A&M’s plans — and UT’s
I spoke with a friend yesterday who is knowledgeable about the situation at Texas A&M, and here is what he had to say.
1. Perry was not involved in the A&M regents’ decision to leave the Big Twelve for the SEC. He was described to me as “not supportive” but neither did he try to stop it.
2. The impetus for A&M to take action was UT’s decision to establish the Longhorn network in partnership with ESPN. “The regents went nuts,” my source told me. They were looking for some way to make a statement. “Look at what they have done for their brand,” my source told me.
3. A&M decided to “look at everything.” They brought in consultants. The move to the SEC was the answer. It would bring national exposure for the next ten to fifteen years. A&M would be on national television almost every week.
4. Kyle Field will be torn down and rebuilt as a modern stadium, with a seating capacity of 90,000-plus. The only part of the current stadium that will be retained is the north end zone.
5. A&M is “very focused on playing Texas.” It is not clear whether Texas feels the same way.
6. UT will go independent. They have little choice in the matter. The Big Twelve does not have attractive options for expansion. No other conference will take UT because its network and its partnership with ESPN gives UT a huge advantage in the size of its athletic budget.
Unless something goes awry, it is just a matter of time until A&M’s move to the SEC becomes official. As an SEC member, A&M will benefit from one of the most lucrative TV contracts in the country. Its days of meagre athletic budgets are over.
Tagged: a&m, Big 12, Longhorn Network, SEC, UT
AreYouKiddingMe says:
I like all Texas schools, so no bias here. But, the problem for A&M is, can they compete week-in and week-out with LSU, Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee, et. al. I don’t think so, and I don’t see recruits flocking to College Station, just to play in a losing SEC program. A&M is ranked pretty high this year, based on potential, something they haven’t proven much in the recent past. Going to the SEC could become like Rice playing Texas, except they would be doing it every week. This could end up being a really bad decision, success-wise, for A&M. But, money talks…
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paulburka Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:08 am
The closest parallel is Arkansas, whose departure for the SEC doomed the Southwest Conference. Arkansas has not won a conference championship in football or basketball since the move. Neither program would be ranked high in the SEC. What Arkansas did get was an enormous infusion of money, much of it from the Waltons. A&M has a decent football program, a solid basketball program, and a solid baseball program, They can compete in the SEC.
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Brooks Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:13 am
Arkansas won the 1994 NCAA Basketball Championship against Duke was runner up in 1995. Please refrain from such ludicrous statements about the Basketball team. We now have Mike Anderson, former asst coach to Nolan Richardson. Basketball team on the rise, football team on the rise since Frank Broyles and Nutt are gone.
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Brooks Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:17 am
Oh, I forgot to mention, Football stadium went from 50K to 75K and am building a new football facility, built a new baseball stadium, built a new indoor track facility, improved the out door track field, improved the soccer field, and enrollment since 1992 went from 13K (14.5K when I went there) is now to 23.5K. All the money is reinvested in the university and athletics. Waltons did donate money to Bud Walton, but everything else went back to the U of A.
Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:53 am
Flash forward a decade from now, and suppose the Aggies are as relevant to the SEC championship year after year in football and basketball as, say, Old Miss is right now? And with no Texas game at the end of the schedule to offer some sort of consolation prize for winning in an otherwise unmemorable season?
How do you think the Aggie alums and the board are going to take that situation? My guess is “not well” and if the pressure is put on to up the competitiveness, you’d probably up the odds of some sort of SMU/USC/Miami-type chicanery in the upcoming years.
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Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:44 am
Flash forward a decade from now, and suppose the longhorns are as relevant to football as Notre Dame has been the last 10-15 years? And with no A&M game at the end of the schedule to offer some sort of SOS boost for an otherwise weak (independent) schedule?
How do you think the longhorn alums and the board are going to take that situation? My guess is “not well” and if the pressure is put on to up the competitiveness, you’d probably up the odds of some sort of SMU/USC/Miami-type chicanery in the upcoming years.
