NCAA Confernces expanded and disappearing
- Thread starter Fucky McFuckerson
- Start date
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/ncf/news/story?id=5756898
Big East presidents agreed in a meeting on Tuesday that it would be in their best interests to increase Big East football membership from eight to 10 members, the conference said.
"Today, our Board of Directors affirmed a set of key strategic initiatives, including expansion, designed to enhance membership stability and maximize our value," Big East commissioner John Marinatto said in a statement.
Marinatto said the conference will refrain from commenting further on the expansion process.
More from ESPN.com
Bennett The Big East's plan to expand by two schools for football is a smart step forward, writes ESPN.com's Brian Bennett. Blog
• Top Candidates for Expansion
• Blog network:
Big East | College Football Nation
League sources indicated to ESPN.com Big East reporter Brian Bennett that TCU and Central Florida are the top possible outside candidates, along with Villanova. The Big East would prefer to bring in schools as football-only members so as to not add to the 16-team basketball alignment. The question for TCU is whether the Horned Frogs would be willing to join only for football, since the Mountain West likely would not allow them to stay in that conference for other sports. The issue for UCF is possible opposition from potential rival South Florida.
A source told ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad on Wednesday that Villanova is leaning toward accepting football membership. The Big East wants an answer by the end of the year.
TCU also is a real possibility for the Big East as there is mutual interest, multiple sources said.
The Big East would be interested in exploring if it could stage a conference championship game with 10 teams, which would require appeal to the NCAA, a source close to the Big East discussions told Schad. Currently conferences must have 12 teams to stage a league title game.
The Big East is interested in if the Big 12 would like to co-sponsor an appeal, though many Big 12 coaches prefer a season without it.
The conference informed Villanova shortly before Labor Day that it wanted to add the Wildcats for football. Villanova currently plays in the Colonial Athletic Association in FCS and is ranked third in the FCS coaches' poll. Villanova won a national championship last year and is considering a move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. If it does, that will fill one of the Big East's spots.
"Our football evaluation is ongoing," Villanova AD Vince Nicastro told The Associated Press. "We are moving forward as quickly as we can, but not at the expense of being absolutely thorough. We still don't have a specific decision date, but it is likely to be resolved some time during this academic year."
Villanova, which made the Final Four in 2009, has been part of the Big East basketball conference since 1980.
The Wildcats have played at the second-tier level since 1985 and rejected an earlier offer to join the Big East in 1997. Connecticut accepted an invitation that season to start the process to move up to what was known as Division I-A.
Sources told Bennett that "all the usual suspects" were discussed at Tuesday's meeting, and that the league has been researching potential new members for months. Former Big East member Temple is a possible backup plan if Villanova decides not to move up because the Owls play in an NFL stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) and have a home for their other teams in the Atlantic 10. Houston is further down the list, while Memphis is not being seriously considered at this time.
While Texas schools like Houston and TCU seem like an odd fit geographically, their inclusion would allow the Big East to tap into huge television markets, as well as fertile recruiting territory.
The Big East is currently the smallest BCS football conference. Officials did not say how expansion would affect the 16-team basketball alignment.
The move raises the idea that expansion could lead to a split between basketball-only schools and the football members. Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia, USF, Connecticut and Cincinnati all play football.
Non-football members such as Villanova also include St. John's, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul, Providence and Notre Dame, which is a football independent
Big East presidents agreed in a meeting on Tuesday that it would be in their best interests to increase Big East football membership from eight to 10 members, the conference said.
"Today, our Board of Directors affirmed a set of key strategic initiatives, including expansion, designed to enhance membership stability and maximize our value," Big East commissioner John Marinatto said in a statement.
Marinatto said the conference will refrain from commenting further on the expansion process.
More from ESPN.com
Bennett The Big East's plan to expand by two schools for football is a smart step forward, writes ESPN.com's Brian Bennett. Blog
• Top Candidates for Expansion
• Blog network:
Big East | College Football Nation
League sources indicated to ESPN.com Big East reporter Brian Bennett that TCU and Central Florida are the top possible outside candidates, along with Villanova. The Big East would prefer to bring in schools as football-only members so as to not add to the 16-team basketball alignment. The question for TCU is whether the Horned Frogs would be willing to join only for football, since the Mountain West likely would not allow them to stay in that conference for other sports. The issue for UCF is possible opposition from potential rival South Florida.
