When Texas hired former Arizona State athletic director Steve Patterson earlier this week, lots of speculation followed, with two main questions: Would Patterson hire Sun Devils’ head coach Todd Graham at Texas? And would Patterson try and schedule a series against old rival Texas A&M, which he had tried to do at Arizona State?
Texas A&M doesn’t really want to schedule Texas anymore
The Aggies shoot down rumors of a possible revival of the rivalry game.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The answer, to both, appears to be a resounding no. Part of the agreement between Arizona State and Texas states that Patterson cannot hire anyone away from his old school, and we learned Wednesday that while Patterson could potentially want to schedule the Aggies, the feeling is not mutual, via ESPN.
"We hope to play them again in a BCS bowl or playoff game at some point," Texas A&M senior associate athletic director Jason Cook told ESPN on Wednesday.
Previously, Texas A&M had said they wanted to keep the game going.
“We want to make it abundantly clear we will play the game anywhere, any time,” the new Texas A&M chancellor told me Monday morning. “If that game dies, it will not be on us. That game is bigger than Texas and bigger than A&M. That game belongs to the people of Texas, and if it goes away, it’s not going to be on our watch.”
At the time, it was Texas that seemed bitter, as retiring athletic director DeLoss Dodds said, “They’re the ones that decided not to play us. We get to decide when we play again.”
The rivalry was one of the more historic games in college football history, with 118 meetings between the two schools going all the way back to 1894. Since the Aggies’ move to the SEC in 2012, the two teams have not played -- and it looks like they won’t until they’re forced to.
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