Slive says He expects the SEC to remain at 13 Teams through 2012
Posted on September 27, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
Tuesday, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive and Dr. R. Bowen Loftin, the president of Texas A&M University, gave a joint press conference to address the school becoming the newest member of the SEC. The two men responded to questions about everything from television contracts being altered to how the current divisional alignment of the conference will be affected by the new addition.
One of the most interesting comments was Slive’s answer to a question about whether the conference will have thirteen members next season or of there will be another addition between now and then. Slive said, “We anticipate being a 13-team league in 2012/13. Let me add something to what I said last night. First, there are no institutions currently under consideration by the SEC's presidents and chancellors. Secondly, we have not received any applications from any institution other than Texas A&M.”
That is not the first instance of late that Slive has forcefully stated that thirteen teams in 2012 will very likely be a reality. The commissioner also said that the conference is not looking to expand. “We understood when we agreed to take Texas A&M that that was 13. We also understood that scheduling is not easy with 13. We knew that. We are going to continue to be strategic and thoughtful when we think about any further expansion. So I guess, as I said yesterday, we anticipate being a 13-team league in 2012,” he said.
Some have speculated that the addition of A&M could cause a reshuffling of the east/west divisional alignment, which could conceivably cause traditional rivalries to be moved or not played on an annual basis. When asked about the preservation of traditional rivalries, Mr. Slive opted to suspend a response until the transition team had completed its work on such matters.
Commissioner Slive said that increasing the SEC’s amount of bowl tie-ins (currently at nine) would be something to be considered. He also said that the BCS would be having serious discussion about whether to lift the current rule that limits a conference to two teams.
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