A little over a month ago, Texas A&M University explored their options of leaving the Big 12 Conference for the Southeastern Conference and seemed ready to move on, only to be denied by the SEC, who said they were not ready to expand at this time.
Well, just last week, the New York Times reported that the Aggies were going to notify the Big 12 that they planned to leave the conference after the athletic year was finished. Of course, Texas A&M, acting just like a dramatic teenage girl, denied that these rumors about them flirting with a move to a new, bigger and better conference were true.
The day this report was released, the Big 12 came out, just like a good boyfriend should, and stood up for its “significant other,” saying it had received no such notification from Texas A&M. However, deep down inside, the Big 12 had to know that their relationship with the Aggies was doomed. A few days later, it was official; Texas A&M will be leaving the Big 12 Conference after the athletic year is completed.
One might try to comfort the Big 12 and say, “Good for you. If Texas A&M thinks they can find something better, let them leave and find out for themselves. You will be just fine. There are other fish in the sea and you are an attractive offer.” Please. That is something your mother would say to comfort you, when deep down inside you know it’s not true.
Here’s the worst part, the Aggies were “flirting” with other conferences behind the Big 12’s back and left them out to dry. While Texas A&M is only one school in the grand scheme of things, that drops the Big 12 down to just nine schools for the upcoming 2012-2013 athletic year.
On top of that, Texas A&M is going to tell all their friends, like the University of Oklahoma, how awful it is “dating” the Big 12, when they are clearly in love with the University of Texas; and that there are lots of other “boys” (or conferences in this case) who can spend a lot more money on them and give them a lot more attention.
In the end, both parties are at fault for this relationship not working out. Texas A&M shouldn’t be looking to back out of their commitment with the Big 12 Conference, yet at the same time, the Big 12 should be treating everyone in the conference the same, which means they shouldn’t have given Texas special rights to have their own television network.
I’m sure Texas A&M will be fine. They will get picked up by another power conference and they will experience success just like they did in the Big 12. The Big 12, on the other hand, may be on the verge of collapse, which would lead to mass chaos and realignment in college football. Be prepared: the Big 12 Conference just lost one “significant other,” but before long, they will be single for good.
