Texas A&M to SEC: What Aggies' Move Would Mean for College Basketball

The Big 12 conference has already taken more than its share of lumps this offseason. The departures of Nebraska and Colorado, while not a huge blow to the conference’s basketball strength, have left it weakened and ripe for plunder by the rest of the country.

Last weekend, the conference felt what might prove to be the first tremors of another major shakeup. Texas A&M, looking to improve its football fortunes, has started investigating a move to join the football superpowers of the SEC.

While football and its associated dollars are inevitably the driving force for the Aggies’ possible move, basketball would inevitably feel the effects as well. Who would be the winners and losers, in basketball terms, if Texas A&M switched leagues?

Although every sport would feel the potential damage to the Aggies’ rivalry with the Texas Longhorns, that issue wouldn’t really be a priority where basketball is concerned. No sport can match the intensity of the football rivalry between those schools, and basketball doesn’t have all that much history behind it, given what an afterthought hoops had been until recently in College Station.

The move from the Big 12 to the SEC would have little effect on the Aggies’ on-court fortunes. Both are power conferences deep in tournament-worthy teams and featuring a single 500-pound gorilla (Kansas or Kentucky) at the top.

As for the SEC, it would be similarly indifferent to whether the Aggies come or not. For basketball purposes, they’re a solid team, but wouldn’t have that much effect on the conference’s long-term fortunes.

The big loser in all of this upheaval, though, would be the Big 12.

The departures of Nebraska and Colorado have already reduced the league to 10 teams, the smallest of the power conferences. Texas A&M’s departure, if it happens, could trigger the demise of the conference as other teams bolt from what looks increasingly like a sinking ship.

The last major conference upheaval (also motivated primarily by football concerns) turned Conference USA from a substantial basketball power into a joke. The last thing college basketball needs is a repeat performance, but unless the Big 12 can find a way to bolster its dwindling cachet, that appears to be the direction things are headed.

Unfortunately for all concerned, Texas A&M may well have good reason to depart the Big 12. Texas’ new TV network is likely to leave them as the lone power players in a waning conference, and if the Aggies stay around, they may suffer if another team triggers the breakup of the Big 12.

If, however, Texas A&M makes the first move, they be able to join a new conference on their own terms instead of having to scramble to escape if (or when) the Big 12 collapses.