Texas AD Chris Del Conte wants to see Texas A&M rivalry returned: 'I do believe the game should be played'
Ever since Texas A&M and Texas ceased playing on the football field, the renewal of the series has been a popular talking point every offseason.
The Aggies and Longhorns have not faced either other since the 2011 season as Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC heading into the 2012 season and with the way scheduling is done around college football these days, with non-conference games sometimes announced decades out, it doesn’t appear the drought will be ending anytime soon.
Be that as it may, Texas AD Chris Del Conte recently expressed his desire to see the rivalry renewed during an appearance on 247Sports’ Texas Tailgate show.
During the broadcast, Del Conte was asked about the possibility of Texas renewing rivalries against the school’s former opponents like Texas A&M, Arkansas and LSU.
“I think I had the conversation, a year ago, two years ago, when we had an opening and I asked [Texas A&M], ‘Hey, we have an opening in ’22, ’23,’ and I reached out and asked if they’d be interested in doing that rivalry game at the time,” Del Conte said. “And A&M said, ‘Hey we have no – we’re booked right now.’ And I said okay and I looked at where we were and I promptly looked at, why we have to create great games at home and add incredible value to our season ticket package.”
Del Conte then went on to discuss that Texas lined up series with Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan, as he recognizes the value of adding games against this caliber of opponent adds value to season-ticket holders in Austin.
While he didn’t mention the College Football Playoff, having these games on the schedule could help the school in that department, as well.
However, Del Conte quickly turned the conversation back to Texas A&M and how much he wants to see that series returned and what value the Texas A&M-Texas series brings to college football.
“As far as playing A&M, and I will tell you this, I was not here and I don’t have the history and the angst of what transpired, but those type of games that make you visceral hate each other, are what makes college football, great, great,” Del Conte continued. “And I do believe the game should be played. I really do. Not because of history but I know Alabama didn’t play Auburn for 40 years. Can you imagine that playing the Iron Bowl? Makes no sense.
“But it is what it is, right? And you have politics involved, you have hurt feelings, you have all kinds of things. But just for the state of Texas or for college football, I cannot believe that OU doesn’t play Nebraska. I grew up on that game. I could not imagine USC not playing UCLA.
“I could not imagine the Backyard Brawl, Pittsburgh and West Virginia, for those fan bases. Clemson and South Carolina figured it out. Florida and Florida State figured it out. And I get it. But these games, when you just when you’re just bubbling over crazy emotion, that’s what makes college great. And why? Because college athletics and football-specific is a college game, founded on college campuses and it’s about our culture, our history, our traditions and what we stand for against you, and your culture, and your history, and your traditions and we settled on the playing field.
“And then we come back and we own you on the water cooler for the next full year we do it over again, and that’s what makes the pomp and circumstance about college awesome.”
Based on those comments, it’s clear one side of the rivalry is eager to return the series to the gridiron, now we wait for the other to feel the same.
Mighty ATM is scared of Texas…
Never scared of Texas. Also, Aggies never hated tu. We loved the rivalry and everything that went with it. tu, however, decided to do a deal with ESPN to the detriment to the rest of the Big 12. We asked them not to since it would affect all of us in recruiting, etc. and look like the only school in Texas was tu. They blew us off. We got the conference chiefs to get involved and tu held firm with their plans and then signed the contract with ESPN for the Texas Channel. That was the end of the rivalry. We made a great decision to go “pro” with the SEC and have never looked back. A Heisman winner, and a great coach and a bright future without being in the tu light. All of us miss the rivalry, but it isn’t coming back until tu understands that there is more than one school in Texas. Whoever wrote this article about hate knows nothing of the respect that Aggies always had of tu. Now they get to keep their “respect” as we have moved on. Mickey ’66
It was more than just the network deal. Watch “SEC Ready”. There was several things over time that convinced Aggies to make the move. Thank god.
Never again.
Your move was good for your university and good for the SEC. Period.
Join the SEC.
Just, no.
The irony is they would need the Aggies permission (vote) to join the SEC. I think it takes 3 “NO” votes to keep a tm from joining.
Rumor has it that A&M, SC, and UF have formed an informal voting bloc to keep UT, Clemson, and any tm from FL OUT of the SEC. They like being the lone SEC brands in their states.
It does provide advantages in recruiting and revenue over their chief in-state rivals. Less so for the Aggies as UT is a cash cow but it has helped A&M close the gap on their in-state rivals. They’re not likely gonna be willing to give that up.
Clemson has said repeatedly they do not want to join the SEC. Obviously too much top notch competition.
If we were so scared of the shorthorns, why did we join the toughest Division of the toughest Conference in the country?
This gets old. They have treated their conference “partners” like $#!+ over and over again until they practically destroyed the Big 12. Then they refused to continue playing the rivalry and encouraged the remaining conference members to boycott scheduling A&M. Del Conte wants to shrug it off as “angst, politics, hurt feelings, and all kind of things”. Nobody gets excited about their home schedule save for an occasional premier program every other year. They need more good home games. We are having no problem with that. Let them rot.
Texas deserves credit for the non conference schedule they are assembling. I loved LSU beating them last season and hope that happens again this year. If the Aggies don’t want to play Texas, I would gladly have them added to the LSU schedule in the future.
So would you be satisfied with your only premier OOC game each season being t.u. on a home and home? Because t.u. would not be willing to do another regularly scheduled neutral site game like OU. Do you give up scheduling teams like Clemson, Miami, and Notre Dame for home and home so you can play t.u. every year? IDK, I just don’t see them as that much of a priority any longer.
There is no reason they would have to be your only P5 OOC opponent. Georgia schedules multiple every year and UF is starting to do that also. SC also does that quite often. Missouri just set up some series with old rivals and they aren’t scheduled for every season, just some. That seems like a good plan. Maybe just stagger our a four game series or so. I would be quite happy with LSU doing that.
Rationally, If I could forget all the things they did, some kind of regular series could be good for both teams. I just can’t bring myself to support anything that helps them in any way. Maybe someday… but no, probably not.
Heck, I still hold a grudge with LSU for cancelling our series in the 90’s. So yeah, not always rational.
I didn’t enjoy the whippings against the Aggies in the 90’s, but we deserve whatever angst remains from us cancelling that series.
You don’t want that hot mess anywhere near the SEC. The whorns imploded the SWC & have just about demolished the B12. That’s what happens when the university’s admin depends on sports profits to supplement the academic budget. You have to get greedy. The whorns have no issues with getting greedy. And that LHN contract? Who would let them in? A&M already moved the SEC footprint into Texas as Mizzou moved the SEC footprint into the Kansas City market. If & when the SEC expands the next 2 programs will either be national brands (OU/Clemson) or have a large TV/subscription footprint. Not really sure where the next one of those will come from.
Del Conte is bluffing. Deloss Dodds pulled the same crap with the same result. We like playing new and different programs too. With the current scheduling formula all SEC teams use to fill stadiums we are stuck playing 3 cake home games with one P5 home & home/neutral site game a year outside the SEC schedule.
Play the game. Aggies win and they’ll quit asking. I do understand that other P5 conferences needs to play SEC teams for validation…that’s legit.