ESPN: Texas A&M has notified B12 it is withdrawing

And a&m is Brutus?

Only character I can think of is Marc Antony. Seduced by a tempting mistress (ESPN) causing him to ignore the problems of his homeland (Big 12) and main rival for the throne (Oklahoma) at his own peril which causes his eventual downfall

By the way, A&M is definitely Antony's trusted lieutenant who switches sides mid-battle.

Is with a new guy, rolling around in stacks of cash, sweet cars, fine vacations. He is definitely cheatin on her, but she never has to work again and every once in a while she gets to exhibit her watercolors at a small gallery in Florida. Occasionally you run into her on the street, you remember old times but more specifically you both remember the lies you tell yourselves that you are better off now, she with her manipulative new guy and his sycophant friends, you with your stacks of cash and even more less average looking girls, who you know even less well and they sure don't really "get" you the way she did. You realize there was comfort in that tension, that father figure role fit some inner need you had, and as you call out to her to give you another chance, to come home, it's not about the money, its about making special times and a life together, a crimson Lamborghini rolls up, the doors open upward an she hops in, and you just stand there, alone, before heading home to sit, looking at old photos from that shoebox under your bed. The answering machine is playing messages from ugly whores who would be flattered if you called them lamprey to their faces "hey, its me, kansas state, wanna come over and play?" "hey big sexy texas, its me, iowa state, see you this weekend!" "call me, its baylor"

Hoorah independence!

That was my thinking also....what has changed in the last couple of weeks, assuming it is the SEC that A & M is heading to, and then, who is the other team which will keep things even and join the SEC.

The bigger question is if the SEC really starts growing and reaches 14 or 16 teams, what with the B1G do?  Delaney can be happy with the status quo for now, but if the landscape changes, I would think it will be better to be early in to get the wheat and not the chaff.

i dont think the SEC had a choice! they either plated possum or open themselves up to a lawsuit.

and it makes sense the B12 is the conference everyone is looking to poach from!

After one last gasp, the Big 12 will eventually be split up as part of the Pac 16 or 18, and the giant amalgamated Big East/ACC/Big 12 leftover conference, with a team or two going to the B1G.  I think four "supers" and a new division classification are a lot closer to reality than it currently appears.  

The Big East has eight teams, the Big 12 has ten, and the ACC has twelve.  That works out to thirty.  If the Big Ten, SEC, and Pac 12 each add four teams from any combination of those conferences, that leaves a total of 18 if they contract into one conference.  It also leaves room for ND and BYU to join a conference, making another have 18 teams.  

That makes four superconferences: two with 16 teams and two with 18.  Even if there ends up being five, I don't see the Big 12 making it past 2017.  The northern teams will be split between the Pac 12 and the B1G.  

Most of all, Texas will have to stop wrecking conferences and be a team player.  "Because we're Texas" isn't going to be a good enough reason for a superconference to let them have a disproportionate share of the money.  

It may look like tomato cans don't deserve as much money from the conference TV and bowl contracts as the "big boys" do, but having teams that lose is just as important as having teams that win.  If there aren't a few tomato cans in any conference, those 11-1 and 12-0 records can turn into 8-4 and 7-5.   While it's great for competition, it's terrible for the mythology we build around our "champions."

I don't follow....

A&M knows they're guaranteed to end up better off leaving.

4 super conferences of 16 teams = conference champions in a 4-team playoff for the NC. Maybe...

The fact that I hate Notre Dame so much is part of the reason why they would make such a perfect fit in the B1G

does it really follow that the B1G must follow suit to remain competitive?

If it’s only about money, only so many schools add value, whether in football or research, let alone both. And even with additional revenue there's more slices taken from the pie.

If it’s about TV exposure, 12 is plenty with a conference championship game and the BTN.

I'm not arguing against further expansion, just against the idea its a given.

As for why A&M's moving, my take as a lifelong Big8/BigXII fan is that it’s more complicated than "little brother", Texas hate, or money. Those are all factors. But I think it’s hard for Michigan fans, who've enjoyed the stability and collegial ways of belonging to the oldest college conference, to really appreciate what a house of cards the XII is. That was the number one reason Nebraska left.

Basically everyone in the XII that has any other viable option is exiting (Colorado, Nebraska, A&M) or wants to (Mizzou). The only exception is Oklahoma, who for many reasons I won't go into in this post, will be the last man standing.