SEC Football: Welcome to Texas A&M, but What Will Happen to Scheduling ?

The current SEC members and their fans have received some exciting news this morning. It was made public that the SEC Presidents have voted unanimously to accept Texas A&M as the newest member of the conference.

However, there is still one legal holdup that is blocking the official acceptance of the Aggies, and that problem is coming from Baylor University, which is threatening a lawsuit.   

It is hard to figure why Baylor has chosen to make an issue of this at this late stage. It has been well known that the Aggies planned to leave the Big 12 conference and join the SEC. 

Texas A&M chancellor R. Bowen Loftin has had several meetings with the Big 12, and he has been very up front and public by notifying the conference in writing of the Aggies' plans to leave the conference and petition the SEC for membership.

Even though Baylor's objection and threat of a possible suit is holding up the official announcement of the SEC's acceptance of Texas A&M, this situation is expected to be overcome shortly through negotiations.

Most of us have known that it was a foregone conclusion that A&M would be accepted as the SEC's newest member, but we were never sure how long it would take.

Personally, as an LSU fan, I am very pleased to see Texas A&M becoming a member of the SEC.  The Aggies have always been seen as sort of a natural fit both regionally and with their style of play. Like most SEC schools, the Aggies emphasize a strong defense and they have some very rich traditions in college football as well as other very well rounded athletic programs.  

I see Texas A&M as a win-win proposition for the SEC, as they will give the conference access to the large Houston and south Texas markets, plus the Aggies, ranked currently at No. 7 in the latest AP poll, are a strong foe.

As a long-time rival of the LSU Tigers, I will look forward to the Aggies becoming one of our annual opponents that will add to the many outstanding rivals the Tigers already have in the SEC. 

With this new addition, it also means the SEC is just getting tougher and tougher each year. The chance to win an SEC title is going to be getting extremely difficult for any one team to dominate within the conference.  

I suspect there will be an opponent from the East that will join the SEC to balance out A&M's entrance. If not, there will have to be some realignment of schedules between East and West rivals.

The way I see it, Texas A&M will be in the SEC West, and therefore some or all of the permanent SEC East rivals may have to be eliminated. 

In LSU's case, the Tigers play Florida every year as their permanent opponent, but it seems the Aggies' entrance may bring that permanent status to an end.

It will be interesting to see what would happen to the annual battle between Alabama and Tennessee, but I don't really don't see that game going away since the SEC is so oriented toward Alabama and Tennessee. 

The admission of Texas A&M as a member of the SEC West will do nothing but strengthen a division that's already the best in college football.  

Based upon the latest AP Polls, if Texas A&M were in the SEC right now, it would give the SEC West three members of the top 10 in the nation. 

I feel sure the conference will move to add the 14th member soon, so as to balance out and make for a strong conference championship game. There are currently no clear-cut favorites that are being considered or strongly discussed as a new member at this time.

Schools being most prominently mentioned as possible candidates to enter the conference are West Virginia, Missouri and even North Carolina.  

Should North Carolina become a member, not only would football be balanced and enhanced, but the Tar Heels would bring instant strength and prestige to SEC Basketball.

While West Virginia and Missouri are both worthy programs, their fit as a regional SEC member is somewhat questionable. 

However, stranger things can and have happened—the present rumors of Oklahoma talking about going to the Pac-12 conference stands as an example.  

Should something like that happen, it would mean the Sooners would have to travel about 1,000 miles to play USC, and even further to play the Oregon and Washington schools.  

That would seem to make fan traveling very expensive and difficult, but with television money being talked about, anything can and will happen. 

In the mean time, we in the SEC  will be looking to see who the next new member of the conference will be.

But for now, I think SEC fans should welcome Texas A&M into the SEC family. Let's all look forward to many intense and exciting battles with the Aggies in the future.