Addressing Your Concerns

Once again, this post is directed toward my fellow Aggies, addressing some of their concerns about Texas A&M staying put in the Big XII.

"This is a short-term solution to a long-term problem."
My problem with this thinking is this: what is the long-term problem? Prior to the talks with the Pac-10 and SEC, I don't recall anybody clamoring for us to leave the Big XII. The only problem with the Big XII as far as I could reason was the TV contract, which I figured would be back to competitive levels when it ran up given the strength of the conference. And that seems to have been fixed with the new deal, which will give A&M upwards of $20 million, not to mention being one of three teams to get part of Nebraska's and Colorado's buyout money. And anyone who is familiar with A&M's athletic department knows that they need cash in order to protect the long-term future of department. The figures that I heard floating around for the other conferences were less than the low number of $20 million that we're hearing from the Big XII. Not to mention paying something like $10-15 million in buyout money.

"Texas got everything they wanted!"
Yeah, so what? My mantra for this is that just because it's good for Texas doesn't mean that it's bad for Texas A&M. Yes, Texas is basically running the conference. But they're treating us well, so don't complain. Nobody else would give the unequal revenue sharing, and even if they did I doubt that they would give us one of the bigger shares. In regards to Longhorn TV, my understanding is that the option for a university-specific television station is available to every school. It's just that right now only Texas has what it takes to make that a viable option. There are no professional teams in Austin, and only the San Antonio Spurs are close by. Thus the community, whether directly affiliated with the school or not, embraces UT athletics as its own, especially while they're winning. Add that to large support bases in the Houston and Dallas markets (I hesitate to say alumni, because I know that currently most fans are not connected to the school) and you've got a nice extra revenue source. Once A&M's football team gets back up where it's capable of being, maybe we could see the other sports get the exposure on their own TV network.

"We needed to declare our independence from Texas."
As I mentioned in my previous post, I felt that A&M did a great job of staying independent throughout the entire process and doing what they felt was best in the end for the university. If that decision was also what Texas wanted, so be it. I wouldn't want to risk the university's future just for the chance to "stick it to the man". That would be the short-term solution for a long-term problem. If Aggies really want to stick it to Texas, then they need to raise the level of the athletic department as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I know that the we are very good in pretty much every sport. I'm usually the first to point this out. But the problem is that UT is near the top (at least in appeal) in the higher profile sports: football, men's basketball, baseball. Regardless, I think that it goes without saying that Ags love to hate tu. If we're independent of them, it takes away that dynamic. We as a school operate best when we're put in the position of underdogs, and Texas gives us a constant opponent to operate against. The classic "us versus them" attitude plays well for A&M, it simply fits with the mentality of the school.

As with any decision similar to this, I want to wait to reserve final judgement. There's no telling how conference realignment will shake out in the next few years, but I think that this puts us in a good position heading into whatever may lie ahead.

Let me know what you think below, share any other concerns you have and I might address them.