Enough with the academic superiority crap

In an effort to legitimize its money-grab that almost broke apart the Big 12, Texas supporters continue to say the school would never consider joining the SEC because the league is not strong enough academically.

Once again, the Horns' point of view again reminds us that just because you're rich doesn't make you smart.

UT is an excellent public university, particularly since it floats on a nonstop gusher of oil money that gives it one of the largest endowments in the country, billions of dollars to support research and attract the best in students and faculty.

So, of course, UT's motives in its manipulation of at least three conferences was all about protecting academics. Really?

UT has already shown itself quite willing to compromise its academic standards when it pushed through a rule to allow partial academic qualifiers to play in the Big 12. The renegade SEC doesn't grant academic eligibility to partial qualifiers.

Had Texas jumped to the Pac-12, I'm sure its sports teams would have been cramming away for that next exam during the puddle-jumps to Pullman and Eugene. Not that the academic performance of UT athletes is all that scintillating.

In fact, check out this recent column by Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News. It shows that at on at least one NCAA academic gauge, the SEC kicks Big 12 -- and Bevo -- butt, just as it did in the last two BCS championship games. Read here.

UT is an excellent university, but school is out. Its recent machinations were all about money and power. The rest of the college footbal world, not nearly as dumb as Texas likes to think, can see that.

mg

Expansion winners and losers and the SEC in between

Jess Nicholas of Tidefans.com assesses what the heck just happened with the Big 12, Big 10 and the other conference land grabs.

His take: Texas somehow got stronger. Texas A&M and Oklahoma will rue the day. And the SEC lost ground to a couple of its rivals.

Read more here.

MG

You know your alma mater isn't a marquee program when ...

... it doesn't rate its own line of Mr. Potato Heads.

Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky (basketball only), LSU, Ole Miss and Tennessee made the cut.

Mississippi State, South Carolina and Vanderbilt did not.

Order yours here.

-- R. Trentham Roberts