COLLEGE STATION — The Aggie War Hymn is nearly a century old, but the lyrics “Goodbye to Texas University, so long to the orange and the white” today resonate more timely than ever.

Texas A&M intends to bolt the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference, multiple insiders said Friday, in abruptly ending its nearly century-old league affiliation with rival Texas, and 15-year union with the Big 12, which includes longtime in-state rivals Baylor and Texas Tech. A&M has called for a telephonic regents meeting for 3 p.m. Monday to discuss “conference alignment.”

Agenda item 15 reads in part, “Authorization for the President to Take All Actions Relating to Texas A&M University’s Athletic Conference Alignment.” An A&M official said Friday night that the Aggies hope to begin play in the SEC in 2012, but it’s too early in the complex process to determine if that will happen.

A&M pushed up its regularly scheduled regents meeting from Aug. 22 apparently to stay in front of a hastily called Tuesday hearing by the Texas House Committee on Higher Education on potential league realignment. SEC school leaders also intend to meet this weekend to essentially rubber stamp A&M’s admittance, according to a Big 12 school official.

Earlier Friday, an A&M official said Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe had told A&M president R. Bowen Loftin that the Big 12 would survive without the Aggies and that UT holds the key to the long-term future of the Big 12. The A&M official added that the Big 12 believes Houston would be a viable candidate to replace the Aggies.

Beebe couldn’t be reached Friday, but Big 12 spokesman Bob Burda dubbed the A&M official’s claim “patently untrue information from an unnamed source.” Late Friday, the A&M official stood by his claim.

A&M athletic director Bill Byrne is overseas with the Aggies men’s basketball team and couldn’t be reached for comment. Meanwhile over in Austin, UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds said in a statement, “At this point we do not know if Texas A&M is leaving the Big 12. All we know is what we read and hear in the media. We are actively looking at every possible option we have, and have been talking to other Big 12 schools.

“We are strong supporters and members of the Big 12. We’d be disappointed if Texas A&M leaves, but if they do, we wish them well.”

Karen Warren/Chronicle

An A&M official said Friday the Aggies hope to continue playing UT on Thanksgiving in nonconference action, but whether that rivalry continues is to be determined.

Network concerns

The Big 12 barely survived in June 2010, when Nebraska and Colorado announced their intentions to split the league for the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively. A promise then by Beebe for more money for the remaining members kept the league intact with 10 members, with the new era starting this fall.

Meanwhile, ESPN has paid UT $300 million for the groundbreaking Longhorn Network, set to start on Aug. 26. After ESPN announced the LHN’s intent to show high school games and at least one Big 12 football game, Loftin on July 21 described the Big 12 as suddenly enveloped in “uncertainty” based on the network’s intentions.

Since then, wheels have been in motion for the Aggies to join the SEC, and the Big 12’s announcement on Aug. 1 that a one-year moratorium had been placed on the Longhorn Network showing high school games didn’t slow down A&M. Neither did the NCAA’s ruling this week that branded networks can’t air high school games. Privately, A&M’s brass has said a potential move to the powerhouse SEC is more about “security and stability” in the new league as opposed to any knee-jerk reaction to the Longhorn Network — and that the LHN simply got the ball rolling (again) for a shift to the SEC.

The Aggies competed in the now-defunct Southwest Conference from 1915-1995 and have been members of the Big 12 since. A&M football, coming off a 9-4 season and ranked ninth in the preseason coaches poll, hasn’t defeated an SEC team in its past six tries, including last year against Arkansas in nonconference action and against LSU in the Cotton Bowl.

‘Full speed ahead’

The SEC has won the last five football national titles, and Loftin recently said he understands why A&M fans would want to compete in arguably the nation’s top football conference. A&M football coach Mike Sherman said this week he’s for any league his bosses decide to compete in.

“Whatever direction they tell us we’re going,” Sherman said, “we’re going full speed ahead.”

Staff writer Mike Finger contributed to this report.

brent.zwerneman@chron.com