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Texas A&M Football

Clay Travis zeroes in on realignment, SEC coaching carousel

November 23, 2012
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Notes from Clay Travis interview

* Majority of the recent conference realignment moves have made sense in all aspects. Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12 created a 12-team conference and added a conference title game. Nebraska fits in well with the academics of the Big Ten. A&M and Missouri fit nicely in the SEC in many ways.

* The first surprising move is the Rutgers and Maryland heading to the Big-Ten. This move doesn't make sense from a competitive standpoint, but it does from a TV network standpoint. It is 100% about money.

* Eventually, the SEC will expand to 16 teams. Most likely, it will be from the state of Virgina and North Carolina. The most likely scenario will be creating four divisions of four teams, which will make scheduling easier and will strengthen rivalries. The University of Oklahoma could also potentially be looked at as a possibility of joining the SEC.

* The SEC will always stay true to the strength of the SEC. You will never see a team like Rutgers in the Southeastern Conference.

* John Gruden to Tennessee has legs. Tennessee is pushing strong to snag him as its next head coach. The only reason he would no longer be the top target for the Tennessee program is if an NFL job becomes available. He has land in East Tennessee and his wife is from that area. It makes sense.

* If Gruden does not end up at Tennessee, Bobby Petrino should be the next target. However, Tennessee will not look at Petrino. The only SEC school that would go after Petrino would be Auburn.
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Clay Travis zeroes in on realignment, SEC coaching carousel

13,473 Views | 13 Replies | Last: 12 yr ago by TxAginAz
Gabe Bock
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12:15p, 11/23/12
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Clay Travis zeroes in on realignment, SEC coaching carousel
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milkman001
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12:28p, 11/23/12
AG


"We are the Aggies, the Aggies are we"
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SEC Champs
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2:15p, 11/23/12
AG
Great interview, guys. Clay is a great contributor.

I only have one point to raise, and that was Clay's statement that Maryland/Rugers was the first move that was 100% about money...

How about TCU to the Big East? WVU to the Big XII? Or my favorite... San Diego State to the Big East?

Maybe we're just used to Big East chaos, but I think we've seen the pure, financial moves from teams trying to enter or maintain status in the BCS.
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bigtharper
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2:29p, 11/23/12
AG
Could be wrong, but I took him to mean that it is the first time a conference expanded solely for financial reasons. Some maintain that expansion into those markets is the only motivation for taking those teams. One might argue that the Big East took sdsu to expand their footprint, but who knows what in the hell they are doing. They seem to be kind of like a preteen who will dates anybody just so they can say somebody will date them.
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The Collective
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5:32a, 11/24/12
AG
SDSU was more about survival than money
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cajun89
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7:35a, 11/24/12
AG
He is talking about the Conference reason for expansion.

Once the dominos started falling, the lesser conferences were back-filling in save ourselves mode.

The schools like TCU going out of region to get back into BCS conferences was also about individual survival.

BCS money is more, and those programs benefit. Just look at South Carolina in the last ten years. WVU was on the fringe before BCS, but it helped them along the way. Louisville, Cincinnati, and South Florida. Some would argue Clemson had fallen off, and that the ACC and BCS affiliation helped them recreate what was lost.

Any team trying to get into the BCS game is simply trying to offer more opportunity to their program and what that can mean to the whole experience.

Staying in your region was a want, not a need. For some getting to the larger stage was a need if you wanted to elevate your brand as a university.

Creating cross country conference is the desperation showing us how silly some of it looks.
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TxAginAz
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9:24a, 11/24/12
AG
Someone should correct Clay on one thing. We are not going to let ou into the SEC. Period. No way. No how. We would undo all we have gained by being the exclusive SEC member of Texas (ou counts as a texas school since their roster is mostly Texas HS players).

[This message has been edited by txaginaz (edited 11/24/2012 9:25a).]
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leardriver
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10:55a, 11/24/12
AG
I think OU's prospects for the SEC depend more on the relationship between OU's David Boren and Pres. Loftin. Recall that it was an OU plane that flew Boren and Mizzou's Brady Deaton to College Station for a sitdown. The Boren/Deaton mission was to persuade Loftin not to go ahead with the SEC quest. Apparently, Deaton came away from that meeting convinced that Mizzou should try for the SEC, too.

My guess is that it was an eye opener for Boren, as well. Boren is a savvy politician (former governor and multiple terms in the U.S. Senate). He would not have burned any bridges with A&M/Loftin in those conversations, because he anticipated that he might some day need a friend in the SEC.

I don't necessarily support the idea of OU in the SEC, but it remains a possibility in light of all the realignment taking place across the college football landscape.

Cap'n Bill, '67
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davidt
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11:44a, 11/24/12
AG
RE: Ou to the SEC.

Exactly what does OU bring? Yeah, they are a good football program, but will the additional TV eyeballs they bring justify their share of the Money Pie?

I doubt it.
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leardriver
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12:48p, 11/24/12
AG
If the only focus is the in-state 'eyeballs', then, no, OU doesn't bring a lot. But as a national brand, they're bigger than A&M and have a more successful history, at least in football.

How many stories have we read about SEC locales not really knowing much about A&M? Quite a few, as we've traveled to new venues this fall. OU is more recognizable immediately.

As I said, I don't necessarily support OU to the SEC. But they're gonna add value, in terms of history and success, to whatever conference they land in.

The landscape is changing. We better stay nimble.

Cap'n Bill, '67
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"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."
Douglas Adams
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Mac94
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12:50p, 11/24/12
AG
OU would bring alot to the SEC ... BUT ... they are politically tied to Oklahoma St and I don't see the SEC taking both to get OU ... which at this point is what would have to happen.
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leardriver
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1:20p, 11/24/12
AG
That's why I never mentioned Oklahoma State. If OU should ever become untethered from OSU, then it becomes a whole different proposition.

I would think that COULD happen, so long as OU and OSU continued to play each other, even as non-conference opponents. A&M's untethering from The Horn has already provided a precedent and a blueprint.

And one last thing: Sure, OU's academics are not as strong as A&M's, at the moment. But they're already better than some SEC schools. And they're better than a couple Pac-12 schools, for that matter. I believe Boren may want OU in the Association of American Universities. No surprise, there. He's pumping up their National Merit Scholar numbers. If he can similarly pump up OU's research footprint, then he'll need friends to promote his quest to the AAU. That's another area where he might need Loftin.

Cap'n Bill, '67
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TxAginAz
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1:59p, 11/24/12
AG
Don't be a dumbass. Read my post. Never ****ing mention ou to SEC again-ever!
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