Sunday I reviewed the latest expansion rumblings and detailed how potential moves by the Pac 10 and Big Ten could affect Virginia Tech. One of the topics I discussed was the possibility of Virginia Tech winding up in the SEC. I dismissed the notion entirely and still do mostly.
However, as commenter Your Father suggested, it does look like I've undersold Virginia Tech's value to God's Conference. We do bring in a share of the Washington, DC, market thanks in part to the new radio deal by ISP and because of how many alumni are in the area.
Several comments made in recent days have indicated the Hokies could be a distinct possibility if the SEC expanded to 16 teams. Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated suggested Monday in one of his 16 expansion scenarios that the SEC could invite Miami, Florida State, Clemson and Virginia Tech.
But the quote that really caught my eye came from Chris Low, ESPN's SEC blogger. Low had this to report from the SEC meetings last week:
Two of the possibilities that popped up the most during casual conversation with coaches, athletic directors and other league officials were Texas and Virginia Tech. Both are tailor-made for the SEC in football, and it would be two brand new markets you'd be adding to the league.
Just to hear people in the SEC are mentioning Virginia Tech is eye-opening to me. And the decision makers aren't the only one's receptive to the idea of Virginia Tech in the league. Fans, including SB Nation's Alabama and Georgia bloggers, mention the Hokies when reviewing the conference's expansion options.
While Low does call Virginia Tech tailor-made for the SEC, he also brings up the reason I still don't the Hokies will wind up in the conference, Texas. I personally don't think the SEC will expand unless Texas is included. And if the Longhorns are forced to turn down the Pac 10 because of those meddling Bears, the SEC would be forced to take Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Baylor in order to get the Longhorns, which would put them at 16. At minimum it would require them to take Texas A&M and either stay at 14 or take only two ACC teams to get to 16.
So while the Hokies now appear to be a possibility if the SEC decides to expand to 16 and take four teams from the ACC, that scenario still remains very unlikely. I still don't see Tech being a part of the SEC when these wheels stop turning.
Of course, the way things are going all of this will change by morning. I'm really just ready for one of these conferences to do SOMETHING so we at least have something tangible to go off of instead of rumor and innuendo.