August 15, 2011

Randy Riggs

The House of Representative’s Committee on Higher Education has postponed its meeting scheduled for tomorrow on the potential move of Texas A&M from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference.

Committee chairman Dan Branch said in a statement that since the SEC’s presidents and chancellors have “at least for the time being, reaffirmed their satisfaction” with the SEC’s current 12-team alignment after a teleconference on Sunday, his committee will hold off meeting.

“While events may continue to evolve in the coming weeks, at this time there is no immediate need to evaluate the merits of an athletic conference reconfiguration involving Texas A&M University and, potentially, other Texas public universities,” Branch said. “If the current situation changes, our Committee is prepared to convene.”

The committee had invited testimony from Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, SEC commissioner Mike Slive, A&M regents chairman Richard A. Box and A&M president R. Bowen Loftin.

August 15, 2011

Ghostofbigroy

Blog

Only a day before the Texas House Committee on Higher Education planned on holding a hearing to question Texas A&M officials about the school's potential move to the SEC, committee chair Dan Branch announced that the hearing has been postponed but not re-scheduled.

Branch released this statement about the postponement:

Yesterday, Dr. Bernie Machen, on behalf of the Southeastern Conference Presidents and Chancellors, stated that the member institutions have, at least for the time being, reaffirmed their satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment.

While events may continue to evolve in the coming weeks, at this time, there is no immediate need to evaluate the merits of an athletic conference reconfiguration involving Texas A&M University and, potentially, other Texas public universities. If the current situation changes, our Committee is prepared to convene.

The decision suggests that the timetable for Texas A&M officially leaving the Big 12 conference and receiving an invitation to the SEC has been pushed back after the Sunday decision by SEC presidents not to move forward with expansion plans at this time.

August 15, 2011

Associated Press, The Washington Post

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A Texas lawmaker has indefinitely postponed a Tuesday hearing on Texas A&M potentially leaving the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.

The announcement came on Monday while the Texas A&M Board of Regents was meeting behind closed doors to discuss conference alignment.

The chairman of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education, state Rep. Dan Branch, says “there is no immediate need to evaluate the merits of an athletic conference reconfiguration involving Texas A&M” and other Texas schools.

The move comes one day after the SEC reaffirmed its 12-school alignment amid reports that the Aggies were leaving.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

August 15, 2011

Tom Turbiville

While yesterday’s announced decision by the Southeastern Conference that it’s members decided not to extend an invitation to any school to join the conference may seem like a set back to plans for the Aggies to jump to the SEC, it actually amounted to only a protective legal move, according to a report from Brent Zwerneman of the San Antonio Express-News.

Zwerneman reported late yesterday that his A&M sources say that “plans are moving forward for the Aggies to join the SEC” although when the decision will become officially announced is not clear.

The story says that the SEC’s non-invitation yesterday and statement that the SEC was satisfied with its current 12-member alignment was only to clearly establish that it wasn’t the SEC that was contacting A&M, but rather that A&M would be contacting the SEC, asking to join… Thus avoiding any potential lawsuits from the Big 12 and anyone else.

In other words, it seems that this deal is still very much in the works and that according to reports and an A&M statement, Monday’s 3 pm teleconference by the A&M Board of Regents will be for the purpose of giving A&M President R. Bowen Loftin the authority to act on behalf of A&M in regard to conference alignment.

August 14, 2011

Kurt Voigt

The Southeastern Conference is staying just as it is - for now.

University of Florida President Bernie Machen, the chairman of the league's presidents and chancellors committee, said the group met Sunday and "reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment."

Machen said no action was taken regarding Texas A&M or any other schools. He did not, however, close the door on change.

"We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league," Machen said in a statement. "We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion."

The Aggies reportedly are looking to leave the Big 12. The Texas A&M System board of regents is to meet Monday, and among the items on the agenda is conference alignment.

August 13, 2011

The Associated Press, CBS DFW

DALLAS (AP) –  A Texas legislator doesn’t believe Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference before a hearing in front of his committee Tuesday.

