Well, this is certainly an unexpected twist on a Saturday night.
On the same day that Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott made visits to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, rumors were flying around the Twitterverse that SEC commissioner Mike Slive was in College Station.
It appears, based on at least one report, that the rumors of Slive’s location may indeed have some validity to them.
According to Chip Brown of Orangebloods.com -- the same writer that first busted open the expansion floodgates with his report on Pac-10 interest in a half-dozen Big 12 schools -- “Texas A&M regents have the votes to join the SEC and could announce that move as early as next week.”
One of those regents, former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings, has spent the past couple of days heavily intimating that he is pushing for an A&M move to the SEC. U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, an Aggie alum, was quoted as saying he preferred his school to move to the SEC as well.
If A&M winds up in the SEC, that would open up a spot for either Kansas or Utah to join Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in the Pac-10.
UPDATED 10:51 p.m. ET: Andy Staples of SI.com is disputing Brown’s report, tweeting that he "[s]poke to Texas A&M regent (and former A&M and Bama coach) Gene Stallings tonight. Said regents haven’t been polled SEC vs. Pac-10.”
Stallings went on to tell Staples that he “isn’t sure how [a] vote would shake out.” A SEC source said A&M regents remain “on the fence”, still undecided on staying with Texas or moving to the SEC.
So, obviously, Aggies-to-the-SEC is far from a done deal. Until something official comes out of College Station, we’ll likely continue to have these reports swinging A&M to the SEC and then back to the Pac-10.
So, ummm, enjoy?