COLLEGE STATION,TX (AP) -
Texas A&M plans to hold a news conference at the Zone Club at Kyle Field today to announce its entrance into the Southeastern Conference, an A&M insider said late Tuesday night.
A&M has reserved the Zone Club for today and Thursday for such an announcement, another insider said. But all signs point to today for the announcement, after SEC Presidents met in Atlanta on Tuesday evening to officially extend an offer to A&M as the league's 13th member, then ponder a 14th SEC team as well, an insider said.
The Aggies announced their intentions to exit the Big 12 a week ago, and they intend to begin play in the SEC a year from now. A&M's entrance into the SEC also might set off a free-for-all on the conference alignment front, with close eyes kept on the remaining Big 12 members, particularly Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, who reportedly are entertaining ideas of moving to the PAC 12 in the coming days.
Last week, South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said the Aggies "Would be a huge addition to the SEC" were they to join the league. A&M's football team is off Saturday, so this week's SEC announcement isn't expected to serve as a distraction to the no. 7 Aggies, who own their highest ranking since 1999.
A&M will have spent 16 seasons in the Big 12 after competing in the Southwest Conference from 1915-95. On July 21, following a meeting by A&M's regents, school President R. Bowen Loftin said Texas' upstart Longhorn Network had created "uncertainty" in the Big 12 because of the LHN's desire to air high school content and Big 12 football games.
Since that time, A&M brass have contended that while the Longhorn Network provided the spark for the Aggies' move, A&M's Big 12 exit had more to do with finding more security, stability and profitability in another league.
"We are seeking to generate greater visibility nationwide for Texas A&M and our championship-caliber student-athletes, as well as secure the necessary and stable financial resources to support our athletic and academic programs," Loftin said last week. "This is a 100-year decision that we have addressed carefully and methodically. Texas A&M is an extraordinary institution, and we look forward to what the future may hold for Aggies worldwide."
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