Report: Missouri Has Offer to Join SEC, Are Tigers Better off in Big 12 or SEC?

The Kansas City Star is quoting an anonymous source close to the Missouri program, who is saying that the Tigers currently have an offer on the table to join the SEC as the conference’s 14th team.

Read the report here: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/09/20/3155336/source-mizzou-has-sec-offer-but.html

If they accept the offer, they would likely join former Big 12 counterpart Texas A&M in the school’s West division, which would force one of the current West teams, likely Alabama or Auburn, to move to the East division.

Considering that the report hasn’t been substantiated by a school official yet, it’s still all hearsay, but it is interesting nonetheless.

The SEC has already reportedly declined West Virginia’s plea to join, and now it would seem that Missouri is the most logical option.

The Kansas City television market is an intriguing chip on the table, and one that would certainly interest the SEC from a revenue standpoint.

Under coach Gary Pinkel, Missouri’s football team has become a force in the Big 12 recently, compiling 40 wins between 2007 and 2010.

The Tigers are producing popular pro prospects at a rate comparable to most of the other NFL factories around the country, and you can tell that their roster has gone through a major upgrade under Pinkel.

Missouri may just be a mid-level caliber SEC team right now, but in time, they have the potential to play with the big boys like LSU, Alabama and Florida.

If the reports from the Kansas City Star are true, then Missouri’s athletic department and school board have a lot to mull over right now.

The foundation of the Big 12 is cracking right before our eyes and it makes sense to find a sturdier, more stable home for the future.

Missouri reached out to the SEC last summer when it appeared that the Big 12 was about to dissolve, and now that it looks like the conference is almost beyond the point of salvaging, the SEC sounds like they are ready to finally return the favor.

The move would be a big boost to Missouri’s financial income and national exposure, but it would also mean a step up in competition on the gridiron.

The University of Missouri really has to do some self-analysis to measure where the athletic department is at this juncture, and what type of move would be best for the future.

A move to the SEC sounds like a slam dunk, but if for some strange reason Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas all return to the Big 12, Missouri would have a huge decision to make.

There would be pros and cons to staying or leaving, but when it comes right down to it, I can’t see any way a program like Missouri could pass up an invitation from college football’s most powerful conference.