After the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators met to make their final decision, they transferred any and all power to make the call for conference affiliation for the Tigers over to Chancellor Brady Deaton. Deaton’s call in the end was what was oft-rumored: the Tigers would be the 14th member in the SEC. Now that the announcement is made official, Deaton’s own words on the topic aren’t surprising.
“The Southeastern Conference is a highly successful, stable, premier athletic conference that offers exciting opportunities for the University of Missouri,” said Chancellor Brady J. Deaton. “In joining the SEC, MU partners with universities distinguished for their academic programs and their emphasis on student success. The SEC will provide our student-athletes with top flight competition and unparalleled visibility. We came to this decision after careful consideration of the long term best interests of our university. We believe the Southeastern Conference is an outstanding home for the Mizzou Tigers, and we take great pride in our association with this distinguished league.”
That word “stable” from the beginning of his statement could be seen as a slam against the Big 12’s inability to keep up with the Conference Joneses, so to speak, these last couple of years. The ACC, SEC, Big 10 and Pac-12 have all shifted gears and bulked up a bit. The Big 12, for at least a few days there, seemed as if it might all fall apart. Thus, it’s not surprising that stable was a word of choice in the parting words by Deaton.