification" was a phone call to the Mizzou president and Big 12 chairman letting him know A&M was applying to the SEC.

[MojoMan]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

Awwwww, do you miss us already?

What?

[pbat488]

by the way, this premature notification report from NYT and Chip Brown was from someone at texags realizing they were getting their information from liucci's premium board, so they created a fake username and posted and literally less than five minutes later both thamel and brown had sent out the same tweet.

here's a screengrab I took of the initial post because as I was reading it the thread was deleted and I didn't know why until reading some other posts just now..



letter was officially sent today by the way, explaining we will leave to another conference if that opportunity arises. basically the same thing nebraska did last year before moving to big 10.

[Doppelganger]

Originally Posted by Dutchrudder

A&M better make it to a BCS bowl this year, or it's going to be a looooooooong time until they get to one...

Oh yeah. Outside of the past couple of years, A&M struggled in the Big XII. If they join the SEC, it looks like they go to the west. That means every year they get Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU. Ole Miss, and Miss State. That's half of their schedule. Then throw in 3 of the following 6: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. THAT is a very rough schedule. There are no Baylors, Iowa States, etc on that schedule.

I think A&M are gonna have to like the money they will make, becuase they won't be doing a whole lot of winning in the SEC. They may even struggle to be bowl eligible some years.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by Doppelganger

Oh yeah. Outside of the past couple of years, A&M struggled in the Big XII. If they join the SEC, it looks like they go to the west. That means every year they get Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU. Ole Miss, and Miss State. That's half of their schedule. Then throw in 3 of the following 6: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. THAT is a very rough schedule. There are no Baylors, Iowa States, etc on that schedule.

I think A&M are gonna have to like the money they will make, becuase they won't be doing a whole lot of winning in the SEC. They may even struggle to be bowl eligible some years.

Yeah, I agree, no question. I'd like to think the Aggies have it in them to compete with those programs, but I know they don't. We don't have the money, the coaching prestige, the facilities or the questionable recruiting practices necessary to compete with these programs. We are so far away from being at the caliber of these programs that I doubt we will hit 10 wins in any season in the SEC within the first 8 years. I think this move will be a disaster for A&M and we will become the Baylor/ISU/KU of the SEC instead of being the perennial #2-4 team we are in the Big 12.

[Ranger Tom]

Hopefully this really is the demise of the Big Cow Conference, and Tech will land in the Pac-16.

[TEXANRED]

Originally Posted by djohn2oo8

SEC recruiting is cutthroat. Before they were just competing with OU and Texas for in state recruiting. Now they open up the pipeline to an entire conference. Kids not only consider the conference, they want the atmosphere of a campus too.

I am seeing this as a positive. If you want to play in the Big XII you go to Texas or OU.

Now if you want to go play for the SEC (IMO, is the better conference and gets a lot more press) you may be able to snag those players who want to play there but maybe not leave Texas.

[Texan_Bill]

Originally Posted by Ranger Tom

Hopefully this really is the demise of the Big Cow Conference, and Tech will land in the Pac-16.

Why would the Pac whatever want Tech? If the demise of the Big XII happens, Tech would be scrambling and quite possibly could wind up in Conference USA or the MWC.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Well I somewhat disagree. I know I'm one of the few, but I really like where A&M is headed. Not saying they're going to be consistent National Championship contenders or Sugar Bowl winners, but I think they'll do just fine and start going to good bowl games every year like the Cotton Bowl or Chick-fil-a bowl.

Alabama - VERY good team, best in the SEC West.
Arkansas - about on par with A&M in my opinion.
Auburn - personally I think on the decline, they don't have the depth that Bama does to replace their two biggest playmakers.
LSU - tough team but A&M should compete with them.
Mississippi St - has turned into a solid program that is underrated but not as good as A&M.
Ole Miss - has their ups and downs, A&M is better at this point.

[FirstTexansFan]

Well as an Aggie, I have to say I hate to see them leave behind the rivalries. And I'm concerned about the level of competition they'll be facing, it remains to be seen if this will help or hinder recruiting for the University. As for opening up the state of Texas to other schools stealing our talent here. I'd say they already do a decent job of that.