Both schools are taking on risk. Texas is making moves like an independent while residing in a conference. So A&M is moving to a more stable and yes, more difficult conference. But I don’t think the comparison to Arkansas is accurate. When they left the SWC, they left their Texas recruits behind too. A&M won’t be doing that. They won’t waltz in to the SEC and dominate, but they’ll not be Miss St either.
Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Did you even read burka’s post, or were you just not paying attention?
Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Aggies have been a number two for a long time. Why ditch a conference where you beat your traditional rival, UT, 37% of the time for 5-6 teams you will beat 37% of the time? Tradition my butt. Aggies worry a helluva lot more about Texas than Texas does them. Goodbye. Let’s make the Thanksgivng game a marquee and get Notre Dame!
wes Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:40 pm
The Razorbacks won the national championship in basketball in 1994 and in 1995 won the SEC west division championship in football.
The Aggies will be competitive but what they are looking at is more money. Thats the name of the game today, not competition
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paulburka Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 11:44 pm
1994 and 1995 was a long time ago. It has not had a successful athletic program for quite a while. They are middle of the pack in the SEC, and they are located in a state that produces few SEC-quality athletes.
Red says:
Aggies sure love tradition. Tearing down Kyle Field and rebuilding it? Very traditional. Throwing away the Texas game? So traditional. Can’t wait to hear them badmouthing “t.u.” insisting that it always stood for Tennessee.
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Hydrogen Jukebox Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 1:55 pm
I can’t imagine them tearing down Kyle Field. It already has an official capacity of over 80,000 and has hit the 90,000 mark for certain games when they add bleachers in the south endzone. Why would they destroy a landmark that consistently ranks in the top five collegiate football stadiums? If it was for capacity, they can close in the south endzone like they did the north a decade ago.
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JD says:
Paul – what do you think / hear about the legislature (i.e. Baylor & Tech) trying to block this move? Seems to me this casts them into the wilderness so I would expect them to flex whatever political muscle they have to slow it down.
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paulburka Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:09 am
Baylor and Tech will probably be part of a revamped and second-rate Big Twelve Conference.
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Nick Manning Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:35 am
what will happen to OU in the case of UT going independent. will they remain with this second-rate B12 as well?
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Rog says:
A&M moving to SEC buys security. The SEC will be around a long time after the demise of the Big 12. And since A&M is rated number 8 in the pre-season they should be able to compete. Texas and the Longhorn Network are not the only reasons the Big 12 is doomed, but they’re by far the biggest reasons.
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Wally Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:47 am
Number 8 pre-season means nothing. Look how they played, against the 3rd best team in the SEC, last year in the Cotton Bowl. Aggies will have a lot of growing up to do before they can “compete”.
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Rock, the good Ag says:
Man, you have one down decade in football and people… well, people be hating.
Thanks to Bill Byrne, Aggie Athletics has never been better. Future looks bright to this Aggie.
Don’t worry about your little brother anymore Horn Nation. I haven’t seen Aggies this fired up since the 80s.
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marco Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:44 am
Yes, they were fired up in the ’80′s. Those were the years when Jackie Sherrill was head coach and TAMU was cheating. Rebuttal?
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Rock, the good Ag Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:51 am
Don’t hate bruv.
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Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:55 am
To be fair, Jackie did cheat way, way more when he was at Pittsburgh.
Rock, the good Ag Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:57 am
Nice one bruvvah!!
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Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 5:11 pm
What did SI says? A&M was the ninth dirtiest program in NCAA history?
Rock, the good Ag Reply:
September 2nd, 2011 at 11:20 am
For reals bruv, enough with the hate.
Stevie F. says:
The financing of A&M’s move/expansion (as well those of UTA, UTSA, and TxState) will probably come on the back of student fees. The state’s leaders have decreed that schools must limit tuition increases. Is the assumption that students can afford to pay more for athletics?
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Aggressor says:
The expansion of Kyle won’t be on student fees. A&M just sold out the entire season at Kyle for the first time ever and added thousands of new season ticket holders that donate additionally to the ticket price to get their seats. There are also several monster offers for naming rights to the stadium (it will always be Kyle Field but the Stadium itself has no name, Texas went the other direction with Joe Jamail Field at DKR).
There are a LOT of donors at A&M that have been on the sidelines for the last few years as well with mediocre football and the desire to make the SEC move. That is a thing of the past.
