SEC Expansion: Missouri and Texas A&M Really Didn't Improve SEC

With the addition of Missouri beginning in July 2012, the SEC officially will have 14 teams in its conference vying for some of the biggest exposure in collegiate athletics.

But what exactly did the SEC gain by courting the two former-Big 12 universities? A whole lot of mediocrity.

The SEC may have gained some valuable television markets and fan bases, but as far as recent production on the football field, they only are of Tennessee and Mississippi caliber programs.

Here is the low down for the past 11 seasons:

	Texas A&M	Missouri	Tennessee	Mississippi
2011*	5-4	4-5	4-5	2-7
2010	9-4	10-3	6-7	4-8
2009	6-7	8-5	7-5	9-4
2008	4-8	10-4	5-7	9-4
2007	7-5	12-2	10-4	3-9
2006	9-4	8-5	9-4	4-8
2005	5-6	7-5	5-6	3-8
2004	7-5	5-6	10-3	4-7
2003	4-8	8-5	10-3	10-3
2002	6-6	5-7	8-5	7-6
2001	7-4	4-7	10-2	7-4
Overall Record	69-61	81-54	84-51	62-68
Bowl Record	0-5	3-4	3-5	4-0

Missouri has come on in recent years, finishing with double-digit wins in three of the last five seasons and a very modest 3-4 bowl record.

Texas A&M, on the other hand, has not had a 10-win season during this time frame and is winless in its bowl appearances. Furthermore, the Aggies are a paltry 3-12 in bowl games dating back to their 1990 Holiday Bowl victory.

Against SEC competition, the Tigers have fared pretty well, though they have not played an SEC opponent since 2007. Nevertheless, since 2001, Missouri boasts a 4-1 mark against that conference.

The Aggies, meanwhile, have compiled an 0-6 record going back to 2004. In fact, five of those losses have come in the last three seasons: two in 2009, two in 2010 and this season's choke job against Arkansas.

Face the facts, on paper, these two programs simply are not that great. While they do add depth to the middle of the pack in the SEC, in reality, there is nothing flashy about these additions other than the fact that they are two relatively large fish in the Big 12 pond.

Water Weight

The additions of Texas A&M and Missouri beginning next summer seemingly will do nothing to affect the top of the conference. The LSUs, the Alabamas, the Floridas and the Georgias will still be the same.

What will change, however, is that tier of mediocrity that provides some balance and adds some thickness to the disparity between the top dogs and the rest of the conference.

What the SEC has done is taken the first step towards larger conference schematics by creating the NCAA's first 14-team conference; however, instead of actually bettering the competition within the system, it merely looks to spread the average across a larger group of universities.

The SEC's Reach

It is no news that the SEC recently has become the consensus pick as the best college football conference in the country.

But with Missouri and Texas A&M joining its ranks, the SEC now has jurisdiction, if you will, farther west than the term "Southeastern" should really allow.

While it is hard to argue the conference's proactivity to harness a couple more notable names in the collegiate athletic landscape, the SEC is reaching into a delusional fan base and a program that only has experience success in recent years.

Will the SEC get the last laugh as the conference hopes to gain some competitive programs on the gridiron? Or will the Aggies and the Tigers regret the move that turn them into a smaller fish in a bigger pond?

Only time will tell, but if recent history is any indication of the near future, the "Welcome to the SEC" party may have already been spoiled.