As you have no doubt heard by now, the SEC formally and unanimously approved Texas A&M’s application to become the conference’s 13th member Tuesday night.
The only problem? Baylor (pictured, right) has threatened legal action if A&M (pictured, left) follows through with their long-rumored move, forcing the SEC to add a stipulation to their statement acknowledging the Aggies’ acceptance: there will be “no contractual hindrances to its departure” before A&M’s membership is officially official.
It goes without saying that A&M, which had planned an official announcement/sizable celebration at Kyle Field for today, is slightly put-off by one member of their current conference going back on its pledge of five days ago to not pursue legal action.
“We are certainly pleased with the action taken last night by the presidents and chancellors of the Southeastern Conference to unanimously accept Texas A&M as the league’s 13th member,” A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said in a statement. “However, this acceptance is conditional, and we are disappointed in the threats made by one of the Big 12 member institutions to coerce Texas A&M into staying in Big 12 Conference. These actions go against the commitment that was made by this university and the Big 12 on Sept. 2. We are working diligently to resolve any and all issues as outlined by the SEC.”
The end game for Baylor is to preserve the Big 12 as a viable conference and all of the accompanying revenue that comes with being a part of a BcS league. If the Big 12 were to dissolve through multiple departures -- A&M to the SEC, which begats Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas (maybe) and Texas Tech to the Pac-12, which begats Missouri to the Big Ten/SEC, which begats Kansas/Kansas State to the Big East -- it would leave BU with, well, Conference USA for a conference affiliation? The Sun Belt? Perhaps the a Mountain West Conference that has an interest in getting back into the state of Texas due to the 2012 departure of TCU?
There is, in fact, only one certainty when it comes to Baylor: if the Big 12 ceases to exists, they will not be a part of a BcS conference, which means the financial bottom line of its athletic department will take a near-lethal blow. Is it any wonder, then, that BU is grasping at any and all legal straws?
In the end, it doesn’t and won’t matter. A&M will be in the SEC sooner rather than later, with the Big 12 ball bouncing into Oklahoma’s court. Whether the BU would see OU in a different kind of court remains to be seen.
