Horns-Aggies Finish Strong before Hiatus

Aggies and the Horns—The Game that Brought a Whole State Together




The end of the Texas vs Texas A&M football match up after Thursday night’s last second win by the Longhorns gives everyone a reason to reflect on what that annual game really means to residents of this huge state.



It has always been the one game that brings every one together. Other than to alumni and local residents for the other schools in Texas there is no question the big dogs are Texas A&M and Texas. They have been for years. There are about 20 NCAA Division I programs in Texas with ten of them playing on the highest level in football. Houston is unbeaten, Baylor and TCU are very good, but only the Aggies and Horns matter to everyone.



It is not just because they have the largest alumni bases from being the largest schools in the state either. Actually the way things are sorting out neither may actually be the largest schools in Texas for long. In part,due to a need to downsize on the main campuses of both, the enrollment for undergrads from “outsiders” like Houston, Texas State, North Texas, Texas-Arlington and Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) are catching up.



That won’t change anything. The Aggies and the Horns is THE game in Texas. Uh, I guess it WAS the game in Texas since 1894, but it won’t be any longer.



Let’s be honest on this. Two factors brought about it’s demise finally—the formation of the Longhorn Network by Texas—with the guaranteed payment of $15-million annually by ESPN the real back breaker—and the ensuing decision by Texas A&M to get away from it all and join the SEC.



Most feel the formation of the Longhorn Network itself would not have been the problem had the school fielded the costs itself. It was going to be a tough sell to cable and satellite operators who would have to charge more for carrying the network. When ESPN elected to foot the bill that was too much. However, at the same time the college conference scene was changing already. Nebraska and Colorado had bolted the Big 12 earlier. Missouri had wanted out to join the Big 10 and even though Nebraska beat them to it, they were not interested in staying in the league. When the Aggies made the SEC an odd numbered membership league they quickly pushed for the admittance they finally received.



There will be a long time rivalry being lost with Missouri leaving the Big 12 as well. Their battle with Kansas dated back to Civil War memories. Perhaps they can start a new one with neighboring Arkansas—a battle of the Ozarks—in the SEC. Perhaps Texas A&M can start a rivalry with LSU.



An A&M-LSU match up every year to rival the Texas-OU battles had been envisioned before. It never came to fruition because of scheduling problems. Now in the same league it will be a regular game.



While the Longhorns may have been too quick to say they didn’t think they would have room on their schedule to play the Aggies after the Texas A&M move to the SEC there is some validity in that on the face of it.



Both the SEC and Big 12 have 10 or more members (presuming the West Virginia invitation is finalized.) In the Big 12s case that means one league with no divisions. Nine conference games will be played. In the case of the SEC the figure is again nine with six division foes plus at least three from the other division.



It is much harder to schedule non conference games after the first two or three weeks of the season since Conference play has now started. An Aggie-Horns game on September 4th would not be the same. Plus coaches want at least a couple “warm up” games against much more easily beatable foes to start a year.



Had Oklahoma and Texas not finally been united in the Big 12 that long time meeting could have suffered the same “conference squeeze”. For the years of the SWC and Big 8 it was easy. OU had only seven games against conference opponents. Texas had seven or eight. There was plenty of opportunity to meet inside the season in Dallas.



However, if either or both of those old leagues expanded—or either school left to join a different league as OU was once linked with the SEC and Texas with the Big 10 and Pac 10—the series would have likely had to die.



I guess what we have all learned in recent years is that tradition will always lose to money. The Aggie-Longhorn tradition has generated a lot of money itself over the decades, but a new TV network and new league apparently will generate more.



When the Texas-Texas A&M rivalry started in 1894 it was reported the football budget for UT was $100. Things have certainly changed in the last 118 years!