A source told ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad on Wednesday that Villanova is leaning toward accepting football membership. The Big East wants an answer by the end of the year.
TCU also is a real possibility for the Big East as there is mutual interest, multiple sources said.
The Big East would be interested in exploring if it could stage a conference championship game with 10 teams, which would require appeal to the NCAA, a source close to the Big East discussions told Schad. Currently conferences must have 12 teams to stage a league title game.
The Big East is interested in if the Big 12 would like to co-sponsor an appeal, though many Big 12 coaches prefer a season without it.
The conference informed Villanova shortly before Labor Day that it wanted to add the Wildcats for football. Villanova currently plays in the Colonial Athletic Association in FCS and is ranked third in the FCS coaches' poll. Villanova won a national championship last year and is considering a move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. If it does, that will fill one of the Big East's spots.
"Our football evaluation is ongoing," Villanova AD Vince Nicastro told The Associated Press. "We are moving forward as quickly as we can, but not at the expense of being absolutely thorough. We still don't have a specific decision date, but it is likely to be resolved some time during this academic year."
Villanova, which made the Final Four in 2009, has been part of the Big East basketball conference since 1980.
The Wildcats have played at the second-tier level since 1985 and rejected an earlier offer to join the Big East in 1997. Connecticut accepted an invitation that season to start the process to move up to what was known as Division I-A.
Sources told Bennett that "all the usual suspects" were discussed at Tuesday's meeting, and that the league has been researching potential new members for months. Former Big East member Temple is a possible backup plan if Villanova decides not to move up because the Owls play in an NFL stadium (Lincoln Financial Field) and have a home for their other teams in the Atlantic 10. Houston is further down the list, while Memphis is not being seriously considered at this time.
While Texas schools like Houston and TCU seem like an odd fit geographically, their inclusion would allow the Big East to tap into huge television markets, as well as fertile recruiting territory.
The Big East is currently the smallest BCS football conference. Officials did not say how expansion would affect the 16-team basketball alignment.
The move raises the idea that expansion could lead to a split between basketball-only schools and the football members. Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, Louisville, West Virginia, USF, Connecticut and Cincinnati all play football.
Non-football members such as Villanova also include St. John's, Seton Hall, Marquette, DePaul, Providence and Notre Dame, which is a football independent
The new WAC
http://www.kitv.com/r/25753088/detail.html
3 New Schools Join WAC
Denver, UT San Antonio, Texas State Would Join In 2012
HONOLULU -- The Western Athletic Conference on Thursday announced that three new schools will join the conference to replace departing schools.
"The addition of these three schools clearly sends a message that the WAC and its member schools are prepared to move forward to build a 'new' WAC," WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said. "And as the WAC prepares to begin its next 50 years as an athletic conference, I am confident that these three new members along with the six other WAC schools will continue to compete at the highest level of the NCAA."
The Denver Pioneers are members of the Sun Belt Conference. Texas-San Antonio and Texas State are members of the Southland Conference.
Boise State is moving for the Mountain West Conference after this school year, and Fresno State and Nevada join the MWC in 2012. That leaves the University of Hawaii, Idaho, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Utah State and Louisiana Tech in the conference.
The additions of Texas-San Antonio and Texas State will give the WAC eight football members in 2012. The two Texas schools will move from the Football Championship Subdivison to the Football Bowl Subdivision when they join the WAC. Denver does not have a football team.
So it's gonna be(for football)-
Hawaii (?) Might be independent
San Jose St
Utah St
Louisiana Tech (?) I've read they are trying to join Conf USA
Idaho
New Mexico St
UT-San Antonio
Texas St
http://www.kitv.com/r/25753088/detail.html
3 New Schools Join WAC
Denver, UT San Antonio, Texas State Would Join In 2012
HONOLULU -- The Western Athletic Conference on Thursday announced that three new schools will join the conference to replace departing schools.
"The addition of these three schools clearly sends a message that the WAC and its member schools are prepared to move forward to build a 'new' WAC," WAC Commissioner Karl Benson said. "And as the WAC prepares to begin its next 50 years as an athletic conference, I am confident that these three new members along with the six other WAC schools will continue to compete at the highest level of the NCAA."
The Denver Pioneers are members of the Sun Belt Conference. Texas-San Antonio and Texas State are members of the Southland Conference.
