SEC accepts Texas A&M; Baylor temporarily stands in way
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A threat of legal action by Baylor has, at least temporarily, held up Texas A&M's move to the SEC. The SEC's presidents voted unanimously Tuesday night to extend an invitation to Texas A&M to become the league's 13th member, but that invitation is contingent upon all of Texas A&M's Big 12 counterparts waiving their right to a legal challenge.
A source said Baylor had broken ranks with the remaining Big 12 members, which decided last week to waive their right to legally challenge a move by Texas A&M. In a statement, Florida president Bernie Machen, the chair of the SEC's presidents group, said the SEC would not accept Texas A&M as a member until the potential legal roadblocks were cleared.
"We were notified yesterday afternoon that at least one Big 12 institution had withdrawn its previous consent and was considering legal action," Machen said in the statement. "The SEC has stated that to consider an institution for membership, there must be no contractual hindrances to its departure. The SEC voted unanimously to accept Texas A&M University as a member upon receiving acceptable reconfirmation that the Big 12 and its members have reaffirmed the letter dated September 2, 2011."
BAYLOR: Don't mess with Texas football
The SEC also released the aforementioned letter, which was sent by Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe to SEC commissioner Mike Slive. "We both agreed," Beebe wrote, "it is in the best interests of each of our conferences and our member institutions of higher education to waive any and all legal actions by either conference and its members resulting from admission of Texas A&M into the SEC, as long as such admission is confirmed publicly by September 8, 2011."
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