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August 16, 2011

Elmquist: Texas A&M's potential move makes little sense for Aggies

By Jason Elmquist jelmquist@stwnewspress.com

STILLWATER, Okla. — It’s amazing to think that just a year ago, Texas A&M at one point was latching onto the University of Texas like a child to a parent. At one point in the rumors of the Longhorns leaving from Big 12 Conference surfaced, A&M people were saying, ‘Only if we go with you!’

Now, the Aggies are like a pre-adolescent trying to run away from home. They now want to leave Texas and the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference, largely because of Texas.

The move makes no sense for the Aggies. You alienate your recruiting base — no longer can you tell a recruit that he will play nine of his 12 games within the state of Texas. By moving to the SEC, you also open up the state even more for SEC schools to take some of the top talent out of the state that may have considered your school.

If that isn’t enough, how about the fact that if you move to the SEC you go from being one of the top four teams in your conference, to being one of the bottom four?

Over the last 15 years, Texas A&M has won just one bowl game — out of a possible nine. That’s the equivalent of one other SEC school — Vanderbilt. Every other school in the Southeastern Conference has one at least three bowl games in the same time period.

And let’s not forget how many dangerous top-tier teams the SEC has — especially compared to the Big 12.

Since the inception of the BCS Championship game 13 years ago, the SEC has won — not just been a part of — seven of those title games. In comparison, Texas and Oklahoma have each won it once as the only Big 12 representatives — sans Nebraska in 2001, in which the Cornhuskers were throttled by Miami.

But let’s just stick to current domination. The last five BCS champions have come from the SEC. In that period, Oklahoma and Texas have each made one appearance.

So to clarify, Texas A&M, which can’t beat Oklahoma and Texas, believes it’s a better move to go to the SEC where they will have to face teams that have beaten the Sooners and Longhorns?

Makes sense, I guess. When you can’t beat them, go play against somebody who can, right?

So instead of maybe one or two losses a year in the Big 12, and a trip to the Cotton Bowl — where you lose 41-24 to LSU, an SEC school — you are looking at four or more losses, in a good year, and probably playing in the Music City Bowl.

Plain and simple, the actions of Texas A&M are like the kid next door running away because one of the neighbor kids got a cool new toy.

In this case, it’s the University of Texas getting a cool, new million-dollar money-making television station.

But here’s the kicker, the Big 12 Conference isn’t holding back A&M from creating its own station. You know what is holding them back? Themselves.

They aren’t Texas, they never will be Texas and running away to play in somebody else’s yard — with kids three-times as good — won’t make you better than Texas. It will make you look like a child, which is already showing in the current situation.

Jason Elmquist is a sports reporter for the Stillwater NewsPress. He can be contacted at jelmquist@stwnewspress.com.

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