The 100-Year Decision: Texas A&M and the SEC

by R. Bowen Loftin

On June 15, 2009, Texas A&M University made the seemingly insignificant announcement that R. Bowen Loftin, a bespectacled vice president with several physics degrees, had been promoted to serve as interim president of the College Station campus. No one could have predicted at the time that the bowtie-adorned, selfproclaimed technology and computer “geek” would emerge from obscurity to lead A&M on one of the most significant and landscapealtering journeys in the history of the high-stakes world of college athletic conferences. The 100-Year Decision: Texas A&M and the SEC is Loftin’s compelling, first-person account of the events that led to A&M’s historic exit from the Big 12 Conference and its entry into the prestigious SEC. In this candid memoir, readers witness what happened in the closed-door meetings that fed this Texas-sized controversy, with all the deception, manipulation, political pressure, and deal-making anyone could expect.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2014

Reviews

[Bryson A. Sutterfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight from the horses mouth. If this doesn't give great insight into the political backrooms of Texas politics and it's handling of higher education programs, nothing will. The medium is football, but the story is about ego and the struggle for self-determination.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best decision TAMU ever made!

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good thorough look at all the events that led to A&M moving to the SEC with some neat insider information and insight into what was going on behind the scenes.