Texas A&M

[Buzz Killington]

Awesome news.  Now we will get pelted with more Junction Boys and Bahr Bryent stories every fucking day from the local media.

[GH2001]

Dirt and pumpjacks.  Other than that, NOTHING.  ABSO-phukING-LUTELY NOTHING.  Once you get west of Ft Worth, you can set the cruise control, because there is literally not a phuking thing until you reach El Paso.  And that's still not much.

Lubbock (Texas Tech) is panhandle.  

Houston is only 2 hrs from College Station.  If this happens, and for the record, I still genuinely hope it doesn't, but... IF IT DOES, then y'all plan the road trip, because I will be the one planning the tailgate party from HELL for all y'all, Texas style.  

Why not Auburn style? I mean, after all - thats our team.

[Tiger Wench]

Why not Auburn style? I mean, after all - thats our team.

**SIGH**

[GH2001]

**SIGH**

Ok - how about Wench style? Best of both worlds and then some.

[AUChizad]

I would like to state again that this does not please me.

Diluting the SEC, in my opinion. We are taking a step backward while the Pac whatever takes a step forward. We would be better served leaving everything alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And I've heard that they are trying to add more teams from the West and send Auburn & Alabama to the Eastern division.

The SEC divisions would be more lopsided than the Big XII's were if this happens. The SECE would be better than the Big12S, and the SECW would suck more than the Big12N.

Traditional rivals would be fucked. It would just all around suck.

I don't want to do this unless we're adding teams that at least carry the national perception of being tough, traditional schools, and all the rivalries can remain in place. FSU and Oklahoma, I could possibly be ok with. Not this bullshit.

[GH2001]

I would like to state again that this does not please me.

Diluting the SEC, in my opinion. We are taking a step backward while the Pac whatever takes a step forward. We would be better served leaving everything alone. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And I've heard that they are trying to add more teams from the West and send Auburn & Alabama to the Eastern division.

The SEC divisions would be more lopsided than the Big XII's were if this happens. The SECE would be better than the Big12S, and the SECW would suck more than the Big12N.

Traditional rivals would be phuked. It would just all around suck.

I don't want to do this unless we're adding teams that at least carry the national perception of being tough, traditional schools, and all the rivalries can remain in place. FSU and Oklahoma, I could possibly be ok with. Not this bullpoop.

All about TV sets and money Chad. Aggy may SUCK ASS on the field now, but their fanbase carries a long way = TV Sets = Ratings = Contract Money. Its sad too that he come to this.

[Tiger Wench]

All about TV sets and money Chad. Aggy may SUCK ASS on the field now, but their fanbase carries a long way = TV Sets = Ratings = Contract Money. Its sad too that he come to this.

I even disagree about the fan base.  I live in Houston - TWO HOURS from College Station - and the only gear I EVER see around here is burnt orange or purple and gold.  I would be willing to bet that there are more LSU (oil field) and Auburn (NASA) fans in Houston than Aggies.  It's like the Aggies are ashamed to let anyone know they are Aggies.  I cannot tell you a single person I work with that is an Aggie, but I can name a bajillion LSU-ers and five T-sips off the top of my head.  So here I sit, in the middle of it all, and I just don't get it.  While I don't claim to be some statistical guru, I just see no upside to this. 

[wreckingball]

I even disagree about the fan base.  I live in Houston - TWO HOURS from College Station - and the only gear I EVER see around here is burnt orange or purple and gold.  I would be willing to bet that there are more LSU (oil field) and Auburn (NASA) fans in Houston than Aggies.  It's like the Aggies are ashamed to let anyone know they are Aggies.  I cannot tell you a single person I work with that is an Aggie, but I can name a bajillion LSU-ers and five T-sips off the top of my head.  So here I sit, in the middle of it all, and I just don't get it.  While I don't claim to be some statistical guru, I just see no upside to this. 

My girlfriend lived out in Houston for a semester to do her nursing preceptor back in college and nobody seemed to have heard of Auburn in the hospital she worked at.  She wore her Auburn nursing school scrubs and everyone there thought she went to Arizona State or thought she was from up north.

[GH2001]

I even disagree about the fan base.  I live in Houston - TWO HOURS from College Station - and the only gear I EVER see around here is burnt orange or purple and gold.  I would be willing to bet that there are more LSU (oil field) and Auburn (NASA) fans in Houston than Aggies.  It's like the Aggies are ashamed to let anyone know they are Aggies.  I cannot tell you a single person I work with that is an Aggie, but I can name a bajillion LSU-ers and five T-sips off the top of my head.  So here I sit, in the middle of it all, and I just don't get it.  While I don't claim to be some statistical guru, I just see no upside to this. 

