Editor's note: This piece is the second of a four-part series examining the state of the Big 12.

Series overview

Part 1: The Big 12 is trying to change persistent attitudes dating to a couple of near-death experiences. Despite rosy revenue projections, two misses in the College Football Playoff and a few self-inflicted wounds represent challenges.

Part 2: How has Texas A&M's secession from the Big 12 affected the conference? Even though the Aggies haven't had much success in the SEC, the impact on the Big 12's stronghold on the Lone Star State is hard to ignore.

Part 3: The football programs at Texas and Oklahoma are under new management. And the success of first-year coaches Tom Herman and Lincoln Riley will impact the entire conference.

Part 4: TV revenue has driven conference membership, coaches salary and next-generation facilities. But how will changes in the business model and tech innovations affect the Big 12 and other conferences?

The SEC breaks into Texas

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) motors down the sidelines during fourth quarter play in the 77th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Oklahoma University Sooners at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington on Friday, January 4, 2013. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

One photo perfectly summarized how SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey felt about Texas A&M's addition to the conference.

A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is sprinting down the sideline in the 2013 Cotton Bowl. The maroon conference logo sticks out against the backdrop of the Heisman Trophy winner's white uniform. Behind him are two Oklahoma football players, representatives from the Big 12 unable to keep up with the electrifying quarterback.

"Of any moment that cemented in my mind that we all made the right decision, it was that moment," Sankey said at SEC spring meetings in June.

It's been five years since A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC, a span following decades of being in the same conference as other Texas schools.

The move increased A&M's visibility across the nation, elevated its status among peers and paved the way for the SEC to plant its flag in what's traditionally been Big 12 territory.

"With the addition of A&M into the conference, I think it really opened the door for the whole SEC to come in here," Florida coach Jim McElwain told The News in June during a visit to Dallas.

From 1915 until 1995, Texas' top schools played in the Southwest Conference. Once that folded, the state's major programs were in the Big 12. When A&M switched leagues after 2011, the SEC expanded into a state with two of the biggest metropolitan areas in the country, Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth.

And so far, the SEC seems to be making a dent in a couple of big categories.

Before A&M joined the SEC, LSU was the conference's closest school to Houston, roughly four hours away. A&M is less than two hours away. In 2015, according to figures from Houston's KRIV-TV, six of the Houston area's 10 most-watched college football games were SEC contests. Two featured Big 12 teams.

The SEC has also made significant progress in recruiting Texas. In 2012, one player in the top 25 signed with an SEC program outside of College Station. In the last four years, the SEC has hauled in more of the state's top-10 recruits than the Big 12.

Recruiting battles: a national affair

Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Christian Kirk (3) is pictured during the UCLA Bruins vs. the Texas A&M Aggies NCAA football game at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas on Saturday, September 3, 2016. (Louis DeLuca/The Dallas Morning News) (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

By the time signing day rolled around in 2015, Christian Kirk was one of the nation's top recruits. A&M, despite a lackluster eight-win season, was in the mix for the five-star receiver from Scottsdale, Ariz., along with Auburn, Ohio State, UCLA and Arizona State.

Kirk has become one of the nation's best receivers after two years with the Aggies. Through two seasons, Kirk has 163 receptions for 1,937 yards and 16 touchdowns, which makes him one of the top eligible receivers for the 2018 NFL draft.

Jeff Banks, A&M's special teams coach and the nation's best recruiter, according to 247Sports, said Kirk's signing was one of a couple that changed how outsiders and other top recruits saw the Aggies.

In Banks' mind, it was something that couldn't have happened if A&M was in the Big 12.

"What you're seeing is that in order to beat the national powers, you're going to have to have a national conference," Banks said. "You're not going to beat those guys if you're in the Big 12 right now. Maybe, if you're winning Big 12 championship after Big 12 championship."

Last season's Big 12 champs, Oklahoma, signed the nation's eighth-best class in February, per 247Sports. But it was the only Big 12 school with a top-25 class.

Thinking nationally

The conferences where the state's top 10 recruits went in the last five year (NP: non-power five conference):

Rankings courtesy of 247sports composite rankings

The bump A&M received by joining the SEC is similar to the one TCU received when it jumped from the Mountain West to the Big 12 after the Aggies left.

"Being in the Big 12 will help us recruiting-wise," TCU coach Gary Patterson said at Big 12 media days in 2012. "It's already doing that. We've had kids that we've recruited but we couldn't get them on campus now come on campus."

