Texas A&M Officially Out.....

[leopold]

Reading these comments about TV exposure, recruiting footprint in TX, etc., am I crazy or should we be trying to follow the Aggies into the SEC as no. 14? I can answer the first question, yes I am out of my damned mind, but the second suddenly doesn't seem quite so absurd. It gives the SEC everything it wants: even divisions, DFW TV coverage, two major inroads to Texas recruiting. It gives us exposure in LA (which we recruit heavily and with mixed results), plus a major stage to improve our national efforts, particularly out east. When teams like Alabama or LSU come to play, if an expanded Ford can't accommodate we can always move to Jerry World (or even back to the Cotton Bowl if the city of Dallas would get on board). We can certainly hang with Miss St., Vandy and some of the other schools, and we get a much more stable situation for us. It is a pipe dream, I know, but something to think about.

You're not out of your mind. In fact, you have a better clue of what's going on than most.

[SMU 46]

I hope to be very wrong, but think about this too: If Turner and SO wanted to leak out something, why would they need to meet with the entire DMN editorial board to do that? Why wouldn't they just go to Kate or Whitmire with it? The reason to me is they are campaigning locally for support, not telegraphing something. The other clue is the emphasis Turner made regarding the positive economic impact to Dallas of SMU being in the BCS. Begging the Dallas city council for support wouldn't be necessary if they thought an invite was done or even likely. I'm not saying it was the wrong move to put our name out there and ask for support, even if it does lead to some disappointment. I hate to say it but what if TCU was on the cusp of getting in the Big 12 and Turner knew it? You don't think that would lead to some preemptive CYA public statements by Turner to make a last second push and show publicly that he at least tried? Maybe the alumni pressure hasn't started yet, but you don't think its gonna blow up big-time if TCU gets invited without us? Think about it. Sorry to be a downer, i just think some of the confidence i am seeing on here about our position and Turners comments are misplaced.

I dont think confidence is misplaced, I'm just looking at the situation with a little more optimism given what has changed over the past couple of years. I'm fully aware of SMU's position to become an AQ school... however, there has been a lot more work and due diligence completed for RT to simply be issuing a CYA statement. On TCU, would RT or SO not have issued a similar statement before/after TCU accepted an invitation to the Big East? TCU's not our problem, it's the 10 other schools not in the Big 12 "footprint" that SMU's competiting with... same goes for TCU and Houston.

[NickSMU17]

cuckoo cuckoo

[SMU 46]

cuckoo cuckoo

Cuckoo for saying that SMU is finally acting with a little unity as an institution in trying to better its conference position? It certainly is a dog and pony show at this point... but if you read the posts, all I've said is that we haven't been sitting on our hands for the past two years... which is why I have more optimism today as opposed to this occuring 5 to 10 years ago. Whether we get an invite to an AQ conference is a different matter in which I'm fully grounded in reality.

[SMU21TCU10]

NTTIAWW Being an Aggie!

[NickSMU17]

The cuckoo was for this guy

Reading these comments about TV exposure, recruiting footprint in TX, etc., am I crazy or should we be trying to follow the Aggies into the SEC as no. 14? I can answer the first question, yes I am out of my damned mind, but the second suddenly doesn't seem quite so absurd. It gives the SEC everything it wants: even divisions, DFW TV coverage, two major inroads to Texas recruiting. It gives us exposure in LA (which we recruit heavily and with mixed results), plus a major stage to improve our national efforts, particularly out east. When teams like Alabama or LSU come to play, if an expanded Ford can't accommodate we can always move to Jerry World (or even back to the Cotton Bowl if the city of Dallas would get on board). We can certainly hang with Miss St., Vandy and some of the other schools, and we get a much more stable situation for us. It is a pipe dream, I know, but something to think about.

You're not out of your mind. In fact, you have a better clue of what's going on than most.

[well travelled pony]

94, I tend to agree that the stated desire should simply be BCS inclusion. On another thread I mentioned that I spoke w/ ut alum living in austin. He suggested that word he heard is SMU is under consideration. On the other hand, he heard ut was going into talks again with pac 12. It will be interesting to see what happens. I am glad SMU is being proactive.

Go Ponies!

[EastStang]

The SEC has a problem with #14 which is partly why there has been no invite. I suspect that some like Vandy are against any expansion. Then there are schools with sister problems (remember the ACC and Virginia Tech), Kentucky-Louisville, Florida-FSU, Georgia-GT, South Carolina-Clemson, Tennessee-Memphis, you get the picture. So, if some of these schools have to veto (Governor's Orders), then they need a compromise to get perhaps those that want no expansion to join the fray. I suspect Vandy, LSU, Arkansas, MSU and Ole Miss would be amenable to SMU as would the Aggies as a travel partner. It gives all the schools a team that even Mississippi State has a chance to beat,, and it gives Vandy another private school. Far fetched, yes. But that sort of scenario is also why the Mountain West never got past nine and why the Big XII is stuck at 9 as well and why the ACC expansion almost never happened. If they have to compromise, they could do worse than SMU. If I were the Big XII, I'd make sure SMU was locked down before the SEC comes calling.

