Some Questions Regarding A&M vs UT and Realignment

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Mr. Irrelevant, Feb 28, 2019.

  1. Mr. Irrelevant

    Mr. Irrelevant 25+ Posts

    Full Disclosure: I'm an Aggie ('92)

    Congratulations on defeating UGA in the Sugar Bowl. That was a stellar win and it disappointed me greatly. You had one job, Georgia, ONE JOB!!!

    I spend most of my time on TexAgs (natch), so I'm familiar with our narrative regarding realignment. I'm not well-versed on the UT narrative.

    So on to my question...

    1. What, in your opinion, was Dodds' motivation for refusing to continue the series?
    2. For two schools that had played each other since before conferences even existed, why would Dodds care what conference A&M was in?
    3. When A&M refused to go to the PAC, the deal was still there for the remaining five schools plus Utah. Would you prefer to be in that version of the PAC 16 or the current Big 12?
    Thank you in advance for your replies. Also, if you have any questions regarding our take on realignment feel free to ask.

    Mr. Irrelevant
     
  2. ViperHorn

    ViperHorn 10,000+ Posts

    aggy walked away from the series so I do not understand the thesis.
     
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  3. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    I’ll take a shot, but others will have greater insight:

    - My understanding was that the LHN was a contributing factor associated with TAM’s departure. My guess is that Dodds and others were annoyed because if I am not mistaken, the concept of the LHN originally included your school. The aggies didn’t see the value.

    - Re the PAC, it’s complicated. My understanding, again, was that a methodology to roll in the LHN could not be worked out with the PAC, and Larry Scott. Many believe that Scott really blew it, and cost the member schools a fortune in TV contracts.

    - Regarding the inclusion in TAM in the schedule, my sense is that Texas really didn’t need TAM, and that TAM needed Texas. In other words, because of the conference defection, there was no value for Texas to continue the series. I believe that there was also a scheduling issue.
     
  4. Sangre Naranjada

    Sangre Naranjada 10,000+ Posts

    You poor bastard.
     
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  5. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    1. This is a flawed narrative. We already had our nonconference schedules planned for a while in advance. "Refusing to continue" the series meant disruption for what we already had in place, plus it was A&M that left the conference, not us. On top of that, placing blame on the departure on things like Longhorn Network doesn't exactly ingratiate the other side to make amends and alterations to what we have going on. It just reeks of the "average" girlfriend breaking up with you and then saying "let's still be friends and hook up every once in a while" when you're plain done.

    2. You don't understand how conferences work if you think you can compare our playing situation in the 1920s to today. Scheduling teams isn't like UIL where you walk up to a coach and say "let's do this." It's a complicated contractual issue and takes time and money. And a willingness to make it work, which A&M clearly showed they were not willing to do, because we "might" put recruits on LHN (which never happened).

    3. Neither, honestly, but gun to my head, I'd still take this 10-team Big XII over the Super-Pac. Travel would be an issue, and the Pac has shown their relative strength (or lack thereof) these past couple seasons. It'd water down the top of our conference and create scenarios in which a Pac team would play spoiler to Texas or OU.
     
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  6. nashhorn

    nashhorn 5,000+ Posts

    Good name though.
     
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  7. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    I am on a pilot message board that has a Mr. Irrelevant as well. Hmmmm.
     
  8. Ajo Macho

    Ajo Macho 500+ Posts

    A&M: "I hate you. I've always hated you. You're the reason I've been unsuccessful. You've been holding me down for years. I know you're trying to hold the family together, but I'm leaving. I have a new family now.
    I can still come over for Thanksgiving, right?"
     
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  9. Mr. Irrelevant

    Mr. Irrelevant 25+ Posts

    Thank you for the candid response. I wasn't sure if I'd get anything other than "go away aggy".

    A couple of things regarding the LHN... when Dodds reached out to Byrne in 2007 regarding a shared network there was no media partner willing to pay for the startup costs, let alone pay for the content. The network startup costs would have been born by both universities. A&M did a feasibility study and determined that even with both schools there wouldn't be enough inventory to make the network viable when considering the costs and the likely subscriber base.

