(07-09-2018 08:51 AM)10thMountain Wrote:  Interesting scenario

But as someone whose known them for a long time, I can tell you that whorn is simply too entitled to join a conference they can't control and will challenge them

What they REALY want, what they are really hoping for is the two things that will make their current ant hill fiefdom viable: An automatic bid to the playoff for the L10 champ and collective Conference bargaining to take away the growing financial gap that even they can't keep up with forever

I propose that expansion to 16 will not be about new markets but about reinforcing SEC control of its two prime territories by grabbing two strategic targets: Miami and TCU

They both firmly plant the SEC flag in highly populous portions of the state that are currently Conference No Mans Land and with big name SEC teams coming there frequently, they'll be SEC towns very shortly. Plus they have the added bonus of bringing in other content. FSU vs Miami will be a SEC property, A&M vs TCU has the potential to be the most relevant rivalry in the state of Texas.

That's a solid fallback position 10th, especially T.C.U.. I don't see Miami in quite the same terms but having a presence in South Florida would be important. It's just that Miami is not really a demographic that is going to continue to support college sports. I think one day that we might revisit this concept but by only going as far south as Orlando or Tampa.

I believe when Machen said that the SEC wouldn't expand again unless we could take a couple of jewels he was making an accurate statement as to the mindset of the presidents. So I think two top brand sports schools who are AAU would meet that criteria. Also, I don't see the ACC losing anyone until their GOR is nearing it's end, the 2035 -37 time frame. So if we needed two from the Big 12 to boost our contract and help us level out our divisions so we could restore rivalries then two to the West are in order. So at the very least it would require that we land one of Texas, Oklahoma, and/or Kansas. If it is Texas and not another of those three then perhaps the 2nd is another Texas school or WVU. If it is Oklahoma and not another of those three then perhaps it is Oklahoma State or WVU. But if it were to be Kansas and not one of the other three then I think T.C.U. looks pretty appealing.

But in all likelihood it will be Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. But I believe that our leadership would look exceedingly favorably upon Texas and Kansas.