Unless Houston suddenly became the ENTIRE United States and T shirts you saw on the street equaled to ratings, then this holds no water.

There was a study done in 2006 by the Wall Street Journal - Aggie actually got better national ratings on TV and even more so in bowls than Texas. Now that was 2006, not now so that could have changed, but it does show Aggie has a following.

Yeah - Texas has a HUGE sidewalk fan base but they just aren't "avid". There are a lot of Aggies nationwide that will tune in to watch their team no matter what the record is. The crowds they draw to Kyle Field and how loud they are should be an indicator. Sure - Texas may draw 90K to DKR, but half of them leave at halftime to head to the hippie bars and you can hear a pin drop most of the games (same for Miami and USC). The calculations have already been done and adding Aggie would ADD revenue for each team. The 17.3 million per that was just paid out would increase.  

Not saying I agree with it, I'm just telling you what the name of the game is here - MONEY. Its hard to turn down a new market in Texas for the SEC.

[Tiger Wench]

Unless Houston suddenly became the ENTIRE United States and T shirts you saw on the street equaled to ratings, then this holds no water.

There was a study done in 2006 by the Wall Street Journal - Aggie actually got better national ratings on TV and even more so in bowls than Texas. Now that was 2006, not now so that could have changed, but it does show Aggie has a following.

Yeah - Texas has a HUGE sidewalk fan base but they just aren't "avid". There are a lot of Aggies nationwide that will tune in to watch their team no matter what the record is. The crowds they draw to Kyle Field and how loud they are should be an indicator. Sure - Texas may draw 90K to DKR, but half of them leave at halftime to head to the hippie bars and you can hear a pin drop most of the games (same for Miami and USC). The calculations have already been done and adding Aggie would ADD revenue for each team. The 17.3 million per that was just paid out would increase.  

Not saying I agree with it, I'm just telling you what the name of the game is here - MONEY. Its hard to turn down a new market in Texas for the SEC.

This was in the other article I posted about TAMU to the SEC:

The third element of an A&M sojourn to the Southeastern Conference is that TV contracts would merit re-examination and very possibly, a re-working. ESPN just signed a big deal to televise SEC sports, so A&M – which brings the Houston market – would reshape the financial calculus. Moreover, since A&M’s soon-to-be-former league, the Big 12, was televised by the ESPN/ABC alliance, Fox Sports Net, and even Versus (they shared the Big 12 football package), there’s going to be some kind of fight over broadcast rights and terms for the newly-drawn leagues that ultimately emerge at the end of the realignment drama.

Right there someone equates TAMU with the Houston market.  That was the basis for my comment basically saying WHAT Houston market?  If the TAMU fans are here, they are totally in the closet, or at least leave their gear in the closet.

[wreckingball]

This was in the other article I posted about TAMU to the SEC:

Right there someone equates TAMU with the Houston market.  That was the basis for my comment basically saying WHAT Houston market?  If the TAMU fans are here, they are totally in the closet, or at least leave their gear in the closet.

In a city with a metro population close to 6 million in a huge football state, I would think that at least a few people in the Houston MSA would be watching the Aggies.

[GH2001]

I agree with wreckingball - its hard to believe that there aren't at least a couple of hundred thousand folks in Houston watching Aggie on a given Saturday.

[wreckingball]

I'd bet there are more than that. You don't have to be a fan to watch a game.

[AUChizad]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/11373/how-the-aggies-have-fared-vs-sec

How the Aggies have fared vs. SEC
June, 14, 2010

By Chris Low
As we all sit and wait for the dominoes to fall in conference expansion, Texas A&M continues to be linked to the SEC.

And if the Aggies do indeed come, they’re no stranger to playing SEC teams, although they haven’t been real successful of late.

Georgia defeated Texas A&M 44-20 in last season’s Independence Bowl, the Aggies’ fourth straight loss to an SEC team. Earlier during the 2009 season, Arkansas blasted Texas A&M 47-19 in Arlington, Texas. It was the first of 10 games scheduled between the schools at the Dallas Cowboys' new stadium.

In the 2005 Cotton Bowl, Tennessee routed Texas A&M 38-7, and Mississippi State beat Texas A&M 43-41 in the 2000 Independence Bowl.

