The Orphans Revolt

Texas A&M got the formal thumbs up from the SEC today but immediately ran into an unforeseen snag: the Orphans are revolting! Although the Big 12 had assured the SEC that they'd be totally cool with the Aggies leaving and they wouldn't sue or anything, Baylor, upon further reflection, seeing the looming embrace of Conference USA in their future, revolted- withdrawing from their previous waiver of legal action against the Aggies or the SEC.

At that, the SEC balked. They'd be happy to take the Aggies, they said, but they also didn't want to get sued.

And now, there are even more wrinkles: The Orphans have banded together with Texas, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to add a condition of their own- they need Oklahoma to commit to the Big 12- and if the Sooners do that, then the Aggies can go. New rumor is that should this swap-a-dee-doo occur, then the Big 12 would pursue BYU as a 10th school.

This is getting ridiculous. Time to get the Big 12 back to 12. If they can keep Oklahoma on side, then let the Aggies go, go hard for BYU, Colorado State or Air Force (sneaks you back into Colorado's TV market, such as it is) and the big Kahuna: Boise State- who would accept an invitation to a BCS Conference in a heartbeat.

In the meantime, the mindless speculation will continue. After much thought, I've decided that if the super-conference apocalypse happens, then I'd be happy if the Big 10 added the following:
Notre Dame- we'll get you eventually, Catholics! You can run, but you can't hide, bwahahahahaha!

Iowa State- would be a weird little anomaly smack dab in the middle of the Giant 10's footprint. Mizzou's only natural rival within the Giant 10 would be Illinois- and I don't think their academics are up to snuff. Iowa State has history with Nebraska and Iowa- and would be more of a random afterthought than anything else.

Pitt: brings us Pittsburgh. Plus they sorta kinda play our kind of football- plus they're an instant rival for Penn State.

West Virginia: it's been awhile since I've really watched WVU football, but they've fielded good hoops teams of late and back in the day they seemed to be playing hard hitting, defensive minded Giant 10 type of FB. Plus, it's the other half of The Backyard Brawl- one of college football's storied rivalries.

Bonuses to think about: Maryland- Washington D.C. seems to be more of a football town than NYC. This Rutgers silliness people keep talking about needs to stop...