A couple of days ago, ESPN.com reported that an official at Missouri said they are hopeful they receive an invite from the SEC. The official, who remained unnamed, said the school’s first choice was the Big Ten, but that conference was no longer interested, so they (Missouri) wanted the SEC, because “that’s what’s left.” Not the type of quote you want lingering around when you are trying to woo a conference for an invite. For the time being, there is interest, but not enough right now from the SEC.
According to an article from Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News, it appears that the majority of athletic directors and chancellors favor having Missouri apart of the SEC, but not a majority if they were to vote on extending an invite.
Quoting the article, one of the hang ups appears to be Alabama. “One source said there’s a group of presidents that wants to sit tight, believing the SEC can do better than Missouri and that No. 14 should come from the East. According to both sources, Alabama wants to look East and not risk losing its annual game against Tennessee, while Auburn favors adding Missouri and moving to the Eastern Division.”
The positives that work in Missouri’s favor is they would balance out the conference with 14 teams and get the SEC into the Kansas City and St. Louis markets. Solomon even mentions the “that’s what’s left” comment.
I thought Missouri jumped the gun and got all giddy when reports first surfaced that Mizzou was going to the Big Ten, only to have the Huskers (like they’ve done so many times on the football field) stomp their dreams. Now, I get the gut feeling the SEC is going pass on Mizzou forcing Chancellor Brady Deaton and the administration to go back to the Big 12 with their collective Tiger tails between their legs.
