Texas A&M Attempting to Ditch the Big 12

Reveille may be heading east to the SEC in 2013

Texas A&M has been the Big 12 Conference's most disgruntled member ever since Nebraska and Colorado's departures to the Big Ten and the newly named Pac-12. The Aggies weren't happy with the fact that the fate of their conference affiliation rested in the hands of their hated rivals, the Texas Longhorns. Last season, the Longhorns "saved" the Big 12 from dissolving by deciding to stay in the conference. The decision to stay was a lucrative one for the Longhorns. Texas landed a deal that has netted them the lion's share of the profits from the Big 12. They also received the green light to launch the Longhorn Network, the cable channel that has begun airing Texas athletic programming 24/7. Now Texas A&M has found a home where they can escape the shadow of the University of Texas conglomerate. The Aggies plan to move to the SEC as the conference's 13th team as early as next fall. The move would leave the Big 12 with only nine teams, and Oklahoma is already publicly exploring their departure options. The loss of Oklahoma would be the fatal blow to the conference, and it looks as though the Sooners have no interest in remaining in a nine team Big 12.

Oddly enough, Baylor, perhaps the conference's weakest member, could actually play the role of Big 12 savior this time around. The SEC has accepted Texas A&M on the condition that the Aggies can exit the Big 12 without legal action. Well here's a shocker! The Baylor Bears object to this idea. It makes sense that Baylor would want to block this move. The athletic program at Baylor is much closer to SMU, than it is to Texas Tech. If Texas A&M sets off a domino effect that leads to the formation of 16 team super conferences, Baylor looks to be one of the teams left out in the cold. If Baylor allows the Aggies to head east, the Bears could find themselves playing in some weird variation of the Mountain West or Conference USA in 2014. That means no more BCS checks for Baylor, and that means Baylor will not let Texas A&M go without a fight. This is a developing story, but it looks as if college football as we know it may be staring at it's dying day. The era of the super conference will soon be upon us. Fortunately for them, the attention starved folks at Texas A&M can at least claim to be trendsetters for a change.