It was recently reported that Texas has “worked with” the Big 12 to ensure no teams play Texas A&M. But did Texas Tech agree to not schedule TAMU?
Texas Tech and Texas A&M didn’t exactly have the most friendly relationship as opponents in the Southwest Conference (1956-96), or as members of the Big 12. But when the Aggies departed for the SEC, it apparently only created a deeper rift between itself, and Big 12 schools.
Texas A&M’s move to the SEC occurred in 2012, but many have wondered why the Aggies and its former Big 12 opponents haven’t scheduled home-and-home series to keep rivalries alive. After all, with strength of schedule being such a critical element now, SEC teams are arguably some of the best opponents to schedule for non-conference match-ups.
In a June 28, 2017 article by Alabama’s AL.com, writer John Talty wrote, “All it took was one decision to end more than 100-year rivalries that were hugely important to their fanbases. The cause? Mostly bitterness with more than a touch of jealousy.”
When Missouri left the Big 12, it ended a rivalry with Kansas. When Texas A&M left, it ended rivalries with Texas, and Texas Tech, mainly.
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“Their AD at the time came out and said we will never play Texas A&M again, and they worked along with Baylor and the conference to have no one in the (Big 12) schedule us,” Said Texas A&M Athletic Director Bill Byrne. “There were other forces at work to make sure we didn’t play.”
There’s a suggestion in the article that former Texas AD DeLoss Dodds worked with other Big 12 schools to ensure Texas A&M wasn’t to be scheduled. It’s uncertain if Texas Tech was part of that deal, but it’s also uncertain if any parties would be willing to negotiate a series to revive a tradition.
Starting in 1927, Texas Tech and Texas A&M played in 70 games against each other, with the last meeting on October 8, 2011 resulting in A&M beating Texas Tech, 40-45. The series ended with A&M leading, 37-32-1.
With conference realignment killing so many historic rivalries, it begs the question if it’s even worth it to hype games up anymore. There has been a continuous conversation over the years that Oklahoma could depart the conference, thus jeopardizing the vitality of the Big 12 as a whole.
Despite expansion being tabled, the conference is doing much better than anticipated, with each team receiving significant revenue increases since last year, so fans don’t need to worry about a total collapse. But if the conference wants to expand and grow further, notions of institutions working to shut out teams from scheduling needs to end.
Again, it’s unclear what Texas Tech’s role was in this, but one thing is certain: the payouts and publicity for scheduling SEC teams are huge, and that might be worth reigniting an old rivalry for.