BTW, Kyle will be expanded but there are quite a few options being discussed. The key is over the next decade or so it will likely be well over 100k but in the short term the emphasis is going to be on upgrading the premium areas on the Former Student side as well as continued improvement of the player’s facilities.
Too many of you folks also act as though Texas A&M football is only defined by what happened from 2002-2009. If you look at A&M objectively there are only about 10 schools in the country that can match it for resources, it just has been overshadowed for the last few years by the success at Texas many folks have forgotten or simply never paid attention.
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Weary and Wary Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:10 am
Even if you get donors and ticket sales to pick up the costs of construction, upkeep falls on on student and fans. There is no free ride–even in Aggie-land. Maybe fans are happy to pay endlessly more for access to their football team. However, the idea that football will pay the bill for everything is too optimistic for me to buy.
The bottom line is that we’re told that no one can afford more tuition or taxes. Then, college athletics gets a blank check to charge students and fans more. It’s a shell game and it’s sad that A&M is so eager to kick tradition to the curb. This simply demonstrates that pretty much every major school in the state is happy to sell out their student athletes is if helps schools with their self esteem issues. UT did it, so A&M feels compelled to do it.
It’s a pity. I used to respect A&M.
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TobyBelch Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:21 am
Just get another loan.
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Guns Up! Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Naming rights split? Field and stadium are separate entities? Srsly? I’d love to see the microscope used to split that hair.
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Ike's lawyer Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Not a problem. Just drive down Joe Smith Drive to the Bob and Mary Brown Alumni Center, enter through the AT&T Entryway and walk through the Bill and Lila Green Hall till you’re heading down the Sue Jones corridor. When you get to the John Doe Scientific Achievement Room you’ll find the microscope. For a considerable sum it could be the Guns Up! microscope if you like.
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Once again says:
Not sure who Burka talked to, but this entry is flat out wrong. 100% wrong. Someone was clearly messing with him.
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paulburka Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:36 am
I do not reveal sources, but, believe me, this source is very knowledgeable.
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TobyBelch Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 11:55 am
So were the sources talking the New York Times, ESPN, etc.
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Cow Droppings Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 12:58 pm
chip brown this morning said Deloss Dodds has made it clear they won’t go independent under his watch.
longleaf says:
This ain’t over yet. Or maybe I should say “Ewe ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” Ken Starr is gathering DNA evidence from every sheep in Brazos County and comparing them to his samples of Dr. Loftin.
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Bill says:
Good luck, Aggies. I can only hope that Tech will land on its feet somewhere. Wreck ‘em! Baylor concerns me less. They have benefited greatly from membership in the Big XII, but those days are drawing to a close. Maybe they can find a conference where they can actually compete.
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shasta says:
Texas simply cannot survive as an independent. Cross the Sabine River and no one gives a crap about Texas. Only Notre Dame can survive. If Texas does go, what incentive will the BCS have to share the wealth? There is enough griping about ND’s special treatment. Texas simply won’t get the same. It will be on outside looking in.
The only hope that Texas has is that OU doesn’t bolt. If the big whatever holds them both it will survive. Texas has been riding high for a decade, but it wasn’t a national player for about 15 years before that. There were a lot of empty seats when Texas was winning 8 games a year.
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TobyBelch Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:19 am
Notre Dame has been surviving?
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shasta says:
And one other thing. If Texas drops the Aggies, Texas loses and A&M wins. A&M will end playing LSU and that will take about three years to develop the hatred that 100 years of Bevo and the Collie have.
Texas will either have to move OU to that Thanksgiving (and that ain’t happening), let Houston in and play them on Thanksgiving, or end up playing Highland Park. But it will only last as until the next Legislature passes a law requiring them to play.
As for cheating in the 80s, seem to recall everyone but Rice and Arky. were on probation. Don’t get on your high horse about that one ‘Sips.
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Abilene Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 3:19 pm
Too bad they’re all afraid to play TCU.
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TobyBelch says:
“I spoke with a friend yesterday who is knowledgeable about the situation at Texas A&M, and here is what he had to say.”
Most stories and posts that have started this way have been so wrong that it’s no longer funny. And this seems no different.
