After weeks of rumors, reports, and allegations, the Southeaster Conference has officially voted and unanimously decided to accept Texas A&M as its 13th member, according to a statement released Wednesday morning by the SEC office.
But the invitation to the conference is contingent on each Big 12 school waiving its right to litigation.
In a letter from Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe dated Sept. 2 and released by the SEC office Wednesday, Beebe confirmed that no legal action against the SEC relating to Texas A&M’s departure would be taken provided the SEC publicly affirmed the Aggies’ admission by Sept. 8.
However, Dr. Bernie Machen, the University of Florida president who is chairman of the SEC presidents and chancellors, said in the SEC’s statement Wednesday that one of the Big 12 schools has already withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action.
Various reports are stating that the school is Baylor, and I wouldn’t be surprised. Baylor recently launched a campaign called “Don’t Mess With Texas Football” to save the state’s rivalries.
Here’s what Baylor had to say on their website:
Football in Texas is more than a passing interest, it is a part of the fabric of this great state.
- Will Texans stand by and watch hundred-year-old rivalries be cast aside as the state’s largest universities align themselves with other states across the country?
- Will Texans sit and watch as Texas’ flagship universities pledge their loyalties to other states?
- Will Texans stand by as our most promising student athletes are lured out of Texas by new rivals?
Texans must stand up and call the leadership of the University of Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech to clear-headed thinking about the state’s future.
Readers can click the “Take a Stand Now” button and email regents and decision-makers at Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech
Baylor is like dozens of universities across the country dealing with a sense of helplessness, determination, frustration and worry as they watch the pending realignment that could greatly and forever alter the landscape of college athletics.
What the larger, more powerful conference schools like Texas A&M and Texas are failing to realize, is that schools like Baylor that are based in “college towns” like Waco, TX depend largely on their athletic programs to support the town’s economy. In addition to the media opportunities that the Big XII gives to smaller universities, it also boosts their economies, putting visitors in their hotels and restaurants for their home games, as well as drawing crowds to the stadium increasing vendors’ opportunities as well as employment opportunities. So, while the larger schools are seeing dollar signs, and merely the loss of rivals, Baylor, Kansas States and Iowa State and dozens of other smaller schools in large conferences see it as so much more.
Everything is on the table now as collegiate football moves towards a potential mass shift that is no longer based solely on revenue, but on egos, politics and the absence of collective agreements amongst conference leaders.