Despite A&M's inability to finish near the top of the SEC West standings the last four seasons, the Aggies have still recruited well. In an interview in June with an Arizona radio station, Kirk said he didn't regret the decision to play for the Aggies in the SEC.

"In playing in the SEC, it's one of the biggest platforms in college football," Kirk told KQFN-AM. "You just feel blessed running out to 100,000 [fans] every Saturday, going to Baton Rouge, going to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Alabama, going to Jordan-Hare in Auburn."

Who's watching?

Texas A&M Aggies running back Tra Carson (5) leaps over South Carolina Gamecocks safety D.J. Smith (24) for a first down during the second half of play at Kyle Field in College Station, on Saturday, October 31, 2015. Texas A&M Aggies defeated South Carolina Gamecocks 35-28. (Vernon Bryant/The Dallas Morning News) (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

In 2014, the Aggies experienced another first while in the SEC.

A&M opened the season against No. 9 South Carolina, the first football game televised on the new SEC Network. The cable channel affiliated with ESPN, was announced a few months after A&M's first season in the SEC in 2012.

When A&M joined Missouri as the SEC's new members five years ago, the Aggies also brought a couple of important TV markets. Dallas and Houston are ranked in the top 10 in that category. Before 2012, the only SEC market in the top 10 was Atlanta.

To replace A&M and Missouri, the Big 12 responded by adding TCU -- a school that already existed within the conference footprint -- and West Virginia -- a school without a major TV market.

Last year, Oklahoma president David Boren told reporters at Big 12 media days that if the conference expands, it will look at the size of a school's media footprint.

"We talk about strong partners," Boren said. "We're not talking about just athletic partners, which of course that's very important, [but] what is the fan base? What is the TV following, the broadcast following of these teams?"

Eyes on you

Six of the 10 most-watched games in the Houston market during the 2015 season were SEC contests, while just two involved Big 12 teams.

*TV ratings courtesy KRIV-TV in Houston

Former A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said the Texas media markets ended up being an important part of A&M's conference realignment. And while college football fans in Texas watched some SEC football, the conference's current success wouldn't have been achieved were it not for the Aggies' addition.

"Without the Texas market, that particular activity would have been more difficult, to move toward a network with the kind of lucrative contracts it has," Loftin said.

Arkansas coach Bret Bielema said the network has helped build a brand that keeps growing in Texas.

Schools in bordering states such as Arkansas and LSU have traditionally recruited the state well. But Bielema said the Aggies cracked the door further.

"A&M and what it's done to open up Texas to the SEC, I think every high school coach recognizes that," Bielema said.

Where will A&M, SEC go from here?

A&M and the SEC are still looking to maximize their relationship.

A&M is 15-17 in SEC play since the Aggies' smashing 6-2 debut fueled by Manziel. On the eve of A&M's fifth year in the SEC last season, coach Kevin Sumlin said the team had fared better than many had thought, but there was still room for improvement.

"From where we've come from when what I was tasked to do when I got here, from a .500 program to where we are right now, we have gotten better," Sumlin said last September. "Is it enough? We want to be a championship football team. We want to be able to do that."

While the Aggies fight that battle, the SEC will try to chip away at an area that's predominately been owned by the Big 12. During annual College Football Playoff meetings in Irving this April, Sankey said he'd be open to moving SEC media days to The Star in Frisco, where this year's Big 12 media days are being held.

When South Carolina faced Mississippi State in Dallas this year for an all-SEC affair in the NCAA women's basketball title game, the SEC purchased ad space in the city proclaiming Dallas as "SEC Country."

It might be a while before that actually happens. But if game days at College Station are an indication, it might not take long before the SEC's footprint in Texas keeps expanding.

"When you drive into a football game at Texas A&M, the number of SEC logo flags flying over their parking lots is still rather astounding to me," Sankey said. "Credit to their fan base for the embrace they've shown to the SEC."

Twitter: @Ben_Baby

Who's winning the bowls?

Related Q&A series

Is Oklahoma happy in the Big 12? OU president David Boren talks about the state of the conference

Can the Big 12 succeed without Texas, Oklahoma? Texas Tech president says answer is 'obvious'

'He wanted to punish Texas A&M': Ex-Aggies President R. Bowen Loftin talks bitter aftermath of Big 12 exit

Big 12 board chair Gordon Gee explains how important a College Football Playoff is for conference