Why Texas Should Join the SEC

Wouldn't Jordan Hicks look good against LSU?

Before we get into this, be advised that I'm a Texas Longhorns fan.

I have burnt orange blood circulating throughout my system, and I'm as knowledgable about the realignment situation as the news and blogs I read. Therefore, I'm compelled to discuss the following possibility.

Texas should move to the SEC.

What about the Big 10? Aren't they the most prestigious conference in the land with the best academia of all the conferences?

Yes, the Big Ten/Eleven is in a prime position to elevate it's status even higher than it already is with the talks of expansion. It's decision to do so has caused endless speculation and scenarios, taking into account all the factors a school looks at when assessing it's conference obligations. Academics, logistics, politics and financial issues are all taken into account, without even mentioning the new games added to each schedule. The Big Ten has arguably the best academia of all the major conferences (the PAC 10 gives it a solid run), so the Big Ten will only take the best academic schools in order to not lose that selling/pride point. Texas and Texas A&M are the only to Big 12 schools who would likely qualify for entry into the Big 10.

But here's the deal. The Big Ten is going to get Rutgers, which owns the New York City market. That's the biggest city in the U.S. if you didn't know, and by expanding the Big Ten into that market does nothing but provide financial positives for the conference. And while they'd love to have Texas and pretty much dominate the Northeast, Midwest and the Texas markets, Texas has to look out for it's own interests.

So what's wrong the Big Ten? What other interests?

Texas is a celebrity of the NCAA landscape. It's unique because it's reach extends all across the state, and since Texas is the most important state (in the eyes of Texans, mind you), Texas doesn't have to join a conference full of midwest teams far away. The two closest Big 10 schools to Austin are Illinois and Iowa, which is an easy way to say that every Texas team will have to travel a long, long way to play some games.

Now let's look at the SEC. They have Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama within the distance it takes to get to either Illinois or Iowa, and it's the most powerful college football conference, period. According to a Burnt Orange Nation blog, Big Ten schools are an average of 1,206 miles away, whereas the SEC schools are only 836 miles away (the furthest away being Kentucky.)

The SEC, heck yeah! Why was this never mentioned before?

Academia is the most important factor when considering a conference switch. Suffice to say, the Big Ten's academia is a lot more prestigious than the SEC. It's been a foregone conclusion of the media so far to assume that Texas won't consider it. But working with some things, the SEC isn't as far behind as some may think.

According to the US News rankings of academic reputations, the Big Ten and PAC 10 both have five schools within the top 60, and the SEC has three. Should Texas and Texas A&M join the conference, that makes it five strong for the SEC, including a private school (Vanderbilt) to match Stanford and Northwestern.

Throw in the fact that the southern and western states are becoming more populated at the expense of the northeastern and midwest states, the politics and demographics for Texas to stay in the south simply make sense.

So what does the SEC have to offer?

Simple. Texas and Texas A&M joining the already elite conference would make the SEC an unbelievably competitive conference. Along with the 14 years the SEC has left in it's television deal with ESPN, Texas would perennially face OU, LSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas and A&M, mix in a couple of Florida/Georgia/Tennessee games a season.

Here's a look at possible 2012 schedules with the Big Ten and the SEC and tell me which one looks more promising in enriching Texas sports.

Provided by Burnt Orange Nation

Week	Opponent (Conference Games in BOLD)
Week 1	NORTH TEXAS
Week 2	@ Rice
Week 3	PENN STATE
Week 4	@ Iowa
Week 5	@ Nebraska
Week 6	Oklahoma (in Dallas)
Week 7	MINNESOTA
Week 8	@ Notre Dame
Week 9	MISSOURI
Week 10	ILLINOIS
Week 11	@ Wisconsin
Week 12	TEXAS A&M
CCG	Ohio State (in Indianapolis)

Compare that schedule with a Longhorn schedule in the SEC:

Week	Opponent (Conference Games in BOLD)
Week 1	NORTH TEXAS
Week 2	@ Rice
Week 3	ARKANSAS
Week 4	@ Ole Miss
Week 5	WYOMING
Week 6	Oklahoma (in Dallas)
Week 7	@ Georgia
Week 8	MISSISSIPPI STATE
Week 9	LSU
Week 10	FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Week 11	@ Texas Tech
Week 12	TEXAS A&M
CCG	Alabama (in Atlanta)

In short, Texas moving to the SEC would provide tremendous financial profitability with the ESPN contract and the allowance of Texas to start the LSN, or Longhorn Sports Network, a 24/7 Texas Sports television network, which would be unavailable with the Big Ten's network.

What do you guys think?