Houston Sports Station 790 reporting...

[Blake]

Even in the best-case scenario if they added Oklahoma and Ok. State, half of the teams in our division (the teams we'd play most often) would be 700 miles or more away. http://statsheet.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/map

which is what....a 4 hour flight?

Pac 10 makes for the worst travel schedule, imo.....especially for A&M

[Thompson]

Ok, I was bored and did a little research. I assumed either going to the Big Ten or going to the Pac-10, Texas and A&M would bring Oklahoma and Oklahoma State (not guaranteed for the Big Ten, it could end up being Missouri, Kansas, or some other more distant schools, which would make it even worse for the Big Ten distances). The real travel difference in the two would be the other 4 teams in the division.

Pac-10
Austin to Lubbock: 326 miles
Austin to Tucson: 789 miles
Austin to Phoenix: 867 miles
Austin to Boulder: 789 miles
Pac-10 total: 2771 miles, an average of 693 miles for the 4 schools.

Big Ten
Austin to Iowa city: 853 miles
Austin to Lincoln: 724 miles
Austin to Champaign: 859 miles
Austin to Bloomington: 880 miles
Big Ten total: 3316 miles, an average of 829 miles for the 4 schools.

I worked out College Station, and it's not as bad a disparity (average of 756 miles for Pac-10 vs. 782 miles for the Big Ten). You could argue that the occasional greater distances you'd have to cover in the Pac-10 might negate the difference, but I don't know if the trips to the far north of the Pac-10 will be frequent enough to do that (once every other year).

Again, in the Big Ten there's also the chance that Oklahoma and Ok. State don't come with us, and our other 'close' division members could be even further. Also, whether I like it or not Texas seems to be the lead school on choosing the conference (unless A&M breaks off for the SEC), so they would be more likely to choose the Pac-10 based on geography (including the fact that there will probably be generally better weather in the Pac-10, which could affect game play as well as travel time), though of course there may be other issues that might be an advantage for the Big Ten.

[j-6]

I might come across as a dumbass here, but I would be thrilled if A&M went to the SEC. I'd be a maroon t-shirt fan in all honesty. At this point, I don't really care if Texas goes to the Big Ten or the Pac 10 - it'll be fun and new - and seeing the Ags try to establish relevance in a conference against LSU, Florida, and Alabama is oddly compelling.

I haven't been on orangebloods.com much lately but I assume it's more of the " them" type of at ude toward the Ags. I applaud A&M for potentially seizing a chance to get out of the burnt orange shadow. UT has made everything so onesided lately for them.

[Blake]

honestly, if A&M has sucked for a decade in a slightly weaker Big XII conference, they will get crushed for another decade in the SEC.

I don't think it's quite as green pasture looking as Aggie fan think it is. Just ask Arky fan how things have gone in the last 20 years of football...

[DesignatedT]

honestly, if A&M has sucked for a decade in a slightly weaker Big XII conference, they will get crushed for another decade in the SEC.

I don't think it's quite as green pasture looking as Aggie fan think it is. Just ask Arky fan how things have gone in the last 20 years of football...

I mean I understand this but I don't think any Aggies are claiming that we would go into the SEC and be competing for SEC championships all of the sudden. What would happen is the recruiting aspect would get better for A&M which will definitely help and the past decade of mediocrity was a result of a terrible hire in Franchione. Also, other aspects factor into the decision like location of the schools, and how A&M fits in culturally and as a city. Football isn't the only sport also. A&M is very compe ive at every sport and being the lone SEC team in Texas will just bring better athletes.

I would prefer Texas and A&M go to the SEC together but obviously Texas doesn't want apart of it for whatever reasons.

[Blake]

Texas Tech is an outlier and Lubbock ING SUCKS

did that feel good?

[Thompson]

Texas Tech is an outlier and Lubbock ING SUCKS

Tech is relevant because in the Pac-10 we can bring them along, but in the Big Ten, they already have 12 teams. Texas and A&M make 14, so at best we could have 2 'close' schools in our division, whereas in the Pac-10 we could have 3 'close' schools.

[Blake]

yeah because i'm in austin

yeah, Lubbock does suck....

driving 20 minutes out to the city limits to get a 12 pack of beer was a pain in the ass when the grocery store was just 2 minutes away.

[Thompson]

Is Lubbock still dry? I thought I read somewhere they changed that.

[tlongII]

We want Tech. Have you guys been to Corvallis?

