The SEC Expansion rumors seem to be coming closer to fruition following a new development on Monday afternoon. The newest development being, by the way, that Texas A&M received a letter allowing them to leave the Big 12 without the school being sued.
Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News has been made privy to the information included in said letter and, as the SEC had hoped, it includes details regarding any possible legal hurdles being cleared. The letter "outlines the withdrawal procedures according to the financial provisions of the Big 12 bylaws and mutual waivers of legal claims."
One hang up in the letter from the Big 12, though, included a mention of the league's bylaws "which would involve forfeiting 90 percent of conference revenue for 2010-11 and '11-12, an amount that could reach $28 million." Carlton wrote that he expects that fee could be negotiated down to a more amenable amount, however.
Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin issued the following statement regarding the letter.
"I certainly appreciate the discussion among the Big 12 presidents/chancellors and the expression of their desire for Texas a&M to remain in the conference," Loftin said in a statement. "We all agree that Texas A&M is an extremely valuable institution; thus, it is incumbent upon me, as the president of the university, to ensure that we are in a position to enhance our national visibility and future financial opportunity. While this is a complex and long-term decision, it is not our intent to prolong our conference exploration for an extended period of time."
The way Loftin makes it sound, this move could be done sooner rather than later.