As reports surfaced Tuesday that West Virginia has agreed to join the Big 12, many expect Missouri to leave the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference.
LSU Chancellor Michael Martin said Tuesday he has not heard what Missouri intends to do. He said the SEC will wait for Missouri to officially end its relationship with the Big 12 before advancing in realignment talks.
“As we have always said in the SEC, we are willing to have constructional conversations with anyone who has completed, independent of our involvement, their divorce with their current relationship,” Martin said. “We’re not going to be in the middle of a relationship with the Big 12 and Missouri.”
Martin said the SEC followed the same process when considering the addition of Texas A&M. The Aggies’ entry to the SEC leaves the conference with 13 teams, and Martin admitted the conference will likely add a 14th team sooner rather than later.
“We know that we have to be an even-numbered league at some point,” Martin said. “We know we can’t wait a long time for 14. The best choices we have are those who have made a decision to leave where they are, as opposed to trying to extract one from another league. That’s not going to be the SEC’s brand.”
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