As to point 3, to get on tv everyweek and get national exposure you have to win, i.e., if they were winning in the Big 12, they’d be on tv every week. As to point 6, the Big 12 can maintain a ten team league by possibly bringing in BYU, and then looking at other options further down the road. Texas doesn’t “have” to go independent.
And as to point 4, they’re gonna finally get rid of the guano?
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duhh.... says:
From a proud Aggie. I can sum up our feelings on this matter quite simply:
Screw texas. We don’t need you.
The not-so-Big 12 will be gone in two years. A&M had the brains to split, and OU will be quickly behind them. No other conference will take you as long as you have your own tv deal. You could attract some WAC, Mountain West or C-USA schools to form a new conference, but it will be very weak because no big-time programs will tolerate the network deal.
You could go independent, but you will not get the same sweetheart deal Notre Dame has.
This is the ultimate example of the arrogance and self-importance of longhorn athletics. They set up a separate TV deal because they wanted to and because they didn’t think anyone else would do anything about it. They overplayed their hand, badly. All for a network that few people want, and even less have access to.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:51 am
No one in the Big 12 gives a crap about the LHN except TAMU. It may show two football games a year at best.
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TobyBelch Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 10:59 am
Indeed ou is steadily moving to the creation of their own network.
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Stevie F. Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Anyone who thinks that A&M will suddenly show up in the SEC and instantly create a dramatic rivalry with LSU or anyone else does not understand how the nation sees A&M. LSU has been doing just fine without A&M and has games that interest them much more.
Eventually, A&M fill find its niche in its new conference. However, the idea that A&M doesn’t benefit from the rivalry with UT is fitting the stereotype of Aggie football fans that make so many other schools root against them.
UT and A&M both need to understand that the sporting world does not revolve around them.
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Jenn Reply:
September 5th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Love it!!! Couldn’t agree more!
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The House is Not a Home says:
Here’s the thing. Both schools will survive, as will Texas Tech. UT, OU, OK State, and Tech will join the PAC – 12 to form the PAC – 16.
No conference is going to turn down UT. They bring too much money to the table, money that A&M wanted a bigger piece of.
Also, I don’t know whether the UT-A&M rivalry will continue, but regardless of which conference OU and Texas are in, that game will always be played. Texas cares more about its rivalry with OU than it does about playing A&M on Thanksgiving, which I think really gets under Aggies skin.
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KO Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 4:41 pm
I hate to admit this, but I can live a full and happy life without the game on turkey day. I’m not so sure it will “get under our skin” quite like you imagine. Lots of things have changed in the past 30 years. We get over it.
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longleaf says:
It’s ESPN who decided the Longhorns were worthy of a network worth $300 million. I don’t think anyone in College Station would have turned down the money. There’s just a lot of hypocrisy involved here, including the fact that UT’s Dodds discussed a network which would have involved the Aggies as well with his counterpart, Byrne, at TAMU. Byrne, by most accounts, wasn’t interested.
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TobyBelch Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 11:00 am
UT also brought up creating a Big 12 network, and aggies also voted against that. They can be po’d if they wish, but they could have had a piece of the pie if they hadn’t been so shortsighted.
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Cow Droppings Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 3:18 pm
I don’t doubt your accuracy, but can you source that?
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Historian says:
Paul, would love to hear how accurate you think this article is from a few years back, written by Mark Wangrin, on the creation of the Big 12 as a political animal.
http://ncaabbs.com/showthread.php?tid=75976&pid=684752
It would seem that the conference was destined to fail from the beginning; and A&M going to the SEC has been a long time in coming. Thanks for your coverage.
