Florida State officials have been flirting with the SEC for several months and the discussion now are getting more serious, according to sources.
Rumors have been spreading that the SEC is poised to expand, first to 14 teams and then to 16, and the Seminoles and Texas A&M of the Big 12 could be the first two to jump.
“This is real,” said a source close to FSU.
Other schools being mentioned as possible SEC candidates: Clemson, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Miami apparently is not on the SEC’s radar. The possibility of being left out if FSU bolts has the Hurricanes, “scared to death,” said a source.
Texas A&M appears to be the SEC’s first choice. The school is a good fit in many ways. Its facilities are first class and it’s a school with a lot of money. Adding the Aggies would allow the conference to gain a foothold in one of the richest states in the country for high school football and add two large television markets in Dallas and Houston.
Texas A&M is unhappy that Texas has created own television network and is unhappy with the Big 12 for bowing down to Texas when the Longhorns flirted with the idea of moving to the Pac-10.
Some believe the Aggies are more of a sure thing to join the SEC than any other school and Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe told the Austin-American Statesman he is treating reports of Texas A&M’s possible move “very seriously.”
The SEC has stayed quiet during this latest round of speculation. At SEC Media Days a couple weeks ago, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said he could add members if he wanted to in 15 minutes.
“I’m going to think about and do things that are in the long-term best interests of the SEC,” Slive said.
