Before I start, let me make this very clear. I am not opposed, in principle, to the idea of Texas A&M competing in the smaller version of the conference formerly known as the Big 12. I am opposed to the lack of leadership coming out of Texas A&M University. 

Let’s include all of the parts of this story. The Aggies have been nothing short of miserable over the last seven years of football, and yet the fans have watched. Ticket prices have gone up during this same time, and yet most people pay them. Why? Because of promise. The promise of “building champions.” The promise that with continued support, the leaders of the athletic department will right the ship. A promise, from the university, that they will make the choices that will lead Texas A&M back to an athletic power.

Then comes the opportunity of a lifetime. The Southeastern Conference wanted Texas A&M. They didn’t want Texas and a bunch of other schools, they wanted Texas A&M. (That isn’t to say that they didn’t want Texas, but they didn’t only want Texas.) The SEC is a powerhouse conference with the nation’s best television payout, reportedly over 17 million dollars per team. SEC fans are rabid about their teams, are crazy about tradition, and have a southern culture that if not conservative, is at least right of moderate. (Sound familiar?) The very definition of “cultural fit.”

I have touched on the maligned academics of the SEC before, but let me recap again real quick. While not at the level of the Pac 10 or Big 10, the SEC is certainly on par with this new version of the Big 12. The new Big 12 will have three tier three universities (Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State,) one more than the SEC (Mississippi State and Ol’ Miss.) The new Big 12 will have five top 100 schools (Texas, A&M, Baylor, Iowa State, and Kansas,) the same number as the SEC (Vanderbilt, Florida, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama.) So while it’s not like joining the Ivy League, it’s certainly not dropping to the Southland. (In fact, you could probably argue that A&M’s fields of academics are more in line with the SEC, but I’m just going to call this a wash.)

So guaranteed money, cultural fit, and academic similarity are all present. It has to be missing something right? Absolutely, but what it’s missing is what makes A&M fans like it even more. It doesn’t have the University of Texas. Make no mistake about this, A&M fans want to get out of Texas’ shadow, and this might be the best chance A&M will ever have to do that.

But A&M said no. Sorry, let me rephrase that, Texas told us that A&M said no. A&M hasn’t said much of anything. And that’s what is most upsetting. 

Aggies felt on the verge of change. Ready to open the pocketbooks to get the football team ready for the SEC. If R. Bowen Loftin would have called a press conference with Bill Byrne and said “Dear Aggie Family, we’ve got two years before we head to the SEC, but we’re not going in to compete. We want to go in and win the damn thing.” money would have poured in to Aggie Athletics. But A&M said no.

It’s been over 24 hours now since the biggest disappointment in Aggieland I’ve ever witnessed, and other than a facebook post and a letter from the president we haven’t heard a word from Texas A&M. Even Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, who by all accounts are livid at the way this new conference is set up, have had press conferences. Their presidents and athletic directors have gotten up and faced the media. But not A&M.

If this ten team Big 12 is what’s best for A&M, Aggies deserve to know why. They deserve to ask the questions, and the decision makers owe it to them to answer them. If the Texas Legislature put pressure on A&M to stay in Texas, the Aggies deserve to know who it was. All they know right now is that their school has decided to stay in a conference that they don’t like to begin with, and that they had a chance to get out of. The money put up as the front to this reason isn’t guaranteed, it’s been projected by analysts. And the conference loyalty being spread around by President Loftin is not shared by most Aggies. So again, why?

A&M is built on traditions, all of which encourage involvement. The most famous involved E. King Gill coming out of the stands in 1922 to stand on the side lines in support of his team. Since then, Texas A&M has proudly proclaimed itself as “The Home of the 12th Man.” But so far involvement has been non-existent. And if it is a home, then the Aggie faithful are being treated like children. Everyone should be quiet and don’t ask why, this is best for you because “they said so.”

This is unacceptable. Now again, maybe the Aggies are better off in this new Big 12. Or maybe they were forced into it by the Texas legislature. No matter what the reason though, everyone deserves to know why. So let’s hear it.

Until then, everyone will assume that their administration has betrayed them. That those in charge of making the decisions have lost touch with their fan base, and they should all be replaced with a new group that understands Texas A&M.

The worst part of all of this? Maybe they’re right.