I'll miss my Big8 brothers & TAM.
If you're still around Aggie, I'm curious to know what you thought of the near-move to the SEC. How did you feel when the rumors were going on at the time and how do you feel about the non-move now?
At first I didn't want to leave. I started at A&M in 2000 and the Big 12 was all I knew. Eventually I started to realize that the Big 12 just wasn't viable and that a new conference would be necessary. I was really hoping to go to the Big 10. I never heard it from people back home, but the word up here amongst a lot of Big 10 people was that Delany was looking to bring in Texas and Texas A&M (remember the "Tech problem" email?) and capture the entire Texas TV market (or at least a huge portion of it). Texas wasn't biting (they don't like to share) and I doubt we were invited on our own anyways. Plus most A&M fans I talked to had zero interest in the Big 10. I'm so glad we didn't go during the realignment now. We are not in a good enough position to make the jump as of yet - still rebuilding!
The SEC just seems like a natural fit but I really REALLY don't like the rampant pay-for-play and oversigning going on there. I'm not so naiive to believe that infractions never happen at A&M or in most conferences, but it seems like a whole different ballgame over there. I feel that A&M would have to play dirty to compete and I'm uncomfortable with that.
As far as holding up in the SEC, I think A&M would be okay - good most years with a great run here and there. We have built-in advantages (rabid fan base, high athletic revenue, facilities, recruiting base) that should keep us afloat, as long as we can find a decent coach (which I think we have). We've been through 3 coaches in the past ten years, and it's no coincidence that those have been the worst ten years since A&M became a full-fledged flagship university and not solely a military school.
I haven't been a football fan long enough to really say I'll miss the teams we play. I think we'd still play Texas every year, sort of like Georgia/Ga Tech does even though they're in different conferences, but if we didn't, oh well. They've gotten too greedy; as a Michigan fan, I understand you can have an elite, successful program that doesn't run everyone else off. I'd be excited to renew the rivalry with LSU, especially since my baby brother is there!