But prior to that four-game losing streak, the Aggies had won five straight over LSU.

The two teams played a 10-game series from 1986-1995. Texas A&M won six of the 10 games, including six of the last seven.

[AUsweetheart]

In a city with a metro population close to 6 million in a huge football state, I would think that at least a few people in the Houston MSA would be watching the Aggies.

I went to grad school at A&M. Trust me, Aggies are everywhere.

[Saniflush]

I went to grad school at A&M. Trust me, Aggies are everywhere.

Yes, but have they learned how to build a bonfire yet?

[AUsweetheart]

Yes, but have they learned how to build a bonfire yet?

Not till the season starts. They are about to BE the bonfire.

[Saniflush]

Not till the season starts. They are about to BE the bonfire.

Well I guess that might be better than having all the logs fall on you.

[Tiger Wench]

In a city with a metro population close to 6 million in a huge football state, I would think that at least a few people in the Houston MSA would be watching the Aggies.

Not saying they don't watch... but I swear, they do NOT announce it publicly.  You cannot swing a stick without hitting someone wearing burnt orange or seeing a car with Texas stickers or whatever on them - but Aggie gear is just unseen.  Unless you are in College Station proper, you just don't see the blatant display like you do for the t-sips.  

How many of you would ever go anywhere without packing at least one item with an AU logo on it?  How many of you have an AU sticker on your car, or something AU in your office?  My office looks like J&M exploded all over it, my navy blue car will have an AU license plate in 3 weeks, my kids are not allowed to wear red clothing and I never go anywhere without at least one AU tshirt.  

My next door neighbor is a MASSIVE Aggie fan. Still wears his ring.  hates t-sips.  His son was in the Corps and everything.  And I have NEVER EVER seen him in so much as a maroon shirt.  

Maybe they are all in the closet.  Maybe they are ashamed.  Maybe they don't want to draw the abuse they know they will get from the t-sips.  But whatever the reason, they just are not an obviously major presence around here.  IN College Station, yes.  Anywhere else?  Nada. 

I had never even met an Aggie until i moved to Houston.  When I lived in Dallas, everyone was a t-sip or Penn State or Michigan, etc.

[boartitz]

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=5285680

Reports: Texas considering Big 12 dealEmail Print Comments203 ESPN.com news services

The Texas Longhorns, based on a TV deal in the works that could pay them upwards of $25 million per year, are leaning toward staying in a 10-team Big 12 for the foreseeable future, Orangebloods.com has reported, citing sources familiar with negotiations.

Texas was meeting Monday with the other remaining nine schools in the Big 12 about a TV deal included in a plan put together by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe that would keep the league intact with its current programs, according to multiple reports.


Millions of Reasons
Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma would each receive at least $20 million annually from a new Big 12 TV contract, according to a report, comparable with what the top conference deals pay now.

BCS conference Amount of contract
Big Ten $242 million
SEC $205 million
Big 12 $78 million
ACC $67 million
Pacific-10 $58 million
Big East $33 million

Texas stands to earn between $20 million and $25 million annually in television revenue, including money from its own network, in the reworked deal, according to Orangebloods.com.

The Longhorns network figures to generate between $3 million and $5 million, according to the report. Because the Big 12 has unequal revenue sharing, the deal will mean more money for Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, who all would receive at least $20 million annually from the new deal.

The other seven schools in the Big 12 would make between $14 million and $17 million, doubling what they currently receive in TV revenue.

Earlier Monday, ESPN reported that the departure of Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to the Pac-10 was "imminent," citing four sources within the Big 12.

The report said that Texas' interest in being aligned with the research opportunities and academic missions of Pac-10 schools is driving the decision, along with money.

But a source within the Big 12 told ESPN's Joe Schad that Texas president William Powers Jr. was working through Beebe's projections to determine if they compare financially with a proposal by Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott.


Big 12 blog
 ESPN.com's David Ubben writes about all things Big 12 in his conference blog.

• Blog network:
College Football Nation


Part of those projections would likely include "adjustments" from television partners as well as future contracts that were more on par with the contracts of other conferences, the source said.

Earlier Monday, a source told Schad that Powers was taking a "global view" of the landscape, excited about the importance of aligning his school with research opportunities and academic reputations of schools in the Pac-10.

But clearly being able to come at least close to the Pac-10 financial projections, while being able to still launch a network, may have swayed Powers to change his mind. The source within the Big 12 said Beebe's plan was "gaining traction" with Powers.