Boise State is moving for the Mountain West Conference after this school year, and Fresno State and Nevada join the MWC in 2012. That leaves the University of Hawaii, Idaho, San Jose State, New Mexico State, Utah State and Louisiana Tech in the conference.
The additions of Texas-San Antonio and Texas State will give the WAC eight football members in 2012. The two Texas schools will move from the Football Championship Subdivison to the Football Bowl Subdivision when they join the WAC. Denver does not have a football team.
So it's gonna be(for football)-
Hawaii (?) Might be independent
San Jose St
Utah St
Louisiana Tech (?) I've read they are trying to join Conf USA
Idaho
New Mexico St
UT-San Antonio
Texas St
Looks like Hawaii is jumping ship. I would not be surprised if ONE of the reasons was how it had to to with how they have been playing this year especially how they beat Nevada and Fresno.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/11/hawaii-mountain-west-wac-big-west/1
Hawaii has announced plans to leave the Western Athletic Conference after 32 years in the league. The Warriors are finalizing a deal to play football in the Mountain West and likely join the Big West in most other sports.
Hawaii school president M.R.C. Greenwood was confident a deal would be worked out for the Warriors to make the move in time for the 2012-13 seasons.
"We have a handshake but we have yet to agree on the details," Greenwood was quoted by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "The people of the state of Hawaii should be very positive about this and convinced that we have a bright future."
The Mountain West released a statement Thursday night saying the conference's board of directors "has authorized Commissioner Craig Thompson to begin discussions with the University of Hawaii regarding possible membership in the sport of football only."
The longest-running member of the WAC, Hawaii would be the fourth league school to bolt the conference for the Mountain West. Boise State is set to start depart next fall, while Fresno State and Nevada are leaving for the start of the 2012 season.
As a response to the first three defections, WAC announced last week it would add Texas State and Texas-San Antonio in all sports and non-football member Denver.
"The WAC was moving more geography-wise toward the middle of the country, which is more difficult for us on travel and more expensive," Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan said. The new WAC, he added, would mean "having less and less known rivalries with teams that were going to be in the WAC."
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he was unaware of Hawaii's move and was "surprised" by the developments, but added, "I've been surprised before."
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/campusrivalry/post/2010/11/hawaii-mountain-west-wac-big-west/1
Hawaii has announced plans to leave the Western Athletic Conference after 32 years in the league. The Warriors are finalizing a deal to play football in the Mountain West and likely join the Big West in most other sports.
Hawaii school president M.R.C. Greenwood was confident a deal would be worked out for the Warriors to make the move in time for the 2012-13 seasons.
"We have a handshake but we have yet to agree on the details," Greenwood was quoted by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "The people of the state of Hawaii should be very positive about this and convinced that we have a bright future."
The Mountain West released a statement Thursday night saying the conference's board of directors "has authorized Commissioner Craig Thompson to begin discussions with the University of Hawaii regarding possible membership in the sport of football only."
The longest-running member of the WAC, Hawaii would be the fourth league school to bolt the conference for the Mountain West. Boise State is set to start depart next fall, while Fresno State and Nevada are leaving for the start of the 2012 season.
As a response to the first three defections, WAC announced last week it would add Texas State and Texas-San Antonio in all sports and non-football member Denver.
"The WAC was moving more geography-wise toward the middle of the country, which is more difficult for us on travel and more expensive," Hawaii athletic director Jim Donovan said. The new WAC, he added, would mean "having less and less known rivalries with teams that were going to be in the WAC."
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said he was unaware of Hawaii's move and was "surprised" by the developments, but added, "I've been surprised before."
TCU Accepts Offer from Big East.
Texas Christian University has accepted an invitation to become an all-sports member to the Big East Conference, industry sources told FanHouse.
The Horned Frogs will join the league beginning on July 1, 2012 and begin play in the Big East in the 2012-13 school year.
The addition of the Horned Frogs will immediately bolster the football league. It also would increase the basketball membership to 17 teams.
The Horned Frogs (12-0) are ranked No. 3 in the current BCS rankings and are guaranteed a BCS bowl. By adding TCU for the 2012-13 school year, the Horned Frogs would take "all of their data to their new league," BCS spokesman Bill Hancock told FanHouse.
The current four-year evaluation period for the BCS concludes in December 2011, so TCU's past BCS rankings – three consecutive top 11 BCS rankings, including this year – will transfer to the Big East since it joined the league before the 2012-13 school year.