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wow says:
Have the Aggies realized that they are not UT’s biggest rival? Our rival is OU… Now that game has been much bigger for tamu than UT…
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albatross44 says:
Poor longhorns! They are going to be left holding the bag and looking for opponents. OU, OSU and TT will be going west and Kansas, KState, Iowa State, Baylor will probably form a NON-BCS conference with UH,SMU,etc. No one will want to play Texas because they are pigs and are now hated by everyone. Their independent school schedule will be second-rate teams who will probably beat them much of the time. Because the LHN will fail that leaves them with poor recruiting possibilities and further decline in the football program. As far as 2012, A&M goes into 2011 ranked below one Big12 teams and two SEC teams, so the competition is going to be the same. However, the word is that many h.s. players both committed and un-committed have contacted A&M about openings for the 2012 class. Personally, if A&M leaving ruins the Texas program then it’s a double win. Maybe they’ll finally get rid of Deloser Dodds who instigated this entire problem with his arrogance and God-complex.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Ha! “Deloser Dodds!” Where did you come up with that? Golden. Did it take you guys longer to come up with that than it it did “T.U.?”
UT still makes more in its worst year than A&M does on its best year.
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Aggressor says:
So if Texas isn’t going to play A&M, when do they change their fight song? How about renaming Bevo? It’s the 3rd longest rivalry in college football, does Texas really want to walk away from it? If nothing else Texas needs it to sell season tickets. The OU game is never at DKR and if you look at the ’12 home schedule for Texas it doesn’t exactly endear excitement with Missouri as the “big” game. They are already desperately trying to unload tickets at half price for Rice and BYU here in Austin whereas A&M is sold out for the entire season.
As to the post about who pays. There is a HUGE difference between fans “paying” and students “paying”. A&M has the largest student section in the country with 30k seat options. They get those tickets at half price, always have, and of course have no donation or other fees associated. Everyone else of course pays more as it should be. Demand is high and growing for Aggie football. There are 360k Aggie alumi out there and growing rapidly with a student population of 50k. It’s supply and demand and people want to go see A&M play football and they want to do it in a great stadium. They are willing to pay for the privilege. Not a single taxpayer dollar goes to Athletics at A&M or any other Texas public school. Where is the problem? Texas and every other major program is doing the same and has been forever.
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Blue Dogs says:
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are likely going to the Pac-12 at this point and I’m hearing Kansas is itching to bolt to the Big East.
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Abilene Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 3:23 pm
All four B12 north teams already have an invite to the Big East. It was extended last summer, when the B12 south renegades were thratening to bolt to the left coast. All they need to do is call in the RSVP.
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Julie says:
If the Aggies can get a better financial deal in the SEC, then good for them.
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GOP Realist says:
Texas will NOT go independent. Texas will pick which conference it lands in. PAC-16, Big 10, maybe even new conference with OU, BYU, and Notre Dame after 2 yrs in remaining Big XII to collect departure $$$ from A&M & get LHN established (and EVERY school could have its own network for 3rd tier rights). Even with the LHN, a deal could be cut with ANY conference to take Texas. Texas could go to the SEC RIGHT NOW if it wanted. It doesn’t want to. A&M started this, but Texas will finish it, and be sitting pretty no matter what. And A&M will start crying foul when the RollTideNetwork and GatorNetwork get started, but be stuck then.
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Anonymous says:
I don’t understand why UT doesn’t go with the SEC now? They should call a press conference today. I want us to play LSU next door – not some Ducks two time zones away. Please UT, do the right thing!
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Blue Dogs Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:12 pm
UT could make their own conference with the Oklahomas (but the Sooners and Cowboys are likely going to the Pac-12), and try to get Notre Dame, Air Force, BYU to join them.
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Moderate says:
GOP Realist is not very realistic about UT’s prospects or the viability of any school networks (LHN or otherwise). I agree with an earlier commenter that Texas really overplayed their hand on this one. How it all plays out remains to be seen, but I think Houston Chronicle journalist Richard Justice stated it best in his recent column headline, “This Aggie Joke is on the Longhorns.”
By the way, A&M officially announced today that they are leaving the Big 12.
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The House is Not a Home says:
Not playing A&M on Thanksgiving gives Texas the opportunity to schedule a quality opponent, something that Texas A&M wasn’t.
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Hydrogen Jukebox Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:27 pm
A&M won that meeting three out of the last five years. Maybe UT wasn’t the quality opponent.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Maybe the SEC only wants A&M so it can bolster its overall standing in women’s basketball?
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Pri-ista says:
ARKANSAS!