    As for having a problem with the network, that wasn't the case under the initial layout provided to the Big 12. The initial plan said it would have one non-conference football game per year and the remainder of the programming would be of other athletic events and academic content. Once the LHN was accepted by the conference, the content started changing. 1 non-conference game became 2, then conference games were to be included, then high school recruits games would be telecast as well. The scope-creep of the network is what caused A&M to balk. The network itself and the money that came with it, though irksome to us from an envy standpoint (who wouldn't be envious), was not a deal-breaker.

    The PAC was of the understanding that all media rights would be surrendered to the conference. Just as is the case with the B1G and the SEC. This is how they intended to fully monetize the PAC Network. I believe that UT initially was in agreement with this, but once ESPN told them how much they were willing to offer, UT decided to pivot and require 3rd tier rights remain with the schools.

    Anyway, thanks again for your response.
     
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  10. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Aggy would be on more solid moral ground if they offered to play TT and Baylor too along with Texas.
     
  11. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    They just want to win ONE time and then walk away to have the eternal scoreboard we adore so much.
     
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  12. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    I need to find that graph someone put up to show the records in 3 top sports
    Which illustrate perfectly why Texas does not need aggy.
     
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  13. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    This will suffice for now...

    1CaVO00.png
     
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  14. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

     
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  15. LonghornCatholic

    LonghornCatholic Deo Gratias

    More suited for Tech.
     
  16. LonghornDave

    LonghornDave 1,000+ Posts

    Ok, so I know I am in the vocal minority (maybe the only poster) that wants to play ANM every Thanksgiving as God intended. I really don't think about who benefits from a football rivalry. Play the game. But
    1) and 2) Deloss is not the issue. There was a sh*t storm that involved several factors that took ANM to SEC. Doesn't really matter to me. ANM can leave, Texas can leave or stay. No good guys, no bad guys, just you and me and we just disagree. Let's all get over it.
    3) PAC 12 screwed this up. ANM and Texas both refused to go under the circumstances. So what? PAC probably blew it in the short term. (personally I'm ok w Big 12 as is but would prefer to add two teams that could be added from Big 10, SEC or Pac. But going any, well, the west Coast time zones are killers. The lower tier teams of Big, ACC, Pac and SEC are killers.
     
  17. Hoop

    Hoop 500+ Posts

    No, you're not. It's tragic that both parties let money take away one of the best rivalries in sports.
     
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  18. ViperHorn

    ViperHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Sorry but how is Texas to blame for aggy walking away from the Big XII? aggy was on the Texas schedule until 2025 until aggy bolted to the $EC under the guise of wanting to "upgrade".
     
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  19. SabreHorn

    SabreHorn 10,000+ Posts

    If they ever do beat us again, it may be the most expensive win in Aggie history because you know they will steal that final scoreboard to put it in their empty trophy room.
     
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  20. Horn87

    Horn87 1,000+ Posts

    sorry, Mr I, but those of us 40 yrs (30?) and older could care less if we ever play aggy again....when you "took your ball to play with someone else" mentality then you took the "Right" to play with Big Brother
     
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  21. Horn6721

    Horn6721 10,000+ Posts

    L C
    Thanks. I forgot the complete Horn dominance.
    There is no benefit for the Horns to play the,.
    I do wonder why aggy thinks it would help them.
    Maybe they think chanting SEC SEC will help them win half time.
     
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  22. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    I miss the A&M game, but there are plenty of competitive games for both fanbases to get excited about. I think both programs are in a better place and going in a better direction than when we last played. Glad you came here to post Mr. Irrelevant. Whatever caused the break, the personalities have changed and anger should have subsided by now.
     
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  23. mchammer

    mchammer 10,000+ Posts

    Aggies should play UT, BU, and TT on a rotating basis.
     
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  24. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    A conference is a collection of teams agreeing to be on each other's schedules every year or every so often in the case of divisions (the SEC rarely playing someone in the other division system is the one of the most screwed up things in football and another reason why that conference is one of the screwiest).

    UT and A&M had been in the same conference since they joined the SWC and had been on each other's schedules forever.

    A&M took itself off UT's schedule because it wanted "a schedule upgrade" and hoped to screw UT over by destabilizing the Big XII. Also beating Alabama and LSU 1 out of every 7 years would somehow mean when A&M played UT again we would be equal or something.

