Texas A&M Planning to Join SEC, Wooing Oklahoma; Kansas to Get Pac-10 Invite?

Chip Brown and Orangebloods continue to provide us with the latest high school gossip on who-wants-to-date-who in college sports. Now it's Texas A&M's time to play Serena van der Woodsen.

Texas A&M regents have the votes to join the SEC and could announce that move as early as next week, sources tell Orangebloods.com

For those who are lazy and don't want to read the whole article, here are the bullet points.

• Texas A&M would be considered the top academic institution in the SEC rather than having to ride Texas's coattails. Basically, they'd rather be the biggest nerd in their conference as opposed to joining the nerdiest conference and being one in the crowd (EDIT: by academic institution, I meant the best research school in the SEC).
  
• The wooing campaign has begun for Oklahoma to the SEC. Plenty of Sooners prefer the SEC to the Pac-10. However, their fate is probably tied in with Texas.
• It would be Kansas, not Utah, that would get the next Pac-10 invite if the Aggie-SEC marriage goes through.
• Also, Oklahoma State is firmly against letting their big brother Sooners go and could get help from the legislature in keeping a split from happening. They'll probably end up whereever Oklahoma ends up.
  
• Texas Tech and Oklahoma State remain firm in their commitment to the Pac-10, but they're pawns in this game. If Texas and Oklahoma make a surprising about-face and leave for the SEC, then it's hard to say whether the invitations will stay open or Commissioner Scott will look elsewhere.
• Now, the only danger is if Oklahoma somehow sways Texas and Oklahoma State to join the SEC with them, because Oklahoma and Texas can't leave each other--the hate is too strong (like an aging couple who cheat on each other maliciously but stay in the marriage anyway). 
• Texas seems committed to the Pac-10 though--the SEC does not fit them culturally or academically, and president Bill Powers is B.A. Chemistry, Cal '67. And unlike Oklahoma, they're clearly willing to firmly divorce A&M. No more games, no more rivalry, no more nothing. They'll find a way to keep the Red River Shootout going, but the Aggies are dead to them.
  

That is your latest gossip rag of who wants to date who in college sports. If you Cal fans thought the Pac-16 was too good to be true, well, sometimes the most ambitious marriages fall apart at the last second.