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SEC Doesn't Extend Invitation Yet

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SEC Doesn't Extend Invitation Yet Empty SEC Doesn't Extend Invitation Yet

Post  Carolina Kat Sun Aug 14, 2011 9:39 pm

Updated: August 14, 2011, 5:25 PM ET
SEC doesn't offer Texas A&M invite

ESPN.com news services

The Southeastern Conference is not extending an invitation to Texas A&M to become its 13th member, but isn't ruling out adding the Aggies in the future.

University of Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen said the conference's presidents and chancellors met on Sunday and "reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment."

"We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league," Machen said. "We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion. No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M."

A high-ranking source within Texas A&M confirmed to ESPN's Doug Gottlieb on Saturday the Aggies were intent on joining the Southeastern Conference. And they reportedly hoped to begin play in the league starting as soon as 2012.

Additionally, ESPN.com's Andy Katz is reporting that athletic director Bill Byrne left the men's basketball team's foreign trip Sunday morning out of Paris to head back to College Station to deal with the likelihood that A&M will head to the SEC. According to a source, as long as the SEC were to eventually back a move all indications are that the Aggies will vote to go.

The Texas A&M System board of regents has a meeting slated for Monday that includes an agenda item about conference alignment.

An SEC official had told The New York Times ahead of Sunday's meeting that there was still a 30 percent to 40 percent chance the Aggies would not get enough votes for an invitation. And the issue of needing to add a 14th team along with A&M remained, the newspaper reported.

"We realize if we do this, we have to have the 14th," the SEC official said. "No name has been thrown out. This thing is much slower out of the chute than the media and blogs have made it."

The official told The Times that Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin called SEC commissioner Mike Slive three weeks ago and said the Aggies regretted not leaving the Big 12 for the SEC last summer.

Loftin said Sunday he did not participate in the SEC meeting Sunday.

"As we have seen over the past several days, there has been a considerable amount of misinformation regarding these discussions and any associated timelines," Loftin said in a statement. "The chairman of our board has indicated that the regents will proceed with (Monday's) agenda item, which authorizes the president of Texas A&M to take all actions related to athletic conference alignment. I will also accept Chairman Branch's invitation to participate in his committee's hearing on Tuesday."

Two weeks ago, Slive and SEC lawyers met with A&M officials, when the league requested that the school work out the possible legal ramifications surrounding its contract with the Big 12, the report said.

The Board of Directors for the Big 12 held a conference call Saturday to discuss Texas A&M's plans.

"The Board strongly conveyed to Texas A&M its unanimous desire that it remain a Big 12 member, and acknowledged its value to the Conference," the Big 12 said in a statement. "The Board noted that Texas A&M expressed concerns about institutional networks and that the athletics directors worked together and took actions, which the Board has approved, to adequately address those concerns."

Texas State Rep. Dan Branch, the chairman of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education, called a hearing before his committee for Tuesday with Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials.

Branch had said it would be "inappropriate" for Texas A&M to switch conferences before the hearing.

One possible reason for Texas A&M's renewed interest in leaving the Big 12 could be because the school isn't happy about The Longhorn Network -- created through a 20-year, $300 million deal with ESPN.

The Big 12 says A&M's issues with the Longhorn Network are being addressed. And it is focused on the significance of maintaining regional rivalries and geographic relevance.

Texas coach Mack Brown, in an interview Sunday on ESPN Radio, said he hoped Texas A&M, the Longhorns' longtime bitter rival, would remain in the Big 12. But he also said the Big 12 and Texas' athletic programs would perservere if the Aggies defected.

"A lot of people are worried about that," Brown told ESPN Radio. "Texas will be fine. I think the Big 12 will be fine regardless of what comes out of this, and we'll move forward."

"Number one, it's been a great rivalry with Texas and Texas A&M, so I hope it stays," Brown said.

"I hope -- I'm a traditionalist -- and I hate to see situations with universities that have played for hundreds of years break up," Brown added, with a subtle nod toward hyperbole. "And we're having a lot of league discussions over the last few years."

The Aggies' football team went about business as usual Sunday with a two-hour morning practice indoors.

Coach Mike Sherman has said that he's not in the loop on developments involving the SEC. He was not available for comment after Sunday's first workout, but said Saturday he and his team are concentrating solely on the Sept. 4 opener against SMU.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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SEC Doesn't Extend Invitation Yet Empty Re: SEC Doesn't Extend Invitation Yet

Post  jagator Sun Aug 14, 2011 11:10 pm

I'm a bit disappointed. I was looking forward to FSU getting in. Think about what that would have done to baseball. That would've been two more SEC teams in the Super Regionals this year and one more in Omaha. Plus both schools were in the NCAA Tournament last year with FSU in the Sweet Sixteen.
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