Texas chose SEC over Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12, could've chosen any conference

Texas could've gone to the Big Ten, ACC, or the now-defunct Pac-12 when it plotted its move away from the Big 12 in 2021, but as Paul Finebaum points out, the Longhorns let football lead the way and chose the SEC for the financial potential.

"Texas could’ve gone to the Big Ten, ACC, all this nonsense that we heard," Finebaum said (h/t FanSided). "The SEC did nothing but answer the same phone call that everybody else got. They were on the prowl to leave and were going to go somewhere.”

Finebaum relayed that UT was actually interested in the Pac-12 to be more aligned academically, but as the college football world would soon find out, the west coast-based conference wasn't long for this world.

"Texas in 2010 was heading to the Pac-12, they had already commandeered a bunch of schools because they wanted to be more in line with the Pac-12 academics, the Stanfords, the Cals, which are now in the ACC," Finebaum prefaced before saying, "They finally realized that we need to do something."

Texas choosing SEC could lead to Texas A&M bolting for Big Ten

Texas ending up in the SEC is bad news for Texas A&M, which is no longer the flagship program in the conference and figures to suffer on the recruiting trail because of it. Longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim reports that Texas A&M could be B1G-bound soon enough.

"Certainly not expecting it soon, but the TAMU to the B1G rumor does have legs," Swaim prefaced before saying, "More money, no Longhorns and Aggies being told if they make this move will have veto power if Texas tries to move again."

A school leaving the SEC seems unfathomable due to the payouts, but Texas A&M's boosters have deep enough pockets to survive it; hence why they are comfortable paying Jimbo Fisher $75 million not to be the Aggies' head coach.

Given TAMU's AAU accreditation, a move to the Big Ten down the road is well within the realm of possibility.