Free info from the 247 Texas site
I've been in touch with multiple sources throughout the day and have gathered as much information as I could on the latest with Texas A&M potentially moving to the SEC, what the future holds for Texas and the Big 12, and everything else with latest conference realignment drama.
Here is what I know as far as Texas is concerned...
*As of this afternoon, I was told through some well-placed sources that Texas has no intention of becoming an independent. Everything I continue to be told is that the Longhorns intention is to remain part of a conference.
*The lynch pin for Texas staying in a conference is going to be Oklahoma. There's a feeling from everyone I've spoken with that Texas would be able to hold some form of a conference together as long as Oklahoma is a part of that conference with them.
*I've also been told from multiple sources that the Big 12, which could potentially be a nine-team conference in 2012, could add Houston as the tenth team. I heard from one source that Houston could simply be the scape goat of sorts that if A&M leaves and the Big 12 crumbles, the A&M brass can point to Houston and say it's a school in a major television market city with a better than decent athletic infrastructure that the conference could have added in an attempt to save the league.
*Notre Dame has also been mentioned as a school Texas wouldn't mind working with to form a conference.
*A lot have been asking if A&M's departure would mean that Texas and Texas A&M would no longer play each other in sports, specifically football? I was told tonight that more likely it would be A&M that won't want to play Texas, citing the tough SEC East schedule. A&M sources believe though that the schools would eventually play, but it wouldn't be or a while. A&M sources say negotiations were far enough along last summer that the SEC had talked about keeping Thanksgiving weekend open so that A&M and Texas could play each other (similar to Georgia-Georgia Tech and Florida-Florida State).
Now, here's what I know as far as Texas A&M is concerned...
*As far as exits fees the school would have to pay the Big 12 for leaving with only a one-year notice, A&M lawyers are looking into it to see what the school's options options are. As of now I've been told that the A&M brass isn't 100 percent sure what the fees would be, but the situation itself is a big reason why I'm told the A&M to the SEC deal has yet to be finalized.
*I asked an A&M source about a potential breech of contract suit against A&M after the new Big 12 TV deals were signed. I was told that A&M doesn't see that as an issue big enough to prevent a move to the SEC.
*The Longhorn Network has become more of a symbol of the problem than the actual network itself being the issue as to why A&M is looking to leave the Big 12 for the SEC. From last summer's conference realignment fiasco, the A&M brass doubted the viability of a 10-team league. I was told that A&M looked at the television deals 12-team leagues like Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten have inked recently and figured that 12-plus team leagues are the future of college football. I was told they look at the Big 12 a step back. The bottom line is that A&M's attitude is that their long-term future is better in the SEC, so why not just go now?
*I'm told A&M truly believes they will get a better financial deal being in the SEC. Adding the DFW and Houston television markets would make them two of the top four in the SEC right off the bat. More importantly, the SEC is under the impression that if they expand they can renegotiate their television deals. That itself is why A&M feels they can get a big payday by joining the SEC.
*A&M officials believe that the SEC is prepared to play the 2012-13 school year as a 13-team league with the league expanding to 14 teams (or possibly more) for the Fall of 2013. Florida State is the hot team the SEC is rumored to be after (at least that's the talk from the A&M side). Virginia Tech has also been mentioned as a possible SEC addition.
*I'm told that at this point there's a 98 percent chance that A&M will be playing football in the SEC by 2013. I'm also told there's an 80-85 percent chance that a deal of some sort is done by the end of the month.
UT, A&M, the SEC, the future of the Big 12 and more...