    After A&M took itself off of UT's schedule, it demanded that UT completely rework its own schedule, including canceling existing non conference games pissing off the scheduled schools and costing UT money. UT rightly said "no we are not going to completely change our schedule to accommodate A&M after A&M unilaterally took itself off our schedule." In fact, due to all the above, UT should never schedule A&M in anything.

    Somehow, in bizarro aggy logic (the same logic that is probably a major factor in the decisions that have caused A&M to not finish in the top 4 in football, basketball or baseball since world war 2), UT not seriously inconveniencing itself to accommodate A&M after A&M took itself off of UT's schedule = Deloss cancelled the series. This screwed up aggy logic idiocy is another reason to never play them again. I am glad we do not deal with it anymore. We beat OU, and they walk up and say "good game". You beat A&M and "it is the refs fault" or "something tu cheated something" or whatever BS aggy logic excuse they use to avoid facing the reality that they are not as great as they think they are. Playing A&M is like fighting a midget. If you win, you beat up a midget. If you lose, you got beaten up by a midget. It is a no win situation.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 1, 2019
  25. utempire

    utempire 1,000+ Posts

    Exactly, it's a no win situation to play aggy again. It was and will always be that way. Aggy was looking for any excuse to leave and would have left anyway, LHN or not. At least aggy is in the top 10 for most ncaa sanctions, along with alabama, auburn, and ou. This can go into their empty hall of champions.
     
  26. moondog_LFZ

    moondog_LFZ 5,000+ Posts

    Aggy took their ball and left.
    Good riddance.
    I don't miss that game at all.
    We are scheduling the likes of LSU, USC, Bama....we don't need no stinking aggys.
     
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  27. LonghornDave

    LonghornDave 1,000+ Posts

    I understand the political and monetary objections but I am unmoved. Both programs will not benefit from a loss to the other but dang it from a football standpoint that is not why you play the game. Neither team has a viable alternative for Thanksgiving day. AND Aggie has always been and probably always be "goofy" and cultish. Thank God that is the SECs problem now. Funny that some of those Sec teams that thanked Aggie for the Texas exposure are now wondering if the goofiness is worth it....
     
  28. blonthang

    blonthang 2,500+ Posts

    "You're looking LIVE at the Cotton Bowl in BIG D, Dallas, Texas. A beautiful fall day on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas. Hello, I'm Brent Musberger (or Keith Jackson, or any other No. 1 college football announcer at the time), and welcome to The Red River Rivalry (or War, or whatever) --- Texas - Oklahoma, one of THE most storied rivalries in college football. As is more common than not, both Texas and Oklahoma are ranked nationally in the top 10 and this early season game is the touchstone for the winner to get a good chance to be in the national championship hunt later on in the season."

    --- o ---


    "Good evening folks, we're here at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, about an hour and a half northwest of Houston (got to inform anyone outside of Texas who would have no clue as to where CS is except for this game every other year there). For those 129 college football fans outside of the great state of Texas watching this game, it usually has little to NO impact on the national scene of college football. But keep watching anyway, and be treated to a cute little collie who is actually an officer in the aggy corps, a make believe military academy in which no one is required to actually enlist after graduation, a graveyard for dead collie officers just outside the stadium, white uniformed milk men organizing cheers --- oh, excuuuuuse me --- that's YELLS, home team fans swaying back and forth "sawing horns off", and --- yuck, puke --- being treated to sloppy wet kisses in the stands after every aggy score."

    Okay, quick, which one would you rather represent Texas, both the state AND The University?
     
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  29. LonghornDave

    LonghornDave 1,000+ Posts

    Agreed but it is not an either or situation AND I don't know about other states but after the turkey is put away there is not a football game worth watching on TV. and every other year Austin, the state capital, sixth street and Royal Memorial and five National Championships (after WWII) will be on TV. Absolutely worth it. (even if we have to suffer through some howdy and SEC and Johnny football commercials)
     
  30. X Misn Tx

    X Misn Tx 2,500+ Posts

    I'm on your team, regardless of blame game.
     

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