Stunning development, right?
Really we just wanted an excuse to use the featured image to the right. Seriously, look how happy they are!
That was the day Texas A&M made their membership to the SEC official. The deal is official, but the Dallas Morning News did a good job picking up some e-mails from A&M president R. Bowen Loftin, AD Bill Byrne and Baylor president Ken Starr prior to the Aggies jumping ship that show just how hellbent A&M really was on getting out of the Big 12.
In their letter of application to the SEC dated Sept. 5, 2011, A&M notes that they first reached out to the SEC in spring 2010 when they began considering a conference change. That’s important for Mike Slive as he continues to bang the “they contacted us first” drum until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells inside Starr.
Starr, as you’re probably very aware, was the drum major in refusing to hand over their right to pursue litigation against the Aggies back in September when it appeared imminent that A&M was on their way out of the Big 12. An e-mail between Starr and Loftin dated Sept. 4 and Sept. 5 shows the Baylor president’s final plea for the Aggies to stay. Although there is no threat of litigation anywhere in the e-mail, Starr does hint that an A&M departure would spell the end of the Big 12 because the conference would not be able find a suitable replacement for A&M to satisfy their TV contract.
“As you have seen, the Big 12 is now in mortal danger,” Starr writes. “This can be stopped. If Texas A&M will remain, we can save the Conference.”
Loftin writes in return “Texas A&M certainly wants the Big 12 to continue and to flourish. At the same time, we seek greater institutional visibility and have investigated alternative conference affiliation in order to achieve that goal.”
A&M’s belief all along, based on assurances given to them, has been that their departure would not directly result in the demise of the Big 12.
That said, A&M’s frustration with Texas had reached a boiling point. In a document titled “Death by a thousand cuts” (so you know it’s credible), Byrne lists talking points of a Big 12 meeting in July that (surprise!) doesn’t make Texas -- or “tu” -- look like a real team player. Below is a snippet of the first few points:
Any e-mail or document that sports the term “tu” in a way that only an Aggie message board troll could be proud needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but point No. 3 is interesting, and damning, if true. The Longhorn Network has been a focal point for the Big 12’s recent instability, and the network’s desire to air youth programming became a heated topic for many Big 12 schools.
Even if you’re incredulous of Byrne -- he’s not the most objective person -- the rest of the document is worth reading. There are some very ugly comments made.