FORT WORTH — Southeastern Conference officials Sunday passed on an opportunity to invite Texas A&M to join its 12-member league, league officials announced in a statement issued by Florida president Dr. Bernie Machen, chairman of the SEC presidents and chancellors.
“No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M,” Machen said in a statement that acknowledged that “future considerations may make it advantageous to expand.” Toward that end, the statement said league officials “discussed criteria and process associated with expansion.”
No other details were provided.
Bottom line: A&M’s bid to join the SEC is not dead. But it’s on hold long enough to give A&M officials time to discuss the issue internally _ and possibly make a formal request to join the SEC.
A&M still has its regents meeting scheduled Monday in College Station, with an agenda item slated to authorize the school president to “take all actions relating to Texas A&M University’s athletic conference realignment.”
A&M officials also are scheduled to take part in a Tuesday public hearing in Austin with Texas’ House Committee on Higher Education, which controls funding for the state’s pubic institutions, including A&M.
Committee chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, said Texas A&M officials told him that the process of joining the SEC “may take up to two weeks” before it is finalized. Today’s action from the SEC does not change that timetable.
There has been no reaction yet from A&M officials.
here's the full text of the SEC’s statement:
“The SEC presidents and chancellors met today and reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment. We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league. We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion. No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M.”
Read more: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/colleges/2011/08/sec-turns-down-expansion-offer-to-am-for-now.html#ixzz1V2b0gRen
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