[Errant Hothy]

Originally Posted by Texan_Bill

Why would the Pac whatever want Tech? If the demise of the Big XII happens, Tech would be scrambling and quite possibly could wind up in Conference USA or the MWC.

Maybe because they are just as good of a football program as ASU, WSU, Cal and Stanford. Let us not forget that Tech has been ranked #1 within the last three years. Only USC and Oregon can make that claim in the Pac-10. I know they are not near that level now. Tech also strengthens their market share in the big Texas markets. Yes, UT will bring many more viewers, but Tech would bring a fair number of vieweres as well. The Tech ex-student association is one of the fast growing, in both numbers and money generated in the region.

As for the Aggies, I don't understand the desire to leave. The Longhorn network didn't really chagne anything. UT will always have more money, even OU admitted this; and becuse of this they will have more power within the conference. A&M will be treated no differently in the SEC than they are being treated now in the Big XII. AS for competing, if you cannot beat the likes of Tech, OSU and Baylor regularly; you are not going to win many games in the SEC.

[gwallaia]

I think this is a good move for A&M. With Colorado and Nebraska leaving last year, the Big XII is teetering. Its like these schools are sensing trouble much like animals can sense an earthquake before it strikes.

I hope though that the UT-A&M game will continue. It will be a real shame if ego and greed end that rivalry, besides that's the only time I root for A&M to win.

[Dutchrudder]

Originally Posted by gwallaia

I think this is a good move for A&M. With Colorado and Nebraska leaving last year, the Big XII is teetering. Its like these schools are sensing trouble much like animals can sense an earthquake before it strikes.

I hope though that the UT-A&M game will continue. It will be a real shame if ego and greed end that rivalry, besides that's the only time I root for A&M to win.

That will be a big issue, but I really see no reason for A&M to keep playing the game, aside from their undying love of traditions. If A&M plays an incredibly difficult conference schedule every year, which includes at least 4 top 25 programs, then I see no reason to add another into the mix. Playing Texas offers us nothing aside from some revenue and a good feeling of keeping an old rivalry alive.

If A&M is fighting for a BCS bowl bid (best case), and they lose their last game of the season to Texas, they will screw themselves for no reason. Out of conference games are worth next to nothing in the SEC, but teams in weaker conferences need them to bolster their BCS at large bids. A&M won't need that anymore and would be better off scheduling 3 creampuffs to pad their stats and wins.

[pbat488]

Originally Posted by Hoth-Boy

Maybe because they are just as good of a football program as ASU, WSU, Cal and Stanford. Let us not forget that Tech has been ranked #1 within the last three years. Only USC and Oregon can make that claim in the Pac-10. I know they are not near that level now. Tech also strengthens their market share in the big Texas markets. Yes, UT will bring many more viewers, but Tech would bring a fair number of vieweres as well. The Tech ex-student association is one of the fast growing, in both numbers and money generated in the region.

As for the Aggies, I don't understand the desire to leave. The Longhorn network didn't really chagne anything. UT will always have more money, even OU admitted this; and becuse of this they will have more power within the conference. A&M will be treated no differently in the SEC than they are being treated now in the Big XII. AS for competing, if you cannot beat the likes of Tech, OSU and Baylor regularly; you are not going to win many games in the SEC.

i'm pulling for tech to land in the pac with a large exodus westward personally, think they would fit in well with that league. if they still had leach they would be perfect.

it's about stability. we're moving from a conference that will now be held together by two universities and a puppet commissioner to the strongest athletic conference in the country. in this move, we also increase our exposure as we're not one of the texas schools in the big 12, we are the texas school in the sec.

it all comes down to stability though, and the lhn has undermined any trust we had with the big 12 and we had to get away from it. I realize it's not ut anymore, espn is calling the shots on the lhn, but in my opinion it is going to ruin the big 12 eventually as soon as oklahoma gets fed up with it or ut is ready to go independent. til then, the iowa states of the conference will just have to buck up and take what ut and ou gives them.