The current 2008-11 evaluation period is being used to determine if a seventh conference earns automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons – and the Mountain West (TCU's current home) will not qualify. The Big East, however, already has its automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons by virtue of the contracts, Hancock said.
Adding TCU also would strengthen its position when the league starts renegotiating its television contracts that expires after the 2013 season.
TCU will be located an average of 1,140 miles from the other football league members.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto had previously told FanHouse that if the Big East added new members before the current TV contracts expire, the league could seek to renegotiate.
"Membership -- quality membership and quality inventory -- drives value," Marinatto said. "We're certainly cognizant of the value that expansion and quality inventory would bring to a television partner."
The Big East had said a few weeks ago it wanted to get its football membership to 10 teams. The league also made an offer to Villanova, a member in all sports but football, to move up from FCS to the Big East.
"Villanova has been obviously a member of the conference for 30 years," Marinatto told FanHouse. "We've encouraged them for a number of years going back to 1997 to do whatever they feel is in their best interest. I think they're in the process of evaluating that question and if they evaluate it in the affirmative, we'll obviously have a conversation about membership."
The league expects to get an answer from Villanova by the end of the 2010-11 school year.
it looks like boise got fuck over again
Texas Christian University has accepted an invitation to become an all-sports member to the Big East Conference, industry sources told FanHouse.
The Horned Frogs will join the league beginning on July 1, 2012 and begin play in the Big East in the 2012-13 school year.
The addition of the Horned Frogs will immediately bolster the football league. It also would increase the basketball membership to 17 teams.
The Horned Frogs (12-0) are ranked No. 3 in the current BCS rankings and are guaranteed a BCS bowl. By adding TCU for the 2012-13 school year, the Horned Frogs would take "all of their data to their new league," BCS spokesman Bill Hancock told FanHouse.
The current four-year evaluation period for the BCS concludes in December 2011, so TCU's past BCS rankings – three consecutive top 11 BCS rankings, including this year – will transfer to the Big East since it joined the league before the 2012-13 school year.
The current 2008-11 evaluation period is being used to determine if a seventh conference earns automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons – and the Mountain West (TCU's current home) will not qualify. The Big East, however, already has its automatic qualifying status for the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons by virtue of the contracts, Hancock said.
Adding TCU also would strengthen its position when the league starts renegotiating its television contracts that expires after the 2013 season.
TCU will be located an average of 1,140 miles from the other football league members.
Big East commissioner John Marinatto had previously told FanHouse that if the Big East added new members before the current TV contracts expire, the league could seek to renegotiate.
"Membership -- quality membership and quality inventory -- drives value," Marinatto said. "We're certainly cognizant of the value that expansion and quality inventory would bring to a television partner."
The Big East had said a few weeks ago it wanted to get its football membership to 10 teams. The league also made an offer to Villanova, a member in all sports but football, to move up from FCS to the Big East.
"Villanova has been obviously a member of the conference for 30 years," Marinatto told FanHouse. "We've encouraged them for a number of years going back to 1997 to do whatever they feel is in their best interest. I think they're in the process of evaluating that question and if they evaluate it in the affirmative, we'll obviously have a conversation about membership."
The league expects to get an answer from Villanova by the end of the 2010-11 school year.
it looks like boise got fuck over again
New Mountain West Logo
Somewhat thread related, new members, new logo to coincide with it.
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/29833204
There it is. Here's what the old one, the one that was in used until a few minutes ago, looked like.
That one was certainly still feasible, but this is a new era for the Mountain West, so new logos must be implemented. I believe that's an NCAA bylaw, in fact. The logo has a nickname, you know. It's true! They're calling it "The Rock" and insisting this new era of MWC athletics go by the moniker: "This is our time." It's all dipped in so much seriousness I can't help but laugh at the irony. Outside from getting Fuel to play at the presser, there isn't too much else that could've been done here to signify just how unintentionally last-decade this whole shebang turned out to be.
At today's unveiling, the new, boxy logo was described as "a very corporate look, a very simple look." Indeed it is. And utterly underwhelming. Seems many conferences are afraid to be daring and creative and forward-minded in their logo desigins. The Pac-12 is excluded from such criticism.
But this is all part of the rebranding process for the 12-year-old Mountain West, which pushes on, as it'll have a new caravan of teams in the next two years. Boise State is joining this fall, and Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada will join the league in 2012. Meanwhile, BYU and Utah are leaving immediately, while TCU has one more year of dues to pay before it bolts for the Big East, a natural geographical fit.
