SEC Expansion

I heard on another forum this was from the student newspaper at A&M

The aTm student paper puts it quite well:

Dearest A&M officials and decision makers,

I want to thank you for giving your loyal fan base a couple days of happiness and anticipation. It was well deserved. I mean, we’ve all sat through the garbage that has been presented every fall Saturday during the last 10-year run of inconsequence, unimportance and irrelevance. Sure, the best record we’ve seen was a very fortunate 9-4 campaign under Fran, but still we’ve packed Kyle Field religiously for the better part of every blowout, every disappointment, every embarrassing loss to an inferior opponent.

That’s of course because you’ve always got that Aggie spirit to fall back on. That no matter what product you put forth, come Saturday afternoons, your former and current students will stand in the sweltering heat, wear maroon and yell at inconceivable levels for absolutely no reason. You know you’ll pocket from the Aggie family because Aggies always stick together, right?

Of course, it was nice to envision a capacity crowd welcoming in Alabama or Arkansas or LSU to Kyle Field. But I guess we’ll settle for Baylor and Iowa State. Pretty entertaining squads, if you ask me. Heck, the Cyclones made a bowl game last season!

Yeah, today, y’all had the opportunity to free this great university from the firm hold that our rivals in Austin have had on us for the better part of 14 years, but we can understand that you enjoy resting in Texas’ shadow. It’s cooler and more comfortable there. Nobody in the country expects anything from you, so you can only exceed expectations, right? Sound logic, for sure.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. I understand we’ve only beat Texas four out of 14 years on the gridiron. It’s not that big of a deal, I guess. Those four times were super-fun and extremely memorable. I get that their program is the most prominent and prestigious currently constructed in the country. It’s not like we share the same recruiting base as them…

How could you turn down the Big 12’s — wait, it’s the Big Ten, now right? — offer of increased, guaranteed revenue? It’s like these fans don’t understand that we’re currently in a multi-million dollar hole the size of the Grand Canyon. Heck, we’re still paying off Fran. Of course, we have to go after the gold.

I guess we’ll ignore that Texas is going to make millions more annually than us. That this move makes them the Yankees of our conference. Besides, equal revenue sharing is boring. Everybody does it. We’re A&M. We like to be unique.

Fine, we’ll also ignore the little fact that Texas is now going to be capable of starting their own television network. I think they’re going to call it the “Longhorn Sports Network.” Pretty creative name if you ask me. They’ve always been the more creative types down there.

Just think about it. They were able to play not only the Pac-10 but also their supposed brethren here in College Station. They’re going to get a television network that will only increase their brand name across the country — hard to do considering it already is the most recognizable name in college athletics. They’re going to get to dominate this pathetic excuse of a conference for five more years, make unholy and unparalleled amounts of money and bolt as an independent entity — like Notre Dame — leaving A&M and the Big 12 in shambles.

I get it, I get it. It was awkward being in a position of power for once. If you play too close to the sun, you’ll get burnt. Too many expectations. Lots of heat. Not worth it.

Sure, we could’ve been the sole school from this recruiting hotbed of a state in the most powerful, prestigious conference in the country. It would’ve been a pretty good selling point to the best players in Texas. “Hey, come play on national television against the best players in the country in front of boisterous, sell-out crowds. It’ll be sweet.”

Sounds like a pretty good pitch to me. A lot better than “Yeah, we’re still second-fiddle to the empire of Texas — and yeah, our conference is a failing one built on a faulty foundation, but have I told you about Northgate, our gorgeous campus and our time-honored traditions?”

But I can see the other side. You want Coach Sherman to earn that fat contract. Make him work for these recruits’ devotion.

I mean, we could’ve been like the University of Florida. Same premise. Fertile recruiting state. In the best conference in America. Did you know they’re the same team that has won two national titles in five years and is one of the top three programs in college football? That’s probably just a stupid coincidence.

But I get it. That’s not us. We’re Texas A&M. Besides, that 1939 National Championship is still fresh on all our minds. And who needs more than one conference championship every 15 years?

Wait, what is the date again? June 14, 2010. Oh, that’s right. The day A&M could’ve, for once, been proactive. The day A&M could’ve made an audacious, bold move into an unknown abyss. The day the Aggie athletics program could’ve taken the next step — the key step — towards national relevancy.

Instead, we’ll remember this as the day everything stayed the same. The day A&M proved that money, and not its devoted fans, is all that matters. The day A&M crept back into its cave of insignificance. The day A&M showed its contentedness with being Texas’ redheaded stepchild. The day this university’s decision-makers lost my respect.

With love,

Dave

kentdaddy, truly a really good read. Not jibberish, heart felt opinion of a loyal and dedicated supporter. I love truth.

kd - that was apparently only one of many

read this morning that a&m has been flooded with letters and phone calls like the one you copied - some have been a bit on the testy side - one really bad one had enticed a comment back from officials that has since inflamed the alum/fans even more - some are threating to not buy season tickets and not make contributions to athletic dept

seems like the alum/fans really wanted to come to the sec real bad - wanted to get away from texas - wanted to be in the best conferance

sounds like if this comes up again - a&m will come running to the sec without hesitation and without reguard to what texas wants to do

If I were A & M I would want out too. Being the only SEC school in the state of Texas would be a huge recruiting advantage. Kids know the SEC is the best and the Big 8/12/10 is on life support.

Kids would rather play against LSU, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee and the rest than Texas and the 9 dwarfs.

I hope the alum do stay away and keep their money away. It is clear that is the only thing any of these people understand is the money. Deprive them of a little and they will pay attention.