SEC already eyeing six teams for possible expansion

[Nexus]

Jimmy Hyams of WNML-AM 990 in Knoxville — citing a source close to CBS — has reported that SEC commissioner Mike Slive has already met with officials from that network regarding his league's plan for expansion.

Those plans, as Slive has stated publicly, are contingent upon the Big Ten making a major move that would change the balance of power in college athletics.

According to Hyams, Slive told CBS executives in a recent meeting that the league's goal would be to keep pace with a 16-team Big Ten by pursuing Texas, Texas A&M, Florida State and Clemson.If Texas and Texas A&M cannot be lured in, then Miami and Georgia Tech will join Florida State and Clemson on the SEC's wish list. In the latter case, the league's goal would be to "own the region."

You might remember that a week and a half ago, WHB-AM 810 in Kansas City reported that the Big Ten had already extended invitations to Notre Dame, Missouri, Nebraska and Rutgers. All parties involved denied the story and it appears now that the report was inaccurate, even though numerous other news outlets (and websites) ran with WHB's report.

With that in mind, I want to make it clear that we have no problem reporting to you what Hyams reported on his own sportstalk show. Hyams has covered the SEC for three decades in both Louisiana and Tennessee. Knowing him, I would say it's very, very unlikely that he would run with a story if he was not certain of its accuracy. In other words, he's got a darn good source inside or close to CBS.

That said, I would expect Slive or someone with the SEC to issue a denial on this one. That's what commissioners do when stories like this leak out. Especially when the story involves one league planning to invade another. Hyams, before making his radio report, put in a call to the league office, but Slive did not get back with him.

If Hyams' source is correct and Slive has already thrown out to CBS the six teams mentioned above, it tells us a few things about the SEC's current thinking:

1. Texas and Texas A&M are the true goals in all of this. Everyone in America knows the money and eyeballs that the Longhorns can bring to a new league. There's a reason that most expansion scenarios include a move by Texas to the SEC. In fact, word of the SEC's interest in the Longhorns is not so much revelation as it is confirmation of what most already believed.

2. If the SEC has a fallback plan of Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami, it's likely that the league is eager to simply maintain the status quo. The Big Ten and Pac-10 are talking expansion because they want to add territory, population, television markets and money. If the SEC goes with the "obvious" choices above, it locks up nothing new. My first question would be — Why expand at all? All four of the schools mentioned are located in states that are already considered to be SEC states.

3. Would the SEC be able to increase the amount of money each school makes on a yearly basis by adding four schools from inside its own footprint? That would seem doubtful, but the SEC could be contemplating anything from expanded in-conference schedules to a four-division set-up that might eventually lead to an in-league playoff system. Or — and this is probably more likely — the SEC feels it would simply have to match the Big Ten in size, regardless of the short-term impact on revenue. The league's schools might be willing to backpedal a bit in the short-term, if in the long-term being one of only two 16-team leagues in existence would benefit the league financially. And if an SEC expansion to 16 schools would completely pull the cork out of the bottle and lead to the creation of four 16-team superconferences, then it's probably best to handpick the league's new members as soon as possible rather than wait and pick through everyone else's leftovers.

4. The only benefit of the "own the region" plan would be the near destruction of the ACC. If the four southernmost members of that league departed, it would likely force the ACC northward into Big East country. So while this type of expansion wouldn't add TV households, fertile recruiting ground or population/fans to the SEC, it would likely take all of the above from the SEC's neighbor to the East. Is that reason enough to expand? Apparently the SEC believes so.

5. The SEC's meeting with CBS took place prior to the ACC-ESPN television accord that was reached earlier this week. And that deal might have a significant impact on what the SEC is able to do should it be forced into expansion. Prior to this week, the SEC could have offered ACC schools a yearly income boost from television revenue of about $11 million per school if they jumped conferences. That's an awfully big lure. But with the ACC doubling its own television revenue, the potential TV boost would likely now be only about $4.5 million per year. That's still quite a difference, but considering all of the headaches involved in switching leagues — exit and entry fees, fan reaction, potential legal stumbling blocks from one's last league — it's possible that the $4.5 million boost in television dollars wouldn't be viewed as being "worth the hassle." Could the SEC still land some ACC schools? Probably. But it won't be as easy now as it would have been prior to the ACC's surprisingly rich ESPN pact.