Here's the release about the logo and today's ceremonies, which act as the initiation into the new Mountain West regime.
"This initiative is emblematic of the evolution of our league," [league commissioner Craig] Thompson stated. "The overwhelming majority of the people we spoke to said the Mountain West is bold, feisty and highly competitive, and we strongly believe these qualities are reflected in our new brand identity and our new logo. ... Our fans were right in noting that our evolving membership and geography reflect both 'Mountain' and 'West' equally. The logo is bold, strong and balanced just like our league. We like the fact that it's instantly recognizable to fans on either side of the playing field."
In time it will be. But it's just a logo, and one that's giving me a hankering to fire up my old Compaq and play a round of Doom.
heres the new one...
Old one...
Seems like they took a step back IMO, probably just something to get used to.
Somewhat thread related, new members, new logo to coincide with it.
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/29833204
There it is. Here's what the old one, the one that was in used until a few minutes ago, looked like.
That one was certainly still feasible, but this is a new era for the Mountain West, so new logos must be implemented. I believe that's an NCAA bylaw, in fact. The logo has a nickname, you know. It's true! They're calling it "The Rock" and insisting this new era of MWC athletics go by the moniker: "This is our time." It's all dipped in so much seriousness I can't help but laugh at the irony. Outside from getting Fuel to play at the presser, there isn't too much else that could've been done here to signify just how unintentionally last-decade this whole shebang turned out to be.
At today's unveiling, the new, boxy logo was described as "a very corporate look, a very simple look." Indeed it is. And utterly underwhelming. Seems many conferences are afraid to be daring and creative and forward-minded in their logo desigins. The Pac-12 is excluded from such criticism.
But this is all part of the rebranding process for the 12-year-old Mountain West, which pushes on, as it'll have a new caravan of teams in the next two years. Boise State is joining this fall, and Fresno State, Hawaii and Nevada will join the league in 2012. Meanwhile, BYU and Utah are leaving immediately, while TCU has one more year of dues to pay before it bolts for the Big East, a natural geographical fit.
Here's the release about the logo and today's ceremonies, which act as the initiation into the new Mountain West regime.
"This initiative is emblematic of the evolution of our league," [league commissioner Craig] Thompson stated. "The overwhelming majority of the people we spoke to said the Mountain West is bold, feisty and highly competitive, and we strongly believe these qualities are reflected in our new brand identity and our new logo. ... Our fans were right in noting that our evolving membership and geography reflect both 'Mountain' and 'West' equally. The logo is bold, strong and balanced just like our league. We like the fact that it's instantly recognizable to fans on either side of the playing field."
In time it will be. But it's just a logo, and one that's giving me a hankering to fire up my old Compaq and play a round of Doom.
heres the new one...
Old one...
Seems like they took a step back IMO, probably just something to get used to.
Texas A&M intent on bolting for SEC
Texas A&M intends to move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, where they hope to begin play in 2012, school officials have said.
After 15 years in the Big 12, Texas A&M has been considering the switch for the second time in a year.
A high-ranking source within Texas A&M confirmed to ESPN's Doug Gottlieb on Saturday morning the Aggies were poised to join the SEC. The San Antonio Express-News reported the timeframe of their tentative plans to begin competition.
Many possible roadblocks remain, however. All but one of the SEC's school presidents will meet Sunday to discuss A&M's admission to the league, The New York Times has reported, citing a high-ranking conference official with first-hand knowledge of the talks.
And the Big 12's athletic directors have scheduled a 4 p.m. ET conference call with conference commissioner Dan Beebe to discuss the situation, multiple conference sources told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
The SEC official said there was still a 30-to-40 percent chance the Aggies would not get enough votes for an invitation to the league, The Times reported. And the issue of a 14th team that would need to also be added in addition to A&M remained, the newspaper reported.
"We realize if we do this, we have to have the 14th," the SEC official said. "No name has been thrown out. This thing is much slower out of the chute than the media and blogs have made it."
The official told The Times that Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin called SEC commissioner Mike Slive three weeks ago and said the Aggies regretted not leaving the Big 12 for the SEC last summer. Two weeks ago, Slive and SEC lawyers met with A&M officials, when the league requested that the school work out the possible legal ramifications surrounding its contract with the Big 12, the report said.