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Orange Blooded says:
It’s hard to argue with the Aggies posting today. They do belong in the SEC. Male-only cheerleaders, electronic scoreboards for their deceased mascots. They have it all and should fit in great with teams like Mississippi State, which used to castrate animals prior to games. If only UT had as much class… Seriously, I hate to see the rivalry go, but maybe it’s time.
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:32 pm
Yell Leaders = http://www.veoh.com/watch/v19247517C6pKaAns?h1=Texas+A%26M+Yell+Leaders%3A+What+the+hell
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 2:33 pm
And A&M is a rival of Texas, but they are not the “rival.”
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GOP Realist says:
Moderate, if I am not “realistic”, then explain how so. BTW, did you read Jerome Solomon’s take on A&M leaving, mainly that it doesn’t make sense & is unwise? Something for everyone to get mad at in that Houston Chronicle. Almost as if they planned it & are trying to sell papers……
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patriotone says:
I haven’t read all the comments so perhaps this has been addressed, but A&M’s athletic budget is a major league trainwreck. Where on earth do they think they are going to get the money to tear down Kyle Field? Being on TV every week is no great think if you are getting your helmet handed to you. I understand A&M’s dismay, but I don’t see this turning out well for them long term.
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KO Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 4:49 pm
I can explain it to you real simple–two words, John Sharp. Sit back and watch. A&M will thrive. tu will, to (unfortunately).
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4 National Titles Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 8:11 pm
What is tu?
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Tony Reply:
September 2nd, 2011 at 12:02 am
Not sure why everyone thinks A&M cannot compete. Ask Oklahoma, Nebraska and Texas if Texas A&M competed last fall…
BTW, since 1972, the start of the modern era at Texas A&M, the Texas A&M Texas rivalry record is 19-20.
The 31% or 37% win rate people quote was when Texas was whoopping on a bunch of military cadets.
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Cincinnatus says:
I agree that A&M will be a good fit in the SEC, a conference composed of football teams that also have schools (as opposed to schools that have football teams*). SEC academics are mediocre, the admissions standards are sub-par, the recruiting cheating is rampant, and the Old-South-Will-Rise-Again meme is infused throughout the conference’s backward-looking alums. That all fits A&M to a T.
This Texas Ex is looking forward (not backward) to a Pac-16 future or life as a national independent power. And if the latter, Texas will have no problem getting programs to come to Austin for games. Bring on life in the 21st Century; the Ags can have the 19th Century.
*Spare me the Vanderbilt reference; they are merely the token exception that proves the rule.
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Anon says:
Texas thought A&M needed them. Their pride is hurt and many Longhorn fans are emotional right now.
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Anonymous Reply:
August 31st, 2011 at 9:46 pm
Thats a pretty stupid statement to make.
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RN says:
Many UT at Austin fans collectively act much like a verbally abusive spouse. First, UT demeans its partner, contending that no one else could possibly want her. Then, when the spouse gets ready to leave, UT escalates the verbal abuse with threats, coercion, and revisionist history to try to force her to stay. When the spouse does not back down, UT slanders (e.g., she cheats) and denies the relationship (e.g., OU is my true love, not you). Finally, UT yells “You can’t make it on your own!” and “I never want to see you again!” and “You’ll be sorry!” These Longhorn fans are sick and sadly predictable. Hopefully, they are not acting out their frustrations by kicking their dog (or Reveille).
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Charlie Adaway says:
I think you confuse emotion with bewilderment. Most UT fans wanted to go to the PAC 10 last year, with or without A&M. A&M going to the SEC means that UT can finally shed Baylor and do what it wants. All bets are off. This is great news for UT.
The bewilderment comes from watching A&M handle the situation like, well, Aggies. Rather than making a “UT fans are like abusive spouses” analogy, it is more like Aggies are the “country cousins” that are jealous of their City cousins that made it big.
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Blue Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 8:46 am
I think this is basically right–A&M in the SEC opens the door for UT to the PAC 10.
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Dr Amie Calvin Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 9:06 am
I can relate to the “UT fans are like abusive spouses”. My husband gets a little crazy much just like UT fans when things don’t go his way.
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No Le Hace says:
A&M is leaving because Joe Straus is Jewish and liberal.
