Aggies get it. Your feelings are hurt. And in some respects, they should be. A&M sent some unfair shots your way. Just as UT has sent unfair shots our way. But games against each other will continue. A&M and UT will play football against each other again. It will happen in the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss made it to the Cotton Bowl two consecutive years with an 8-4 record. If UT is in bowl contention & not in bcs/playoff/whatever and A&M has a good year its cotton for both teams. Basketball - I just don't know if that will happen. It might in an early season tournament or the in NCAA's, but I don't know about the regular season for mens or womens. Baseball - There is no reason not to play each other. IMO the need for the best possible RPI & close mid-week games will make it happen. Other sports - maybe? I'm not sure how travel budgets & schedules work for some of them, but could definitely see swimming & track teams competing in the same meets. Maybe some of the other teams play as well. And academically, the two schools will continue to cooperate. In A&M and UT you have the #1 and #2 research schools in this region of the United States. Shared libraries & cooperative research mean too much to too many people that don't care about sports to stop.
Yeah, maybe so. BTW I don't understand the overall thing. We didn't wear overalls (that I can remember) when I was a student at A&M. Of course, that was a long time ago (1988-1992).
Never say never. The strength of the SEC is just an illusion. In a couple of years we will be playiing them for the real National Championship. Wonder if the the glass ball will still be the trophy.
It's always struck me as funny how all of the schools in the Big XII that utterly hated UT bailed on the conference, in part, because of fears that UT would go to another conference, or go independent. Nebraska cited conference instability caused by UT looking around, so did Mizzou, and agricultural seemed to hate the idea that UT was including them in on a proposed jump to the PAC. Here we are, two years later, and UT is still in the Big XII, while the corn, Mizzou, aggy, and Colorado are spread out like a warm breakfast in other conferences. Like I said, the excuse that UT might make a move just doesn't hold water, but then I'd guess logic would be wasted on the four schools listed above.
Agreed that Mizzou started the whole realignment drama by offering everything but a jazzy weekend if the B1G would take them in. However, my reference is to statements made by the schools that left the Big XII justifying their moves. Nebraska blamed UT for everything but global warming, and among their justifications for jumping to the B1G was concern about what would happen to the Big XII if UT went somewhere else. agricultural, as everybody knows, pulled all kinds of rabbits out of the hat to explain their obsession with the SEC...one of their excuses was SEC stability versus a Big XII that might be left high and dry by UT. Mizzou kept quiet until they got their formal invite to the SEC, then said concerns over the stability of the Big XII, brought on by UT and, to a lesser degree, OU, made them make the move. The only school that didn't particularly bring up UT was Colorado, and everybody has known for years that they'd jump to the PAC if they got the chance. They've mouthed off a little about UT since moving to the PAC, but played their cards pretty close to the vest before then. Like I said, I find it odd that the schools with the biggest ax to grind against UT would come up with fears that UT might leave the Big XII as a primary justification for them making the jump to other conferences. I guess you use whatever excuse is handy at the time.
I'm so glad they're gone. I was really tired of their anti-UT act, and atttending games in College Station had lost its attraction years ago. The Big XII brought in two higher rated football teams in WVA and TCU, with far more success over the last 10 years than A&M. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Never say never, and we could schedule A&M down the road, but I think it will take a generation or more for this to happen. I won't miss it. Of course, we could run into them in a bowl game, especially the Cotton Bowl. I hope we don't schedule them in baseball, basketball, or any other sport, either.
coolhorn – I believe that the logic that "UT might leave the Big 12" was sound. It is well documented that UT spoke with the PAC-12, ACC, Big-10, and Notre Dame last summer. UT was certainly making noise that it was leaving too. But the basis for the "UT departure theory" is from two years ago, when UT negotiated the six team deal to the Pac-12 WITHOUT INPUT from the other schools that would move. They did that prior to Nebraska's flirtation with the Big 10, and probably had initial talks prior to Missouri's flirtation as well. I assume that the Big 10's decision to do an "expansion study" prompted those discussions. But who knows, they might have started prior to that decision. The point is that UT lost trust because it conducted those negotiations in secret. In fact UT refused to provide A&M with any information regarding those discussions even though they were specifically asked to do so once rumors got out. I believe that the A&M higher ups looked at that as a betrayal – in addition to the attempt to force A&M into an unfavorable situation (the Pac-12). I think ultimately that was when the two "split the sheets." I believe that a portion of the A&M leadership decided at that time to leave the Big 12 for the SEC, but their hands were tied because the legislature was in session & because there was a strong pro-Big-12 contingent in the BOR & in the fan base. The LHN provided a remedy for that. Regardless of UT's intentions last year, the terms of the contract were favorable for football independence. And that was the lever the pro-SEC group used to sway the pro-Big 12 group, and the smokescreen used in the PR campaign. Regardless, at this point its all water under the bridge. In a sense I agree with accuratehorn – the venom between the two fanbases was too high, even prior to the move. Its weird. Sometimes I wonder if the increased nastiness on fan boards (more like shaggybevo, texags, & orangebloods than hornfans) led to more venom in general. Or maybe it was something else. At any rate it was a good time for a break.
I can't argue with the logic that UT and agricultural needed a divorce. Reference UT looking around, the only time they were seriously interested in moving was with the first flirtation with the PAC, and I doubt anybody outside of Deloss Dodds' closest friends knows when UT actually started thinking about a move west. aggy's move to the SEC goes back at least to before the formation of the Big XII...they were already signed, sealed, and set to be delivered to the SEC when the SWC breakup occurred. Bob Bullock twisted their arms, so-to-speak and persuaded them that the Big XII was the way to go, but its' doubtful TAMU's heart was ever really into being a Big XII member. Oh, and yep, UT and the PAC were talking back then, so the Horns have been interested in heading west for a long time too.
Don't care to get back into the whole "who started it" mess, so I won't. I am honestly just fine with the fact that UT will not be playing tamu in the forseeable future, and to the SEC I say "no backsies". But that is not the troubling thing to me about this thread. What troubles me is that this Idaho guy possibly has a diploma from the same UT I graduated from. I avoid grammar and spelling police with the best of them, but Good God Man - please tell me you are intentionally spelling all of those words wrong just to make us laugh.
I realize the futility of arguing logically with an Aggie, but a guy that seriously believes UT negotiated a deal to move to the Pac 10 without any knowledge of the other teams involved is a major tinfoil hat wearing kinda dude. That's a good one. Just because the negotiations were not made public did not mean the other schools involved were left out of the discussion.
You guys are bringing back fond memories of the old bumper sticker... "I used to couldn't spell aggy...now I R one"
Reminds me of the aggy that wanted to major in math but he got frustrated because he kept hearing pie are squared and he knew that pie are round.
