Texas A&M University to Join Southeastern Conference
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (September 25, 2011) – The Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, acting unanimously, announced today that Texas A&M University will join the Southeastern Conference effective July 1, 2012, with competition to begin in all sports for the 2012-13 academic year.
The addition of Texas A&M will increase the SEC membership to 13 institutions. It is the first expansion for the SEC since September of 1991 when the University of South Carolina joined the league. The University of Arkansas joined the SEC in August of 1991. With the addition of Arkansas and South Carolina, the SEC was the first conference to split into divisions and add a conference championship game in 1992.
“The Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors are pleased to welcome Texas A&M University to the SEC family,” said Dr. Bernie Machen, chair of the SEC Presidents and Chancellors and president of the University of Florida. “The addition of Texas A&M University as the SEC’s 13th member gives our league a prestigious academic institution with a strong athletic tradition and a culture similar to our current institutions.”
“The Southeastern Conference provides Texas A&M the national visibility that our great university and our student-athletes deserve,” said Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin. “We are excited to begin competition in the nation’s premier athletic conference. This is a 100-year decision that we have addressed carefully and methodically, and I believe the Southeastern Conference gives the Aggies the best situation of any conference in the country.”
Texas A&M, located in College Station, will also be the third institution in the Southeastern Conference to hold membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, joining University of Florida and Vanderbilt University. Texas A&M has an enrollment of 50,000 students, ranking as the sixth-largest university in the country, with 360,000 former students worldwide.
Texas A&M also adds to the athletic excellence of the SEC. Last season, the Aggies won three NCAA team titles (men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, women’s basketball) and finished eighth in the prestigious Learfield Sports Director’s Cup all-sport rankings.
“On behalf of our presidents, chancellors, athletics directors, students and fans, I welcome Texas A&M University to the SEC family,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “Texas A&M is a nationally-prominent institution on and off the field and a great fit for the SEC tradition of excellence-athletically, academically and culturally.”
The Aggies sponsor 20 varsity sports. Men’s sports include baseball, basketball, football, golf, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country. Women’s sports include basketball, equestrian, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field and cross country and volleyball. Texas A&M participates in every sport sponsored by the SEC except gymnastics and the SEC sponsors every sport the Aggies participate in except equestrian.
9-15-2011 Updates
While it continues to be oh so excruciatingly quiet this week, I have some quick updates as to where some things stand:
First off, the Aggies are gone. There is about a .001% chance of them going back to the Big 12-2-1. We followed the exit path set forth by the league, the SEC voted us in and now we are just waiting on everything else to shake out so we can officially accept that beautiful invite.
Now everything else going on isn’t so clear. First up is OU. They are apparently the last link keeping everyone from going on their merry way, and we may soon find out what their intentions are. They currently have a board of regents meeting setup for Monday, there are some very intriguing points of order in the agenda for that meeting. Here is the agenda, and I direct your attention to items 28 and 29.
OU Regents Official Agenda
As you can see, we should get a clear picture what direction OU, OSU and consequently the Big 12-2-1 will be going after this meeting Monday.
Now onto our good friend Ken Starr. It appears he decided this week was the week he needed even more help and headed all the way to Washington. That’s right K* is in Washington DC to try and scare up help for his lowly Conference USA bound bears. The beginning of this politico wrap-up gives a brief statement about Ken and his pleas in our Capital.
POLITICO Influence: Breaking: Ken Starr returns to Hill…
Why can’t Ken just move past all of this and see that he is doing nothing but hurting his own reputation(if possible) and that of his school? Baylor has the best team they’ve had in a long long time and that’s what he and his school should be focusing on. Instead of worrying about everyone else, worry about what they are doing themselves on the field and in finding the best future home of the Baylor Bears.
Lastly today we get to see what kind of fun those longhors are up to in Austin. It looks like one of Mack’s main men wasn’t being such a good boy and it got “ol’ Freak Nasty” into some trouble.
Cleve Bryant was fired for harassment
It’s been so slow with info about our move and everyone else’s this week that it’s driven me to focus on work and stay off the internet reading everything possible. Hopefully as we get through another actual game and move into next week starting with OU’s meeting we’ll have some more definitive information about our future as well as everyone else’s and we’ll try to keep you as up do date as possible as that happens.