Texas A&M vs. Arkansas: Which Team Has a Brighter Future in the SEC?

The Texas A&M Aggies will officially join the Southeastern Conference on July 1, 2011. The Aggies will be the first team to join the SEC since 1991 when South Carolina and Arkansas joined to expand the league to 12 teams and introduce the country to a conference championship football game.

During the realignment debate many have pointed to Arkansas as an example of why Texas A&M should not join the SEC. They point out that Arkansas has never won an SEC title in football.

This brings up the question of whether A&M is simply another Arkansas or should they expect more success in the SEC than the Razorbacks have experienced?

I do not think that anyone can question whether the addition of A&M to the SEC is good for Arkansas or not. It allows the Razorbacks more access to football recruits in the state of Texas. While the Razorbacks are in the middle of the 10-year contract to play A&M every year in Arlington the increased television coverage that the SEC will receive in the state due to A&M's membership will help Arkansas' profile.

The two programs in the SEC who will profit the most from the Aggies addition are Arkansas and LSU. Both are state schools in border states of Texas who will find it easier to recruit in Texas now.

Arkansas is in a one school state. Most fans grow up rooting for the Razorbacks and there is no other major competitor for recruits in the state. Arkansas is a relatively small public university with a little over 17,000 students. It has a rich tradition in athletics in football, basketball, baseball and track.

The school has nice facilities mainly financed by the Walton family and the owners of Tysons Food.

They are the only show in town in a small but proud state.

Texas A&M is the sixth largest university in the nation with around 50,000 students. The Aggies boast right around 350,000 living graduates. The majority of whom graduated after the school saw an explosion in population grown in the 1980's.

Most of these graduates are now entering their peak earning years and the Aggies should see an increase in donations to the school in the near future because of this demographic shift.

The Aggies largest boosters made their money in oil, construction, agriculture, and telecommunications.

As long as Americans continue to consume oil the Aggie athletic department should remain flush with cash.

Texas A&M will surpass Arkansas on the athletic field in the SEC in short order because of on simple reason, access to a great number of recruits.

While the state of Texas routinely produces over 350 division one football recruits every year, Arkansas is lucky to put out 30. The state of Indiana produced five more top flight college football recruits in 2011 than Arkansas did.

A school can only bring in 25 scholarship athletes in football in a single recruiting class. All Texas A&M has to do is pick and choose 25 out of those 350 that they can play football in the best college football conference in the nation and stay in state to do it.

Arkansas has to convince recruits to go out of state to play in Fayetteville.

Texas A&M is able to supplement this abundance of in state talent with recruits from Louisiana and Florida. The increased national profile that the SEC will offer A&M will allow them to recruit at a higher level on the national scene.

Arkansas should be able to increase their presence in Texas and land more recruits every year than their typical handful. Expect Arkansas to land around ten Texas recruits per year and a higher level of recruits than in the past. This will not be enough to overcome the inherent advantages that A&M possesses.

Texas A&M has always had everything it needs to be a major power program on the national level. They have the facilities, alumni support and access to recruits to support a top 10 program. With the admission into the SEC the Aggies should receive the exposure needed to help them meet their vast athletic potential and assume their place as a consistent top 10 program on the field.