State Rep. Dan Branch, the chairman of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education, called a hearing before his committee for Tuesday with Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials. Texas A&M soon moved up a meeting of the board of regents from Aug. 22 to Monday that includes an agenda item about conference realignment.

But Branch says A&M officials told him that moving the meeting wasn’t “an attempt to pre-empt legislators questions and that this will take perhaps a week to two weeks to work out anyway, if a bid is extended.”

He added that his understanding that the item on the agenda is simply to “authorize the president to enter into negotiations with the SEC if a bid is extended.”

August 13, 2011

The Associated Press, ABC 13 Houston

A Texas legislator doesn't believe Texas A&M will leave the Big 12 to join the Southeastern Conference before a hearing in front of his committee Tuesday.

State Rep. Dan Branch, the chairman of the Texas House Committee on Higher Education, called a hearing before his committee for Tuesday with Big 12, SEC and Texas A&M officials. Texas A&M soon moved up a meeting of the board of regents from Aug. 22 to Monday that includes an agenda item about conference realignment.

He said it would be "inappropriate" for Texas A&M to switch conferences before the hearing.

"I'm told by A&M officials that it is not an attempt to pre-empt legislators questions and that this will take perhaps a week to two weeks to work out anyway, if a bid is extended," Branch said.

August 13, 2011

Ralph K.M. Haurwitz

The chairman of the House Higher Education Committee said today that it would be “inappropriate, highly inappropriate” for Texas A&M University to shift its athletic programs to the Southeastern Conference before giving legislators a chance to ask questions.

But Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who is also a top lieutenant to House Speaker Joe Straus, told the American-Statesman that he didn’t think that would happen.

“It’s my understanding, based upon conversations with A&M officials, that the A&M Board of Regents is meeting to consider an agenda item to authorize the president to enter into negotiations with the SEC, assuming the SEC extends an offer to A&M to join the conference,” Branch said.

“It is not my understanding that they are meeting to complete or accept an offer to the SEC if one’s extended. To finalize such an action before giving legislators a chance to ask some questions would be inappropriate, highly inappropriate.”

August 13, 2011

Reeve Hamilton

Throughout the month of August, The Texas Tribune is featuring 31 ways Texans' lives will change come Sept. 1, the date most bills passed by the Legislature — including the dramatically reduced budget — take effect. Check out our story calendar here. 

Day 13: A law authored by House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch, R-Dallas, that aims to bring down the costs of textbooks at Texas colleges and universities takes effect.

In February, Texas State University freshman Caitlin Clark wrote a piece for The University Star about a bill authored by state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. "If the Legislature is doing anything right this session, this is it," Clark wrote. "I hope they pass this bill for the sake of my (parents') wallet and the wallets of other Texas college students."

She got her wish. Sponsored in the upper chamber by Senate Higher Education Chairwoman Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, House Bill 33 passed, was signed by Gov. Rick Perry, and will technically take effect on Sept. 1.

It's no surprise that the bill might be a hit with the students. By codifying new federal rules, it puts into place a number of measures aimed at bringing down the cost of college textbooks.

August 14, 2011

Jimmy Burch

Although momentum continues to build for Texas A&M's apparent move to the Southeastern Conference, some potential speed bumps surfaced Saturday that may prevent the Aggies from making a formal declaration at Monday's regents meeting.

An agenda item for the meeting includes authorizing the school president to "take all actions relating to Texas A&M University's athletic conference alignment." But Dan Branch, chairman of Texas' House Committee on Higher Education, said Saturday he has been told by A&M officials that it "may take up to two weeks" before closure can be achieved on finalizing a move to the SEC.

Such a move would require an invitation from SEC presidents, who will meet today in an emergency session to discuss league expansion. A New York Times report, however, citing an unnamed, high-ranking conference administrator with first-hand knowledge about the meeting, said a move by Texas A&M to the SEC has a "30 to 40 percent" chance of being voted down.

At issue, said the SEC official, is the question of what to do with a 14th school to accompany A&M into the league, which currently includes 12 members.

"We realize if we do this we have to have the 14th," the SEC official told the Times. "No name has been thrown out. This thing is much slower out of the chute than the media and the blogs have made it."