"They have a contract now," the SEC official said, according to The Times. "We're very sensitive about being part of breaking a contract. What we asked them to do was to go settle their issues and not have us be on the table as the agent of causing them to leave."
The SEC will now pursue Florida State, Clemson and Missouri, a source told ESPN's Gottlieb, though Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said the school was not in talks with any conferences about a possible move.
"No, no, no," Alden told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday, before reaffirming the school's commitment to the Big 12, in whatever form that might be.
SEC blog
SEC ESPN.com's Chris Low and Edward Aschoff write about all things SEC football in the conference blog.
• Blog network: College Football Nation
Florida State university president Eric Barron also has said the Seminoles haven't had any talks about his school leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference for the SEC. Still, he didn't say it would never happen.
"I don't think there is anything to talk about right now," Barron said Friday. "I don't speculate when there's no conversation."
The Texas A&M board of regents will convene for a special meeting Monday that includes an agenda item about conference alignment.
The item, part of the executive session agenda, is called: "Authorization for the President to Take All Actions Relating to Texas A&M University's Athletic Conference Alignment, The Texas A&M University System."
The Texas legislature has also called a meeting. On Tuesday, the Texas House Committee on Higher Education is set to discuss realignment, a meeting to which Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials have been invited .
"There are millions of dollars at stake," Texas Rep. Dan Branch said Friday. "And this could affect students at other schools like Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor."
The Big 12 believes it could withstand the loss of A&M with Texas and Oklahoma remaining as anchor schools. If A&M were to leave, the Big 12 could consider Houston as a replacement to the TV market.
One possible reason for Texas A&M's renewed interest in leaving the Big 12 could be because the school isn't happy about The Longhorn Network -- created through a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN.
The Big 12 says A&M's issues with the Longhorn Network are being addressed. And it is focused on the significance of maintaining regional rivalries and geographic relevance.
But it was political pressure and legislature that played a key role in the Big 12 staying together last summer, when parts nearly broke off to join the Pac-12.
The Big 12 looked to be in trouble last summer when Nebraska and Colorado left the conference and several other schools were courted by the Pac-10. Texas decided to stay in the Big 12 which made it much easier for Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State to remain in the league as well.
Information from ESPN's Joe Schad and The Associated Press was used in this report.
damn this bs again
Texas A&M intends to move from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, where they hope to begin play in 2012, school officials have said.
After 15 years in the Big 12, Texas A&M has been considering the switch for the second time in a year.
A high-ranking source within Texas A&M confirmed to ESPN's Doug Gottlieb on Saturday morning the Aggies were poised to join the SEC. The San Antonio Express-News reported the timeframe of their tentative plans to begin competition.
Many possible roadblocks remain, however. All but one of the SEC's school presidents will meet Sunday to discuss A&M's admission to the league, The New York Times has reported, citing a high-ranking conference official with first-hand knowledge of the talks.
And the Big 12's athletic directors have scheduled a 4 p.m. ET conference call with conference commissioner Dan Beebe to discuss the situation, multiple conference sources told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
The SEC official said there was still a 30-to-40 percent chance the Aggies would not get enough votes for an invitation to the league, The Times reported. And the issue of a 14th team that would need to also be added in addition to A&M remained, the newspaper reported.
"We realize if we do this, we have to have the 14th," the SEC official said. "No name has been thrown out. This thing is much slower out of the chute than the media and blogs have made it."
The official told The Times that Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin called SEC commissioner Mike Slive three weeks ago and said the Aggies regretted not leaving the Big 12 for the SEC last summer. Two weeks ago, Slive and SEC lawyers met with A&M officials, when the league requested that the school work out the possible legal ramifications surrounding its contract with the Big 12, the report said.
"They have a contract now," the SEC official said, according to The Times. "We're very sensitive about being part of breaking a contract. What we asked them to do was to go settle their issues and not have us be on the table as the agent of causing them to leave."
The SEC will now pursue Florida State, Clemson and Missouri, a source told ESPN's Gottlieb, though Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said the school was not in talks with any conferences about a possible move.
"No, no, no," Alden told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday, before reaffirming the school's commitment to the Big 12, in whatever form that might be.
SEC blog
SEC ESPN.com's Chris Low and Edward Aschoff write about all things SEC football in the conference blog.
• Blog network: College Football Nation
Florida State university president Eric Barron also has said the Seminoles haven't had any talks about his school leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference for the SEC. Still, he didn't say it would never happen.
