BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Texas A&M will join the Southeastern Conference starting with the 2012-13 season, SEC officials announced Sunday.
The announcement put an end to speculation that fellow Big 12 Conference member Baylor would try to block the move of its rival to the SEC.
Texas A&M had announced its intention to move Aug. 31.
"The Southeastern Conference presidents and chancellors are pleased to welcome Texas A&M University to the SEC family," SEC presidents and chancellors Chairman Bernie Machen said in a statement.
"The addition of Texas A&M University as the SEC's 13th member gives our league a prestigious academic institution with a strong athletic tradition and a culture similar to our current institutions."
With the move, Texas A&M became the third school to bolt from the Big 12 in just over a year, following Nebraska and Colorado.
"The Southeastern Conference provides Texas A&M the national visibility that our great university and our student-athletes deserve," Texas A&M University President R. Bowen Loftin said. "We are excited to begin competition in the nation's premier athletic conference."
