The Extra Point: From Denial to Acceptance, Why Texas A&M Felt it All Last Week
It was like watching the stages of recovery for a loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.
Usually that's associated with grief, which is in part why Texas A&M was so fascinating to watch since the news broke that Texas and Oklahoma had approached the Southeastern Conference and may quickly become the 15th and 16th members of the league.
That was just Wednesday, when Texas A&M thought it would be talking about its chances of dethroning Alabama in the western division during its turn at SEC media days.
Instead, the Aggies have averaged a stage a day, although some have been going through the progressions faster than others.
For example, Texas A&M Board of Regents has scheduled a meeting for Monday afternoon for "discussion and possible action on contractual and governance issues relating to Texas A&M University and the Southeastern Conference," according to a report from WFAA's Mike Leslie.
Will it have any impact or delay what appears to be an impending move? Probably not. There's too much to be gained, especially financially, by leaving a bad conference for a good one. The Big 12 may still the competitive on the field, but the limited footprint and markets to exploit can't be overcome — and this isn't a new issue either.
Similarly, it would be a huge gain for the SEC, without having to take on the extra baggage of addition schools in those states.
The only problem is Texas A&M pride. It was able to step out of Texas' shadow by leaving for the SEC, but that was also at a time that the "big brother" was the dominating force of that conference — especially financially.
So they had a nasty breakup in 2011, during which Texas A&M basically told its rival to go jump off a cliff.
“The SEC has been a perfect fit for us,” athletics director Ross Bjork said. “We want to maintain that same identity. Perhaps there’s a reason that Texas and Oklahoma are looking around...if that’s the case. I think Jimbo said it on the podium... of course, they do. Yeah they want to be in the SEC, it's the best conference.”
Bjork has changed his tune from saying Texas A&M wanted to be the only program from the Lone Star State, to "We're ready."
Why? Because even he sees everything that could be gained by absorbing Texas and Oklahoma, and here's the key, into a conference in which every team is equal and has the same opportunities.
A group in the Texas Legislature, which has enough problems of its own right now, has quickly put together a law that if passed would prohibit Texas public colleges and universities from switching their affiliations with collegiate athletic conferences without approval from the Legislature.
It's almost entirely symbolic, especially since a quorum can't be called with numerous Democrats out of state to block proposed election reform in the state, and can't be added to a special session agenda, which would be necessary to have a chance to be passed into law.
Said Texas A&M University president Kathy Banks: “Since 2011, we have been a proud member of the best athletic conference in history and we look forward to continued success in our SEC partnership for many years to come.”
Meanwhile, college football fans can't wait to see Texas and Texas A&M regularly meet on the field again.
The Extra Point is a regular weekday feature on BamaCentral, and often includes video and other elements from our FanNation partners. Other recent segments include:
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