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Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork says the Aggies can be ready must Texas and Oklahoma sign up for the SEC, including that any fear with the possible transfer used to be about retaining the collaborative nature of the league.
“Without reference to who joins the SEC, whether or not it is now at some point, The 12th Guy is in a position,” Bjork informed ESPN on Saturday. “Our groups are in a position. Our coaches are in a position. Our athletic division is able to compete on the best possible degree. That is what the SEC is, that is what we’re as a school, and we are in a position for no matter comes subsequent.”
Texas and Oklahoma may make their transfer to the SEC professional in a question of weeks, a supply showed to ESPN on Friday. The Austin American-Statesman first reported that timeline.
Following a heated contention that dated to 1894, Texas A&M and Texas had been each founding contributors of the Giant 12 in 1996 after the Southwest Convention’s loss of life. The Giant 12’s early days had been marked by means of infighting and the merger of the previous Giant eight and 4 Texas colleges used to be strained.
Colorado departed for the %-12 in 2010, the similar yr Nebraska left for the Giant Ten. The Aggies and Missouri left in 2011 after Texas and ESPN introduced plans for the Longhorn Community, which will pay Texas $300 million over 20 years for its personal tv deal break free the opposite convention contributors.
“The tradition of an athletic convention is a concern for us, and 10 years in the past once we joined the SEC, that used to be the tradition that we had been after: collaboration, equality and festival,” stated Bjork, who in the past used to be athletic director at Ole Pass over earlier than arriving at A&M. “This is happening my 10th yr within the SEC. It is what makes the SEC the most efficient convention and we’ve got were given to give protection to that.”
When the Houston Chronicle reported on Wednesday that the Sooners and Longhorns had been in discussions with the SEC, Bjork informed journalists at SEC media days that he can be “diligent in our manner to give protection to Texas A&M” and stated the Aggies sought after to be the one SEC college in Texas.
Bjork stated on Saturday that A&M used to be conscious about the possibility of growth within the convention, however that “we had been all stunned in regards to the pace and acceleration piece of this. We knew about realignment attainable and the way forward for the Giant 12 particularly and what the ones dynamics had been.”
When requested if A&M would vote towards Texas becoming a member of the convention, Bjork stated they nonetheless want additional information.
“We aren’t to that time,” he stated. “We now have governance construction at our campus to paintings via. We do not know what a large number of the tips is at this day and age to even say a method or every other.”
Bjork additionally declined to speak about any ideas on how different SEC colleges would vote on Texas and Oklahoma becoming a member of the convention, announcing best that any procedural facets or timing of growth will stay to be observed. However he stated he expects the SEC to be a spot different colleges would need to be.
“As you take a look at the way forward for school athletics, you must take a look at it from the viewpoint of who would now not need to enroll in the SEC?” Bjork stated. “We are ready to guide on this converting transformative panorama. So in fact there is going to be pastime in others becoming a member of with us. We expect we cleared the path, that we’ve got set a perfect instance of what that appears like right here within the state of Texas, and we weren’t stunned that others actually need to enroll in us.”
A Texas A&M board of regents assembly slated for Monday used to be arrange for personal dialogue of the possible growth, assets informed ESPN, however needed to be indexed publicly because of state regulations relating to conferences.
Texas A&M president M. Katherine Banks additionally launched a observation on Saturday announcing the Aggies are dedicated to their club within the SEC.
“The previous few days were difficult in some ways, and I acknowledge that vary in school athletics regularly is unsettling for many who love their establishments,” stated Banks, who took over as president on June 1. “Leisure confident, the chancellor, our athletic director, and I, and everybody concerned on this topic are targeted only on what’s highest for Texas A&M College. Since 2011, now we have been a proud member of the most efficient intercollegiate athletic convention in historical past and we sit up for persevered luck in our SEC partnership for many years yet to come.”
Bjork seems like irrespective of who is within the convention or when, he feels just like the Aggies are ready of power.
“We are the biggest college in Texas,” he stated. “We are more potent than we’ve got ever been earlier than competitively. We are at the cusp of the Faculty Soccer Playoff. We have now were given nice momentum presently. “
