Texas A&M to the SEC? Super-Conferences Are Really Nothing New

Larry Burton (Syndicated Writer) So, you think having Texas A&M joining the SEC with the likes of Alabama and Florida is something new? No, it's actually something that you can file under the "Been there, done that" category.

ESPN is reporting that Texas A&M to the SEC is a done deal, with the possibility that Missouri, Clemson and Florida State will follow. That would give the SEC 16 teams, although we caution you that, for now, this is just a report and based on a high-ranking source at A&M.

Still, while the SEC is considering adding teams yet again and the formation of so called "Super Conferences" are at hand, younger fans may not remember that this was once the norm.

Alabama once belonged to the SIAA which was formed in 1894, some 16 years before the NCAA. It had 27 members in that conference. That conference went from Maryland to Florida out to Texas. Yes Texas and Texas A&M were members of that conference.

Now that was a super conference.

But in 1920, a disagreement allowing freshmen students to play saw many schools break away and form the Southern Conference, which had 23 members in it in it's heyday.

The founding members of the Southern Conference were, Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee and non SIAA members Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Washington & Lee. Then in 1922 they added Florida, Louisiana State, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tulane, and Vanderbilt.

So for all you younger fans who think you're seeing the future, you're only seeing the past revisited.

Should Texas A&M and others join the SEC, they are simply re-joining teams they used to play with in conference play years ago.

The SEC was formed in 1932 with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Mississippi ("Ole Miss") and Tennessee; and Auburn, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, The University of the South, (Sewanee) and Tulane.

Since then schools have left, Sewanee in 1940 to focus less on athletics, Georgia Tech in 1963 over issues of an Alabama player who hurt a Tech player and was not suspended, and Tulane cut scholarships and coaches salaries and simply couldn't compete and left for a smaller conference.

And since 1932 others have joined, in 1991 Arkansas joined the SEC because of the rampant problems in the Southwest Conference and South Carolina came in from the metro conference after having been a founding member of ACC.

So while the current conference "shake ups" may be thought of as something new, those of who have been around a while realize that most everything new is something old that's coming around again.

Should the SEC in fact expand to 16 teams as rumored, that is still nine teams less than the old SIAA conference.

So for those who want change or are opposed to these changes, there really is no change, but simply a continuation in the cycle of expansions and condensing in football.