[RyanSMU98]

The SEC has a problem with #14 which is partly why there has been no invite. I suspect that some like Vandy are against any expansion. Then there are schools with sister problems (remember the ACC and Virginia Tech), Kentucky-Louisville, Florida-FSU, Georgia-GT, South Carolina-Clemson, Tennessee-Memphis, you get the picture. So, if some of these schools have to veto (Governor's Orders), then they need a compromise to get perhaps those that want no expansion to join the fray. I suspect Vandy, LSU, Arkansas, MSU and Ole Miss would be amenable to SMU as would the Aggies as a travel partner. It gives all the schools a team that even Mississippi State has a chance to beat,, and it gives Vandy another private school. Far fetched, yes. But that sort of scenario is also why the Mountain West never got past nine and why the Big XII is stuck at 9 as well and why the ACC expansion almost never happened. If they have to compromise, they could do worse than SMU. If I were the Big XII, I'd make sure SMU was locked down before the SEC comes calling.

With AR and the Aggies, you get some of the regional rivalries that RGT talks about, plus don't forget that Turner came to SMU from Ole Miss, so there may be some angles he could work discretely to gauge interest. Not quite as cuckoo as it sounds on the surface.

[SMU 46]

The cuckoo was for this guy

Reading these comments about TV exposure, recruiting footprint in TX, etc., am I crazy or should we be trying to follow the Aggies into the SEC as no. 14? I can answer the first question, yes I am out of my damned mind, but the second suddenly doesn't seem quite so absurd. It gives the SEC everything it wants: even divisions, DFW TV coverage, two major inroads to Texas recruiting. It gives us exposure in LA (which we recruit heavily and with mixed results), plus a major stage to improve our national efforts, particularly out east. When teams like Alabama or LSU come to play, if an expanded Ford can't accommodate we can always move to Jerry World (or even back to the Cotton Bowl if the city of Dallas would get on board). We can certainly hang with Miss St., Vandy and some of the other schools, and we get a much more stable situation for us. It is a pipe dream, I know, but something to think about.

You're not out of your mind. In fact, you have a better clue of what's going on than most.

Got it... .

Go Stangs!

[Topper]

The cuckoo was for this guy

Reading these comments about TV exposure, recruiting footprint in TX, etc., am I crazy or should we be trying to follow the Aggies into the SEC as no. 14? I can answer the first question, yes I am out of my damned mind, but the second suddenly doesn't seem quite so absurd. It gives the SEC everything it wants: even divisions, DFW TV coverage, two major inroads to Texas recruiting. It gives us exposure in LA (which we recruit heavily and with mixed results), plus a major stage to improve our national efforts, particularly out east. When teams like Alabama or LSU come to play, if an expanded Ford can't accommodate we can always move to Jerry World (or even back to the Cotton Bowl if the city of Dallas would get on board). We can certainly hang with Miss St., Vandy and some of the other schools, and we get a much more stable situation for us. It is a pipe dream, I know, but something to think about.

You're not out of your mind. In fact, you have a better clue of what's going on than most.

I have been saying this for years. In fact, prior to Ponyfans.com. But every time I make this suggestion I am told that I am crazy but a very vocal group on this board. I think there was some talk when the SWC broke up about SMU and Houston going over to the SEC. But our administration was impotent and not interested in football at the time. There was also a feeling that we needed to be loyal to TCU and that our football futures were tied together at the hip. So the idea never picked up steam. I brought it up again when we went to CUSA, but once again there was no support for the idea on this board or at the SEC. Doubt the SEC wants us at this point.

[ponyinNC]

To paraphrase Tony Montana..."First you get the money. Then you get the power. Then you get the AQ". Well, SMU has got the money, and we have powerful alumni and the entire city of Dallas at our disposal.

[leopold]

cuckoo cuckoo

Right.

It's 'cuckoo' to make a phone call. They say no thanks, we're out nothing. Hell, maybe they've already placed it, we've already been politely turned down, and I don't know. Great. Fine.

But make the call.

[RyanSMU98]

cuckoo cuckoo

Right.

It's 'cuckoo' to make a phone call. They say no thanks, we're out nothing. Hell, maybe they've already placed it, we've already been politely turned down, and I don't know. Great. Fine.

But make the call.

Damn straight you make the call. If we are claiming to be proactive and want to be considered big-time, we need to shoot for the stars and see where we land. If there is even a hint of a chance of SEC interest, you don't think the Big 12 and a few other conferences take notice? We have nothing to lose right now. This is the time to go balls out and see what the best deal for SMU is available.

[NickSMU17]

We have called...they answered in a chinese restaurant fake voice and asked if we wanted brown or white rice...