"I don't think there is anything to talk about right now," Barron said Friday. "I don't speculate when there's no conversation."
The Texas A&M board of regents will convene for a special meeting Monday that includes an agenda item about conference alignment.
The item, part of the executive session agenda, is called: "Authorization for the President to Take All Actions Relating to Texas A&M University's Athletic Conference Alignment, The Texas A&M University System."
The Texas legislature has also called a meeting. On Tuesday, the Texas House Committee on Higher Education is set to discuss realignment, a meeting to which Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials have been invited .
"There are millions of dollars at stake," Texas Rep. Dan Branch said Friday. "And this could affect students at other schools like Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor."
The Big 12 believes it could withstand the loss of A&M with Texas and Oklahoma remaining as anchor schools. If A&M were to leave, the Big 12 could consider Houston as a replacement to the TV market.
One possible reason for Texas A&M's renewed interest in leaving the Big 12 could be because the school isn't happy about The Longhorn Network -- created through a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN.
The Big 12 says A&M's issues with the Longhorn Network are being addressed. And it is focused on the significance of maintaining regional rivalries and geographic relevance.
But it was political pressure and legislature that played a key role in the Big 12 staying together last summer, when parts nearly broke off to join the Pac-12.
The Big 12 looked to be in trouble last summer when Nebraska and Colorado left the conference and several other schools were courted by the Pac-10. Texas decided to stay in the Big 12 which made it much easier for Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State to remain in the league as well.
Information from ESPN's Joe Schad and The Associated Press was used in this report.
damn this bs again
ACC rulebook sets Monday deadline if FSU to jump to SEC
By Tom D'Angelo
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State would have to inform the Atlantic Coast Conference by Monday if it intends to withdraw from the conference and join the SEC, according to the ACC manual.
The Southeastern Conference is searching for at least one more member school after several outlets reported Saturday that Texas A&M will join the conference this week. Adding the Aggies, a part of the Southwest Conference/Big 12 since 1915, gives the SEC 13 schools.
Eleven of the 12 SEC presidents will meet at a secret location Sunday and one league official told The New York Times that the league realizes "if we do this, we have to have the 14th (school)." He said no school has been mentioned as a possible 14th member.
Texas A&M's Board of Regents has called a meeting for Monday to give school president R. Bowen Loftin authorization to act on conference alignment. The move to the SEC could trigger the formation of four 16-team superconferences.
Florida State, Clemson and Missouri were rumored Saturday as the leading candidates to eventually join the SEC. Others reported candidates include Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Reports also have both Virginia Tech and Missouri officials saying they would decline an invitation.
As a penalty, any team that withdraws from the ACC would receive only 25 percent of its normal television revenue for its final season in the conference. ACC schools are expected to receive around $13 million this season in the first year of the league's 12-year, $1.86 billion contract with ESPN.
FSU football coach Jimbo Fisher likely will have a strong voice in the university's decision if it is invited to join the SEC. Fisher, though, evaded questions about a possible move following the first of two practices on Saturday.
"We're getting ready to play this fall," he said. "We've got an ACC schedule we got to win, we've got a couple of big non-conference games we got to win, and we've got an ACC championship we got to win. That's our focus and what I'm concentrating on."
Fisher has a history with the SEC having been an assistant at Auburn and LSU for a combined 13 years.
If FSU is invited to the SEC the decision will be made by university president Eric Barron and FSU's Board of Trustees. Both Barron and Seminoles athletic director Randy Spetman said Saturday they have had no talks with the SEC about switching conferences.
Palm Beach attorney Peter Mettler, a former board member of Seminole Boosters, thinks FSU is an ideal fit for the SEC.
"Florida State lines up on paper perfectly," he said. "You couldn't have a better location as far as the SEC is concerned than Tallahassee."
For a school to join the SEC it must have the approval of nine of its members. Some believe Florida will try to block FSU's entry into the conference by trying to persuade two other schools to vote against an invitation.
"There would be so much pressure on them politically not to do that," ESPN analyst Lou Holtz said. "Even if they wanted, it would be difficult for them to come out publicly and say that."
While the SEC would provide a more difficult path to a BCS game and a national championship for the Seminoles football team, the positives might outweigh the negatives.
SEC schools receive more money from television contracts than those in any other conference. ESPN and CBS together will pay the SEC more than $3 billion over 15 years with each school earning just more than $17 million a year. Those numbers likely would increase with the addition of two more schools, especially FSU.