[JMarkJohns]

Maybe the Pac-10 blinks just to net Texas/Oklahoma, but there's an understood, albeit unwritten rule that no religiously affiliated school can be in the PAC-10. It's a reason BYU is not being considered, despite its obvious rivalry with Utah, a recruited school.

From what I understand, while maybe not a "religious" school, Baylor has strong Baptist ties that could eliminate it from Pac-10 consideration. But, with them wanting Texas so badly and a spot now likely available, perhaps they tell Cal to suck it up and accept it for the green it brings.

[Blake]

Is Lubbock still dry? I thought I read somewhere they changed that.

maybe they have. It's been a while since I've been up there.

[tlongII]

Maybe the Pac-10 blinks just to net Texas/Oklahoma, but there's an understood, albeit unwritten rule that no religiously affiliated school can be in the PAC-10. It's a reason BYU is not being considered, despite its obvious rivalry with Utah, a recruited school.

From what I understand, while maybe not a "religious" school, Baylor has strong Baptist ties that could eliminate it from Pac-10 consideration. But, with them wanting Texas so badly and a spot now likely available, perhaps they tell Cal to suck it up and accept it for the green it brings.

No freaking way Baylor gets in the Pac-10.

[Blake]

From what I understand, while maybe not a "religious" school, Baylor has strong Baptist ties that could eliminate it from Pac-10 consideration.

Baylor is pretty much a religious school

[DesignatedT]

Is Lubbock still dry? I thought I read somewhere they changed that.

They changed it. It's no longer a dry county.

[Blake]

They changed it. It's no longer a dry county.

then I changed my mind. Lubbock ING ROCKS

[spursfan4ever]

then I changed my mind. Lubbock ING ROCKS

I remember me and my frat brothers buying 30 packs over there. It was un-heard of until I went to TECH.

On related matters though, here is a tweet regarding the SEC and UT and ATM.

ChipBrownOB: SEC commish laying down red carpet to get UT AND Texas A&M. Offered to move 2 teams from SEC W to SEC E for them.

Also,

ChipBrownOB: "I'm told Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are going to the Pac-10 with or without Texas A&M."

It seems to me, no one knows what the is going to happen. Pure Speculation.

[DesignatedT]

I remember me and my frat brothers buying 30 packs over there. It was un-heard of until I went to TECH.

On related matters though, here is a tweet regarding the SEC and UT and ATM.

ChipBrownOB: SEC commish laying down red carpet to get UT AND Texas A&M. Offered to move 2 teams from SEC W to SEC E for them.

Also,

ChipBrownOB: "I'm told Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are going to the Pac-10 with or without Texas A&M."

It seems to me, no one knows what the is going to happen. Pure Speculation.

is just crazy right now.

[Thompson]

The more I read about it, the more I want A&M to go to the SEC. I know it will be rough for a while, but being the only SEC school in Texas should give us a recruiting advantage. Apparently Texas might be unhappy with the idea because they prefer to maintain the status quo.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06...ggies-and.html

[Marklar MM]

Its hard to know who to believe. But the thing that has to have people worried is this...is Texas feeding ChipBrown "info" to posture itself into a better deal between the Pac10/Big10? And by info, the semi-incorrect kind?

[DMX7]

The more I read about it, the more I want A&M to go to the SEC. I know it will be rough for a while, but being the only SEC school in Texas should give us a recruiting advantage. Apparently Texas might be unhappy with the idea because they prefer to maintain the status quo.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06...ggies-and.html

Being the only SEC team in Texas should give the rest of the SEC a recruiting advantage in Texas.

[DesignatedT]

Being the only SEC team in Texas should give the rest of the SEC a recruiting advantage in Texas.

Yes but It would still give A&M a recruiting advantage... Being the lone SEC team would definitely help.

I wish Texas would just join the SEC with A&M and stop using academics as an excuse.

[Ignignokt]

Being the only SEC team in Texas should give the rest of the SEC a recruiting advantage in Texas.

I'm pretty sure Texas A&M doesn't give a about hurting UT's stronghold on the state.

[DesignatedT]

The more I read about it, the more I want A&M to go to the SEC. I know it will be rough for a while, but being the only SEC school in Texas should give us a recruiting advantage. Apparently Texas might be unhappy with the idea because they prefer to maintain the status quo.

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/06...ggies-and.html

It looks like a very high possibility at this point. From the way Stallings and A&M officials are talking they are willing to go to SEC if Texas is going pac10.

[DesignatedT]

billyliucci-twitter

1. Latest in A&M's SEC/Pac-10 decision: SEC commissioner Mike Slive in College Station today...more to come