6. If the SEC is already tossing out names, it shows that either A-- the league has done a lot of research on expansion in the past few years or B-- the league is simply taking what appears to be the simplest route of growth. While the Big Ten and Pac-10 have hired outside groups to do feasibility studies and research projects, it looks as though Slive and the SEC's presidents are taking a more fan-centric view of things, saying, "Well, these schools kinda fit." If that's the case, it's a dangerous play by the SEC.

If the SEC has to expand and it cannot land the Lone Star State schools, then Clemson, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Miami do "fit." But those schools don't expand the geographic footprint of the league. And everyone from former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer (who oversaw the league's last expansion) to the commissioner of the Big 12 to athletic directors in both the Big Ten and Pac-10 have recently gone on the record to say that "growing the footprint" is key for any league looking at expansion this summer.

Only the SEC appears to feel good about keeping itself to its own little neck of the woods. That's certainly a safe play. Most fans would probably approve. But folks rarely strike it rich by making the safe play. Right or wrong, I think all this tells us that — if the above report is true — Slive and the league's presidents are hoping that the Big Ten adds just one team and does nothing else. The SEC clearly does not want to expand. Why mess with a good thing?

But if the Big Ten does change the landscape and does force the SEC's hand, Slive and the presidents he works for should think long and hard about what they hope to gain from expansion. If it's added television revenue, new recruiting ground or additional population base then the league's current fallback plan won't deliver.

To read our on-going series on the possible SEC expansion, you can find below:

Part One — Why The SEC Should Be Working Right Now

Part Two — How We Got To This Point

Part Three — Unfounded Fears

Part Four — If The SEC Is Going To Act, It Should Act Boldly

And Part Five — Don't Forget About Academics And Politics

UPDATE — The SEC has issued a denial and a statement.

[Captain K]

Wake me up when something actually happens.

[REDSTEEL]

Oklahoma has to be wondering whats going on?

[HuskerNLimbo]

Im probably looking waaaaay to far ahead, but what if the Big Ten gets who they want and the SEC gets who they want, how are the rest of the college football programs going to be revelant? AND definately, OU has to be like "WTF?"

[shyndy]

This is now officially out of control

[husker98]

Oklahoma has to be wondering whats going on?

 

The land thieves may be screwed. Its possible the PAC 10 picks them up but the travel costs too be in that conference would be sick.

 

Can you imagine having too load up and fly from Norman too Oregon, or even worse Washington?

[druski_2k5]

Wake me up when something actually happens.

 

This.

 

Oklahoma has to be wondering whats going on?

 

This.

 

This is now officially out of control

 

And definitely this.

 

I almost want to quit reading about the expansion because at this point it is all just a bunch of rumors and second guesses. Part of me wishes the Big Ten would just take Notre Dame and call it good, with the Big XII getting a better TV packaged and shared revenue, as well as our North teams stop voting against us.

 

If that doesn't happen, which it won't, I would like to go to the Big Ten, with how many other teams, doesn't matter to me, in a 7 team division and a conference title game. Then after we leave, the Big XII adds two more teams, or changes their rotation schedule much like the SEC, or just sticks with 10 games and everyone plays each other like the Pac 10.

 

Then, I wish the Pac 10 or the SEC wouldn't expand. I definitaly don't want to see the SEC expand. Seeing Texas at a conference game in Washington State or Florida, makes no sense geographically, but this is all funded by the dollar, so that will always have the final say, sadly.

 

That being said what is what I want to happen, but it will not happen.

[irieboy8]

Oklahoma has to be wondering whats going on?

 

 

my thoughts exactly... hahaha too funny

 

hows that big 12 working out for you now?? kinda sad in a way though since they were part of our old big 8 and what not but what else is there for them

 

soooo according to the rumors now... changes hourly

 

the big 12 loses

 

nebraska mIssouri (big-10)

Colorado (pac-10)

 

Texas and Texas A & M (SEC)

 

 

who does that leave OKlahoma with

 

a new and improved big 8 (all you need is one!) featuring

 

Oklahoma

Iowa State

Okie State

Texas Tech

Kansas

Kansas St

Baylor

 

or who do you add

 

 

Oklahoma

Iowa State

Okie State

Texas Tech

Kansas

Kansas St

Baylor

Utah

BYU

TCU

Houston (sign your getting desperate)

Boise State (????) how long can they really stay good at football once peterson leaves and they basicly suck at everything else plus they might be more inclined to go elsewhere

No one from the sun belt

Mabye UTEP???