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AreYouKiddingMe says:
The Aggies are way too jealous of UT. They don’t want to admit it, but they are. Texas got the 300 million dollar deal because they could, and any other school in the country would have done the same thing. Texas will not have trouble finding opponents who want to play, conference or no conference. And, I would think that if the Big 12 wants to survive, it will not have a hard time finding quality schools who want to be a part of it. It will never be as strong as the SEC, and A&M will find out quickly that playing an LSU once or twice a year is great for your program. Playing a school like them every week may not be good for your record, recruiting, TV time, etc. Time will tell, but I think A&M made a decision based on being jealous of Texas. Just my take, and I am unbiased. I like and root for both schools, along with TCU, SMU, Baylor and other Texas schools.
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The House is Not a Home says:
I think the move is good for both schools. I really just don’t buy that the Longhorn Network is a legitimate reason to leave because its not that big of a deal.
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Texian Politico says:
The Longhorn Network has fewer viewers than Austin Cable Access. Good job UT!
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The House is Not a Home Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
The responsibility lies with ESPN. UT will get paid.
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AreYouKiddingMe says:
UT got 300 million dollars. They could care less how many viewers there are. That is ESPN’s problem. But, as more affiliates sign on to the station (and they will) viewership will go up, as long as the content is compelling. If they show the UT intramural frisbee golf team vs Trinity probably not so much…
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Harry Reply:
September 1st, 2011 at 6:56 pm
It WOULD be nice if ESPN was asking for a reasonable price for the programming. Forty cents a sub PLUS placement of the “network” on the basic tier is simply too much.
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Rog says:
One possible repercussion coming from this is the likely undoing of the new TV contract the Big 12 signed last year after the departure of Nebraska and Colorado. That contract specifically states if any other team leaves, the contract can be voided.
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JohnBernardBooks says:
See everythings works out. UT will go to the left coast where they belong, and the aggies will go to the right to the SEC, where they belong.
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Harry says:
Oh, for God’s sake….take your boots, your dog, and your little songs….and just GO.
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anonymous says:
I am a very proud Aggie and am very disappointed how important football is to these schools.
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John Johnson says:
The success that Texas has had under Dodds and Brown (not record wise, but monetarily) reflects some degree of planning and business savvy. To think that they didn’t do a bunch of contingency planning prior to making the network move seems unlikely. I suggest that they knew the Aggies would probably move on and obviously didn’t care.
If they go independent, most all weekend games are likely to become grudge matches with major players and generate millions of more viewers. No more Rice’s and LaTech’s on the schedule.
They can continue to garner most of the players they want from Texas and attract even more from the hinderlands.
To think that an independent UT would become insignficant like ND is just plain wrong. Notre Dame isn’t attracting recruits like they used to for the same reason the Catholic church is not attracting young priests. Religious ferver is not what is used to be and parents aren’t praying that they have one son saying Mass and one wearing the green and gold. Local powerhouses are now signing the star Catholic players and keeping them close to home… and how do you think an 18 year old would rate South Bend when compared to Austin?
If Texas gets a real coach like Gary Patterson instead of a cheerleader, pat-um-on-the-butt-and-tell-them-how-wonderful-they-are type like Brown, there is no telling how high they can fly.
The Aggies on the other hand will be a limited and insignificant second tier team. Sad, but true.
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Vernon says:
This whole affair is like watching the break up of a boyfriend/girlfriend couple who we’ve all been good friends with for decades.
They’ve been together so long that now I’m not sure where my loyalties lie. It’s just weird knowing they won’t be together during holidays…or at cocktail parties where they get into adorable little arguments…or how they’ll no longer interrupt each others stories for corrections.
I just hope I don’t have to endure the hours-long sobbing bro fest of how “that bitch is probably laughing right now” and “I’m gonna sleep with so many girls and alla’ her friends too” and the inevitable “Do you think she’s happier now without me? Is she sleeping with someone already?1? WAHHH!!”
I wish they’d just make up and get back together.
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Rock, the good Ag Reply:
September 2nd, 2011 at 11:43 am
Not going to happen bruv
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ATexanAlways says:
poor Aggies
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