re: OU received invite in 2010 but did not think A&M was a good partner

All of these schools could have waltzed into the SEC just as they would have waltzed into the Pac 10 (or even the Big Ten) if they all agreed thats what should happen as a package.

In 2010, the important factor was that Texas did not want to join the SEC. They have really only been dragged kicking and screaming into the idea now because of the continued dominance of the conference over the past decade.

Texas believed that there was more prestige in being a member of the Pac 10 or Big Ten and therefore, the deal to join the Pac 10 was the package they eventually tried to work out with that conference, which later fell apart, partially because I think certain parties (like A&M, the Pac 12 itself, and even Colorado) had a slightly different vision than Texas did at that time. Oklahoma's preference was that they should continue a partnership with Texas, which had basically been a pretty large boon to them, and doubly so since the creation of the Big 12.