 

I mean we can go on and on but the point being its gonna suck

 

SEC and Big 10= big bucks

 

ACC (poached members from Big East) Pac-10 (competion for poaching with Big 12) Big12 (poached members from Mountain west and beyond) second class first class citzens

 

with i think the PAC-10 standing out the most and ALMOST a member of the BIg-10. SEC elite status

 

Big East (poached members from COnference USA, MAC) barely relevent

 

Mountain West (desperate for left-overs in Conference USA, MAC Sun Belt WAC

 

Conference USA- Fuct

WAC-FUCT

MAC-fuct

SUn BElt- only slight fuct since no one cares

 

 

i think these conference bring up a lot of the high profile D-IAA guys to fill out the roster

 

with Montana, delware Villanova, UMASS ?? Dayton, San Diego, youngstown state, Southern Illinois???

 

i mean you can find the eqivilant of each d-1 conference in the d-1AA ranks and it gets ugly really fast

 

 

 

 

 

 

anyway you look at it the big 12 wont be able to have star power membership of the SEC or Big 10 and thus i think will a second tier SUper conference along with the ACC and PAC-10

 

simply there are not enought 'great school' to go around and some people are gonna be mighty hurt

[huskertim]

Just my humble opion, but I truely believe that Texas thinks highly enough of itself, that it would turn down the SEC. I could see UT forming the basis of a very texas centric conference with all the Big 12 south teams on board, or simply useing the facade of the current big 12 to do so. It wouldn't be hard to sway TCU, maybe Tulsa, possibly one or both of the Arizonia teams into such a realignment. Bottom line, I think UT likes wearing the daddy pants and wouldn't be eager to join a conference wherein it's peers would expect equal footing. As for OU, I think they like where the are now just fine, I would be suprised if they were to ever split with their Red River Rivals.

[kansas husker]

If texas demands the kind of revenue sharing that we have currently. Just imagine how much more they would want to ooff set travel costs. They demand more now, I they had a legit arguement for more money it would be astronomical.

[deedsker15]

with all the hush hush going on, whoever jumps the gun first and gets what they want out of expansion will leave everyone else out on the curb. Or we could just have a stand off of nothing occurring at all.

[TheCheshireCat]

If a move to the Big 10 doesn't kill our Texas recruiting, a Texas move to the SEC certainly will. All those players will head to SEC teams instead of coming north.

[GMoose]

I don't know what the SEC could offer UT to make them want to leave the Big 12 unless the Big 12 does lose MU, NU, and CU.

[knapplc]

Recruiting isn't some ultra-simplistic formula based on which conference you're in. Recruiting is about the relationships built with High School coaches (getting your foot in the door), the relationships built with the players' inner circles (narrowing their focus) and finally with the kid himself (bringing them home).

 

Too many people act like it's simply a matter of proximity or conference ties, and that simply is not the case. Our roster is littered with kids from regions we haven't played in for years because we have a solid relationship with their coaches, and because our recruiters are able to get in the living room and connect with these kids and their families. There will always be an Owa Odighizuwa who chooses based on proximity and conference ties, but those kids aren't the norm, they're the exception.

 

If we keep building and maintaining the relationships we've built with schools and coaches across the country, our recruiting will be just fine no matter what conference we're in.

[killer cacti]

The main thing here is that the SEC is not looking at new TV markets, because they've already got a huge deal with a nationwide media outlet. So they're looking to add teams that will keep it interesting and highly competitive to keep that deal with ESPN. My Tigers are being looked at because of the obvious rivalry with SCar, a huge rivalry with Georgia that simmered down in the late 80s when the teams quite playing each other on a year-to-year basis. Also, Tennessee is only 3 hours from Clemson, so that could be an interesting match up as well.

 

I would be a little surprised if they took GT because they left the SEC once already.