FSU is more suited geographically for the SEC than the ACC. Eight SEC schools are within a six-hour drive and five are nearly within a three-hour drive. The closest ACC school, Georgia Tech, is about a four-hour drive from Tallahassee. That benefits not only football fans who want to drive to road games but also non-revenue sports, which will save significantly on travel expenses.
Aside from the Miami game, FSU has not been able to sell out recent ACC games. With the number of high-profile SEC teams, that problem could be solved. Its rivalry with Florida would be heightened, and FSU would develop secondary rivals such as Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and LSU.
Leaving Miami behind could be difficult for the Seminoles, who lobbied hard for the Hurricanes to join the ACC. The two schools have long been an example of a respectful, competitive rivalry
By Tom D'Angelo
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
TALLAHASSEE — Florida State would have to inform the Atlantic Coast Conference by Monday if it intends to withdraw from the conference and join the SEC, according to the ACC manual.
The Southeastern Conference is searching for at least one more member school after several outlets reported Saturday that Texas A&M will join the conference this week. Adding the Aggies, a part of the Southwest Conference/Big 12 since 1915, gives the SEC 13 schools.
Eleven of the 12 SEC presidents will meet at a secret location Sunday and one league official told The New York Times that the league realizes "if we do this, we have to have the 14th (school)." He said no school has been mentioned as a possible 14th member.
Texas A&M's Board of Regents has called a meeting for Monday to give school president R. Bowen Loftin authorization to act on conference alignment. The move to the SEC could trigger the formation of four 16-team superconferences.
Florida State, Clemson and Missouri were rumored Saturday as the leading candidates to eventually join the SEC. Others reported candidates include Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. Reports also have both Virginia Tech and Missouri officials saying they would decline an invitation.
As a penalty, any team that withdraws from the ACC would receive only 25 percent of its normal television revenue for its final season in the conference. ACC schools are expected to receive around $13 million this season in the first year of the league's 12-year, $1.86 billion contract with ESPN.
FSU football coach Jimbo Fisher likely will have a strong voice in the university's decision if it is invited to join the SEC. Fisher, though, evaded questions about a possible move following the first of two practices on Saturday.
"We're getting ready to play this fall," he said. "We've got an ACC schedule we got to win, we've got a couple of big non-conference games we got to win, and we've got an ACC championship we got to win. That's our focus and what I'm concentrating on."
Fisher has a history with the SEC having been an assistant at Auburn and LSU for a combined 13 years.
If FSU is invited to the SEC the decision will be made by university president Eric Barron and FSU's Board of Trustees. Both Barron and Seminoles athletic director Randy Spetman said Saturday they have had no talks with the SEC about switching conferences.
Palm Beach attorney Peter Mettler, a former board member of Seminole Boosters, thinks FSU is an ideal fit for the SEC.
"Florida State lines up on paper perfectly," he said. "You couldn't have a better location as far as the SEC is concerned than Tallahassee."
For a school to join the SEC it must have the approval of nine of its members. Some believe Florida will try to block FSU's entry into the conference by trying to persuade two other schools to vote against an invitation.
"There would be so much pressure on them politically not to do that," ESPN analyst Lou Holtz said. "Even if they wanted, it would be difficult for them to come out publicly and say that."
While the SEC would provide a more difficult path to a BCS game and a national championship for the Seminoles football team, the positives might outweigh the negatives.
SEC schools receive more money from television contracts than those in any other conference. ESPN and CBS together will pay the SEC more than $3 billion over 15 years with each school earning just more than $17 million a year. Those numbers likely would increase with the addition of two more schools, especially FSU.
FSU is more suited geographically for the SEC than the ACC. Eight SEC schools are within a six-hour drive and five are nearly within a three-hour drive. The closest ACC school, Georgia Tech, is about a four-hour drive from Tallahassee. That benefits not only football fans who want to drive to road games but also non-revenue sports, which will save significantly on travel expenses.
Aside from the Miami game, FSU has not been able to sell out recent ACC games. With the number of high-profile SEC teams, that problem could be solved. Its rivalry with Florida would be heightened, and FSU would develop secondary rivals such as Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and LSU.
Leaving Miami behind could be difficult for the Seminoles, who lobbied hard for the Hurricanes to join the ACC. The two schools have long been an example of a respectful, competitive rivalry